Q&A: practice questions with answers

Concept: A conclusion is valid only if it holds in every possible diagram of the statements.

1. Cubs sit inside both Foals and Puppies, so Foals and Puppies definitely overlap (at least through cubs).
2. Kittens are inside Puppies, but nothing links Kittens to Foals – they can stay outside Foals. So I is not certain.
3. Every cub is a puppy as well as a foal ⇒ some puppies are foals. II is certain.

Trick: When one class lies inside two others (A ⊂ B and A ⊂ C), 'Some B are C' is always true.

Answer: (C) Only conclusion (II) follows.

Concept: Find what changes from one box to the next and continue it.

1. Count the letters in the four boxes: 2 → 3 → 4 → 5.
2. So one letter is added each time; the missing box needs 6 letters.
3. A column holds at most five letters, so the 6th letter begins a new column next to the lowest letter. Only option (b) has exactly 6 letters arranged this way; the others have 7 or 8.

Trick: In figure series, first count elements (dots, lines, letters) – a +1 pattern removes most options at once.

Answer: (B)

Concept: Compare alphabet positions of the letters in each cluster.

1. AEC: A(1), E(5), C(3) → +4, +2 from the first letter.
2. LPN: 12, 16, 14 → +4, +2. TXV: 20, 24, 22 → +4, +2.
3. CHE: 3, 8, 5 → +5, +2. The middle gap breaks the rule.

Trick: Pattern 'first, +4, +2' means the 3rd letter sits exactly midway between the 1st and 2nd: A_C_E, L_N_P, T_V_X – but C, E, H is not evenly spaced.

Answer: (B) CHE

Concept: Treat each letter and the number as separate parts with their own rule.

1. 1st letter +3: V→Y, T→W. 2nd letter −4: F→B, X→T.
2. Number: 19 − 21 = −2 and 11 − 21 = −10, i.e., subtract 21.
3. PL 6: P+3 = S, L−4 = H, 6 − 21 = −15 ⇒ SH-15.

Trick: Check only the first letter (P+3 = S) – just option (c) starts with S.

Answer: (C) SH-15

Concept: Fix the person with an exact position first, then place the rest.

1. Two people left of N ⇒ N at seat 3 (from left). Three between N and H ⇒ H at seat 7.
2. One person between H and F ⇒ F at seat 5. Free seats: 1, 2, 4, 6.
3. K immediately left of L needs two adjacent free seats ⇒ K = 1, L = 2.
4. E is not next to H, so E ≠ 6 ⇒ E = 4, G = 6. People to the left of G = 5.

Trick: Order: K L N E F G H – count left of G directly.

Answer: (C) Five

Concept: Look at the gap between consecutive terms.

1. Gaps: $625-623=2,629-625=4,635-629=6,643-635=8$.
2. Next gap = 10.
3. $?=643+10=653$.

Trick: Gaps 2, 4, 6, 8 ⇒ terms are $623+n(n+1):623+5\times 6=653$.

Answer: (C) 653

Concept: Break the 20-place series into 5 blocks of 4 and read each column.

1. Blocks: _OLP | M_NR | OS_T | QUR_ | SWT_.
2. Column 1: _, M, O, Q, S (steps of +2) ⇒ K. Column 2: O, _, S, U, W ⇒ Q.
3. Column 3: L, N, _, R, T ⇒ P. Column 4: P, R, T, _, _ ⇒ V, X.
4. Blanks = K, Q, P, V, X.

Trick: Only options (b) and (d) start with K; column 2 needs Q (not O) ⇒ (d).

Answer: (D) KQPVX

Concept: The exact shape, with the same orientation, must appear inside the answer figure.

1. Given part: a solid dot, a horizontal line from it to the right, and an upward-pointing solid triangle sitting on that line.
2. Option (a) contains this dot–line–upward triangle unit as it is.
3. In (c) and (d) the triangle on the line points down; in (b) no dot is joined to an upward triangle.

Trick: Since rotation is not allowed, first check the direction of the triangle – it eliminates options fast.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Each term repeats one letter; track that letter's position.

1. Letters: Z, C, F, I.
2. Z → C (via A, B) = +3, C → F = +3, F → I = +3.
3. I(9) + 3 = 12 = L ⇒ LLL.

Trick: Positions 26, 3, 6, 9 ⇒ multiples of 3 (26 ≡ 0 after wrapping); next is 12 = L.

