Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Swap the two signs in each option and evaluate using BODMAS until the result equals 237.

1. Swap ÷ and −: $30+3\times 990÷11-63$.
2. $990÷11=90$, so $3\times 90=270$.
3. $30+270-63=237$ ✓ — the equation balances.

Trick: A division like $990÷11$ or $÷63$ giving a whole number hints which numbers the ÷ sign should sit between.

Answer: (B) ÷ and −

Concept: For people facing the centre, moving to their left means moving clockwise and to their right means anticlockwise.

1. P is the neighbour of both Q and U, and Q is second to the left of U → U, P, Q sit consecutively clockwise.
2. T is third to the right of P → T is exactly opposite P.
3. Two seats remain (between Q–T and between T–U). S is not U's neighbour → S sits between Q and T, R between T and U.
4. Order clockwise: U, P, Q, S, T, R. R is the neighbour of both U and T.

Trick: In a 6-seat circle, 'third to the left/right' is always the person directly opposite.

Answer: (C) R

Concept: When a folded paper is opened, every cut is reflected across each fold line; each unfolding doubles the number of cuts.

1. Fold 1: top half onto bottom half. Fold 2: right half onto left. The cut is made in the bottom-left quarter.
2. Opening fold 2: a mirror copy appears in the bottom-right quarter (left–right flip).
3. Opening fold 1: both shapes are reflected upward into the top quarters (upside-down copies).
4. So the sheet shows 4 shapes: bottom row upright and mirrored side to side, top row the upside-down images of the bottom row — this matches option (A).

Trick: Unfold in reverse order of folding; shapes on opposite sides of a fold line are always mirror images of each other.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Find the shift applied to each letter position and apply the same shifts to the new word.

1. TREE → WSHF: T+3=W, R+1=S, E+3=H, E+1=F → pattern $+3,+1,+3,+1$.
2. Check BALL → EBOM: B+3=E, A+1=B, L+3=O, L+1=M ✓.
3. WALL: W+3=Z, A+1=B, L+3=O, L+1=M → ZBOM.

Trick: Alternating $+3,+1$ — just check the first two letters of each option: only ZBOM starts with Z, B.

Answer: (B) ZBOM

Concept: Decode each symbol one by one and build a family tree.

1. M × N: M is the son of N.
2. N % P: N is the father of P. P – S: P is the brother of S → N is also the father of S, so M is S's brother.
3. S + T: S is the wife of T.
4. Hence M is the brother of T's wife.

Trick: Read the chain from T's side: T → wife (S) → her brother (M).

Answer: (C) Wife's brother

Concept: Decode each sign and draw the family tree; gender comes from words like mother, wife, brother.

1. U − P: U is the brother of P. P × Q: P is the wife of Q (so P is female, U's sister).
2. Q ÷ R: Q is the father of R, so R is the child of P.
3. R + S: R is the mother of S → R is female, i.e. P's daughter.
4. R is the daughter of U's sister.

Trick: Mark gender as soon as you decode a sign — 'mother' instantly tells you R is female.

Answer: (B) Sister's daughter

Concept: Count how many times each letter repeats in every term.

1. aaabcccccccc → a:3, b:1, c:8
2. aaabbcccc → a:3, b:2, c:4; aaabbbbcc → a:3, b:4, c:2
3. a stays 3, b doubles $(1,2,4,8)$, c halves $(8,4,2,1)$.
4. Next term: a:3, b:8, c:1 → aaabbbbbbbbc.

Trick: Write counts as numbers (3-1-8, 3-2-4, 3-4-2) — the doubling/halving jumps out.

Answer: (C) aaabbbbbbbbc

Concept: Take Z as the origin, plot every move on a grid and compare the final point with Z.

1. A is 5 km north of Z: A = $(0,5)$.
2. 8 km east → $(8,5)$; right turn = south, 9 km → $(8,-4)$.
3. Right turn = west, 15 km → B = $(-7,-4)$.
4. B is 7 km west and 4 km south of Z → South-West.

Trick: Net E–W $=8-15=-7$ (west), net N–S $=5-9=-4$ (south) → West + South = South-West.

Answer: (B) South-West

Concept: Draw the least-overlap Venn diagram; a conclusion follows only if it is true in every possible diagram.

1. All scanners are printers → Scanners circle lies inside Printers.
2. Some scanners are copiers → those copiers are also printers, so I (Some printers are copiers) follows.
3. II (No copier is a printer) contradicts I → does not follow.
4. III (Some printers are scanners) is the conversion of 'All scanners are printers' → follows.

Trick: 'All A are B' always gives 'Some B are A'.

Answer: (C) Only conclusions I and III follow

Concept: On unfolding, each punched/cut design is reflected across the fold line.

1. The right half is folded onto the left half (vertical fold in the middle).
2. On the folded half the design is: inverted triangle with circle, a rectangle, and circle with triangle — one column.
3. Opening the fold copies this column as a mirror image into the right half.
4. So the open sheet has two identical columns (each: ▽○, ▭, ○△) — option (B).

