About this quiz
Analytical Reasoning: Seating Arrangement, Ranking, Syllogism and Simple Puzzles
This Lok Sewa practice set has 50 multiple-choice questions (Subject: Maths and IQ · For: Kharidar · Level: Medium). Take the quiz above first; after that, use the study list below to revise every question with its correct answer and a short explanation.
Study list: all 50 questions with answers and explanations
A, B, C, D, E face north. C is in the middle, A at the left end, B to the right of C, E not next to A. Who is second from the left?
- A) D ✔
- B) B
- C) E
- D) C
Why: A is at position 1 and C at 3. E cannot be next to A, and B is to the right of C, so position 2 must be D.
In the same arrangement, who is at the right end?
- A) B
- B) E ✔
- C) D
- D) A
Why: The order is A, D, C, then B and E in positions 4–5. With the given conditions E ends up at the right end.
Ram is 7th from the top and 14th from the bottom. How many students are there?
- A) 20 ✔
- B) 21
- C) 19
- D) 22
Why: Total = position from top + position from bottom − 1 = 7 + 14 − 1 = 20.
Sita is 5th from the left and 8th from the right in a row. How many are in the row?
- A) 12 ✔
- B) 13
- C) 14
- D) 11
Why: Total = 5 + 8 − 1 = 12, because Sita is counted in both positions.
All clerks are employees. All employees are citizens. Conclusion: All clerks are citizens.
- A) Follows ✔
- B) Does not follow
Why: Clerks are inside employees, and employees are inside citizens, so all clerks must be citizens. The conclusion follows.
All pens are books. Some books are bags. Conclusion: Some pens are bags.
- A) Follows
- B) Does not follow ✔
Why: Pens are inside books, but the books that are bags may not include any pens. So 'some pens are bags' does not follow.
No cat is a dog. All dogs are animals. Conclusion: No cat is an animal.
- A) Follows
- B) Does not follow ✔
Why: Dogs are animals, but cats can also be animals. 'No cat is a dog' does not mean cats are not animals, so it does not follow.
Some officers are clerks. All clerks are literate. Conclusion: Some officers are literate.
- A) Follows ✔
- B) Does not follow
Why: The officers who are clerks are literate, because all clerks are literate. So some officers are literate.
In a circle facing the centre, moving to someone's left means moving:
- A) Clockwise ✔
- B) Anticlockwise
Why: When people face the centre of a circle, each person's left is in the clockwise direction.
Gita works on Monday; Ram works the day after Gita. Ram works on:
- A) Sunday
- B) Tuesday ✔
- C) Wednesday
- D) Monday
Why: The day after Monday is Tuesday, so Ram works on Tuesday.
Five people in a row: P is left of Q, Q is left of R. Who is furthest left among P, Q, R?
- A) P ✔
- B) Q
- C) R
Why: P is left of Q and Q is left of R, so the order is P, Q, R and P is furthest left.
In a class of 30, Hari is 10th from the top. His rank from the bottom is:
- A) 20
- B) 21 ✔
- C) 19
- D) 11
Why: Rank from bottom = total − rank from top + 1 = 30 − 10 + 1 = 21.
"All A are B" and "All B are C". Which follows?
- A) All C are A
- B) All A are C ✔
- C) No A is C
- D) Some C are not B
Why: A is inside B and B is inside C, so A is inside C: all A are C.
When solving puzzles, the first step should be to:
- A) Guess the answer
- B) Make a table of facts ✔
- C) Read only the question
- D) Skip "not" facts
Why: First write all the facts in a table or diagram, including the 'not' facts. Then solve step by step.
A is taller than B; C is shorter than B. Who is the tallest?
- A) A ✔
- B) B
- C) C
- D) Cannot say
Why: A > B and B > C, so A is the tallest.
Statements: All cats are animals. All animals are living things. Conclusion: All cats are living things. Does it follow?
- A) Yes, it follows ✔
- B) No
- C) Only some cats
- D) Cannot say
Why: Cats are inside animals and animals inside living things, so all cats are living things. It follows.
