Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Follow the natural sequence: search → inspect → preserve → display.

1. P opens with the purpose: 'In search of the rare orchid…'.
2. Q: she takes the flower out to inspect it.
3. R: places it in a humid chamber to preserve it.
4. S: 'As a … result of her efforts' – clearly the ending.

Trick: 'In search of' opens, 'As a result' closes → P…S; only option A fits.

Answer: (A) P, Q, R, S

Concept: Order the action from start to finish of the ride.

1. Q starts: 'In search of the best rapids' he paddles further.
2. P: he notices a strong current and steers.
3. R: he leans forward, balancing in the swift water.
4. S: he glides to the calm pool – the end.

Trick: Opening sentence names the purpose; the calm, 'enjoying' line ends it → Q…S.

Answer: (C) Q, P, R, S

Concept: Unlike = not similar, different.

1. Opposite = exactly the same → identical.
2. Divergent and unrelated are closer to 'unlike' (synonyms); split = divide.

Trick: Two options mean the same as the word → both out; pick the true opposite.

Answer: (D) Identical

Concept: Choose words by their role: blank 1 = verb, blank 2 = noun subject.

1. Wind '___ across' → past of blow = blew (blue is a colour).
2. '___ clung to the rocks' → noun: lichens = small plant-like growths on rocks/trees (likens = compares).

Trick: Decide part of speech first; it removes the sound-alike trap.

Answer: (D) blew, lichens

Concept: Pick the only correctly spelt word.

1. commemorate (double m, then -memorate) = to honour the memory of. ✔
2. mischeif → mischief; monogamus → monogamous; Precedore → procedure.

Trick: Com + memor(y) + ate → 'commemorate' = to keep in memory.

Answer: (D) commemorate

Concept: Total work in man-days stays the same however the workforce changes.

1. Let workers = x. Total work = 30x man-days.
2. First 10 days done: 10x. Left: 20x.
3. Remaining days with delay = $20+5=25$, done by (x − 10) men → $25(x-10)=20x$.
4. $25x-250=20x\Rightarrow 5x=250\Rightarrow x=50$.

Trick: Options test: x = 50 → left work $20\times 50=1000$; $40\text{ men}\times 25\text{ days}=1000$ ✔.

Answer: (D) 50

Concept: Equal and opposite moves cancel each other.

1. 7 km East and 7 km West cancel → net East-West = 0.
2. Only 15 km North remains → he is due North of the start.

Trick: Cancel opposite pairs first; whatever is left gives the direction instantly.

Answer: (C) North

Concept: Shortest distance = net displacement after cancelling opposite moves.

1. 12 km West and 12 km East cancel each other.
2. Net movement = 12 km South → distance = 12 km.

Trick: Three sides of a square (W, S, E) always leave you one side-length away.

Answer: (A) 12 km

Concept: First word is an object; second is what it provides to the user.

1. A mirror gives a reflection.
2. A book gives knowledge.
3. Words/Page are parts of a book; Author is its creator – different relation.

Trick: Make a sentence: 'A ___ gives us ___' – it filters part/maker options.

Answer: (C) Knowledge

Concept: Find the operation turning the first number into the second.

1. $27\times 2=54$, $54-1=53$ → rule: $2n-1$.
2. $32\times 2-1=64-1=63$.

Trick: Second number ≈ double the first? Check ±1 – the most common SSC pattern.

Answer: (C) 63

Concept: The code writes the word backwards.

1. GERMANY read from the end = YNAMREG.
2. BRAZIL read from the end = L-I-Z-A-R-B = LIZARB.

Trick: First letter of the code = last letter of the word: only A starts with L and ends with B correctly.

Answer: (A) LIZARB

Concept: Differences increase by a fixed amount.

1. Differences: 100, 120, 140 (rising by 20).
2. Next difference = 160 → 380 + 160 = 540.

Trick: If first differences aren't equal, take differences of differences.

Answer: (A) 540

Concept: Differences form an arithmetic pattern (+4).

1. Known gaps: 63 − 47 = 16 and 135 − 107 = 28.
2. Pattern 16, 20, 24, 28 → ? = 63 + 20 = 83.
3. Check: 83 + 24 = 107 ✔.

Trick: Two known differences 16 and 28 with two gaps between → step = (28 − 16) ÷ 3 = 4.

Answer: (D) 83

Concept: Split letters and numbers into separate patterns.

1. Alternate letters: C, D, E (forward) and X, W (backward). 5th term is in the forward set → E.
2. Numbers 2, 3, 5, 7 = consecutive primes → next 11.
3. Term = E11.

Trick: Only two options have E; prime after 7 is 11, not 9 → E11.

Answer: (A) E11

Concept: Compare character by character: letters, digits, punctuation.

1. (A) has an extra dot '4.th' ✗.
2. (C) 'Washingtan' ✗; (D) year 1767 ✗.
3. (B) matches 'Washington: July 4th, 1776.' exactly ✔.

Trick: Check the risky spots first – spelling of names, digits of years, and dots.

Answer: (B) Washington: July 4th, 1776.

Concept: In each row, the last number comes from the first three by one fixed rule.

1. First row: product of 5, 3, 4 is 60; adding 5 gives 65 ✔.
2. Second row: product of 3, 7, 8 is 168; adding 5 gives 173 ✔.
3. Third row: product of 7, 5, 3 is 105; so ? = 110.

Trick: When the result is much larger than the inputs, try multiplication first, then adjust by a constant.

Answer: (B) 110

Concept: Last column = 3 × (sum of first three numbers).

1. First row: sum of 8, 7, 2 is 17, and thrice 17 is 51 ✔.
2. Last row: sum of 6, 3, 1 is 10, and thrice 10 is 30 ✔.
3. Middle row: one-third of 60 is 20, so 14 + ? = 20 → ? = 6.

Trick: All results (51, 60, 30) are multiples of 3 – divide by 3 and look for the sum.

Answer: (C) 6

Concept: Count systematically so no triangle is missed or repeated; curves (ovals, diamonds) form no triangles.

1. Ignore the two ovals and the diamonds inside them – only straight lines matter.
2. Count triangles having the top vertex first (big triangle split by the vertical median and the horizontal cross-lines).
3. Then count those formed by the two slanting lines inside and around the square, and the bottom strip.
4. Adding all groups gives 30 triangles.

Trick: Fix one vertex at a time (top apex, bottom-left corner, then inner crossing points) and tick off each triangle as you count.

Answer: (C) 30

Concept: Split the figure into regions and count each group once.

1. Inside the big square (both diagonals + half-lines from centre): 12 triangles.
2. Using the top apex: 6 triangles.
3. Using the right-hand vertex (no apex): 5 triangles.
4. Small cut in the bottom-left corner: 3 triangles. Total = 12 + 6 + 5 + 3 = 26.

Trick: A square with both diagonals alone gives 8 – extra half-lines inside it add more; count them as a separate group.

Answer: (C) 26

Concept: Every 4 right turns = 360° = no change in direction.

1. 6 right turns = 4 + 2 → net effect = 2 right turns = 180° (about-turn).
2. Final direction East is opposite to the starting direction.
3. Opposite of East = West → he started towards West.

Trick: Divide the number of turns by 4 and use only the remainder.

Answer: (D) West