Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A working material is paired with the instrument it works inside.

1. An engine runs on fuel – fuel is what it uses.
2. Mercury is the liquid that rises and falls inside a thermometer.
3. So Mercury : Thermometer matches Fuel : Engine.

Trick: Make a sentence: “Fuel is used in an engine” → “Mercury is used in a ___”. Only Thermometer fits.

Answer: (A) Thermometer

Concept: Each idea is linked with the value that makes it right or acceptable.

1. Governance is accepted only when it has legitimacy (lawful authority).
2. Justice is meaningful only when it delivers equity (fairness).
3. Injustice is an opposite, Democracy/Efficiency are not its core value.

Trick: Remove the opposite (Injustice) first; of the rest, only Equity is a moral value tied to justice.

Answer: (B) Equity

Concept: All three letters of a group advance by the same step.

1. Column 1: D → F → H → J → L (+2).
2. Column 2: A → C → E → G → I (+2).
3. Column 3: G → I → K → M → O (+2).
4. Missing group = LIO.

Trick: Check only the first letter: J + 2 = L. Only one option starts with L.

Answer: (C) LIO

Concept: The alphabet is cut into back-to-back blocks of three letters.

1. RST covers letters 18–20.
2. Next block: U, V, W (21–23).
3. Then X, Y, Z (24–26), and the cycle restarts with A, B, C.

Trick: Just write the alphabet after T: U V W | X Y Z – the blank is UVW.

Answer: (A) UVW

Concept: Every position moves forward by 2 letters.

1. 1st letters: M, O, Q → S.
2. 2nd letters: N, P, R → T.
3. 3rd letters: Q, S, U → W.
4. Next term = STW.

Trick: Two options start with ST; look at the last letter only: U + 2 = W → STW.

Answer: (D) STW

Concept: First letter fixed; positions 2, 3, 4 grow by +4, +8, +12 (wrapping after Z).

1. 2nd letters: C, G, ?, O, S → step +4 → K.
2. 3rd letters: H, P, ?, F, N → step +8 → P(16)+8 = 24 = X.
3. 4th letters: J, V, ?, T, F → step +12 → V(22)+12 = 34−26 = 8 = H.
4. Missing term = AKXH.

Trick: All options are AK_H; only the 3rd letter differs. P + 8 = X settles it instantly.

Answer: (A) AKXH

Concept: Z stays; the other three positions advance by 2, 4 and 6.

1. 2nd: D, F, H, J → L (+2).
2. 3rd: F, J, N, R → V (+4).
3. 4th: H, N, T, Z → Z(26)+6 = 32−26 = 6 = F.
4. Next term = ZLVF.

Trick: Only one option has L in 2nd place – J + 2 = L gives the answer in one step.

Answer: (C) ZLVF

Concept: Find the gaps; the gaps themselves form a simple pattern.

1. Gaps: 17, 20, 23, 26.
2. Each gap is 3 more than the previous one → next gap = 29.
3. 128 + 29 = 157.

Trick: Last digit check: 128 + 29 ends in 7 → only 157 or 167; 167 would need gap 39, too big.

Answer: (D) 157

Concept: Sort the word's letters A→Z, pick the two positions, count letters between them in the alphabet.

1. FRIEND in A–Z order: D E F I N R.
2. 2nd from left = E; 3rd from right = I.
3. E(5) and I(9): letters between = 9 − 5 − 1 = 3 (F, G, H).

Trick: Letters between two letters = difference of positions − 1.

Answer: (C) Three

Concept: Compare each part – house no., sector, city, PIN – with the original.

1. Original: 18B, Sector 49, Gurugram, 122016.
2. Set 1: Sector 45, Gurgaon, 122018 – different.
3. Set 3: 19B, Sector 45, Gurgaon, 122003 – different.
4. Sets 2 and 4 match fully.

Trick: Scan the PIN code first – it is the fastest filter; only 2 and 4 end in 122016.

Answer: (C) 2 and 4

Concept: An identical copy must match every symbol and digit, including punctuation.

1. Original: 10/3, Crystal Park, Faridabad, 121003.
2. Set 3: “10-3” (hyphen) and PIN 121002 – not same.
3. Set 4: PIN 121001 – not same.
4. Sets 1 and 2 are exact copies.

Trick: Check the last digit of the PIN: only sets 1 and 2 end in …003.

Answer: (A) 1 and 2

Concept: Find the shift for each position from the first pair and repeat it.

1. Compare STONE with TUTOF: every letter moves one step ahead except the middle one, which jumps five (O → T).
2. Do the same with PAPER: P→Q, A→B, middle P jumps 5 to U, E→F, R→S.
3. Code = QBUFS.

Trick: First two letters P→Q, A→B already leave only QBUFS among options.

Answer: (A) QBUFS

Concept: Each letter is written as its place in the alphabet (A = 1 … Z = 26).

1. Z = 26, L = 12 → 26 × 12 ✓.
2. T = 20, A = 1.
3. So T × A = 20 × 1.

Yaad rakhein: Use EJOTY: E = 5, J = 10, O = 15, T = 20, Y = 25 to get any position fast.

Answer: (C) 20 × 1

Concept: When the two positions are from opposite ends and do not overlap: between = Total − (sum of positions).

1. Mahi 25th from left, Nisha 20th from right.
2. 25 + 20 = 45, which is less than 70, so they do not cross.
3. Between = 70 − 45 = 25.

Trick: No overlap → Total − (L + R). Overlap → (L + R) − Total − 2.

Answer: (B) 25

Concept: The 6-letter word is split into two halves and each half is written backwards.

1. OUT | PUT → TUO | TUP ✓.
2. EIGHTY → EIG | HTY.
3. Reverse each: GIE | YTH → GIEYTH.

Trick: All options start with GI; the second half must be HTY reversed = YTH.

Answer: (A) GIEYTH

Concept: Split into pairs of 2; the first and last pairs are internally swapped, the middle pair stays.

1. HU | NG | RY → UH | NG | YR ✓.
2. NATION → NA | TI | ON.
3. Swap outer pairs: AN | TI | NO → ANTINO.

Trick: Middle pair must remain “TI” and word must end in “NO” – only ANTINO.

Answer: (B) ANTINO

Concept: Decode the chain from the end back to A.

1. A's mother's husband = A's father.
2. His only brother = A's paternal uncle.
3. Uncle's son = A's cousin.

Trick: “Mother's husband” is always just “father” – replace it first and the chain shortens.

Answer: (A) Cousin

Concept: Gaps between terms form an even-number sequence.

1. Gaps: 4, 6, 8, 10.
2. Next gap = 12.
3. 32 + 12 = 44.

Yaad rakhein: Such series are $n^2+n+2$ type: $6^2+6+2=44$ confirms the 6th term.

Answer: (C) 44

Concept: In each group, the number written with a letter should be that letter's alphabet position.

1. P16, O15, K11 ✓; N14, J10, H8 ✓; Q17, O15, L12 ✓.
2. In (C): L12 ✓, N14 ✓ but P17 ✗ (P = 16).
3. So (C) is the odd one.

Trick: Use EJOTY anchors: O = 15 → P = 16, so “P17” stands out at once.

Answer: (C) L12 : N14 : P17

Concept: Each number is one more than its letter's alphabet position (symbols are just fillers).

1. (A) B3, E6, I10 ✓; (B) C4, G8, F7 ✓; (C) C4, E6, G8 ✓.
2. (D) D5 ✓, G8 ✓, but J = 10 → should be 11, given 13 ✗.
3. So (D) does not fit.

Trick: Ignore the symbols; compare only letter and number.

Answer: (D) D5_ : G8@ : J13$