17 November 2025 · Shift 3

Non-verbal communication Body language is read as a cluster of signs, not one sign at a time, and here all three cues point the same way. Avoiding eye contact shows discomfort, crossed arms form a closed 'barrier' posture, and a rigid body shows tension. Taken together they indicate nervousness or defensiveness, so option (b) is correct. Confidence and openness would show as steady eye contact and open arms, enthusiasm as animated gestures and leaning forward, and agreement as nodding — none of these is described.

Number series Take the successive differences: 7-4=3, 13-7=6, 25-13=12, 49-25=24. The differences themselves double each time, so the next difference is $24\times 2=48$. Next term =49+48=97. The same rule can be written as $2\times 49-1=97$, since every term is twice the previous term minus 1. Hence option (d) is correct.

Letter coding Break the six-letter word into three pairs: SI | ST | ER, and do the same with the code: IS | TS | RE. Pair by pair, the two letters have simply changed places; no letter value is altered. Apply the same swap to MOTHER: MO → OM, TH → HT, ER → RE. Joining them gives OMHTRE, so option (c) is correct. Option (a) leaves the last pair unswapped and option (d) swaps across the wrong pair boundary.

Direct proportion Sugar and the number of muffins are in direct proportion. Sugar for one muffin $=\frac{2.5}{20}=0.125$ cups. Sugar for 40 muffins $=0.125\times 40=5$ cups. The short cut: 40 is twice 20, so the sugar is simply doubled — $2.5\times 2=5.0$ cups, option (c).

Number analogy Compare the two numbers of the given pair: 1098-987=111. So the rule is second number = first number $+111$. Applying the same rule: 1263+111=1374. Hence option (b) is correct; option (a) adds only 100 and option (d) adds 113.

Twin prime numbers Twin primes are a pair of prime numbers whose difference is exactly 2. For the first pair, 13-11=2 and both 11 and 13 are prime, so this is a twin-prime pair. In the other pairs 47-43=4, 67-59=8 and 23-19=4 — every difference is more than 2, even though the numbers themselves are prime. Hence option (a) is correct.

Number of terms in an AP The series $7,14,21,28,\dots ,140$ is an AP with first term a=7 and common difference d=7. Formula: $a_n=a+\left(n-1\right)d$. $140=7+\left(n-1\right)\times 7$ $133=\left(n-1\right)\times 7\Rightarrow n-1=19\Rightarrow n=20$. Since every term is a multiple of 7, the count is simply $\frac{140}{7}=20$ — option (b).

Number pattern series Every term begins with 3 and ends with 3; the digits in between are all the same digit. In the 1st term the middle digit 2 is repeated twice, in the 2nd term 3 is repeated three times, in the 3rd term 4 is repeated four times and in the 4th term 5 is repeated five times. So the 5th term is 3, then the digit 6 repeated six times, then 3 — that is 36666663. The digit count also grows as $4,5,6,7,8$, which confirms an eight-digit answer. Hence option (c) is correct.

Alphanumeric series Split each term into its letter part and its number part and treat them separately. Letters: C(3), E(5), G(7), I(9) — each moves 2 places forward, so the next letter is K(11). Numbers: $61,67,71,73$ are consecutive prime numbers, so the next number is the prime just after 73, i.e. 79. Putting the two together, the next term is K79 — option (c). Option (b) breaks the letter pattern with J, and option (a) skips the prime 79 to reach 83.

Letter analogy Work with the positions of the letters in the alphabet. First analogy: M(13) $\to$ P(16), a jump of +3; so T(20) +3= W(23). Second analogy: C(3) $\to$ G(7), a jump of +4; so S(19) +4= W(23). Both blanks are therefore filled by W, which is option (b). Option (a) uses +2 in the first pair and option (c) moves backwards in the second pair, so neither keeps the given relation.

Ranking and order Write every clue as an inequality, reading 'elder' as greater. Kavya > Pooja; Riya > Prerna and Kavita > Prerna; Prerna > Swati > Kavya. Chaining these gives Riya, Kavita > Prerna > Swati > Kavya > Pooja. Anshika is younger than Swati but is not the youngest, so she lies somewhere between Swati and Pooja; in every case she is younger than Kavita. Certainly younger than Kavita: Prerna, Swati, Anshika, Kavya and Pooja — that is 5 persons. The clues never compare Riya with Kavita, so Riya may also be younger than Kavita, making the count 6. Hence the answer is either 5 or 6 — option (c).

Statement and assumptions An assumption is something the speaker must already take for granted for the statement to make sense. The corporation has promised check-ups in all government hospitals; such a promise can be made only if it believes the medical staff and facilities are adequate, so assumption I is implicit. A welfare scheme is announced for people who are expected to use it; without the belief that senior citizens will come forward, the announcement would serve no purpose, so assumption II is implicit too. Hence both assumptions are implicit — option (c).

