Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Differences alternate $+5$, $+6$.

1. $450+5=455$, $+6=461$, $+5=466$, $+6=472$
2. $+5=477$, $+6=483$
3. $483+5=488$

Trick: Write the differences below the series.

Answer: (A) 488

Concept: Facing the centre, left = clockwise, right = anticlockwise.

1. Fix V. J is 3rd to left of V (two between); U is 4th to left of V.
2. H is 4th to right of J → H is V's right neighbour.
3. K is not next to H or V → K sits between W-seat and J; I is not next to K → I sits beside H; W is V's left neighbour.
4. 3rd to the right of W: W → V → H → I

Trick: With 7 seats, 4th to the left = 3rd to the right.

Answer: (B) I

Concept: Total $=$ rank from top $+$ rank from bottom $-1$.

1. $18+36-1=53$

Yaad rakhein: The person is counted twice, so subtract 1.

Answer: (C) 53

Concept: Facing north, left to right = positions 1 to 6.

1. Two people left of P → P at 3.
2. Two between P and E → E at 6.
3. One between E and H → H at 4.
4. Only I between P and G → I at 2, G at 1; F at 5.
5. Between F (5) and I (2): P and H → two

Trick: Start with the clue that fixes an exact position.

Answer: (C) Two

Concept: Add all east–west moves and north–south moves separately.

1. West: $12+18+19+32=81\text{km}$; no east move
2. North: $37+35=72$; South: $63+9=72$ → net 0
3. Z is $81\text{km}$ due west of Y
4. To return: $81\text{km}$ towards east

Trick: Net N–S is zero, so the answer is just the total west distance.

Answer: (C) 81 km towards east

Concept: Pattern: 1st letter $-3$, 2nd letter $+5$.

1. IL → FQ: $9-3=6$, $12+5=17$ ✓
2. WR → TW: $23-3=20$, $18+5=23$ ✓
3. QE → NJ: $17-3=14$, $5+5=10$ ✓
4. HY → DD: $8-4=4$ ✗ (needs E)

Trick: Check the first letter of each pair; one shift breaks quickly.

Answer: (C) HY - DD

Concept: Shifts: $+4,+4,+3,+3$.

1. EGLU → IKOX: E+4, G+4, L+3, U+3
2. UWXG → YAAJ: same (W+4 = A, X+3 = A wrap around)
3. GIGP → G+4 = K, I+4 = M, G+3 = J, P+3 = S
4. KMJS

Trick: After Z continue from A.

Answer: (A) KMJS

Concept: In each pair, first cluster has a gap of $+2$, second cluster has a gap of $+3$, and clusters shift by $-5$.

1. OQ-JM: O+2 = Q; J+3 = M ✓
2. WY-RU: W+2 = Y; R+3 = U ✓
3. UW-PS: U+2 = W; P+3 = S ✓
4. RT-MO: M+2 = O ✗ (gap 2, not 3)

Trick: Compare the internal gaps of both clusters.

Answer: (A) RT-MO

Concept: Total $=$ rank from top $+$ rank from bottom $-1$.

1. $24+13-1=36$

Yaad rakhein: Niku is counted in both ranks, so subtract 1 once.

Answer: (C) 36

Concept: Each letter moves $+2$; the number increases by 3.

1. 1st letters: H, J, L, N, P
2. 2nd letters: M, O, Q, S, U
3. 3rd letters: I, K, M, O, Q
4. Numbers: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 → PUQ 15

Trick: Fix the number first (15) to cut options to two, then check letters.

Answer: (C) PUQ 15

Concept: Shifts: $-2,-3,+2,+3$.

1. GBNS → EYPV: G−2, B−3 = Y, N+2, S+3
2. CVRY → ASTB: same (Y+3 = B)
3. YPVE → Y−2 = W, P−3 = M, V+2 = X, E+3 = H
4. WMXH

Trick: Wrap around: before A comes Z, after Z comes A.

Answer: (C) WMXH

Concept: Compare each position before and after sorting.

1. Original: 6 2 4 3 5 1 4
2. Sorted: 1 2 3 4 4 5 6
3. Only the 2nd digit (2) stays the same
4. Count $=1$

Trick: Write both numbers one below the other and tick matches.

Answer: (C) One

Concept: Differences are perfect squares $1^2,2^2,3^2,\dots$

1. $679+1=680$, $+4=684$, $+9=693$, $+16=709$
2. Next: $709+25=734$

Trick: Differences 1, 4, 9, 16 → squares.

Answer: (C) 734

Concept: Decode each symbol step by step and draw the family tree.

1. S ¥ Y: S is father of Y (S male)
2. Y # R: Y is brother of R → S is also R's father
3. R = U: R is wife of U
4. U % P: U is son of P → R is P's son's wife
5. S is P's son's wife's father

Trick: Start from P and walk the chain: son → wife → father.

Answer: (B) Son's wife's father

Concept: All A are B ⇒ Some B are A; No A is C ⇒ No C is A.

1. No lion is a cat ⇒ No cat is a lion, so I (Some cats are lions) is false.
2. All lions are tigers ⇒ Some tigers are lions → II follows.

Yaad rakhein: 'All' statements always give a 'Some' conclusion in reverse.

Answer: (B) Only conclusion (II) follows.

Concept: Common letters share common digits; the leftover letter gets the leftover digit.

1. SAID → 6175, DIMS → 7691
2. Common letters: S, I, D ↔ common digits: 6, 7, 1
3. Leftover in DIMS: M ↔ 9

Trick: Remove common letters and digits; what remains matches.

Answer: (A) 9

Concept: Number the boxes 1 (top) to 7 (bottom) and fix the certain ones first.

1. Only V above Y → V = 1, Y = 2
2. One box between V and T → T = 3; T just above D → D = 4
3. Two between Y and X → X = 5
4. U just above W → U = 6, W = 7
5. Between W (7) and V (1): 5 boxes

Trick: 'Only V above Y' fixes the top two at once.

Answer: (B) Five

Concept: Interchange the signs, then use BODMAS.

1. After swapping: $42÷7+12\times 3-13$
2. $=6+36-13$
3. $=29$

Trick: Do ÷ and × first, then + and −.

Answer: (C) 29

Concept: Add 2 to the first digit and test divisibility by the second digit.

1. 384 → 5 ÷ 8 ✗; 673 → 8 ÷ 7 ✗
2. 543 → 7 ÷ 4 ✗; 236 → 4 ÷ 3 ✗
3. 741 → 9 ÷ 4 ✗
4. No number qualifies → 0

Trick: A smaller number can never be exactly divisible by a larger one (except 0).

Answer: (B) 0

Concept: Place towns on a grid with M as reference.

1. N is south of M; K is west of N; L is south of N.
2. From K: L is towards east (same column as N) and towards south.
3. So L is to the southeast of K.

Trick: East + South combined = Southeast.

Answer: (D) Southeast