22 November 2025 · Shift 3

Speed, time and distance The bus goes and comes back at the same speed, so the two legs of the journey take the same time. Total time = 8 hours, so each leg takes $\frac{8}{2}=4$ hours. Formula: distance = speed $\times$ time One-way distance $=60\times 4=240$ km. Hence the correct option is (b).

Symbol substitution Replace every symbol in the expression by the sign it really stands for. Only two of the four symbols occur here: '!' becomes + and '∧' becomes -. The expression therefore becomes 8 + 9 - 2 + 6. Addition and subtraction rank equally under BODMAS, so work from left to right. 8 + 9 = 17 17 - 2 = 15 15 + 6 = 21 Hence the required value is 21, which is option (a).

Symbol substitution Put the real sign in place of each symbol before doing any arithmetic. In this expression only two symbols appear: 'S' stands for - and '@' stands for +. So 15 S 8 S 9 @ 17 becomes 15 - 8 - 9 + 17. Addition and subtraction are of equal rank, so solve from left to right. 15 - 8 = 7 7 - 9 = -2 -2 + 17 = 15 Hence the required value is 15, which is option (c).

Direction sense Take north as the upward direction and plot the three legs one after another from the starting point. First leg: 10 km south. Third leg: 10 km north. These two legs are equal in length and exactly opposite, so together they bring him back to the same north–south level as the start. The only movement left is the middle leg of 7 km towards the east. Hence the finishing point is 7 km due east of the starting point, so he is in the east direction, which is option (c).

Direction sense Draw the walk step by step, taking north as the upward direction. The 15 km walked north and the 15 km walked south are equal and opposite, so they cancel each other completely. Only the 8 km walked west is left, so the finishing point lies due west of the starting point. Distance from the starting point = 8 km, which is option (b).

Odd number pair Look at the first number of each pair: $216=6^3$, $512=8^3$, $1331={11}^3$ and $1000={10}^3$ — every one of them is a perfect cube. So the pattern is: second number = (perfect cube) $+1$. 216 + 1 = 217, 512 + 1 = 513 and 1000 + 1 = 1001 all obey this rule. For 1331 the rule demands 1331 + 1 = 1332, but the pair given shows 1333. Hence the pair that breaks the pattern is option (c).

Number analogy Compare the two numbers of the first pair digit by digit. 5 - 1 = 4, 3 - 1 = 2 and 4 - 1 = 3, so every digit of 534 falls by 1 to give 423. Apply the same rule to 723: 7 - 1 = 6, 2 - 1 = 1, 3 - 1 = 2. This gives 612, which is option (b).

State and capital In the first pair the second word is the capital city of the state named first. Patna is the capital of Bihar. In the same way the capital of Jharkhand is Ranchi, so it completes the analogy. Dispur is the capital of Assam, Raipur of Chhattisgarh and Imphal of Manipur. Hence the correct option is (a).

State and language In each pair the second name should be the official language of the state named first. Malayalam is the official language of Kerala, Konkani of Goa and Kannada of Karnataka — three correctly matched pairs. The official language of Tamil Nadu is Tamil, not Hindi, so this pair does not belong with the rest. Hence the odd one out is option (d).

Letter analogy Compare TRIP with VUKR letter by letter, using the positions of the letters in the alphabet. T $\to$ V is +2, R $\to$ U is +3, I $\to$ K is +2 and P $\to$ R is +2. So the pattern of jumps is $+2,+3,+2,+2$. Applying the same jumps to FAST: F +2 = H, A +3 = D, S +2 = U, T +2 = V. This gives HDUV, which is option (c).

Letter reversal Read the second group of the first pair from right to left and compare it with the first group. MROFTALP read backwards is PLATFORM, so the rule is simply to write the letters in reverse order. Reversing COMPUTER letter by letter gives R, E, T, U, P, M, O, C. That is RETUPMOC, which is option (b).

Alternating number series Break the long string into three-digit numbers: 300, 210, 305, 200, 310, 190, 315, ? The terms standing at odd places and those standing at even places form two separate series. Odd places: 300, 305, 310, 315 — each term is 5 more than the one before it. Even places: 210, 200, 190, ? — each term is 10 less than the one before it, and the missing term belongs to this series. So the missing term is 190 - 10 = 180, which is option (c).

Letter series completion The series has sixteen places, so split it into four groups of four letters each. Every complete group reads a, b, c, d in that order, and the fourth group confirms it. Group 1 is a b ? d, so the first gap is c; group 2 is a ? c d, so the second gap is b. Group 3 is ? b c ?, so the third gap is a and the fourth gap is d. Reading the gaps in order gives c, b, a, d, which is option (a).

Symbol series Each term is six places long and carries exactly two o's, the other four places being x. The pair of o's stands at places 2 and 3, then at 3 and 4, then at 4 and 5, then at 5 and 6. So the pair of o's slides one place to the right at every step. After places 5 and 6 the pair has reached the right end, so it re-enters from the left and takes places 1 and 2. That term is ooxxxx, which is option (b).

Exact match Compare each option with the reference one field at a time — city, year, month, day and weekday. Option (a) shows the day as 24 instead of 23, option (b) shows the year as 2024 instead of 2025, and option (d) shows the month as 02 instead of 01. Option (c) agrees with the reference in every single character, including the colon, the two hyphens, the comma and the full stop. Hence the correct option is (c).

