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IBPS SO practice questions

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Question 1Reasoning

In a coded language, 'IBPS SO' is written as 'J CQT TP'. Using the same code, how is 'BANK' written?

  1. CBNL
  2. CBOL Correct answer.
  3. DBOL
  4. CBOM

Explanation

Each letter is shifted one place forward in the alphabet: B→C, A→B, N→O, K→L. Applying the same single-step forward shift to BANK gives CBOL. The rule is consistent because every letter of the given example advanced by exactly one position.

Question 2Reasoning

Six officers A, B, C, D, E and F sit in a straight row facing north. C sits at the extreme left end. D sits second to the right of C. E sits immediately right of D. Which officer sits fourth from the left end?

  1. F
  2. D
  3. A
  4. E Correct answer.

Explanation

C is at position 1, so D is at position 3 and E is immediately at position 4. Positions 4, 5 and 6 are E, and two others not yet placed, so E is fixed at the fourth seat from the left. The remaining officers cannot occupy position 4 because E is placed there by the immediate-right condition.

Question 3Reasoning

Pointing to a photograph, Ravi says, 'She is the daughter of the only son of my grandfather.' How is the woman in the photograph related to Ravi?

  1. Cousin
  2. Sister Correct answer.
  3. Aunt
  4. Niece

Explanation

The only son of Ravi's grandfather is Ravi's father. The daughter of Ravi's father is Ravi's sister (or Ravi himself if the speaker were female, but the speaker is male). Therefore the woman in the photograph is Ravi's sister.

Question 4Reasoning

Statements: All clerks are officers. Some officers are managers. Conclusions: I. Some clerks are managers. II. Some officers are clerks. Which conclusion follows?

  1. Neither I nor II follows
  2. Both I and II follow
  3. Only I follows
  4. Only II follows Correct answer.

Explanation

From 'All clerks are officers' we can convert to 'Some officers are clerks', so conclusion II follows. Conclusion I does not follow because the managers who are officers need not include any clerk; the overlap is not guaranteed. Hence only II is a valid deduction.

Question 5Reasoning

In a certain code, if 'RAIN' is written as 'SBJO', what does 'CLOUD' become under the same rule?

  1. DNPVE
  2. DMPVF
  3. DMOVE
  4. DMPVE Correct answer.

Explanation

Every letter in RAIN moves one step forward: R→S, A→B, I→J, N→O. Applying the same one-step forward shift to CLOUD gives D, M, P, V, E, which is DMPVE. Each letter is treated independently with the same fixed shift.

Question 6Reasoning

Five files are stacked one above another. File P is above Q but below R. File S is below Q. File T is at the top. Which file is at the bottom of the stack?

  1. Q
  2. T
  3. S Correct answer.
  4. P

Explanation

T is at the top. The order R above P, P above Q, and Q above S gives the sequence T, R, P, Q, S from top to bottom. Therefore S occupies the bottom position. Every stated relation is consistent with this single arrangement.

Question 7Reasoning

A series of figures follows the rule: the number of sides increases by one each step and the shading alternates. If the 4th figure has 6 sides and is shaded, how many sides does the 6th figure have?

  1. 7
  2. 8 Correct answer.
  3. 9
  4. 6

Explanation

The side count rises by one per step, so the 5th figure has 7 sides and the 6th has 8 sides. Shading alternates independently and does not affect the count. Thus the 6th figure has 8 sides.

Question 8Reasoning

In a row of 40 candidates facing north, Priya is 12th from the left end. What is her position from the right end?

  1. 29th Correct answer.
  2. 27th
  3. 30th
  4. 28th

Explanation

Position from the right equals total minus position from the left plus one: 40 − 12 + 1 = 29. The '+1' is needed because Priya's own seat is counted once in each direction. So she is 29th from the right.

Question 9Reasoning

Statement: The bank has decided to close all branches in rural areas and shift operations online. Which of the following is a possible effect of this decision?

  1. Rural customers may face difficulty accessing banking services Correct answer.
  2. All rural customers will immediately stop banking
  3. The bank's total deposits will certainly double
  4. The number of bank employees will become zero

Explanation

A possible effect must follow plausibly from the stated decision without overstating certainty. Closing rural branches while moving online can reasonably make access harder for rural customers who lack connectivity. The other options use absolute terms such as 'certainly', 'immediately' and 'zero' that cannot be inferred.

Question 10Reasoning

Eight people sit around a circular table facing the centre. If A sits third to the left of B, and only these two are considered, how many people sit between A and B when counted clockwise from B to A?

