15 November 2025 · Shift 2

Ranking in a row In a single line of students, rank from the bottom = total students - rank from the top $+1$. Here the total is 42 and the rank from the top is 15. So the rank from the bottom is 42-15+1=28. The +1 is needed because the student herself is counted once from each end; forgetting it gives 27, which is why option (d) is offered. Hence the answer is option (c).

Blood relation Unpack the statement from the far end back towards Rakhi. 'The only son of my grandmother' must be Rakhi's own father, because the grandmother has just one son and he is the parent of the speaker. 'His brother's father' is simply the man's own father, since two brothers share the same father. So the man's father and Rakhi's father are one and the same person, which makes the man and Rakhi children of the same father. Rakhi is a female, so she is the man's sister, and the answer is option (b).

Blood relation P is the brother of Q and Q is the sister of R, so P, Q and R belong to the same set of brothers and sisters. S is the mother of P, and since P, Q and R are siblings, S is the mother of all three. T is the father of R, so by the same argument T is the father of all three. The mother and the father of one and the same set of children are husband and wife, so S is the wife of T. Hence the answer is option (b).

Blood relation from a photo Always simplify the innermost phrase first — here that phrase is 'my father's son'. Trump says he has no brother, so the only son his father has is Trump himself. Replacing the phrase, the statement becomes: that man's father is Trump. If Trump is the father of the man in the picture, then the man in the picture is Trump's son. Hence the photo shows his son, which is option (a).

Ratio in simplest form The required ratio is orange balls : black balls =54:36. To reduce a ratio, divide both terms by their HCF. $54=2\times 3^3$ and $36=2^2\times 3^2$, so the HCF is $2\times 9=18$. $\frac{54}{18}:\frac{36}{18}=3:2$. Hence the answer is option (a); option (c), 4:6, is not even in its lowest terms, and option (b) reverses the order asked for.

Speed, time and distance Formula: distance = speed $\times$ time, with speed and time in matching units. The speed is in km/hr, so change the time into hours: 15 minutes $=\frac{15}{60}=\frac{1}{4}$ hour. Distance $=160\times \frac{1}{4}=40$ km. Hence the answer is option (c).

Percentage of a number Let the number be x. $10\%$ of x is 60, so $\frac{10}{100}\times x=60$. $x=60\times 10=600$. Now $50\%$ of 600 $=\frac{50}{100}\times 600=300$. Shortcut: $50\%$ is five times $10\%$, so the answer is simply $60\times 5=300$. Hence the answer is option (c).

Linear equations on ages Let Gita's age be x years. Shyam is twice as old, so Shyam's age is 2x years. The two ages add up to 90 years, so x+2x=90. $3x=90\Rightarrow x=30$. Shyam's age $=2\times 30=60$ years. Hence the answer is option (d).

Number series The terms grow quickly, so test division rather than difference: $18÷6=3$, $54÷18=3$, $162÷54=3$. Every term is therefore three times the term before it — a geometric progression with common ratio 3. The next term is $162\times 3=486$. Hence the answer is option (a).

Profit percentage Cost price = ₹1200 and selling price = ₹1600. Profit = selling price − cost price = ₹1600 − ₹1200 = ₹400. Formula: profit % = (profit ÷ cost price) × 100 — the profit is always compared with the COST price, never with the selling price. Profit % $=\frac{400}{1200}\times 100=\frac{100}{3}=33.33\%$. Dividing the ₹400 by the selling price instead gives $25\%$, and that is the trap the other options play on. Hence the answer is option (d).

Average of numbers Sum = average $\times$ count, so the sum of the five numbers is $30\times 5=150$. The three known numbers add up to 22+26+34=82. So the remaining two numbers together make 150-82=68. Their average is $\frac{68}{2}=34$. Hence the answer is option (c); option (b), 65, is close to the SUM of the two numbers and not their average.

Percentage increase Let the original price be x. An increase of $25\%$ makes the new price $x\times \frac{125}{100}$, and this equals 750. $\frac{125x}{100}=750$. $x=750\times \frac{100}{125}=600$. So the original price was ₹600, which is option (b). Check: $25\%$ of ₹600 is ₹150, and ₹600 + ₹150 = ₹750, as required.

Direction sense Draw the journey step by step, keeping north at the top of the page. The first move is 10 km south and the last move is 10 km north, so these two exactly cancel each other. Only the middle move of 14 km towards the east is left, so the finishing point lies 14 km due east of the starting point. The shortest distance between two points is the straight line joining them, which here is that same 14 km. Hence the answer is option (a).