Trick: One vertical fold → every design appears twice, side by side, at equal distance from the fold.

Answer: (B)

Concept: Letters common to both words share the common digits; the leftover letter takes the leftover digit.

1. NODE = {N, O, D, E} → {6, 2, 9, 7}; BONE = {B, O, N, E} → {9, 7, 1, 6}.
2. Common letters O, N, E ↔ common digits 6, 9, 7.
3. Remaining letter of NODE is D and remaining digit is 2 → D = 2 (and B = 1).

Trick: Eliminate the common part; what is left over in each word pairs up directly.

Answer: (B) 2

Concept: Check the movement of each letter position separately.

1. 1st letters: D, E, F → next G.
2. 2nd letters: I, J, K → next L.
3. 3rd letters: Q, R, S → next T.
4. Each position moves $+1$ → GLT.

Trick: Every letter moves $+1$ — just add 1 to each letter of FKS.

Answer: (A) GLT

Concept: With the mirror on the right (vertical line MN), the order of characters is reversed and each character is flipped left–right; top and bottom do not change.

1. Object: h Y R a w K. Reading in the mirror from left: K w a R Y h.
2. Each letter is laterally inverted: K faces left, R faces left, h's stem goes to the right; letters stay upright.
3. Symmetric letters (Y, w) look the same.
4. Option (A) shows exactly this; options with upside-down letters or swapped Y/R are wrong.

Trick: Vertical mirror: first character becomes last, nothing turns upside down.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Use alphabet positions (A = 1 … Z = 26) and check each position of the cluster separately (wrap around after Z).

1. 1st: T(20), Y(25), ?, I(9), N(14) → $+5$ each: $25+5=30\to 4$ = D.
2. 2nd: E(5), L(12), ?, Z(26), G(7) → $+7$: $12+7=19$ = S.
3. 3rd: K(11), B(2), ?, J(10), A(1) → $-9$: $2-9=-7\to 19$ = S.
4. 4th: S(19), D(4), ?, Z(26), K(11) → $+11$: $4+11=15$ = O. Missing term = DSSO.

Trick: Verify with the next term: D+5 = I, S+7 = Z, S−9 = J, O+11 = Z ✓.

Answer: (B) DSSO

Concept: Replace each sign as instructed, then solve with BODMAS.

1. Given: $60+378\times 18÷23-2$.
2. After replacement (+→−, ×→÷, ÷→+, −→×): $60-378÷18+23\times 2$.
3. $378÷18=21$, $23\times 2=46$.
4. $60-21+46=85$.

Trick: Rewrite the whole expression first, then calculate — never substitute and solve at the same time.

Answer: (A) 85

Concept: Find the gaps between consecutive letters using alphabet positions.

1. IFM: I(9) → F(6) → M(13): $-3,+7$.
2. TQX: T(20) → Q(17) → X(24): $-3,+7$; GDK: G(7) → D(4) → K(11): $-3,+7$.
3. OLR: O(15) → L(12) → R(18): $-3,+6$ — different.

Trick: Check the second gap only; the first gap ($-3$) is the same in all four.

Answer: (B) OLR

Concept: Track one letter at a time through the five positions: four corners and the centre.

1. X: centre (Fig 1) → top-left (Fig 2) → top-right (Fig 3) → bottom-right (Fig 4).
2. Every letter follows the same cycle: Centre → TL → TR → BR → BL → Centre.
3. Fig 5: A (centre) → TL, D (TL) → TR, K (TR) → BR, X (BR) → BL, Y (BL) → centre.
4. Result: A, D on top; Y in the centre; X, K at the bottom — option (C).

Trick: Follow just one letter to find the rule, then fill the other positions in seconds.

Answer: (C)

Concept: Look at the differences between consecutive terms.

1. $167-117=50$, and from the end $47-27=20$.
2. Differences decrease by 10: $50,40,30,20$.
3. Missing term $=117-40=77$; check $77-30=47$ ✓.

Trick: When a gap is in the middle, use both ends to fix the pattern of differences.

Answer: (A) 77

Concept: Compare the digit sums of the related numbers.

1. $824$: $8+2+4=14$; $329$: $3+2+9=14$ — equal.
2. $271$: $2+7+1=10$; $505$: $5+0+5=10$ — equal.
3. $408$: $4+0+8=12$. Options: $612\to 9$, $434\to 11$, $822\to 12$, $325\to 10$.
4. Only 822 has digit sum 12.

Trick: When the pairs look unrelated in size, test the digit sum first — it is a common SSC logic.

Answer: (C) 822

Concept: Each letter is coded as $(\text{position}-1)\times 5$.

1. K(11): $(11-1)\times 5=50$; I(9): 40; R(18): 85; A(1): 0; T(20): 95 ✓.
2. W(23): $22\times 5=110$; S(19): 90; M(13): 60 ✓.
3. MRINAL: M 60, R 85, I 40, N(14) 65, A 0, L(12) 55.
4. Code: 60-85-40-65-0-55.

Trick: A = 0 is the giveaway: the code is (position − 1) times 5.

Answer: (D) 60-85-40-65-0-55