Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Each group is three back-to-back letters, and every new group starts 3 places after the previous start.

1. Starting letters: E(5) → H(8) → K(11); gap = +3.
2. Next start = 11 + 3 = 14 = N.
3. Group = N, O, P → NOP.

Trick: Each group simply continues the alphabet: EFG HIJ KLM → the next three letters are NOP.

Answer: (A) NOP

Concept: Compare part by part; when the words are identical, the difference hides in the numbers.

1. Bungalow, street, city and state are the same in all options.
2. Given PIN 500080. A = 501080, B = 500012, D = 500021 – all differ.
3. Only C has 500080.

Trick: Check the last few digits first – that is where options usually differ.

Answer: (C) Bungalow 10, Marine Drive, Mumbai, Maharashtra - 500080

Concept: An exact match must agree in every word, letter and punctuation mark.

1. A writes 'Block-C' (extra hyphen) – rejected.
2. C writes 'House 87' (missing 'No.') – rejected.
3. D says 'Block D' – rejected. B is identical.

Trick: Scan for hyphens, dropped abbreviations and changed letters – the three favourite traps.

Answer: (B) House No. 87, Block C, Karol Bagh, New Delhi, Delhi - 110056

Concept: A valid conclusion must tackle the real cause stated, without going to extremes.

1. Cause named = carelessness, not the night itself.
2. II (educate drivers) targets carelessness – follows.
3. I (ban night driving) is an extreme, impractical step – does not follow.

Trick: Words like 'ban', 'all', 'stop' usually signal an extreme conclusion – reject them.

Answer: (B) Only II follows

Concept: A course of action should be practical and should remove or reduce the problem.

1. Root problem: damaged roads.
2. I – repairing roads removes the cause directly: follows.
3. II – asking people to give up vehicles is impractical and leaves potholes as they are: does not follow.

Trick: Ask: 'Does it fix the cause, and is it doable?' Only I passes both tests.

Answer: (A) Only I follows

Concept: Two successive changes $a\%$ and $b\%$ give a net change of $a+b+\frac{ab}{100}$.

1. $a=+10,b=-10$.
2. Net = $10-10+\frac{10\times -10}{100}=-1$.
3. Negative sign → 1% decrease.

Trick: Equal % rise then fall always gives a loss of $\frac{x^2}{100}\%$ → $\frac{{10}^2}{100}=1\%$ decrease.

Answer: (D) 1% decrease

Concept: Swap the symbols first, then solve with BODMAS.

1. After swapping: $14+6-6÷3\times 4$.
2. $6÷3=2$; $2\times 4=8$.
3. $14+6-8=12$.

Trick: Rewrite the whole expression on paper before calculating – avoids mixing old and new meanings.

Answer: (A) 12

Concept: Convert letters to signs (A +, B −, C ×, D ÷) and solve brackets first.

1. First bracket: 20 − (−8) = 28.
2. Second: −20 + 6 = −14; third: −27 + 13 = −14.
3. 28 ÷ (−14) = −2; 56 ÷ (−14) = −4.
4. −2 + (−4) = −6.

Trick: Both divisors are −14, so answer = (28 + 56) ÷ (−14) = 84 ÷ (−14) = −6.

Answer: (A) −6

Concept: Replace each sign by its meaning and apply BODMAS.

1. New form: $48\times 9÷6-4+8$.
2. $48÷6=8$; $8\times 9=72$.
3. $72-4+8=76$.

Trick: Divide first where it is clean ($48÷6=8$) – smaller numbers, fewer slips.

Answer: (B) 76

Concept: Count generations: two levels above a person is a grandparent.

1. Q and R are a couple; S is their daughter.
2. P is Q's father – one level above Q.
3. So P is two levels above S → grandfather.

Trick: Father's father = grandfather; draw a quick vertical family line.

Answer: (B) Grandfather

Concept: The second word is the first word written backwards.

1. FLOW reversed = WOLF.
2. FORT reversed = T-R-O-F.
3. Answer TROF.

Trick: Only A starts with T and ends with F – the reversed ends of FORT.

Answer: (A) TROF

Concept: Check the gaps between terms; here they grow by 2 each time.

1. Gaps: 6, 8, 10, 12.
2. Next gap = 14.
3. 53 + 14 = 67.

Trick: The answer must exceed 53, which removes 47 at once.

Answer: (B) 67

Concept: Accept the natural purpose of an action; reject sweeping predictions.

1. Booking slots spreads visitors over time → aim is less crowding: I follows.
2. II says customers will stop visiting – appointments are for visits, so the reverse is true.
3. II is extreme – does not follow.

Trick: An appointment system presupposes visits, so 'stop visiting' contradicts the statement itself.

Answer: (A) Only Conclusion I follows

Concept: A conclusion follows if it is the obvious purpose or the obvious reason behind the action.

1. Purpose of more counters: shorter queues → I follows.
2. Reason: counters are added when demand rises → II follows.
3. Both are reasonable.

Trick: Test 'why was it done?' (reason) and 'what for?' (purpose) – here both answers are given.

Answer: (C) Both I and II follow

Concept: Each letter is written as its place number in the alphabet.

1. GANGA = 7-1-14-7-1 = 711471 ✓.
2. KAVERI → 11 (K), 1 (A), 22 (V), 5 (E), 18 (R), 9 (I).
3. Joined: 111225189.

Trick: Answer must start with 11 (K) – only D does.

Answer: (D) 111225189

Concept: Outer letters move forward by 1, middle letter moves backward by 1.

1. Outer: B, C, D, E → F.
2. Middle: Y, X, W, V → U.
3. Cluster: FUF.

Trick: Middle letter is the opposite (mirror) of the outer letter: B–Y, C–X … F–U.

Answer: (B) FUF

Concept: Group by property: polygons have straight sides; a circle does not.

1. Square (4 sides), triangle (3), rectangle (4) – all polygons.
2. Circle – a closed curve with no sides or corners.
3. So circle is the odd one.

Trick: Count corners: 4, 3, 4 and 0 – the zero stands out.

Answer: (C) Circle

Concept: Every letter of the word is shifted one place forward.

1. J→K, U→V, M→N, P→Q.
2. Q→R, M→N, T→U, P→Q.
3. Code = RNUQ.

Trick: Only the third letter differs among options; T+1 = U picks D.

Answer: (D) RNUQ

Concept: In each group the third number equals the sum of the first two.

1. 5 + 7 = 12 ✓; 4 + 9 = 13 ✓.
2. 6 + 8 = 14.

Trick: Always test +, then × on the first two numbers of the first group.

Answer: (A) 14

Concept: Decode the signs, then follow BODMAS order.

1. Decoded: $18÷3\times 8-2+1$.
2. $18÷3=6$; $6\times 8=48$.
3. $48-2+1=47$.

Trick: ÷ and × go left to right – do $18÷3$ first, not $3\times 8$.

Answer: (B) 47