  1. Four
  2. Three
  3. Two Correct answer.
  4. One

Explanation

Third to the left means two people sit between them on that side. In an eight-person circle, moving clockwise from B to A passes over exactly those two intervening seats. Hence two people sit between B and A in that direction.

Question 11Reasoning

Find the next term in the series: 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, ?

  1. 125
  2. 127 Correct answer.
  3. 129
  4. 126

Explanation

Each term equals double the previous term plus one: 3×2+1=7, 7×2+1=15, and so on. Applying the rule to 63 gives 63×2+1=127. Equivalently each term is one less than a power of two.

Question 12Reasoning

Six boxes are arranged in a single row. Box M is exactly between boxes K and O. Box N is to the immediate right of O. If K is at the leftmost end, which box is second from the left?

  1. N
  2. M Correct answer.
  3. O
  4. K

Explanation

If K is leftmost and M is exactly between K and O, the arrangement begins K, M, O. N is immediately right of O, giving K, M, O, N. Therefore the second box from the left is M. The 'exactly between' clue fixes M's position relative to K and O.

Question 13Reasoning

Statements: No pen is a book. Some books are copies. Conclusion: Some copies are not pens. Does the conclusion follow?

  1. Cannot be determined from any logic
  2. Yes, it follows Correct answer.
  3. No, it does not follow
  4. Only if all copies are books

Explanation

The books that are copies cannot be pens, because no pen is a book. Those copy-books are therefore copies that are not pens, so 'some copies are not pens' is valid. The conclusion follows directly from combining the two statements.

Question 14Reasoning

In a code, 'MANGO' is written as 'NBOHP'. How is 'GRAPE' written in the same code?

  1. HSBQF Correct answer.
  2. GSBQF
  3. HSBQE
  4. HRBQF

Explanation

Each letter shifts one place forward: M→N, A→B, N→O, G→H, O→P. Applying the same shift to GRAPE gives H, S, B, Q, F, i.e. HSBQF. The transformation is uniform across all letters.

Question 15Reasoning

A is the brother of B. B is the sister of C. C is the father of D. How is A related to D?

  1. Grandfather
  2. Brother
  3. Uncle Correct answer.
  4. Father

Explanation

A is a male sibling of B and C, making A the brother of C. Since C is D's father, A is the brother of D's father, which is the paternal uncle. Therefore A is D's uncle.

Question 16Reasoning

Five friends P, Q, R, S and T have different heights. P is taller than Q but shorter than R. S is shorter than Q. T is the tallest. Who is the shortest?

  1. Q
  2. R
  3. P
  4. S Correct answer.

Explanation

Ordering from the clues: T is tallest, R is above P, P is above Q, and S is below Q. This gives T > R > P > Q > S, so S is the shortest. Every friend is placed uniquely by these comparisons.

Question 17Reasoning

A statement is followed by two assumptions. Statement: 'Please use the mobile banking app to avoid long queues at branches.' Assumptions: I. Customers may prefer to avoid standing in queues. II. All customers own a smartphone. Which assumption is implicit?

  1. Both I and II are implicit
  2. Only I is implicit Correct answer.
  3. Only II is implicit
  4. Neither I nor II is implicit

Explanation

The request to avoid queues assumes that customers would want to avoid queues, so assumption I is implicit. Assumption II is too strong because the message does not require every customer to own a smartphone. Hence only I is implicit.

Question 18Reasoning

In a certain code, 'SOFT' is written as 'TQHW'. What is the shift applied to each letter?

  1. Plus two for every letter
  2. Alternating plus one and minus one
  3. Plus one for every letter
  4. Plus one, plus two, plus three, plus four Correct answer.

Explanation

S→T is +1, O→Q is +2, F→H is +3, T→W is +4, so the shift grows by one each position. This progressive pattern differs from a uniform shift. Recognising the increasing gaps is the key to decoding SOFT as TQHW.

Question 19Reasoning

A clock shows 3:00. What is the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand?

  1. 60 degrees
  2. 90 degrees Correct answer.
  3. 45 degrees
  4. 120 degrees

Explanation

At 3:00 the minute hand points at 12 and the hour hand points at 3. Each hour mark spans 30 degrees, and three marks separate them, giving 3 × 30 = 90 degrees. The hands are exactly perpendicular at this time.

Question 20Reasoning

Today is Wednesday. What day will it be after 100 days?

  1. Thursday
  2. Friday Correct answer.
  3. Monday
  4. Saturday

Explanation

Divide 100 by 7: the remainder is 2, since 7 × 14 = 98. Moving two days forward from Wednesday gives Friday. Only the remainder matters because each full week returns to the same weekday.

