Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Treat letters and numbers as two separate series.

1. Letters B, E, H, K: +3 each → N.
2. Numbers 3, 6, 12, 24: ×2 → 48.
3. Next term = N48.

Trick: All options start with N → just double 24 = 48.

Answer: (B) N48

Concept: Letters go backwards; numbers are consecutive primes.

1. x, w, v, u → next t.
2. 67, 71, 73, 79 are successive primes → next prime 83.
3. Next term = t83.

Trick: Only one option has 't' — answer without even checking the number.

Answer: (B) t83

Concept: Compare each position across clusters.

1. 1st & 3rd letters: F, H, J → L (+2).
2. 2nd letter: B, D, F → H (+2); 4th always A.
3. Missing = LHLA (check: L+2 = N, H+2 = L → NLNA ✔).

Trick: Pattern 'X?XA' — first and third letters equal, last A → only LHLA fits.

Answer: (B) LHLA

Concept: Write positions and check differences.

1. W23, O15, I9, E5, C3.
2. Gaps: −8, −6, −4, −2 → next −0.
3. 3 − 0 = 3 → C.

Trick: Gap reduces by 2 each time; after 2 comes 0 → letter repeats.

Answer: (A) C

Concept: Split each pair into 1st-letter and 2nd-letter series.

1. 1st: X24, U21, Q17, L12 → gaps −3, −4, −5 → next −6 → 6 = F.
2. 2nd: A, D, G, J → +3 → M.
3. Next = FM.

Trick: All options start with F; just do J + 3 = M.

Answer: (A) FM

Concept: Find a separate step for each of the four positions.

1. 1st: W, V, U → −1 → T. 2nd: A, B, C → +1 → D.
2. 3rd: X, V, T → −2 → R. 4th: E, G, I → +2 → K.
3. Next = TDRK.

Trick: 1st letter must be T (U − 1) → only option A starts with T and continues correctly.

Answer: (A) TDRK

Concept: Replace the symbols first, then apply BODMAS.

1. + → ×, × → −, − → +.
2. 8 + 6 × 4 − 6 becomes $8\times 6-4+6$.
3. $=48-4+6=50$.

Trick: Rewrite the full expression on paper before solving — most errors come from changing signs mentally.

Answer: (A) 50

Concept: A single letter C shifts one place right in each term.

1. Removing C always leaves ABABABAB.
2. C sits at 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th place.
3. Next: C at 7th → ABABAB C AB = ABABABCAB.

Trick: Count letters first: C and D have 10 letters → out. Between A and B, C should be at 7th place → A.

Answer: (A) ABABABCAB

Concept: Track each of the four positions separately.

1. 1st: E, F, G → H (+1). 2nd: J, I, H → G (−1).
2. 3rd: K, M, O → Q (+2). 4th: T, R, P → N (−2).
3. Missing = HGQN; next IFSL ✔.

Trick: 1st letter must lie between G and I → H; only option D starts with H.

Answer: (D) HGQN

Concept: Each letter position follows its own rule (wrap after Z).

1. 1st: J, N, R, V → +4 → Z.
2. 2nd: F, E, D, C → −1 → B.
3. 3rd: T20, Y25, D(29→4), I9 → +5 → N14. Answer ZBN.

Trick: Z and B are clear from first two positions; between ZBJ and ZBN, I + 5 = N.

Answer: (C) ZBN

Concept: Same selling price with x% gain on one and x% loss on the other always gives a net loss.

1. ${\text{CP}}_1=840\times \frac{100}{125}=$ ₹672; ${\text{CP}}_2=840\times \frac{100}{75}=$ ₹1120.
2. Total CP = ₹1792, total SP = ₹1680 → loss ₹112.
3. $\text{Loss\%}=\frac{112}{1792}\times 100=6.25\%$.

Trick: $\text{Net loss\%}=\frac{x^2}{100}=\frac{{25}^2}{100}=6.25\%$ — no need to find CPs.

Answer: (B) $6.25\%$ Loss

Concept: The second discount is taken on the price left after the first.

1. After 25% off: $750\times \frac{3}{4}=$ ₹562.50.
2. Second cut = $562.50-450=$ ₹112.50.
3. Rate = $\frac{112.5}{562.5}\times 100=20\%$.

Trick: $\frac{450}{750}=\frac{3}{5}=\left(\frac{3}{4}\right)\times \left(\frac{4}{5}\right)$ → second factor $\frac{4}{5}$ means 20% off.

Answer: (D) 20%

Concept: Take CP = 100 when no amount is given.

1. MP = 130.
2. $\text{SP}=130\times \frac{88}{100}=114.4$.
3. Profit% = $114.4-100=14.4\%$.

Trick: Net % = $a-b-\frac{ab}{100}=30-12-3.6=14.4\%$.

Answer: (C) $14.4\%$

Concept: Transfers inside the company do not change the total.

1. Old total = $5\times 50=250$.
2. Add the new department: $250+80=330$.
3. Average over 6 departments = $330÷6=55$.

Trick: Ignore the 20-per-department transfer — it is a distractor; only the total and the count matter.

Answer: (C) 55

Concept: Amount = $P\times (1+\frac{r_1}{100})(1+\frac{r_2}{100})(1+\frac{r_3}{100})$.

1. Year 1: $20000\times \frac{6}{5}=24000$.
2. Year 2: $24000\times \frac{5}{4}=30000$.
3. Year 3: $30000\times \frac{11}{10}=33000$ → interest = ₹13,000.

Trick: Use fractions: $20\%=\frac{6}{5}$, $25\%=\frac{5}{4}$, $10\%=\frac{11}{10}$ → $20000\times \frac{6}{5}\times \frac{5}{4}\times \frac{11}{10}=33000$ in one line.

Answer: (B) ₹13,000

Concept: $(a-b{)}^2=a^2-2ab+b^2$.

1. $119=120-1$.
2. ${120}^2-2\times 120+1=14400-240+1=14161$.

Trick: ${119}^2$ must be just below ${120}^2=14400$ and end in 1 → only 14161.

Answer: (B) 14161

Concept: A perfect square is a whole number multiplied by itself.

1. $6^2=36$ (below 40), $7^2=49$, $8^2=64$ (above 60).
2. Only 49 lies between 40 and 60.

Trick: Perfect squares never end in 2, 3, 7, 8 — and 51, 59 are not squares; 64 is out of range.

Answer: (C) 49

Concept: Profit ratio = sum of (capital × months).

1. P: $2000\times 6+4000\times 6=36000$.
2. Q: $3000\times 12+y\times 6=36000+6y$.
3. $36000:(36000+6y)=12:19\to 36000+6y=57000\to y=3500$.

Trick: P = 12 parts = 36000 → 1 part = 3000 → $Q=19\times 3000=57000$; extra $21000÷6=3500$.

Answer: (C) ₹3500

Concept: $\text{Share}\propto \text{capital}\times \text{time}$.

1. P: $20000\times 12=2,40,000$.
2. Q: $30000\times 8=2,40,000$.
3. Ratio 1 : 1 → P = $70000÷2=$ ₹35,000.

Trick: $2\times 12=3\times 8=24$ → equal shares at a glance.

Answer: (C) ₹35000

Concept: Ratio of shares = capital × months for each.

1. P = $3\times 6=18$, Q = $2\times 12=24$, R = $4\times 9=36$ (in thousands).
2. 18 : 24 : 36 = 3 : 4 : 6 (13 parts).
3. P = $390000\times \frac{3}{13}=$ ₹90,000.

Trick: $390000÷13=30000$ per part — the total is chosen to divide cleanly by 13.

Answer: (B) ₹90000