Exact statement matching Do not read the option as a whole; compare it with the reference field by field - city, country, month, day, year. Option (a) changes the day: it reads 'July 15th' in place of 'July 14th'. Option (c) changes the year to 1779 and option (d) changes it to 1689. Only option (b) reproduces 'Paris, France. July 14th, 1789.' with every letter, digit, comma and full stop in its place. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Number pattern Each group of the figure carries three small numbers and one big number formed from them. Rule: multiply the three numbers of a group and then add 1. First group: $5\times 4\times 3=60$ and 60+1=61. Second group: $6\times 5\times 4=120$ and 120+1=121. Third group: $5\times 4\times 8=160$, so ?=160+1=161. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

Number grid pattern In every row the last number is built out of the first three numbers of that row. First row: 3+4+7=14 and $14\times 3=42$. Third row: 3+7+5=15 and $15\times 3=45$. So the rule is (sum of the first three numbers) $\times 3$ = last number. Second row: $57÷3=19$, so 5+7+?=19, which gives ?=19-12=7. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

Counting triangles The figure is a square cut by both diagonals and both mid-lines, with three triangles A, B and C standing outside it. Number the eight smallest triangles of the square 1 to 8, as shown. Smallest triangles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 inside the square and A, B, C outside it - that is 8+3=11 triangles. Made of two small ones: (1+2), (3+4), (5+6) and (7+8) - each is a corner-to-corner triangle standing on one side of the square - 4 triangles. Made of four small ones: (1+2+3+4), (5+6+7+8), (1+2+7+8) and (3+4+5+6) - each is half of the square cut off by one diagonal - 4 triangles. No larger triangle is possible, because A, B and C join the square only along its sides. Total number of triangles =11+4+4=19. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Class relationship diagram A car is never an auto-rickshaw and an auto-rickshaw is never a car, so these two classes have nothing in common. Diesel vehicles, however, include some cars and some auto-rickshaws, while many cars and auto-rickshaws run on petrol or CNG. So the diagram must show two figures that stay apart from each other, with a third figure cutting across both of them. Option (b) shows exactly this - the middle circle overlaps the left circle and the right circle, and those two do not touch each other. Options (a) and (d) place one class wholly inside another, and option (c) makes even cars and auto-rickshaws overlap, so all three are wrong. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Figure series Every square of the series is divided into eight sectors and carries two elements - a plain shape and a block arrow. The plain shape gains one side at each step: triangle (3 sides), square (4 sides), pentagon (5 sides), so the fourth figure must carry a hexagon (6 sides). Its shading alternates: the triangle is unshaded, the square is shaded, the pentagon is unshaded, so the hexagon must be shaded. The arrow turns over at every step - up, down, up - so in the fourth figure it points downwards, and it stays unshaded throughout the series. Only option (a) carries a shaded hexagon together with an unshaded downward arrow. Options (b) and (d) point the arrow upwards, (d) also leaves the hexagon unshaded, and (c) shades the arrow and shifts it to another sector. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer.

Letter coding Place the word above its code and compare the two letter by letter. In 'BRES' every letter moves 5 steps forward: B(2)+5=G(7), R(18)+5=W(23), E(5)+5=J(10), S(19)+5=X(24). 'INOP' follows the very same rule: I+5=N, N+5=S, O+5=T, P+5=U; the order of the letters is not disturbed. Apply +5 to 'RDGV': R(18)+5=W(23), D(4)+5=I(9), G(7)+5=L(12) and V(22)+5=27, which after subtracting 26 becomes 1=A. So 'RDGV' is coded as 'WILA'. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Letter coding Write each word above its code and check the gap between the matching letters. 'SAIL' to 'WEMP': S(19)+4=W(23), A(1)+4=E(5), I(9)+4=M(13), L(12)+4=P(16). 'BHEL' to 'FLIP' obeys the same rule: B+4=F, H+4=L, E+4=I, L+4=P. So every letter simply moves 4 places forward and stays in its own position. For 'MAIL': M(13)+4=Q(17), A(1)+4=E(5), I(9)+4=M(13), L(12)+4=P(16). So 'MAIL' is coded as 'QEMP'. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Word coding by pairs No letter is changed here, only their places are; so break each six-letter word into three pairs and watch where the pairs travel. 'DANGER' gives the pairs DA, NG, ER. The last pair comes to the front reversed as 'RE', the middle pair 'NG' stays where it is, and the first pair goes to the end reversed as 'AD' - giving 'RENGAD'. 'MASTER' behaves in exactly the same way: ER becomes RE at the front, ST stays in the middle, and MA becomes AM at the end - giving 'RESTAM'. 'PUZZLE' gives the pairs PU, ZZ, LE. LE becomes 'EL' at the front, ZZ stays in the middle and PU becomes 'UP' at the end. So 'PUZZLE' is coded as 'ELZZUP'. Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

Word formation The word to be formed is POCKET, made of the six different letters P, O, C, K, E and T. An option can produce POCKET only if it is built from exactly these six letters. Arrange the letters of each option alphabetically: TOPKEC, ECTOPK and KECOTP each give C, E, K, O, P, T - the very letters of POCKET, so all three can form the word. POCKETS gives C, E, K, O, P, S, T - seven letters, with an extra S that POCKET does not contain, so it is not an arrangement of the letters of POCKET. Therefore POCKET cannot be formed from the letters of POCKETS alone. Hence, option (d) is the correct answer.