Statements: Some pens are blue. All blue things are bright. Which conclusion follows?
- A) Some pens are bright ✔
- B) All pens are bright
- C) No pen is bright
- D) All bright things are pens
Why: The pens that are blue are bright, because all blue things are bright. So some pens are bright.
Statements: No bird is a fish. Some fish are big. Which conclusion follows?
- A) Some big things are not birds ✔
- B) All big things are birds
- C) Some birds are fish
- D) No fish is big
Why: Some fish are big, and no fish is a bird. Those big fish are not birds, so some big things are not birds.
Statements: All roses are flowers. Some flowers are red. Conclusions: I. Some roses are red. II. All flowers are roses.
- A) Neither I nor II follows ✔
- B) Only I follows
- C) Only II follows
- D) Both follow
Why: The red flowers may not include any roses, and flowers are not all roses. Neither conclusion follows.
Statements: All teachers are graduates. Ram is a teacher. Conclusion:
- A) Ram is a graduate ✔
- B) Ram is not a graduate
- C) All graduates are teachers
- D) Ram is a student
Why: Ram belongs to the group 'teachers', and all teachers are graduates, so Ram is a graduate.
Statements: No A is B. All C are B. Which conclusion follows?
- A) No C is A ✔
- B) All A are C
- C) Some C are A
- D) All B are A
Why: All C are B, and no A is B. So nothing that is C can be A: no C is A.
Statements: All A are B. No B is C. Which conclusion follows?
- A) No A is C ✔
- B) Some A are C
- C) All C are A
- D) All B are A
Why: All A are inside B, and B never meets C. So A never meets C: no A is C.
Statements: Some officers are honest. All honest people are respected. Conclusion:
- A) Some officers are respected ✔
- B) All officers are respected
- C) No officer is respected
- D) All respected people are officers
Why: The honest officers are respected, because all honest people are respected. So some officers are respected.
Rule: Only graduates can apply. Hari applied. Which follows (if the rule was obeyed)?
- A) Hari is a graduate ✔
- B) Hari is not a graduate
- C) Hari is a teacher
- D) Nothing
Why: If only graduates may apply and the rule was followed, anyone who applied, including Hari, must be a graduate.
P, Q, R, S, T sit in a row from left to right in that order. Who is in the middle?
- A) R ✔
- B) Q
- C) S
- D) P
Why: In P, Q, R, S, T, the third (middle) person is R.
A, B, C, D, E sit in a row facing north. A is at the left end, E at the right end, C in the middle and B next to A. Who sits between C and E?
- A) D ✔
- B) B
- C) A
- D) Nobody
Why: The order is A, B, C, D, E, so D sits between C and E.
A is taller than B and B is taller than C. Who is the tallest?
- A) A ✔
- B) B
- C) C
- D) Cannot say
Why: A > B > C, so A is the tallest.
R scored more than P, P more than Q, and S scored the least. Who is second?
- A) P ✔
- B) Q
- C) R
- D) S
Why: The order is R > P > Q > S, so P is second.
Chandra is older than Amit, and Amit is older than Binod. Who is the youngest?
- A) Binod ✔
- B) Amit
- C) Chandra
- D) Cannot say
Why: Chandra > Amit > Binod in age, so Binod is the youngest.
If today is Wednesday, what day will it be after 10 days?
- A) Saturday ✔
- B) Friday
- C) Sunday
- D) Thursday
Why: 10 days = 1 week + 3 days. Wednesday + 3 days = Saturday.
If the day before yesterday was Sunday, what will the day after tomorrow be?
- A) Thursday ✔
- B) Wednesday
- C) Friday
- D) Tuesday
Why: If the day before yesterday was Sunday, today is Tuesday. The day after tomorrow is Thursday.
If tomorrow is Friday, what was yesterday?
- A) Wednesday ✔
- B) Thursday
- C) Tuesday
- D) Saturday
Why: If tomorrow is Friday, today is Thursday, so yesterday was Wednesday.
Find the next: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, ?
- A) Sunday ✔
- B) Saturday
- C) Monday
- D) Thursday
Why: The series skips one day each time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
If 5 machines make 5 items in 5 minutes, how long will 100 machines take to make 100 items?