Question 21Reasoning

A cube is painted on all faces and then cut into 27 equal smaller cubes. How many of the smaller cubes have exactly two faces painted?

  1. 6
  2. 8
  3. 12 Correct answer.
  4. 1

Explanation

Cubes with exactly two painted faces lie on the edges but not at the corners. A cube has 12 edges, and in a 3×3×3 cut each edge contributes exactly one such cube. So there are 12 cubes with two painted faces.

Question 22Reasoning

Statement: Several customers have complained that loan processing at the bank takes too long. Course of action: The bank should set a fixed maximum turnaround time for loan decisions. Which course of action follows?

  1. The proposed action follows Correct answer.
  2. The proposed action does not follow
  3. The bank should stop giving loans
  4. The bank should ignore the complaints

Explanation

A course of action follows if it addresses the stated problem constructively. Setting a maximum turnaround time directly tackles the delay in loan processing, so the action is appropriate. The other options either avoid the problem or worsen it.

Question 23Reasoning

Seven people are ranked by performance. U is ranked above V. W is ranked above U. X is ranked below V. Y is ranked above W. Who is ranked highest among these five?

  1. Y Correct answer.
  2. U
  3. W
  4. V

Explanation

Chain the comparisons: Y above W, W above U, U above V, and V above X. This gives Y > W > U > V > X, so Y is the highest. The relations form a single consistent ordering with Y at the top.

Question 24Reasoning

In a family, there are two fathers and two sons, yet only three people. How is this possible?

  1. Three brothers
  2. A father and two daughters
  3. Two unrelated men and a boy
  4. A grandfather, his son, and his grandson Correct answer.

Explanation

With a grandfather, his son and his grandson, the grandfather and son are fathers, while the son and grandson are sons. That gives two fathers and two sons using only three people. The roles overlap because the middle person is both a father and a son.

Question 25Reasoning

In a code, 'DELHI' is written as 'EFMIJ'. Which word is written as 'GJWFS' under the same code?

  1. HIVER
  2. FIVET
  3. FIVES
  4. FIVER Correct answer.

Explanation

The code shifts every letter one place forward. To decode GJWFS, shift each letter one place backward: G→F, J→I, W→V, F→E, S→R, giving FIVER. Decoding always reverses the encoding shift.

Question 26Reasoning

In a coded language used in bank aptitude tests, 'CREDIT' is written as 'DSEDIT'. Which letter-position rule produces this transformation?

  1. Every letter moves one place backward
  2. Only the first letter moves one place forward, the rest stay unchanged Correct answer.
  3. The first and last letters swap places
  4. Every letter moves one place forward

Explanation

Comparing CREDIT with DSEDIT, only C changes to D while R, E, D, I, T remain in place. The rule is therefore a single forward shift of the first letter only, which is a common selective-position coding pattern in reasoning papers.

Question 27Reasoning

In a reasoning test, the word 'BANK' is coded by writing each letter's position value and then reversing the digits. What is the code for 'BANK'?

  1. 2 1 41 11 Correct answer.
  2. 2 1 14 11
  3. 11 14 1 2
  4. 2 1 41 1

Explanation

B=2, A=1, N=14, K=11. Reversing the digits of each value gives 2, 1, 41 and 11, so the code reads 2 1 41 11. Only two-digit values change, since single-digit values reversed stay the same.

Question 28Reasoning

Pointing to a photograph, a bank officer says, 'She is the only daughter of my mother's only son.' The officer has no sisters. How is the girl in the photograph related to the officer?

  1. Daughter Correct answer.
  2. Sister
  3. Niece
  4. Cousin

Explanation

The officer's mother's only son must be the officer himself, since he has no sisters. The only daughter of that son is therefore the officer's own daughter.

Question 29Reasoning

P is the father of Q. Q is the wife of R. S is the mother of R. T is the son of R. How is S related to T?

  1. Sister
  2. Mother
  3. Aunt
  4. Grandmother Correct answer.

Explanation

S is the mother of R, and R is the father of T. Therefore S is the father's mother of T, that is, his grandmother. The link is traced through two generations on the paternal side.

Question 30Reasoning

A bank wants to rank five officers by performance. A scores higher than B but lower than C. D scores higher than C. E scores lower than B. Who has the lowest score?

  1. B
  2. E Correct answer.
  3. A
  4. D

Explanation

From the clues the order is D > C > A > B > E. E lies below B, and B already lies below everyone else except E, so E is the lowest scorer.