Direction sense with Pythagoras Plot the three moves starting from P, with north at the top. East–west: he walks 16 km east and then 8 km west, so his net eastward shift is 16-8=8 km. North–south: he walks 15 km north and never returns, so his net northward shift is 15 km. These two net shifts are at right angles, so the direct distance is the hypotenuse: $\sqrt{8^2+{15}^2}$. $=\sqrt{64+225}=\sqrt{289}=17$ km. So he is 17 km from P, which is option (b); note that 8, 15, 17 is a standard Pythagorean triplet worth memorising.

Direction sense Sketch the journey with north at the top of the page. The 9 km walked north and the 9 km walked south are equal and opposite, so they cancel out completely. What is left is only the 6 km walked towards the west. So the final point lies due west of the starting point, and the answer is option (d).

Direction sense Take the starting point as the origin, east along +x and north along +y. The first move of 10 km east and the last move of 10 km west cancel each other, so the net east-west shift is 10-10=0 km. Only the northward walk survives, so the net displacement is 17 km due north. Distance from the starting point =17 km, i.e. option (b).

Sport allotment puzzle Fix the direct statements first: Ankush plays Cricket, Sita plays Hockey and Deepak plays Football. Only Badminton and Tennis are then left, and they must belong to Meena and Mohan. Meena plays neither Football nor Tennis, so Tennis goes to Mohan and Badminton to Meena. The condition 'Mohan does not play Football' is also satisfied, so the arrangement is consistent. Hence Badminton is played by Meena, option (a).

Day-wise arrangement P goes on Tuesday. S is barred from Wednesday, Saturday and Friday, so S can only take Monday or Thursday. The chain Q<R<S needs at least two free days before S; Monday has none before it, so S goes on Thursday. Before Thursday the free days are Monday and Wednesday (Tuesday belongs to P), so Q= Monday and R= Wednesday. Friday and Saturday are left for T and U; T cannot take Friday, so T goes on Saturday and U on Friday. Checking the options against this table, only 'T - Saturday' fits, so option (b) is correct.

Odd pair out In each pair the second word names the way the first object gives out its own light. The Sun shines, the Moon glows and a Star twinkles - all three describe the light of that body. A cloud gives out no light, and it does not fall either; it drifts, while the rain from it falls. Hence the pair that does not belong to the group is Cloud - Fall, option (d).

Letter series Find the gap between consecutive letters of each option. $A\to D\to G\to J$ gives +3,+3,+3 and $B\to E\to H\to K$ gives +3,+3,+3. $C\to F\to I\to L$ also gives +3,+3,+3. $D\to G\to I\to L$ gives +3,+2,+3, so the middle gap breaks the pattern. Hence the odd sequence is D-G-I-L, option (d).

Place and people analogy In options (a), (b) and (c) the first word is a place and the second names the people found in it - students in a school, patients in a hospital, a shopkeeper in a market. In 'Book : Page' the second word is not a group of people but a physical part of the first object, so the relation changes to part and whole. Hence the pair that does not conform to the relationship is Book : Page, option (d).

Compass directions A compass shows four cardinal directions - North, South, East and West - and the four corner directions formed from them: North-East, North-West, South-East and South-West. North-West, South-East and South-West are all valid corner directions of that set. 'Downwards' describes vertical motion towards the ground; a compass needle can never point to it, so it is not a compass direction at all. Hence the inconsistent item is 'Downwards', option (c).

Number pattern In each triplet test whether every term is twice the term before it. $10\times 2=20$ and $20\times 2=40$; $4\times 2=8$ and $8\times 2=16$; $8\times 2=16$ and $16\times 2=32$ - all three follow the doubling rule. For 6-12-23: $6\times 2=12$ is right, but $12\times 2=24$, not 23. Hence the distinct pattern is 6-12-23, option (c).

Decision making The basic principle of justice is that a person is presumed innocent until guilt is proved by evidence. A past record only raises suspicion; it is not proof of the present theft, and the absence of information about the second person is not proof of innocence either. So 'send both to jail' and 'punish only the previous offender' would punish without proof, while 'trust the new person' would clear him without proof. The balanced step is to hold the decision until evidence is available. Hence the best and most appropriate decision is option (c).

Alphabetical rearrangement The word EDUCATION has 9 letters: E, D, U, C, A, T, I, O, N. Arranged alphabetically from left to right they become A, C, D, E, I, N, O, T, U. Compare the two rows position by position: $E\ne A$, $D\ne C$, $U\ne D$, $C\ne E$, $A\ne I$, $T\ne N$, $I\ne O$, $O\ne T$, $N\ne U$. Not a single letter keeps its original place. Hence the number of unchanged positions is zero, option (c).