Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Decode each symbol and build the family tree.

1. S × D: S is the wife of D. D ÷ R: D is the father of R.
2. R + Y: R is the brother of Y ⇒ S is the mother of R and Y.
3. Y @ H: Y is the mother of H.
4. So S is the mother of H’s mother.

Trick: Always mark gender (♂/♀) while decoding – it decides ‘mother’ vs ‘father’.

Answer: (C) Mother's mother

Concept: ‘Animals and Toys but not Dolls’ = the region common to Animals and Toys, outside Dolls.

1. Animals ∩ Toys contains 9 and 23.
2. 23 is also inside Dolls, so exclude it.
3. Required number $=9$.

Trick: Shade the ‘in’ circles, then remove every part touching the ‘not’ circle.

Answer: (A) 9

Concept: Decode each symbol and build the family tree.

1. U − V: U is the wife of V. V × W: V is the father of W.
2. W + X: W is the sister of X ⇒ U is the mother of W and X.
3. X ÷ Y: X is the mother of Y.
4. So U is Y’s mother’s mother.

Trick: Wife of the father = mother; go one generation at a time.

Answer: (A) Mother’s mother

Concept: Write the digits in ascending order and compare place by place.

1. Original: 5 4 2 1 3 8 9
2. Ascending: 1 2 3 4 5 8 9
3. Same positions: 8 (6th) and 9 (7th) ⇒ two digits.

Trick: Digits already in the right place are usually at the ends – check them first.

Answer: (C) TWO

Concept: Check the gaps between consecutive letters.

1. XTW: X−4=T, T+3=W → $(-4,+3)$
2. IEH: $(-4,+3)$; NJM: $(-4,+3)$
3. GEF: G−2=E, E+1=F → $(-2,+1)$ ✗

Trick: Same pattern in three; the cluster with different gaps is odd.

Answer: (C) GEF

Concept: Place towns on a grid step by step (N up, E right).

1. J – T – R lie on one west-to-east line.
2. K is south of R; M is west of K and south-west of T; J is north of M ⇒ J, T, R, K, M form a rectangle-like grid.
3. K is east and south of J ⇒ J is to the north-west of K.

Trick: Asked ‘J w.r.t. K’ – stand at K and look at J.

Answer: (D) North-west

Concept: Take first and second differences.

1. Differences: $14,42,70,98$
2. Second differences: $28,28,28$ ⇒ next difference $=98+28=126$.
3. Next term $=232+126=358$.

Trick: When first differences grow evenly, add the constant second difference.

Answer: (C) 358

Concept: Find the shift for each position: $(+5,-3,-1)$.

1. JTT → OQS: J+5=O, T−3=Q, T−1=S
2. NQS → SNR: N+5=S, Q−3=N, S−1=R
3. EOR → JLQ: E+5=J, O−3=L, R−1=Q ✓

Trick: Options B, C, D start with $-5$ – reject them from the first letter itself.

Answer: (A) EOR : JLQ

Concept: Facing north, left/right are the solver’s left/right; 7 seats numbered from left.

1. Five between I and L ⇒ they occupy seats 1 and 7. S is immediately left of L ⇒ L $=7$, S $=6$, I $=1$.
2. One between S and N ⇒ N $=4$.
3. T, U, E in seats 2, 3, 5 with T left of U left of E ⇒ T $=2$, U $=3$, E $=5$.
4. Third from left = U.

Trick: ‘Five between’ in a row of 7 means the two people sit at the ends.

Answer: (A) U

Concept: Find one rule linking the first number to the second.

1. $19\times 12+1=229$; $22\times 12+1=265$
2. Rule: second $=$ first $\times 12+1$.
3. $28\times 12+1=337$ ✓ (others: $24\to 289$, $23\to 277$, $26\to 313$).

Trick: If the second number is about 12 times the first, test $\times 12\pm$ small number.

Answer: (C) 28, 337

Concept: Facing the centre, moving to a person’s left = clockwise.

