Part II-A: Advanced Reasoning — Puzzles and Analytical Ability

Seating Arrangement Puzzles

Seating arrangement questions test the ability to track relative positions among a group of people arranged in a line, row, or around a table (circular or rectangular), based on a set of clues given in no particular order. The key strategy is to identify the clue that fixes the most information first (an absolute position, such as "at one end" or "third from the left"), place it, and then work through relative clues (such as "to the immediate right of" or "not adjacent to") in the order that resolves the most ambiguity.

For circular arrangements, a critical distinction is whether people face the centre or face outward, as this reverses the sense of "left" and "right." For linear arrangements facing north versus facing south, left and right are similarly reversed. Candidates should always note the facing direction stated in the puzzle before assigning positions.

Blood Relation Puzzles

Blood relation puzzles require tracking generational and lateral relationships (parent-child, sibling, spousal, and in-law relationships), often introduced through coded or indirect statements such as "A is the son of B's brother's wife." A systematic approach involves building a family tree diagram as each clue is processed, using standard symbols (a horizontal line for spousal relationships, vertical lines for parent-child), and resolving gender-ambiguous relationships (such as "child," "cousin," or "sibling") only once explicitly stated or logically forced by other clues.

Syllogisms

Syllogism questions present two or more premises (such as "All A are B" and "Some B are C") and ask which conclusions necessarily follow. The Venn diagram method is the most reliable approach: draw all possible diagrams consistent with the premises, and a conclusion "follows" only if it is true in every possible diagram, not just some.

Common syllogism forms include: "All A are B" (A is entirely contained within B), "No A is B" (A and B do not overlap at all), "Some A are B" (A and B overlap at least partially), and "Some A are not B" (there exists at least one A outside B). Combining these correctly, rather than relying on intuition, is essential to avoid the common trap of assuming a conclusion "feels" true without verifying it holds in all valid diagrams.

Coding-Decoding

Coding-decoding questions establish a substitution rule between letters, numbers, or symbols and a coded representation, then ask the candidate to apply the same rule to a new word or number. Common rule types include: a fixed letter shift (each letter moved forward or backward by a constant number of positions in the alphabet), a reversal of letter order, or a substitution based on numeric position values (A=1, B=2, and so on) with arithmetic operations applied.

Direction Sense

Direction sense questions track a person's movement through a series of turns and distances, then ask for the final position or distance from the starting point relative to the origin. The standard approach is to plot each movement on a mental (or literal, on scratch paper) coordinate grid, with North as positive Y, East as positive X, and to apply the Pythagorean theorem when the question asks for straight-line distance rather than direction.

Practice Set — Advanced Reasoning (12 MCQs)

1. Six people P, Q, R, S, T, U sit around a circular table facing the centre, evenly spaced. P is second to the right of Q. R is to the immediate left of P. S sits opposite Q, and U sits to the immediate right of S. Who sits opposite P?
   (a) T (b) Q (c) R (d) U
2. A is the son of B. C is the sister of A. D is the mother of B. How is D related to C?
   (a) Grandmother (b) Mother (c) Aunt (d) Sister
3. Statements: All pens are pencils. Some pencils are erasers. Conclusion I: Some pens are erasers. Conclusion II: Some erasers are pencils.
   (a) Only II follows (b) Only I follows (c) Both follow (d) Neither follows
4. If "STONE" is coded as "TUPOF," how is "CHAIR" coded?
   (a) DIBJS (b) DIBJT (c) DHBJS (d) DIBIS
5. A person walks 6 km north, turns right and walks 8 km, then turns right again and walks 6 km. How far is he from the starting point?
   (a) 8 km (b) 14 km (c) 6 km (d) 20 km
6. In a row of 20 people, Rekha is 7th from the left. If she is also 8th from the right after 5 people leave from the right end, find her original position from the right.
   (a) 14th (b) 13th (c) 15th (d) 12th
7. P is the brother of Q. Q is the daughter of R. S is the husband of R. How is P related to S?
   (a) Son (b) Nephew (c) Son-in-law (d) Brother
8. Statements: No cup is a plate. All plates are dishes. Conclusion I: No cup is a dish. Conclusion II: Some dishes are not cups.
   (a) Only II follows (b) Only I follows (c) Both follow (d) Neither follows
9. If "MOUSE" is coded as "NPVTF," how is "TABLE" coded?
   (a) UBCMF (b) UBCMG (c) UBDMF (d) TBCMF
10. A man walks 5 km east, then 12 km north. How far is he from the starting point?
    (a) 13 km (b) 17 km (c) 7 km (d) 12 km
11. Five friends sit in a row from left to right in the order: C, A, B, D, E. Who is in the middle (3rd position)?
    (a) B (b) A (c) D (d) E
12. X is the father of Y. Z is the daughter of Y. W is the husband of Z's mother. How is X related to W?
    (a) Father-in-law (b) Grandfather (c) Brother (d) Uncle

Answer Key

1.(a) Numbering seats 0-5 clockwise with Q at 0: P (second to the right of Q) is at 2; R (immediate left of P) is at 1; S (opposite Q) is at 3; U (immediate right of S) is at 4, leaving T at 5. The seat opposite P (position 2) is position 5, which is T.

2.(a) D is B's mother, so D is A's and C's grandmother.

3.(a) "Some pencils are erasers" combined with "all pens are pencils" does not guarantee any pen is an eraser, but it does mean some erasers are pencils (since some pencils are erasers, the reverse also holds for at least those elements) — so only conclusion II follows.

4.(a) Each letter shifts forward by one: C→D, H→I, A→B, I→J, R→S = DIBJS.

5.(a) The three movements form a right-angle path: 6 km north, 8 km east, 6 km south — the two 6 km legs cancel vertically, leaving only the 8 km eastward displacement.

6.(a) Original position from right = 20−7+1 = 14th.

7.(a) Q is R's daughter and P's sibling, so P is also R's child; S is R's husband, making P his son.

8.(a) Since no cup is a plate and all plates are dishes, it does not follow that no cup is a dish (a cup could be a dish through another route), but it does follow that some dishes (the plates) are not cups — so only conclusion II follows.

9.(a) Each letter shifts forward by one: T→U, A→B, B→C, L→M, E→F = UBCMF.

10.(a) Using the Pythagorean theorem: √(5²+12²)=√(25+144)=√169=13 km.

11.(a) In the order C, A, B, D, E, the 3rd (middle) position is occupied by B.

12.(a) Y is X's child and Z's parent; W is Z's mother's husband, i.e., Y's husband if Y is female, making X his father-in-law.