Answer: (D) LLL

Concept: Decode each symbol pair one by one and join the chain.

1. P + Q: P is Q's mother. Q − R: Q is R's brother.
2. R × S: R is S's wife. S ÷ T: S is T's father.
3. So R (S's wife) is T's mother, and Q is R's brother.

Trick: Brother of mother = maternal uncle (mama).

Answer: (B) Mother's brother

Concept: If no member is common to any two classes, draw three separate circles.

1. Tree is a plant, Trouser is clothing, Phone is a device.
2. No tree is a trouser or a phone; no trouser is a phone.
3. So three disjoint circles – option (d).

Trick: Three unrelated nouns (e.g., Pen, Dog, River) always give three non-touching circles.

Answer: (D)

Concept: Row 1 faces south, so its 'right' is towards the west; row 2 faces north, so its 'left' is towards the west.

1. Seats 1–4 from west. M third to right of N ⇒ N at 4, M at 1 (row 1).
2. Person facing Q is next to N ⇒ seat 3 ⇒ Q at seat 3 (row 2).
3. Person facing O is next to Q (seat 2 or 4); seat 4 is N ⇒ O at 2, L at 3.
4. Person facing M (seat 1) is next to R ⇒ R at 2; S left of P ⇒ S = 1, P = 4. Seat 2 faces seat 2 ⇒ O faces R.

Trick: For south-facing people, left/right are reversed compared with your view – mark arrows before placing.

Answer: (D) O

Concept: A face is adjacent to four faces; the one never seen next to it is opposite.

1. 6 appears in both positions.
2. Position 1: 6 is next to 5 and 4. Position 2: 6 is next to 3 and 2.
3. Neighbours of 6 = 2, 3, 4, 5 ⇒ the remaining face 1 is opposite 6.

Trick: Common face in both views → list its 4 neighbours → the missing number is its opposite.

Answer: (B) 6

Concept: Sort the letters and compare position by position.

1. Original: ICEBOATS. Arranged: ABCEIOST.
2. 1st place I→A, 2nd C→B, 3rd E→C, 4th B→E, 5th O→I, 6th A→O, 7th T→S, 8th S→T.
3. Every place has a different letter now ⇒ no letter stays.

Trick: If the first and last sorted letters (A, T) are not already at the ends, check only the middle letters quickly.

Answer: (D) Zero

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

1. After swapping: $47+5\times 2-72÷6$.
2. $5\times 2=10,72÷6=12$.
3. $47+10-12=45$.

Trick: The unit digit check: $7+0-2=5$ ⇒ answer ends in 5 ⇒ 45.

Answer: (C) 45

Concept: Common letters take common digits; the leftover letter takes the leftover digit.

1. CARE → 5132 and RATE → 2154.
2. Common letters A, R, E ↔ common digits 1, 2, 5.
3. Extra letter in RATE is T; extra digit in 2154 is 4 ⇒ T = 4.

Trick: Strike out matching digits in both codes – what remains belongs to the unique letter.

Answer: (D) 4

Concept: Each fold doubles the layers; unfolding mirrors each cut across the fold line.

1. Two vertical folds ⇒ 4 layers, so each cut appears 4 times.
2. Strip has a square at top, a half-circle in the middle, a square at bottom ⇒ 4 squares at top, 4 half-circles in middle, 4 squares at bottom.
3. Mirror images across folds make adjacent half-circles face opposite directions – matches option (a).

Trick: Number of holes = cuts × 2^{number of folds} – here $3\times 4=12$ shapes.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Find the shift for each position and apply it to the new word.

1. QIWC → OGTZ: −2, −2, −3, −3. GONY → EMKV: −2, −2, −3, −3 (same).
2. For FPJA: F→D and P→N (−2 each); J→G and A→X (−3 each, A→Z→Y→X).
3. So the answer word is DNGX.

Trick: Last letter A−3 = X – only option (d) ends in X.

Answer: (D) DNGX

Concept: A word present in both sentences has the code present in both codes.

1. 'help your friends' → ap hg nk.
2. 'he needs help' → sr ml ap.
3. Common word = help, common code = ap.

Trick: One common word + one common code = direct match, no further work needed.

Answer: (D) ap

Concept: Check successive differences.

1. Gaps: 1, 2, 3, 4.
2. Next gap = 5.
3. ? = 819 + 5 = 824.

Trick: Differences in natural-number order: just add the next counting number.

Answer: (D) 824