1. Fix Ojas; Neha is 2nd to his left; Upendra is 2nd to Neha’s left.
2. Tina–Shina must be adjacent; the only free adjacent pair is the two seats after Upendra ⇒ Shina, then Tina to her left.
3. Manu is not next to Upendra ⇒ Manu is to the immediate left of Ojas; Pooja sits between Neha and Upendra.
4. From Manu moving left: Neha, Pooja, then Upendra ⇒ two people.

Trick: Draw the circle and always move clockwise for ‘left’ when facing the centre.

Answer: (B) Two

Concept: Check every even digit: previous digit even AND next digit odd.

1. Even digits with neighbours: 4 (start), 9-6-5, 3-6-2, 6-2-1, 1-2-1, 1-6-9, 7-4-7.
2. Only 6-2-1 fits (6 even before, 1 odd after).
3. Count $=1$.

Trick: First find even-even pairs (here only 6 2), then check the next digit.

Answer: (B) One

Concept: A word common to two sentences takes the code common to both.

1. ‘know city routes’ → ha mi ko
2. ‘city lights beautiful’ → ly ha jh
3. Common word: city; common code: ha.

Trick: Common word ↔ common code.

Answer: (D) ha

Concept: Look at the differences between consecutive terms.

1. Differences: $12,13,14,15,16$
2. Next difference $=17$.
3. Next term $=111+17=128$.

Trick: Consecutive increasing differences ⇒ just add the next natural number.

Answer: (C) 128

Concept: Track each letter position separately.

1. 1st letters: J, K, L, M → N ($+1$)
2. 2nd letters: K, N, Q, T → W ($+3$)
3. 3rd letters: A, F, K, P → U ($+5$)

Trick: Only option C starts with N – the first letter alone gives the answer.

Answer: (C) NWU

Concept: kWh (kilowatt-hour) = power × time = energy.

1. $1\text{kWh}=1000\text{W}\times 3600\text{s}=3.6\times {10}^6\text{J}$ – it is the commercial unit of electrical energy ("one unit" on the electricity bill).
2. Current is in ampere, charge in coulomb, force in newton.

Yaad rakhein: Watt is power; multiply by time (hour) and you get energy.

Answer: (B) Electric energy

Concept: Each borrowed feature of the Indian Constitution has a known source country.

1. From the UK: parliamentary system, single citizenship, bicameralism, office of Speaker, rule of law, cabinet system, writs.
2. Appointment of state governors by the Centre comes from Canada (along with a strong Centre and residuary powers with the Union).

Yaad rakhein: Canada = federation with strong Centre + Governors appointed by Centre + residuary powers; UK = Parliament, Speaker, single citizenship.

Answer: (D) Appointment of state governors by the Centre

Concept: The 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019 provides 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

1. It inserted Articles 15(6) and 16(6) – reservation in educational institutions and public employment for EWS among non-reserved categories.
2. Upheld by the Supreme Court in Janhit Abhiyan (2022). The 102nd (2018) gave constitutional status to the NCBC; the 104th (2020) extended SC/ST reservation in legislatures.

Yaad rakhein: 102 → NCBC, 103 → EWS 10%, 104 → SC/ST seats extended.

Answer: (A) 103^rd Amendment

Concept: Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) examine demands for grants and bills of ministries.

1. Set up in 1993 with 17 committees; increased to 24 in 2004.
2. Of the 24, 8 work under the Rajya Sabha and 16 under the Lok Sabha; each has 31 members (21 LS + 10 RS).

Yaad rakhein: 24 committees, 31 members each (that is why 31 is a tempting wrong option).

Answer: (B) 24

Concept: Anandamath (1882) is a Bengali novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay set against the Sannyasi Rebellion.

1. The national song "Vande Mataram" first appeared in this novel.
2. Sarat Chandra wrote Pather Dabi; Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neel Darpan; Tagore wrote Gora, Ghare Baire.

Yaad rakhein: Bankim → Anandamath → Vande Mataram.

Answer: (C) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay