Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Total = rank from top + rank from bottom − 1.

1. $28+35-1=62$.

Trick: Subtract 1 because the person is counted twice.

Answer: (A) 62

Concept: Plot the moves on axes (East +x, North +y).

1. A(0, 0) → East 1 → (1, 0) → left = North 3 → (1, 3).
2. Left = West 8 → (−7, 3) → left = South 7 → (−7, −4).
3. Left = East 7 → P(0, −4).
4. P is 4 km south of A → drive 4 km to the North.

Trick: Net E–W: $1-8+7=0$; net N–S: $3-7=-4$.

Answer: (B) 4 km to the North

Concept: Change only the odd digits, then find digits that occur more than once.

1. 95423671 → odd digits 9, 5, 3, 7, 1 become 8, 4, 2, 6, 0.
2. New number: 84422660.
3. Repeated digits: 4, 2, 6 → sum $=4+2+6=12$.

Trick: Each odd digit becomes the even digit just below it — pairs form with the existing evens.

Answer: (D) 12

Concept: Track each letter position and the number separately.

1. 1st letters: L, O, R, U, X (+3).
2. 2nd letters: X, T, P, L, H (−4); 3rd letters: U, T, S, R, Q (−1).
3. Numbers: −2, 4, −8, 16, −32 (×(−2)).
4. Missing term: ULR 16.

Trick: The number alone decides: after −8 comes 16, and only ULR 16 carries 16.

Answer: (C) ULR 16

Concept: Check differences between consecutive terms.

1. Differences: +1, +2, +3, +4.
2. Next difference +5 → $11+5=16$.

Trick: Increasing natural-number differences.

Answer: (D) 16

Concept: Write both numbers one below the other and compare position by position.

1. Original: 3 8 7 5 2 6 9.
2. Ascending: 2 3 5 6 7 8 9.
3. Only the 7th digit (9) is the same → one digit.

Trick: The largest digit already at the right end stays put.

Answer: (D) One

Concept: Find gaps between letter positions (wrap Z → A where needed).

1. XTQ: 24, 20, 17 → −4, −3; RNK: 18, 14, 11 → −4, −3.
2. FBY: F → B (−4), B → Y (−3, wrapping back) ✓.
3. IEA: 9, 5, 1 → −4, −4 → odd one.

Trick: Remember the circular alphabet: 3 steps back from B is Y.

Answer: (A) IEA

Concept: Track each letter of the clusters separately.

1. 1st letters: Q, S, ?, W, Y (+2) → U.
2. 2nd letters: V, R, ?, J, F (−4) → N.
3. 3rd letters: O, N, ?, L, K (−1) → M.

Trick: One column is enough: first letter must be U → only UNM.

Answer: (D) UNM

Concept: Arrange in descending order and compare positions.

1. Original: 284, 517, 639, 741, 425.
2. Descending: 741, 639, 517, 425, 284.
3. No number stays in its place → none.

Trick: Check the middle one first: 639 moves to 2nd place, so even the middle changes.

Answer: (A) None

Concept: Find the two steps from the example and apply them to each option.

1. Step 1: swap the first two letters (LOCK → OLCK, ACNE → CANE).
2. Step 2: move the first letter to the end (OLCK → LCKO, CANE → ANEC).
3. BEAM → EBAM → BAME ✓.

Trick: Step 2 result always ends with the original 2nd letter.

Answer: (D) BEAM – EBAM – BAME

Concept: Differences increase by 2.

1. Differences: 6, 8, 10, 12.
2. Next difference 14 → $93+14=107$.

Trick: Even-number differences.

Answer: (D) 107

Concept: Find one operation that works for both pairs.

1. $17\times 9=153$; $31\times 9=279$.
2. $43\times 9=387$ ✓; $35\times 9=315$, $22\times 9=198$, $14\times 9=126$ ✗.

Trick: Second number's digit sum is a multiple of 9: 3+8+7 = 18.

Answer: (A) 43, 387

Concept: When first differences are irregular, check the differences of differences.

1. First differences: 9, 17, 41, 81.
2. Second differences: 8, 24, 40 (+16 each) → next 56.
3. Next first difference $=81+56=137$; term $=160+137=297$.

Trick: Second differences in AP (+16) → keep adding.

Answer: (C) 297

Concept: In pair 'PQ-RS', check P → Q, P → R and R → S.

1. LG-JN: L −5 = G, L −2 = J, J +4 = N.
2. JE-HL and OJ-MQ: −5, −2, +4 ✓.
3. GB-EJ: G −5 = B, G −2 = E, but E +5 = J (not +4) → odd.

Trick: The last step (+4) breaks only in GB-EJ.

Answer: (D) GB-EJ

Concept: Facing the centre, a person's right is anticlockwise and left is clockwise.

1. Fix O; M is 4th to the left of O.
2. N is next to both O and R: N on O's right fails (S would clash with N), so N is on O's left, R next, and S to R's immediate left.
3. Remaining two seats go to L and Q; Q not next to M → L sits next to M.
4. From L, going right: M, S, R → third to the right of L is R.

Trick: In a 7-seat circle, 4th to the left = 3rd to the right.

Answer: (B) R

Concept: On 8 May 2025 Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of the USA was elected Pope, the first American pope.

1. He chose the papal name Leo XIV.
2. He succeeded Pope Francis, who died in April 2025.
3. 'Francis II', 'John XXIV' and 'Benedict XVII' are not real papal names of any pope.

Yaad rakhein: Prevost → Leo XIV (the first pope from the USA).

Answer: (A) Pope Leo XIV

Concept: Two neurons do not touch; the junction between them is called a synapse.

1. The axon terminal of one neuron and the dendrite of the next are separated by a tiny gap – the synaptic cleft.
2. The impulse crosses this gap chemically through neurotransmitters (e.g., acetylcholine).
3. 'Node gap', 'dendritic cleft', 'axonal gap' are not standard terms (nodes of Ranvier are gaps in the myelin sheath, not between neurons).

Yaad rakhein: Synapse = junction; synaptic cleft = the gap in that junction.

Answer: (B) Synaptic cleft

Concept: Subsistence farming is done to meet the needs of the farmer's own family.

1. Features: small landholdings, primitive tools, family labour, low output.
2. Most of the produce is consumed by the farmer's family, little is sold.
3. Plantation and commercial farming are done on large scale for sale in the market.

Trick: Subsistence = survival – the family eats what it grows.

Answer: (D) Subsistence farming

Concept: Tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests are the most widespread forests of India, found where rainfall is 70–200 cm.

1. Trees shed leaves for 6–8 weeks in the dry summer.
2. Typical hardwood trees: teak, sal, shisham, sandalwood, along with bamboo.
3. Evergreen forests have ebony, mahogany, rosewood; thorn forests have acacia, babool, cactus.

Yaad rakhein: Teak + Sal + Bamboo = monsoon (tropical deciduous) forest.

Answer: (A) Tropical deciduous forests

Concept: Non-volatile memory keeps its contents even without power.

1. ROM (Read Only Memory) stores firmware such as BIOS permanently – it is non-volatile.
2. RAM and cache are volatile: data is lost when the power is switched off.
3. Virtual memory is only a part of the hard disk used as an extension of RAM, not a separate memory chip.

Trick: ROM = Remains On Memory (after power off); RAM = Removed At power off.

Answer: (C) ROM