Reasoning questions asked in more than one past WBCS Preliminary Examination and WBCS Main Examination paper — the same question, or the same fact in different words — most asked first, each with its answer. Free to read.
Answer: (D) gala
'acme' rearranged (reversed) gives 'emca' — but checking: 'mace' is an anagram of 'acme'. Similarly, the letters of 'alga' rearranged give 'gala'. The relationship is: one word is an anagram of the other word. A-L-G-A rearranged = G-A-L-A.
Answer: (B) Hearing
Stammering is an impediment to speech (the act of speaking). By the same relationship, Deafness is an impediment to Hearing (the act of hearing). The analogy pairs a disability with the function it impairs, not the organ involved.
The same question, reworded
Asked in Prelims 2022
Answer: (C) NLMK
Every letter moves back by 4 places from one term to the next. First letters: Z, V, R, N, J. Second letters: X, T, P, L, H. Third letters: Y, U, Q, M, I. Fourth letters: W, S, O, K, G. So the fourth term is N-L-M-K. Check with the fifth term JHIG, which fits each of the four series.
Asked in Prelims 2016
Answer: (C) NLMK.
Pattern: each group decreases by 4 from the previous starting letter. Z→V→R→N→J. The 4th group starts with N. Within each group: first letter, then skip one back, next two consecutive: NLMK? Source key gives (C) NLMK. N=14, L=12, M=13, K=11 — follows NLMK pattern.
The same question, reworded
Asked in Prelims 2022
Answer: (A) KKK
Treat the first, second and third letters as three separate series. First letters: A, F, K, P ($+5$ each time). Second letters: C, G, K, O ($+4$). Third letters: E, H, K, N ($+3$). The missing term is therefore K-K-K. Check with the last term: P, O, N fits all three series, which confirms the pattern.
Asked in Prelims 2015
Answer: (A) KKK
Tracing the pattern through the grid: A (+5)→F (+4)→K (+5)→P; C (+4)→G (+4)→K (+4)→O; E (+3)→H (+3)→K (+3)→N. Each series of three letters yields the middle group as K, K, K — so the missing term is KKK.
Answer: (D) 3
The middle of 15 chairs is the 8th chair, so P is 8th from either end. Q is 12th from the right, i.e. $15 - 12 + 1 = 4$th from the left. Between the 4th and the 8th chairs lie the 5th, 6th and 7th, i.e. $8 - 4 - 1 = 3$ chairs. Formula to remember: position from left = total - position from right + 1.
The same question, reworded
Asked in Prelims 2022
Answer: (C) VTT
This is the reverse-alphabet code: each letter is replaced by the letter at the same position from the other end (A-Z, B-Y, C-X, ...), so the two positions always add up to 27. C(3) becomes X(24), A(1) becomes Z(26), T(20) becomes G(7). Therefore E(5) becomes V(22) and G(7) becomes T(20), giving EGG = VTT.
Asked in Prelims 2015
Answer: (C) 'VTT'
From the code: C→X, A→Z, T→G; B→Y, O→L, A→Z, T→G. The pattern is: each letter maps to a partner by the rule C+X=27, A+Z=27, T+G=27, B+Y=27, O+L=27. So E+V=27? No — E=5, V=22, total=27. G+T=27 (G=7, T=20). So E→V, G→T, G→T. EGG = VTT.
The same question, reworded
Asked in Prelims 2020
Answer: (C) Chirag and Ela
Placing all six around the hexagon per the given clues shows that Chirag and Ela end up directly opposite each other.
Asked in Prelims 2018
Answer: (C) Chirag and Ela
Number the six seats 1 to 6 round the table; seats facing each other are 1-4, 2-5 and 3-6. Put Belal at 1 and Arup opposite at 4. Chirag and Derek are on either side of Belal (seats 2 and 6), and Ela and Farook on either side of Arup (seats 3 and 5). Ela is next to Derek, so Ela and Derek are on the same side, which leaves Chirag facing Ela and Derek facing Farook.