Question 31Reasoning

In a row of bank employees standing in a line facing north, Ravi is 9th from the left end and 14th from the right end. How many employees are in the row?

  1. 23
  2. 21
  3. 22 Correct answer.
  4. 24

Explanation

For a single row, total = position from left + position from right − 1 = 9 + 14 − 1 = 22. The subtraction removes the double counting of Ravi himself.

Question 32Reasoning

Five clerks sit in a row facing north. M sits at the extreme left. N sits second to the right of M. O sits immediately to the right of N. P sits at the extreme right. Who sits exactly in the middle?

  1. N
  2. P
  3. M
  4. O Correct answer.

Explanation

Numbering seats 1 to 5 from the left: M=1, N=3, O=4, P=5, leaving Q=2. The middle seat is seat 3, occupied by N, and O is directly next to it.

Question 33Reasoning

Six officers sit around a circular table facing the centre. If A sits opposite D, and B sits immediately to the right of A, how many seats separate B from D along the shorter arc?

  1. Four
  2. Three
  3. One
  4. Two Correct answer.

Explanation

With six seats, opposite seats are three places apart. A and D are three apart, and B is one place clockwise from A, so B is two places from D on the shorter side. Hence exactly two seats lie between them.

Question 34Reasoning

A series of figures follows this rule: the number of dots increases by successive odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7 and the figure rotates 90 degrees clockwise each step. If the fourth figure has 16 dots, how many dots does the sixth figure have?

  1. 36
  2. 30
  3. 25 Correct answer.
  4. 24

Explanation

The total after n steps is the sum of the first n odd numbers, which equals n squared. The fourth figure having 16 dots confirms this, so the sixth figure has 6 squared = 36 dots, and the fifth has 25.

Question 35Reasoning

A square sheet is folded once along a diagonal and then a single hole is punched through both layers. When the sheet is unfolded, how are the holes arranged?

  1. One hole only, at the centre
  2. Two holes on the same side of the fold line
  3. Two holes placed symmetrically about the fold line Correct answer.
  4. Four holes at the four corners

Explanation

Punching through a folded sheet creates a mirror image of the hole on the other side of the fold line. Unfolding therefore gives two holes placed symmetrically with respect to the diagonal crease.

Question 36Reasoning

A cube is painted on all faces and then cut into 64 equal smaller cubes. How many of the smaller cubes have exactly one painted face?

  1. 32
  2. 8
  3. 24 Correct answer.
  4. 16

Explanation

A 4×4×4 cut leaves a 2×2 block of one-face cubes at the centre of each of the six faces. That gives 6 × 4 = 24 cubes with exactly one painted face.

Question 37Reasoning

A clock shows 4:20. What is the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand?

  1. 20 degrees
  2. 30 degrees
  3. 0 degrees
  4. 10 degrees Correct answer.

Explanation

At 4:20 the minute hand points at 4, i.e. 120 degrees from 12. The hour hand has moved 4 hours plus one-third of an hour, giving 4 × 30 + 20 × 0.5 = 130 degrees. The difference is 10 degrees.

Question 38Reasoning

If 15 August of a certain year falls on a Friday, what day of the week will 15 October of the same year fall on?

  1. Sunday Correct answer.
  2. Saturday
  3. Tuesday
  4. Monday

Explanation

From 15 August to 15 October there are 16 days in August plus 30 days in September plus 15 days in October, totalling 61 days. Since 61 divided by 7 leaves remainder 5, moving five days forward from Friday gives Sunday.

Question 39Reasoning

Statements: All auditors are graduates. Some graduates are trainees. Which conclusion follows necessarily?

  1. All graduates are auditors
  2. No trainee is an auditor
  3. Some trainees are graduates Correct answer.
  4. All trainees are auditors

Explanation

The second statement says some graduates are trainees, so converting it gives some trainees are graduates. This conversion is always valid for a particular affirmative statement. The other options add links between auditors and trainees that the statements do not support.

Question 40Reasoning

Statements: All loans are approved. No approved item is rejected. Which conclusion follows necessarily?

  1. Some approved items are not loans
  2. All rejected items are loans
  3. No loan is rejected Correct answer.
  4. Some loans are rejected

Explanation

Every loan falls inside the approved set, and the approved set shares nothing with the rejected set. Loans therefore share nothing with rejected items, giving the conclusion that no loan is rejected.

Question 41Reasoning

Statement: The bank has made video KYC mandatory for opening savings accounts, and several senior citizens have reported difficulty completing it. Which course of action follows?

