11 February 2025 · Shift 1

Venn diagram of classes Every father is a male, so the class Fathers lies completely inside the class Males. No female is a male and no female is a father, so Females stands completely apart from both. The figure needed is therefore a small circle inside a bigger circle, with a third circle drawn separately. That is exactly what option (a) shows, so the correct option is (a).

Syllogism, negative premises All three statements are negative, and two negative premises can never give a definite conclusion. Conclusion (I): the statements only keep dates away from almonds and from raisins; they say nothing about almonds and raisins themselves, so some almonds may well be raisins. (I) does not follow. Conclusion (II): cherries are kept away only from dates, so cherries and raisins may overlap or may stay apart. Nothing is certain, so (II) does not follow. Hence neither conclusion follows and the correct option is (b).

Interchange of signs Interchange the signs as instructed: $÷$ becomes $\times$, $\times$ becomes $÷$, + becomes - and - becomes +. So $27-6÷4+24\times 3$ becomes $27+6\times 4-24÷3$. By BODMAS do the multiplication and the division first: $6\times 4=24$ and $24÷3=8$. 27+24-8=51-8=43. Hence the required value is 43 and the correct option is (d).

Word coding, common words 'we like trees' → 'bv mn fd' ...(i) 'trees like water' → 'bv cx fd' ...(ii) The words 'like' and 'trees' appear in both sentences, and the codes 'bv' and 'fd' appear in both codes, so those two codes stand for 'like' and 'trees'. In (i) the only word left over is 'we' and the only code left over is 'mn'. Hence 'we' is coded as 'mn' and the correct option is (c).

Letter-cluster series Compare the three letters of each cluster separately. First letters: O, Q, S, U - each moves +2, so the next one is W. Second letters: A, C, E, G - each moves +2, so the next one is I. Third letters: S, U, W, Y - each moves +2, and after Y the alphabet starts again, so the next one is A. The missing cluster is WIA, so the correct option is (b).

Number series, growing difference Take the difference between consecutive terms. 195-175=20, 175-150=25, 150-120=30, 120-85=35. The number that is subtracted itself grows by 5 every time, so the next subtraction is 40. Required term =85-40=45. Hence the correct option is (a).

Alphabetical rearrangement Arrange the letters of HARMFUL in alphabetical order: A, F, H, L, M, R, U. The third letter from the left end is H and the third letter from the right end is M. Between H and M the alphabet has I, J, K, L, that is 4 letters. Hence the correct option is (a).

Missing letters in a series The series is 20 letters long; split it into blocks of five and the pattern shows itself: EGLMX / EGLMX / EGLMX / EGLMX. Block 1 is E _ _ M X, so the first two blanks are G and L. Block 2 is complete as E G L, so the next blanks carry M, X and then the E that opens block 3. Block 3 then reads E G L M _, so its blank is X, and block 4 needs G and L after its E. Reading the blanks in order gives G, L, M, X, E, X, G, L, so the correct option is (a).

Dice, opposite faces In the two positions the faces 10 and 8 are common, and they even occupy the same places. When two faces are common to both views, the two remaining visible faces cannot be adjacent to each other; they must lie opposite. So the face opposite 12 carries 9. Hence the correct option is (b).

Coded blood relations Read the expression $P+Q÷R-S\times T$ one symbol at a time. P+Q: P is the daughter of Q, so P is female. $Q÷R$: Q is the father of R. R-S: R is the brother of S, so S is also a child of Q. $S\times T$: S is the wife of T, so S is female. P and S are both daughters of Q, so they are sisters, and T is the husband of S. Therefore P is the sister of T's wife, and the correct option is (a).

Linear seating arrangement Number the seats 1 to 7 from the left; everyone faces north. No one sits to the left of E, so E takes seat 1. Four people sit between E and G, so G takes seat 6. Only three people sit to the right of F, so F takes seat 4. Seats 2, 3, 5 and 7 are left, and L immediately left of M can only be seats 2 and 3. K is not a neighbour of F, so K cannot take seat 5; K takes seat 7 and H takes seat 5. The order is E, L, M, F, H, G, K, so K sits at the rightmost end and the correct option is (c).

