Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Swap the signs as instructed, then apply BODMAS.

1. Given: $12÷4+9\times 3-8$. After swapping (+ ↔ −, × ↔ ÷): $12\times 4-9÷3+8$.
2. Division first: $9÷3=3$; multiplication: $12\times 4=48$.
3. $48-3+8=53$.

Trick: Rewrite the whole expression with new signs before calculating – avoids mixing old and new.

Answer: (A) 53

Concept: Decode each symbol and build the tree generation by generation.

1. C ≠ D: C is wife of D. D ₹ E: D is father of E → C is E’s mother.
2. E × L: E is mother of L. L ÷ M: L is daughter of M → M is L’s father, i.e. E’s husband.
3. C is the mother of E, and E is M’s wife → C is M’s wife’s mother.

Trick: Mother of L + father of L = couple; then C (E’s mother) is M’s mother-in-law.

Answer: (C) Wife’s mother

Concept: Use coordinates: East = +x, North = +y; left turn rotates E→N→W→S→E.

1. A (0, 0) → East 17 → (17, 0) → left (North) 18 → (17, 18) → left (West) 30 → (−13, 18).
2. Left (South) 31 → (−13, −13) → left (East) 9 → (−4, −13) → left (North) 6 → (−4, −7).
3. Right turn → East 4 → P (0, −7).
4. P is 7 km directly south of A → he must drive 7 km North.

Trick: Net East–West: $17-30+9+4=0$; net North–South: $18-31+6=-7$ → 7 km due north.

Answer: (D) 7 km to the North

Concept: Draw the Venn diagram; a conclusion follows only if it is true in every possible diagram.

1. All Eagles are Seagulls → Eagles circle inside Seagulls. Some Seagulls are Peacocks → Peacocks overlaps Seagulls somewhere.
2. The overlap may or may not include Eagles → “Some Eagles are Peacocks” is not certain (I ✗).
3. Equally, “No Peacocks are Eagles” is not certain (II ✗).

Trick: All + Some (through the middle term) → no definite conclusion between the end terms.

Answer: (D) Neither conclusion (I) nor (II) follows

Concept: Facing north, left and right are the same as ours. Number seats 1–7 from the left.

1. Two people to the left of N → N at 3. Three between N and G → G at 7.
2. One between G and E → E at 5.
3. I immediately left of R: free seats 1, 2, 4, 6 → only (1, 2) are adjacent → I = 1, R = 2.
4. A is not next to G → A ≠ 6 → A = 4, T = 6.
5. To the right of T (seat 6) there is only G → one person.

Trick: “Only two to the left of N” fixes N at seat 3 instantly – start there.

Answer: (C) One

Concept: Apply the same operation to each letter and to the number.

1. KL 9 → IH −2: K−2 = I, L−4 = H, $9-11=-2$.
2. PG 7 → NC −4: P−2 = N, G−4 = C, $7-11=-4$ – rule confirmed.
3. JQ 14: J−2 = H, Q−4 = M, $14-11=3$ → HM 3.

Trick: First letter −2, second letter −4, number −11; eliminate options whose letters are wrong first.

Answer: (D) HM 3

Concept: Look at the differences between consecutive terms.

1. $150-135=15,180-150=30,225-180=45,285-225=60$.
2. Differences are multiples of 15: 15, 30, 45, 60 → next 75.
3. $285+75=360$.

Trick: All terms are multiples of 15: $9,10,12,15,19,24\times 15$ (gaps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) → $24\times 15=360$.

Answer: (A) 360

Concept: Replace the letters by their operators and apply BODMAS.

1. 3 A 42 B 14 C 29 D 22 → $3÷42\times 14+29-22$.
2. $3÷42=\frac{1}{14}$; $\frac{1}{14}\times 14=1$.
3. $1+29-22=8$.

Trick: $÷$ then $\times$ left to right: $\frac{3\times 14}{42}=1$ in one step.

Answer: (C) 8

Concept: A conclusion follows only if it holds in every Venn diagram consistent with the statements.

1. All apples are baskets → Apples inside Baskets. Some baskets are cups → Cups overlaps Baskets.
2. The Cups overlap need not reach Apples → “Some apples are cups” is only possible, not definite (I ✗).
3. “All cups are apples” is certainly not forced – cups may lie outside apples (II ✗).

Trick: “All A are B” + “Some B are C” never gives a definite A–C conclusion.

Answer: (A) Neither conclusion (I) nor (II) follows

Concept: Track each position separately; here every letter moves +4.

1. 1st letters: T → X → B → F → ? : +4 → J.
2. 2nd letters: U → Y → C → G → ? : +4 → K.
3. 3rd letters: W → A → E → I → ? : +4 → M.