  1. Provide assisted video KYC at branches for customers who request help Correct answer.
  2. Cancel the mandatory video KYC requirement for all customers
  3. Increase the minimum balance required for savings accounts
  4. Reject account applications from customers who fail video KYC

Explanation

A course of action must address the stated problem without discarding the policy's purpose. Assisted video KYC at branches removes the difficulty for senior citizens while keeping the mandatory requirement intact. Cancelling the requirement or penalising customers does not solve the reported problem.

Question 42Reasoning

Statement: A survey shows that most customers of the bank prefer visiting a branch for advice on home loans rather than using the website. Which assumption is implicit in the bank's decision to keep branch advisory desks open?

  1. Branch advisory desks are cheaper to run than the website
  2. Home loan interest rates will fall in the near future
  3. A substantial section of customers will continue to value face-to-face advice Correct answer.
  4. Customers who use the website will never visit a branch

Explanation

The decision rests on the belief that in-person advice remains valued by a meaningful group of customers. That is exactly the assumption the survey supports. The other options are either unsupported or irrelevant to the decision.

Question 43Reasoning

Statement: 'Our bank has reduced average loan approval time from 12 days to 4 days after introducing automated document verification.' Which inference is valid?

  1. Manual verification has been completely eliminated
  2. Automated verification contributed to faster loan processing Correct answer.
  3. The number of loan applications has doubled
  4. All loan applications are now approved within one day

Explanation

The statement links the introduction of automated verification with the reduction in approval time, so it is reasonable to infer that the automation contributed to the speed-up. The other options exaggerate or add facts not stated.

Question 44Reasoning

In a certain code, letters are numbered A=1 to Z=26 and each letter of a word is replaced by the letter whose value is twice the original value, wrapping around after 26. What is the code for 'CAB'?

  1. F B D
  2. F A E
  3. E A C
  4. F A D Correct answer.

Explanation

C=3, doubled is 6, which is F. A=1, doubled is 2, which is B. B=2, doubled is 4, which is D. So CAB becomes FBD, and the doubled values stay within 26 so no wrap occurs.

Question 45Reasoning

Seven candidates are ranked by test score. U is above V. W is above U. X is below V. Y is above W. Z is below X. Where does V stand in the ranking from the top?

  1. Fourth Correct answer.
  2. Third
  3. Second
  4. Fifth

Explanation

The chain is Y > W > U > V > X > Z, which places six candidates in order. V is preceded by Y, W and U, so V is fourth from the top.

Question 46Reasoning

In a seating arrangement, eight people sit in two parallel rows of four facing each other. In row 1, A sits at the left end and C sits at the right end, with B between them. In row 2, P faces A and Q faces C. Who faces B?

  1. The person sitting second from the left in row 2 Correct answer.
  2. The person sitting at the right end of row 2
  3. P
  4. Q

Explanation

A occupies the first seat of row 1 and P faces A, so P is at the first seat of row 2 as seen from row 1. Q faces C at the fourth seat, so the second seat of row 2 faces B at the second seat of row 1.

Question 47Reasoning

A watch gains 5 minutes every hour of real time. It is set correctly at 8:00 a.m. What time will the watch show when the real time is 12:00 noon?

  1. 12:20 p.m. Correct answer.
  2. 12:25 p.m.
  3. 1:00 p.m.
  4. 12:05 p.m.

Explanation

In four real hours the watch gains 4 × 5 = 20 minutes. Starting from 8:00 a.m. and adding four hours plus the gain gives 12:20 p.m. on the faulty watch.

Question 48Reasoning

Six files are stacked one above another. File A is above B. File C is below B. File D is above A. File E is between A and B. File F is at the bottom. Which file is immediately above F?

  1. E
  2. A
  3. B
  4. C Correct answer.

Explanation

The order from top to bottom is D, A, E, B, C, F. Since F is at the bottom, the file immediately above it is C.

Question 49Reasoning

A number series used in a bank reasoning paper runs 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?. What is the next term?

  1. 36
  2. 44
  3. 42 Correct answer.
  4. 40

Explanation

The differences are 4, 6, 8, 10, increasing by 2 each time, so the next difference is 12 and the next term is 30 + 12 = 42. The terms also equal n(n+1) for n = 1, 2, 3 and so on, giving 6 × 7 = 42.

Question 50Reasoning

In a coded language, 'RBI' is written as 'SAL'. Which word is written as 'NBUJ' under the same rule?

  1. MATH
  2. MATI Correct answer.
  3. NATI
  4. MATJ

Explanation

Each letter of RBI moves one place forward: R to S, B to C, and I to J, giving SCJ, so the rule is a forward shift of one. Reversing it, NBUJ decodes to MATI.