Letter-cluster analogy NAVI → QCYK: N+3=Q, A+2=C, V+3=Y, I+2=K. ZIHQ → CKKS uses the same steps: Z+3=C, I+2=K, H+3=K, Q+2=S. Apply +3, +2, +3, +2 to IOQW: I+3=L, O+2=Q, Q+3=T, W+2=Y. The required cluster is LQTY, so the correct option is (c).

Figure series, alternating designs Read the strip as two designs that take turns. Figures 1 and 3 are identical: H, θ, j along the top and p, τ, ● along the bottom. Figures 2 and 4 are the other design, in which the dot has moved to the bottom-left corner. Position 5 is an odd position, so it must repeat the design of figures 1 and 3. Only option (c) carries that design, so the correct option is (c).

Odd one out, letter clusters Write each cluster as alphabet positions and look at the two steps inside it. HEI: 8, 5, 9 - the steps are -3 and +4. QNR: 17, 14, 18 - the steps are -3 and +4. GDH: 7, 4, 8 - the steps are -3 and +4. DBE: 4, 2, 5 - the steps are -2 and +3, which is a different pattern. Hence DBE does not belong to the group and the correct option is (c).

Paper folding and punching The first fold brings the top half down on the bottom half; the second fold brings the right half onto the left half. The punch therefore passes through four thicknesses, so four punches appear when the sheet is opened. Opening the vertical fold puts a left-right mirror image of the punch in the bottom-right quarter. Opening the horizontal fold copies both punches into the top half, this time as top-bottom mirror images. Only option (b) shows the punch mirrored across both folds, so the correct option is (b).

Circular seating arrangement All six face the centre, so each person's left runs clockwise and each person's right runs anticlockwise. Fix Y, and put U to the immediate right of Y, that is one seat anticlockwise from Y. Y is third to the left of R, so R is three seats clockwise from Y. Only one person sits between Q and Y counting from the left of Y, so Q is two seats clockwise from Y. Two seats are still empty: the one next to Y and the one between R and U. S is not a neighbour of Y, so S takes the seat between R and U, and T takes the seat next to Y. Counting from the right of S, that is anticlockwise, we pass R and Q before reaching T. So two people sit between S and T, and the correct option is (a).

Embedded figure The given figure has three parts: a long vertical line, a branch from its middle that runs right and then slants up to the right, and a line from its foot that runs right and ends in a small hollow circle. Rotation is not allowed, so all three parts must appear in exactly this position and this direction. Options (a), (b) and (c) do contain a hollow circle, but in none of them is the vertical line joined to both the slanting branch and the foot in this way. Option (d) contains the whole figure: the vertical line, the branch that turns up to the right, and the foot that ends in the hollow circle. Hence the correct option is (d).

Letter-cluster analogy EWHO → HZKR: every letter moves +3 (E+3=H, W+3=Z, H+3=K, O+3=R). OPQM → RSTP confirms the same +3 shift. Apply +3 to LTOG: L+3=O, T+3=W, O+3=R, G+3=J. The required cluster is OWRJ, so the correct option is (a).

Alternating number series Two series are running alternately here, so take every second term. Terms in the odd places are 901, 902, 903, 904 - each one is +1. Terms in the even places are 888, 887, 886, ? - each one is -1. The question mark is the fourth term of the even-place series, so it is 886-1=885. Hence the correct option is (a).

Letter to number coding Write the alphabet position of each letter and compare it with its code number. X is 24 and its code is 6, and 24+6=30; E is 5 and its code is 25, and 5+25=30. So the code of a letter is 30 minus its position, which UBHW confirms (30-21=9, 30-2=28, 30-8=22, 30-23=7). For QCJR: 30-17=13, 30-3=27, 30-10=20, 30-18=12. The code is 13-27-20-12, so the correct option is (c).