Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Fix the given day (G = Friday) and use the “people between” clues, remembering the week cannot extend past Sunday.

1. Two between M and G → M = Tuesday (Friday + 3 would be beyond Sunday).
2. Four between F and M → F = Sunday. N immediately after O, with free days Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat → O = Wed, N = Thu.
3. L is not on Monday → L = Saturday, H = Monday. Between L (Sat) and H (Mon): Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri → 4 people.

Trick: Write Mon–Sun in a row first; one-direction constraints (week ends on Sunday) kill the second possibility instantly.

Answer: (B) Four

Concept: The only letter common to both words must get the only digit common to both codes.

1. WEAR → 8246 and CAST → 3851 share just one letter: A.
2. Common digit: $\{8,2,4,6\}\cap \{3,8,5,1\}=\{8\}$.
3. Hence A = 8.

Trick: One common letter ↔ one common digit; no need to decode the other letters.

Answer: (A) 8

Concept: Find one rule linking the first two numbers to the third that works for both given sets, then test the options.

1. (9, 11, 24): $3\times 11-9=33-9=24$ ✓. (15, 14, 27): $3\times 14-15=42-15=27$ ✓. Rule: third $=3\times$second $-$ first.
2. (2, 11, 31): $3\times 11-2=33-2=31$ ✓.
3. Others fail: (18, 2, 12): $6-18=-12$; (23, 1, 31): $3-23=-20$; (26, 6, 12): $18-26=-8$.

Trick: When $a+b$ or $a\times b$ fails, try $3b-a$, $2b+a$, $a^2-b$ type combinations – here $3b-a$ fits both sets.

Answer: (C) (2,11,31)

Concept: Remove the specified elements and then count from the given end.

1. Series: @ © € E 8 9 X © 7 6 9 4 S N % $ 2 © 1 # O N.
2. Dropping all numbers (8, 9, 7, 6, 9, 4, 2, 1): @ © € E X © S N % $ © # O N.
3. Counting from the left: 1-@, 2-©, 3-€, 4-E, 5-X, 6-©, 7-S, 8-N.

Trick: Write the reduced series on rough sheet and number it – avoids skipping symbols.

Answer: (A) N

Concept: Find the position shift of each letter from the first cluster to the second.

1. LUB → OSE: L$+3$=O, U$-2$=S, B$+3$=E. RQH → UOK: R$+3$=U, Q$-2$=O, H$+3$=K. Pattern $(+3,-2,+3)$.
2. XMN → AKQ: X$+3$=A (wrapping after Z), M$-2$=K, N$+3$=Q ✓.
3. Others fail: KGY→OBC is $(+4,-5,+4)$; GOQ→LMV is $(+5,-2,+5)$; KMT→MHV is $(+2,-5,+2)$.

Trick: Check the first letter's shift across all options first – it eliminates three options in seconds.

Answer: (D) XMN : AKQ

Concept: Draw the sets: 'All A are B' puts A inside B; 'Some' gives only a partial overlap that may or may not touch the inner sets.

1. All flats are villas and all villas are apartments ⇒ flats lie inside apartments ⇒ (I) 'All flats are apartments' follows.
2. 'Some apartments are buildings' – the overlap with buildings may be in the part of apartments outside villas, so 'Some villas are buildings' is not certain ⇒ (II) does not follow.

Trick: Two 'All' statements chain into an 'All'; an 'All' followed by 'Some' gives no definite conclusion.

Answer: (B) Only conclusion (I) follows

Concept: Find the operation from term to term in the given chains and apply it to the options.

1. $25\to 40\to 65\to 100$: $+15,+25,+35$. $70\to 85\to 110\to 145$: $+15,+25,+35$.
2. Option D: $50\to 65\to 90\to 125$: $+15,+25,+35$ ✓.
3. Others: A $+15,+25,+45$; B $+15,+35,+25$; C $+15,+20,+40$ – all break the pattern.

Trick: Successive differences themselves growing by 10 ($15,25,35$) – check all three gaps, not just the first.

Answer: (D) 50 – 65 – 90 – 125

Concept: Apply the rule digit by digit: odd digit $+1$, even digit $-2$.

1. 5267341: 5→6, 2→0, 6→4, 7→8, 3→4, 4→2, 1→2.
2. New number $=6048422$.
3. Second digit from the left $=0$.

Trick: Write the original digits in a row and the new ones directly below – no mix-ups.

Answer: (B) 0

Concept: Fix the most restricted person first, then test the remaining cases.

1. D is on an odd floor but not 1 ⇒ D = 3 or 5; F is immediately below D ⇒ F = 2 or 4.
2. Two people between D and N: D=3 ⇒ N=6; D=5 ⇒ N=2. L is even but not 4 ⇒ L = 2 or 6.
3. If D=3, N=6, F=2 then L has no floor left ✗. So D=5, F=4, N=2, L=6.
4. Two between L(6) and E ⇒ E=3; M takes floor 1. Immediately above M(1) is N(2).

Trick: Count 'two people between' as a gap of 3 floors (positions differ by 3).

Answer: (D) N

Concept: A statement is sufficient only if it fixes a unique answer; test each alone, then both together.

1. (I) alone: N $>$ L – nothing about M, T, V ⇒ insufficient.
2. (II) alone: V $>$ N and M is 2nd tallest – L and T unknown ⇒ insufficient.
3. Together: V $>$ N $>$ L, M is 2nd. Two orders remain: T $>$ M $>$ V $>$ N $>$ L (shortest L) or V $>$ M $>$ … with T and L at the bottom in either order (shortest T or L).
4. The shortest cannot be fixed ⇒ even together not sufficient.

Trick: If you can build two valid arrangements with different answers, the data is insufficient – stop there.

Answer: (D) Both statements I and II together are NOT sufficient to answer the question

Concept: Track each position of the cluster and the number separately.

1. 1st letters B, Y, V, S: $-3$ each ⇒ next P.
2. 2nd letters W, U, S, Q: $-2$ each ⇒ next O.
3. 3rd letters J, I, H, G: $-1$ each ⇒ next F.
4. Numbers 12, 17, 22, 27: $+5$ ⇒ 32. Answer POF 32.

Trick: Shifts $-3,-2,-1$ – the number pattern ($+5$) alone already removes option C.

Answer: (A) POF 32

Concept: Facing the centre, 'right' means anticlockwise and 'left' means clockwise. Start with the direct clue.

1. D is immediately right of C. Counting from the right of B, two people then D ⇒ B is 3 places to the left of D (going right: B, _, _, D).
2. Three people between E and C counted from the right of C ⇒ going right from C: C, D, _, _, E. So the two gaps after D are filled before E.
3. F is immediately right of A ⇒ A and F take those two seats: C, D, A, F, E, B, G (G gets the last seat).
4. Immediate left (clockwise neighbour): G→B (Z), E→F (Y), A→D (X), C→G (W).

Trick: Place the fixed pair (C–D) first, then fit the 'gap' clues around it.

Answer: (A) i-Z, ii-Y, iii-X, iv-W

Concept: Chain the 'All' statements into nested sets; a 'No' statement makes the sets completely separate.

1. All rabbits are yaks, all yaks are whales ⇒ rabbits sit inside whales. No whale is a shark ⇒ rabbits can't be sharks ⇒ (I) follows.
2. Since every rabbit is a whale, at least those whales are rabbits ⇒ 'Some whales are rabbits' (II) follows (conversion of 'All A are B' to 'Some B are A').

Trick: 'All A are B' always gives 'Some B are A'; 'All A are B + No B is C' always gives 'No A is C'.

Answer: (B) Both conclusions (I) and (II) follow.

Concept: Convert letters to positions and compare the gaps inside each cluster.

1. WUZ: 23, 21, 26 ⇒ $-2,+5$. MKP: 13, 11, 16 ⇒ $-2,+5$. ECH: 5, 3, 8 ⇒ $-2,+5$.
2. KFN: 11, 6, 14 ⇒ $-5,+8$ – different pattern, so KFN is the odd one.

Trick: Compute gaps for all four; three identical gap-pairs will show the rule, the fourth is the answer.

Answer: (A) KFN

Concept: Find one rule linking the three numbers of each given set and test it on the options.

1. (8, 128, 2): $8^2\times 2=64\times 2=128$ ✓. (9, 243, 3): $9^2\times 3=81\times 3=243$ ✓. Rule: ${\text{1st}}^2\times \text{3rd}=\text{2nd}$.
2. (7, 343, 7): $7^2\times 7=343$ ✓.
3. Others: ${10}^2\times 4=400\ne 500$; $6^2\times 3=108\ne 216$; ${11}^2\times 5=605\ne 331$.

Trick: When the middle number is largest, try $a^2\times c$ or $a\times c^2$ first.

Answer: (A) (7, 343, 7)

Concept: Check each letter position for a constant shift (wrapping from A back to Z) and the numbers separately.

1. 1st letters D(4), W(23), P(16), I(9): $-7$ each ⇒ I$-7$ = B(2).
2. 2nd letters R(18), K(11), D(4), W(23): $-7$ ⇒ W$-7$ = P(16).
3. 3rd letters J(10), C(3), V(22), O(15): $-7$ ⇒ O$-7$ = H(8).
4. Numbers 50, 45, 40, 35: $-5$ ⇒ 30. Answer BPH 30.

Trick: Numbers give 30 instantly – only options A and C remain; then check just the first letter (I$-7$ = B).

Answer: (C) BPH 30

Concept: Decode the symbols one by one and build the family tree.

1. P + Q: P is husband of Q. Q – R: Q is mother of R ⇒ P is father of R.
2. R × S: R is brother of S ⇒ S is also P's child (P is father of S).
3. S ÷ T: S is father of T.
4. So P is the father of T's father ⇒ father's father (paternal grandfather).

Trick: Husband of the mother = father; father of the father = father's father.

Answer: (B) Father's father

Concept: India has three cropping seasons – Kharif (monsoon), Rabi (winter) and Zaid (summer).

1. Wheat is sown in October–December and harvested in March–April, so it is the chief Rabi crop.
2. Rice, maize, cotton and jute are Kharif crops; watermelon and cucumber are Zaid crops.
3. Punjab, Haryana, UP and MP are the main wheat producers.

Yaad rakhein: Rabi = winter sowing (wheat, gram, mustard, barley); Kharif = rain sowing (rice, cotton, jute).

Answer: (C) Rabi

Concept: Energy stored in a body because of its position or height is gravitational potential energy, $PE=mgh$.

1. Lifting an object does work against gravity; this work is stored as potential energy.
2. Kinetic energy ($\frac{1}{2}m{v}^2$) belongs to a moving body, not a raised body at rest.

Yaad rakhein: Height → Potential; Motion → Kinetic.

Answer: (C) Potential energy

Concept: The cytoskeleton is a network of protein filaments (microtubules, microfilaments, intermediate filaments) in the cytoplasm.

1. It maintains cell shape, gives mechanical support and helps in cell movement and transport of organelles.
2. Nucleus controls the cell, Golgi packages proteins, peroxisomes break down fatty acids and H₂O₂.

Yaad rakhein: Cyto-skeleton = "skeleton of the cell" → shape and support.

Answer: (B) Cytoskeleton