Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: Every fold works like a mirror: unfolding copies each hole to the opposite side of the fold line.

1. The sheet is folded once along the vertical line, left half over the right half.
2. One hole is punched in the folded (right) part, at mid-height.
3. Opening the fold reflects that hole into the left half at the same height and the same distance from the centre line.
4. So the open sheet shows 2 holes in one horizontal line, symmetric about the vertical centre.

Trick: Count holes first: 1 fold × 1 punch = 2 holes. Reject any option with a different count or holes at different heights.

Answer: (B)

Concept: Two features change independently: number of lines and direction of the corner bracket.

1. Lines in the left part: 2, 4, 7, 11 → gaps +2, +3, +4, so next gap +5 → 16 lines.
2. Bracket turns alternately 90° and 180°; last turn was 90°, so next is 180°.
3. Bracket opening right turns to open left.
4. Only option (B) has 16 lines with a left-opening bracket.

Trick: Fix one feature (count) to cut options, then check the second feature only on the survivors.

Answer: (B)

Concept: A 20-letter blank series usually splits into equal blocks whose positions follow alphabetical order.

1. Split into 5 blocks of 4: _JDI | F_EJ | GL_K | HMG_ | INH_.
2. Column-wise: 1st letters E,F,G,H,I; 2nd J,K,L,M,N; 3rd D,E,F,G,H; 4th I,J,K,L,M.
3. Blanks = E, K, F, L, M.

Trick: Total letters ÷ 5 blanks = block length ($20÷5=4$). Then read each column downward.

Answer: (C) EKFLM

Concept: Decode each symbol pair, then trace the chain from the person asked about (T) back to P.

1. P + Q → P is Q's daughter.
2. Q − R → Q is R's brother.
3. R ÷ S → R is S's father; S × T → S is T's wife.
4. From T: wife (S) → her father (R) → his brother (Q) → his daughter (P).

Trick: Read the chain backwards from T and just write the relation words in order: wife's → father's → brother's → daughter.

Answer: (C) Wife's father's brother's daughter

Concept: Letters common to both words take the digits common to both codes; the leftover letter gets the leftover digit.

1. RUST ↔ 8264; TURN ↔ 2843.
2. Common letters R, U, T ↔ common digits 8, 2, 4.
3. Left in RUST: S; left in 8264: 6. So S = 6.

Trick: Strike out common letters and common digits – what remains pairs up directly.

Answer: (D) 6

Concept: Find the constant alphabet shift between pair letters and apply it to the new word.

1. MRCS shifted by +3 letter-wise gives PUFV.
2. Check: VOLG + 3 → YROJ, same rule.
3. SHIM + 3: S=V, H=K, I=L, M=P → VKLP.

Trick: Check only the first letter: S+3 = V leaves all four options; second letter H+3 = K leaves only (C).

Answer: (C) VKLP

Concept: Write the word and its alphabetical arrangement one below the other and match position by position.

1. DELIGHT: D E L I G H T
2. Sorted: D E G H I L T
3. Same place: D (1st), E (2nd), T (7th) → 3 letters.

Trick: First and last letters are often already in order – check them first, then only the middle.

Answer: (A) Three

Concept: The exact shape of (X), with the same orientation and inner details, must appear inside the option.

1. (X) is a Y-shape: three rings, each with a solid centre dot, joined by a vertical stem and two slanting arms.
2. Options (B) and (D) have rings without dots; (C) uses squares – rejected.
3. Option (A) contains the full Y with dotted rings in the same orientation.

Trick: Look for the smallest unique detail of (X) (here the centre dot) – it eliminates options fastest.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Shifts can alternate; find the shift of each position and wrap around after Z.

1. RFTQ → VKXV: +4, +5, +4, +5 (same for DNPJ → HSTO).
2. Apply to HLXB: first letter 8+4 = 12 (L), second 12+5 = 17 (Q).
3. third 24+4 = 28 → 2 (B), fourth 2+5 = 7 (G) → LQBG.

Trick: For wrap-around, add and subtract 26: X(24)+4 = 28 − 26 = 2 = B.

Answer: (D) LQBG

Concept: A conclusion follows only if it is true in every possible diagram.

1. Bins ⊂ Tins and Fins ⊂ Tins; Pins overlap Fins.
2. (I) Only the pins that are fins must be tins; other pins can lie outside tins → does not follow.
3. (II) Bins and fins are both inside tins but need not meet → does not follow.

Trick: Two classes inside the same big circle have no definite relation with each other.

Answer: (D) Neither conclusion (I) nor (II) follows.

Concept: When gaps change steadily, look at the differences of the differences.

1. Differences: 54, 45, 36, 27 – falling by 9.
2. Next difference = $27-9=18$.
3. Next term = $183+18=201$.

Trick: All differences are multiples of 9 ($6\times 9,5\times 9,4\times 9,3\times 9$) → next is $2\times 9=18$.

Answer: (A) 201

Concept: Terms growing about 3 times suggest a ×3 rule with a small correction.

1. $120\times 3+1=361$; $361\times 3+1=1084$.
2. $1084\times 3+1=3253$; $3253\times 3+1=9760$.
3. Next = $9760\times 3+1=29281$.

Trick: Unit digit check: $0\times 3+1=1$ → answer ends in 1 and is about 29,000 → only 29281 fits.

Answer: (D) 29281

Concept: Swap the signs first, then solve using BODMAS.

1. Swap − ↔ ÷ and × ↔ +: $9\times 56÷8+4-9$.
2. $9\times 56÷8=504÷8=63$.
3. $63+4-9=58$.

Trick: Cancel early: $56÷8=7$, so $9\times 7=63$ without big numbers.

Answer: (C) 58

Concept: Track the 1st, 2nd and 3rd letters of the clusters separately.

1. 1st: I, M, Q, U → +4 → Y.
2. 2nd: C, G, K, O → +4 → S.
3. 3rd: D, H, L, P → +4 → T. Answer YST.

Trick: In each cluster the 2nd and 3rd letters are consecutive (C-D, G-H…), so the answer must end in a consecutive pair (S-T).

Answer: (B) YST

Concept: Decide the relation of every pair: inside, overlapping or separate.

1. Kings and Fathers: some kings are fathers, not all → two intersecting circles.
2. Queens are women, so no queen is a king or a father → a separate circle.
3. Required: two overlapping circles + one independent circle.

Trick: Look for gender words – a female class can never overlap a male class.

Answer: (C)

Concept: Convert letters to positions and compare the gaps inside each cluster.

1. NVD: 14 → 22 → 4 (30 − 26): gaps +8, +8.
2. JRZ: 10 → 18 → 26: +8, +8. PXF: 16 → 24 → 6: +8, +8.
3. IOY: 9 → 15 → 25: +6, +10 → odd.

Trick: Check the first gap only: N→V, J→R, P→X are +8 but I→O is +6.

Answer: (B) IOY

Concept: If letters don't match any shift, test the word length.

1. KIXCUP: 6 letters → 10 = 6 + 4.
2. DZYM: 4 letters → 8 = 4 + 4.
3. RSAWYQI: 7 letters → 7 + 4 = 11.

Trick: Code − letters is the same (4) for both examples → constant addition rule.

Answer: (B) 11

Concept: Two folds give four layers, so every cut appears four times, mirrored about both centre lines.

1. Fold 1: bottom half up; fold 2: right half to the left → top-left quarter remains.
2. Cuts on it: circle, bar, circle in one column.
3. Unfold vertical fold → mirrored column on the right; unfold horizontal fold → both columns copied below.
4. The design repeats symmetrically in all four quarters.

Trick: 2 folds = 4 copies of each cut; pick the option that is symmetric about both the horizontal and vertical centre lines.

Answer: (C)

Concept: Fix the most definite clue first; facing north, right = higher seat number (1–7, left to right).

1. Only K is right of J → J = 6, K = 7.
2. One person between I and J → I = 4; two between M and I → M = 1.
3. G is right of L and left of H → L = 2, G = 3, H = 5.
4. Between H (5) and L (2): G, I → 2 people.

Trick: People between seats a and b = |a − b| − 1 = 5 − 2 − 1 = 2.

Answer: (A) Two

Concept: Number seats 1–7 from the left; place fixed people first.

1. Two people right of K → K = 5; H immediately left → H = 4.
2. Two between K and F → F = 2.
3. L–N adjacent pair: only seats 6–7 free → L = 6, N = 7; then E (two from H) = 1.
4. G = 3. Between G (3) and L (6): H, K → 2.

Trick: Count with |a − b| − 1: 6 − 3 − 1 = 2.

Answer: (C) Two