Course of action A course of action follows if it either removes the cause of the problem or reduces the hardship it is causing right now. Waterlogging happens because the drains cannot carry the rainwater away, so planning a drainage improvement project attacks the root cause — I follows. Until that work is done, advising residents to avoid unnecessary travel cuts down the traffic jams and the inconvenience immediately — II follows. The two are the long-term and short-term halves of the same solution and neither is impractical, so option (c) is correct.

Letter cluster series Compare the first two clusters letter by letter: B $\to$ E, E $\to$ H, F $\to$ I. Every letter has moved 3 places forward, and EHI $\to$ HKL obeys the same +3 rule. Apply +3 to HKL: H $\to$ K, K $\to$ N, L $\to$ O. The next cluster is KNO — option (b); options (a) and (d) move the last letter 4 places instead of 3.

Letter series Replace each letter by its place in the alphabet: D(4), F(6), J(10), P(16). The gaps are 6-4=2, 10-6=4, 16-10=6 — they increase by 2 every time, so the next gap is 8. Next position =16+8=24, and the 24th letter of the alphabet is X. Hence option (c) is correct; option (a) V is the 22nd letter, which would need a gap of only 6.

Letter cluster series Inside every cluster the letters rise in steps of 2: C, E, G, I and G, I, K, M. From one cluster to the next each letter moves 4 places forward: C→G→K, E→I→M, and so on. So the fourth cluster starts at K+4 = O and then continues in steps of 2: O, Q, S, U. The required cluster is OQSU, so option (c) is the answer.

Symbol substitution Two symbols are defined, so work through the expression from left to right, one symbol at a time. The first symbol says: subtract the second number from the first and square the result, so it gives ${\left(8-6\right)}^2=2^2=4$. The expression is now 4 % 2. The symbol % says: add the two numbers and multiply by 3, so it gives $\left(4+2\right)\times 3=6\times 3=18$. Hence option (b) is the answer.

Correlation and causation Causation means one event actually produces the other; correlation means the two merely occur together, with no proof that one produces the other. Contaminated water and cholera, insulin deficiency and diabetes, and bacteria and food poisoning are all established cause-and-effect links proved by medical evidence. Front-row seating and high marks only travel together: the more attentive and motivated students choose the front rows, so motivation — not the seat itself — is what raises the marks. Only that statement is a correlation, so option (a) is the answer.

Letter cluster series Compare the clusters position by position. 1st letters: B, E, ?, K, N — a jump of +3 each time, so the missing letter is H. 2nd letters: S, P, ?, J, G — a jump of -3 each time, so the missing letter is M. 3rd letters: F, I, ?, O, R — a jump of +3 each time, so the missing letter is L. The missing cluster is HML, so option (a) is the answer.

Wrong term in series Check each of the three positions separately as the clusters advance. 1st letters: N, J, F, B, X — every letter is 4 places back (B goes back past A and wraps to X). Correct throughout. 2nd letters: V, R, N, J, F — again 4 places back each time. Correct throughout. 3rd letters: K, G, C, Y, ? — 4 places back from Y is U, but the series shows W. The faulty cluster is XFW, which should be XFU, so option (b) is the answer.

Letter cluster series Take the three letter positions one at a time. 1st letters: H, J, ?, N, P — a step of +2, so the missing letter is L. 2nd letters: Y, U, ?, M, I — a step of -4, so the missing letter is Q. 3rd letters: V, B, ?, N, T — a step of +6 (V +6 passes Z and lands on B), so the missing letter is H. The missing cluster is LQH, so option (a) is the answer.

Letter cluster series Handle the three positions separately. 1st letters: G, K, ?, S, W — a step of +4, so the missing letter is O. 2nd letters: P, L, ?, D, Z — a step of -4 (D -4 wraps back to Z), so the missing letter is H. 3rd letters: Q, M, ?, E, A — a step of -4, so the missing letter is I. The missing cluster is OHI, so option (c) is the answer.

Wrong term in series Here the rule sits inside each cluster, so measure the two gaps within every term. DMR: D +9 = M, M +5 = R. FOT: F +9 = O, O +5 = T. BKP: B +9 = K, K +5 = P. ZIN: Z +9 = I (counting past Z back to A), I +5 = N — also correct. HQW: H +9 = Q is right, but Q +5 = V, not W. HQW breaks the pattern and should be HQV, so option (b) is the answer.

Word formation First count the stock of letters in ADMINISTRATION: A–2, D–1, M–1, I–3, N–2, S–1, T–2, R–1, O–1. RATION needs R, A, T, I, O, N — one of each, and every one of them is in stock. DOMINANT needs D, O, M, I, A, T and N twice; two N's are available, so it can be formed. TRANSMIT needs T twice plus R, A, N, S, M, I; two T's are available, so it can be formed. All three words can be formed, so option (d) is the answer.

Number series Take the differences between consecutive terms: 6-2=4, 15-6=9, 40-15=25, 89-40=49, 210-89=121. These differences are $2^2$, $3^2$, $5^2$, $7^2$, ${11}^2$ — the squares of the successive prime numbers. The prime after 11 is 13, so the next difference must be ${13}^2=169$. Next term =210+169=379, so option (c) is the answer.