Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: The first word is a professional; the second is the thing he creates.

1. Chef → prepares Food (his output).
2. Architect → prepares a Design/plan of a building.
3. Cook and Recipe belong to the chef's world, not the architect's.

Trick: Frame a sentence: 'A ___ makes ___'. Only the word that fits both halves is right.

Answer: (D) Design

Concept: Each ethical school is paired with the yardstick it uses to judge an act.

1. Deontology (Kant): an act is right if it follows duty.
2. Utilitarianism (Bentham, Mill): an act is right if its result brings the greatest good — it judges by Consequence.
3. Pleasure/Benefit are goals, not the test; 'Consequence' is the technical term.

Yaad rakhein: Utilitarianism is also called 'consequentialism' — that name itself gives the answer.

Answer: (B) Consequence

Concept: Letters advance by a fixed step (skip one letter each time).

1. I(9) → K(11): step +2.
2. Blank 1: K + 2 = M; check M + 2 = O ✓.
3. Blank 2: Q + 2 = S; check S + 2 = U ✓.

Trick: Odd positions I=9, K=11, M=13, O=15… — the series is just odd numbers 9 to 23.

Answer: (B) M, S

Concept: Each term is the next block of three alphabet letters, wrapping from Z to A.

1. STU → VWX → YZ then A (after Z comes A).
2. Next three letters after A: B, C, D.
3. So the missing cluster is BCD.

Trick: First letters S, V, Y, B jump +3 each time (Y+3 wraps to B) — only one option starts with B and is consecutive.

Answer: (C) BCD

Concept: Every letter of a cluster moves 3 places back in the alphabet.

1. V→S→P→M: −3 each step, so next first letter M − 3 = J.
2. J→G→D→A: next is A − 3 = X (wrap-around).
3. T→Q→N→K: next is K − 3 = H.
4. Missing term = JXH.

Trick: Use reverse ranks: A−3 means go back past Z: A(1) − 3 → 24 = X.

Answer: (D) JXH

Concept: Each position follows its own fixed step; the first letter stays R.

1. 2nd letter: G(7), L(12), Q(17), V(22) → +5 → 27 − 26 = 1 = A.
2. 3rd letter: O(15), Y(25), I(9), S(19) → +10 → 29 − 26 = 3 = C.
3. 4th letter: W(23), L(12), A(1), P(16) → +15 → 31 − 26 = 5 = E.
4. Next term: R A C E.

Trick: Once the 2nd letter is A, only RACE, RABF, RACF remain; the 3rd letter C cuts to two, and E settles it.

Answer: (A) RACE

Concept: First letter C is fixed; the other three positions each move by their own step.

1. 2nd: K(11), R(18), Y(25), F(6) → +7 → 13 = M.
2. 3rd: S(19), G(7), U(21), I(9) → +14 → 23 = W.
3. 4th: A(1), V(22), Q(17), L(12) → −5 → 7 = G.
4. Next term: C M W G.

Trick: +14 is the same as −12 (since 26 − 14 = 12): I(9) + 14 = 23 = W directly.

Answer: (D) CMWG

Concept: Each term is a fixed fraction (80%) of the previous term.

1. $76.8÷96=0.8$; $61.44÷76.8=0.8$ ✓.
2. Next = $49.152\times 0.8=39.3216$.
3. Truncated to three decimals: 39.321.

Trick: $\times 0.8=\times \frac{4}{5}$: $49.152÷5=9.8304$, $\times 4=39.3216$.

Answer: (D) 39.321

Concept: Sort the letters A→Z, pick the required positions, then count letters between them in the alphabet.

1. CONTRAST sorted: A C N O R S T T.
2. 5th from left = R; 1st from right = T.
3. Between R and T in the alphabet: only S → 1 letter.

Trick: Letters between two letters = (difference of ranks) − 1 = 20 − 18 − 1 = 1.

Answer: (C) 1

Concept: Compare name spelling, house number and PIN code one by one.

1. Address 1 has 'Iyer' (capital I) and PIN 695013.
2. Address 2 ends in 695012 — different.
3. Addresses 3 and 4 both read 'lyer … 695014' — exact match.