Trick: Within each cluster the pattern is (n, n+1, n+3) – JKM fits; JLM, JMK, KJL do not.

Answer: (B) JKM

Concept: Number 1 (top) to 7 (bottom); test the two cases a “between” clue creates.

1. K = 4. One box between H and K → H = 2 or 6.
2. Three between H and S with S above K: H = 2 gives S = 6 (below K ✗); so H = 6, S = 2. I immediately below S → I = 3.
3. Free: 1, 5, 7 for N, G, T. G not adjacent to H (6) → G ≠ 5, 7 → G = 1.
4. N above T → N = 5, T = 7. Below N: H, T → two boxes.

Trick: Use the “S above K” condition to kill one case immediately.

Answer: (B) Two

Concept: Substitute the operators, simplify both sides with BODMAS, then solve for ?.

1. 7 A 7 C 20 B 2 = ? C 20 → $7÷7+20\times 2=?+20$.
2. LHS: $1+40=41$.
3. $?=41-20=21$.

Trick: Do not forget the right side also has an operation (+ 20).

Answer: (B) 21

Concept: When differences are irregular, try “×2 ± constant”.

1. $4\times 2+2=10$, $10\times 2-2=18$, $18\times 2+2=38$, $38\times 2-2=74$.
2. Pattern alternates +2, −2; next is +2.
3. $74\times 2+2=150$.

Trick: Each term ≈ double the previous → check ×2 first, then fix the small adjustment.

Answer: (B) 150

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

1. RF – NB: R→N = −4, F→B = −4.
2. MJ – IF: −4, −4. UG – QC: −4, −4.
3. PT – LG: P→L = −4, T→G = −13 – odd one.

Trick: Check the second letter too – the first letter of PT–LG also drops by 4, which is the trap.

Answer: (D) PT – LG

Concept: Track each position separately; every letter moves +5.

1. 1st letters: Y → D → I → N → ? : +5 → S.
2. 2nd letters: B → G → L → Q → ? : +5 → V.
3. 3rd letters: Z → E → J → O → ? : +5 → T.

Trick: Within each cluster the pattern is (n, n+3, n+1) – SVT fits (S=19, V=22, T=20).

Answer: (B) SVT

Concept: Budget 2025-26 announced a new Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with expanded scope.

1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a fresh contribution of ₹10,000 crore for a new Fund of Funds for Startups.
2. The earlier FFS (2016) had a corpus of ₹10,000 crore which had catalysed commitments of over ₹91,000 crore; the new fund repeats the ₹10,000 crore size.

Yaad rakhein: Budget 2025-26 start-up measures: new FFS ₹10,000 crore; Deep Tech Fund of Funds also announced.

Answer: (C) ₹10,000 crore

Concept: The RTI Act, 2005 empowers citizens to seek information from public authorities, promoting transparency and accountability.

1. Statement I is correct: RTI is widely described as a weapon of the common citizen to ensure fairness and transparency in governance.
2. Statement II is also correct: RTI applications have been used to check pendency and functioning of Consumer Forums (which are public authorities), improving their efficiency.
3. Hence both statements are correct.

Yaad rakhein: RTI Act came into force on 12 October 2005; information is normally to be supplied within 30 days.

Answer: (C) Both I and II are correct

Concept: The 1991 LPG reforms (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation) opened the economy to private and foreign players.

1. Banking was liberalised (new private banks like HDFC, ICICI, Axis from 1993-94) and the IT/software services industry boomed (Infosys, Wipro, TCS exports).
2. Space, nuclear, railways and defence remained largely government-controlled; "oil and gas only" is too narrow.

Yaad rakhein: 1991 reforms: Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, PM P. V. Narasimha Rao; New Industrial Policy, 24 July 1991.

Answer: (C) Banking and Information Technology

Concept: Standard clipboard shortcuts in Windows: Ctrl + C copy, Ctrl + X cut, Ctrl + V paste.

1. Ctrl + V pastes the content currently on the clipboard.
2. Ctrl + S saves, Ctrl + F opens Find, Ctrl + C copies (it does not paste).

Yaad rakhein: C-X-V sit side by side on the keyboard: Copy, cut (X looks like scissors), paste (V points down = "insert here").

Answer: (A) Ctrl + V

Concept: Wular Lake in Bandipora district, Jammu & Kashmir, is the largest freshwater lake in India.

1. Wular Lake is fed by the Jhelum river and is a Ramsar wetland (1990).
2. Chilika (Odisha) is the largest brackish-water lagoon, Loktak (Manipur) is the largest freshwater lake of North-East India, Dal is a smaller urban lake in Srinagar.

Yaad rakhein: Largest freshwater = Wular; largest saltwater/brackish lagoon = Chilika; largest saline lake = Sambhar (Rajasthan).

Answer: (A) Wular Lake