- A) 5 minutes ✔
- B) 100 minutes
- C) 20 minutes
- D) 1 minute
Why: Each machine makes one item in 5 minutes. So 100 machines make 100 items in the same 5 minutes.
Five people each shake hands once with every other person. How many handshakes?
- A) 10 ✔
- B) 20
- C) 25
- D) 5
Why: Handshakes = n(n − 1) ÷ 2 = 5 × 4 ÷ 2 = 10.
A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 die. How many are left?
- A) 9 ✔
- B) 8
- C) 17
- D) 0
Why: 'All but 9 die' means 9 sheep stay alive.
If A > B, B = C and C > D, which is definitely true?
- A) A > D ✔
- B) D > A
- C) A = D
- D) B < D
Why: A > B, B = C and C > D, so A > C > D. A > D is definitely true.
If P < Q, Q < R and R < S, which is the largest?
- A) S ✔
- B) R
- C) Q
- D) P
Why: P < Q < R < S, so S is the largest.
Five books are stacked. Nepali is on top, Social at the bottom, Maths is above Science and Science is above English. Which book is in the middle?
- A) Science ✔
- B) Maths
- C) English
- D) Nepali
Why: From top: Nepali, Maths, Science, English, Social. The middle (third) book is Science.
Gita works on alternate days starting Monday. Does she work on Saturday?
- A) No ✔
- B) Yes
- C) Only half day
- D) Cannot say
Why: Working alternate days from Monday gives Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. Saturday is not a working day.
In a class, 20 like tea, 15 like coffee and 5 like both. How many like at least one?
- A) 30 ✔
- B) 35
- C) 40
- D) 25
Why: At least one = tea + coffee − both = 20 + 15 − 5 = 30.
In a group of 50, 30 speak Nepali and 25 speak English; everyone speaks at least one. How many speak both?
- A) 5 ✔
- B) 10
- C) 15
- D) 0
Why: Both = 30 + 25 − 50 = 5, because everyone speaks at least one language.
How many 50-paisa coins make Rs 10?
- A) 20 ✔
- B) 10
- C) 50
- D) 5
Why: Rs 10 ÷ Rs 0.50 = 20 coins.
Statements: Some A are B. Some B are C. Which is true?
- A) No definite conclusion about A and C ✔
- B) All A are C
- C) Some A are C
- D) No A is C
Why: The A that are B and the B that are C may be different, so nothing definite can be said about A and C.
If all Bloops are Razzies and all Razzies are Lazzies, then:
- A) All Bloops are Lazzies ✔
- B) All Lazzies are Bloops
- C) No Bloop is a Lazzie
- D) Some Razzies are not Bloops
Why: Bloops are inside Razzies, and Razzies inside Lazzies, so all Bloops are Lazzies.
Six friends sit around a round table. How many neighbours does each person have?
- A) 2 ✔
- B) 1
- C) 3
- D) 5
Why: At a round table each person has one neighbour on each side, so two neighbours.
Eight people sit in a circle facing the centre. A is opposite E. How many people sit between A and E on either side?
- A) 3 ✔
- B) 2
- C) 4
- D) 1
Why: With 8 people in a circle, the people between two opposite seats are (8 − 2) ÷ 2 = 3 on each side.
Ram is taller than Hari but shorter than Shyam. Gopal is shorter than Hari. Who is the shortest?
- A) Gopal ✔
- B) Hari
- C) Ram
- D) Shyam
Why: Shyam > Ram > Hari > Gopal, so Gopal is the shortest.
A train leaves every 40 minutes from 6:00 am. When does the 4th train leave?
- A) 8:00 am ✔
- B) 8:40 am
- C) 7:20 am
- D) 7:40 am
Why: Trains leave at 6:00, 6:40, 7:20 and 8:00. The 4th train leaves at 8:00 am.
Which number comes next: 1, 4, 7, 10, ?
- A) 13 ✔
- B) 12
- C) 14
- D) 11
Why: Each term increases by 3: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13.