Trick: Check the last digits of the PIN first: only 3 and 4 share 695014, so you are done in seconds.

Answer: (A) 3 and 4

Concept: An identical address must match every character: house no., locality, city and PIN.

1. Given: 31/6 … 122002.
2. 1 → 21/6 ✗; 2 → 31/9 and 122004 ✗; 3 → 41/6 and 122005 ✗.
3. 4 → 31/6 … 122002 ✓.

Trick: Scan only the parts that usually change — house number and PIN; the name/locality are copied as is.

Answer: (C) 4 Only

Concept: Find how each letter of the first pair shifts and apply it to the second.

1. G(7)→I(9): +2; I(9)→L(12): +3; H(8)→L(12): +4.
2. C + 2 = E, A + 3 = D, B + 4 = F.
3. Result: EDF.

Trick: First letter must be C + 2 = E and the last B + 4 = F — only EDF fits both.

Answer: (C) EDF

Concept: Each letter moves by its own fixed number of places.

1. E(5) → Y(25): +20.
2. N(14) → X(24): +10.
3. D(4) + 20 = 24 = X; P(16) + 10 = 26 = Z → XZ.

Trick: +20 is the same as −6: D − 6 wraps to X instantly.

Answer: (D) XZ

Concept: For people facing North, their right is the observer's right; each row has 5 seats.

1. Y is in seat 3 (centre) of Line 2.
2. If X were at the right end, nobody would be on her right — so X must be at the left end (seat 1).
3. Second to the right of seat 1 is seat 3 = Y.

Trick: From an end seat in a 5-seat row, 'second to the right/left' (towards the row) always lands on the centre seat.

Answer: (A) Y

Concept: Split the word into 2-letter blocks and reverse each block.

1. GROUND = GR|OU|ND → RG|UO|DN = RGUODN.
2. AROUND = AR|OU|ND → RA|UO|DN.
3. Answer: RAUODN.

Trick: Only the first block changes between GROUND and AROUND, so just swap AR → RA and copy UODN.

Answer: (A) RAUODN

Concept: Track the shift of each of the four letters separately.

1. U→W +2, I→K +2, O→P +1, Z→A +1 (wrap).
2. Apply: Q→S and D→F (+2 each); X→Y and M→N (+1 each).
3. Result: SFYN.

Trick: Order matters: SFNY and SFYN have the same letters — check the 3rd letter (X + 1 = Y).

Answer: (D) SFYN

Concept: Each set should be a number, its square and its cube.

1. $3,9,27=3,3^2,3^3$ ✓; 5, 25, 125 ✓; 2, 4, 8 ✓.
2. 6, 36 fits, but $6^3=216$, not 64.
3. So (6, 36, 64) is the odd set.

Trick: 64 is $4^3$ or $8^2$, never a power of 6 — spot it at a glance.

Answer: (D) 6, 36, 64

Concept: In a valid group, every number equals the alphabet position of the letter beside it.

1. A1, X24, D4 ✓; G7, M13, J10 ✓; W23, T20, Z26 ✓.
2. E6 : B4 : H8 → B=2 and E=5, so 6 and 4 do not match the letters.
3. Option (d) breaks the rule.

Yaad rakhein: EJOTY trick: E=5, J=10, O=15, T=20, Y=25 — makes rank checks instant.

Answer: (D) E6 : B4 : H8

Concept: Look at all three parts: letters, numbers and symbols.

1. All four options: letters go back by 1 and numbers go up by 1.
2. In (a), (b), (c) each member has a different symbol.
3. In (d) all three end with the same '$' — the odd group.

Trick: When letters and numbers follow the same rule everywhere, the difference must be in the symbols.

Answer: (D) Z5$ : Y6$ : X7$

Concept: A relation word like grandfather/grandmother needs the person's gender.

1. P is Q's daughter; R is P's husband; S is their son.
2. So Q is a parent of S's mother → Q is S's grandparent (maternal).
3. Q's gender is nowhere stated — cannot be determined.

Trick: Before choosing grandfather/grandmother, check whether the question ever tells you Q's gender.

Answer: (C) Cannot be determined