DSSSB Pharmacist: General Intelligence & Reasoning Ability for DSSSB Pharmacist

General Intelligence & Reasoning Ability contributes 20 Tier-I questions. It tests pattern detection and logical deduction under time pressure: series, analogies, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogism, Venn diagrams, seating arrangement, ranking, calendars, clocks and non-verbal figures. Most marks come from a few repeatable patterns, not lengthy derivations.

Series and coding

In number series, check differences first, then ratios, squares/cubes and alternating operations. Write A=1 to Z=26; opposite letter pairs sum to 27 (A-Z, B-Y, C-X). In coding, compare letters position-wise and note the shift, reversal or alphabet sum.

Blood relations and directions

Draw a family tree with fixed symbols for male, female and marriage; never assume gender from a name. In direction questions, fix north on paper and draw every move. Net displacement uses Pythagoras. Left and right depend on the direction a person faces, so mark the facing arrow before turning.

Syllogism and non-verbal

Use Venn diagrams: 'All A are B' puts A inside B; 'Some A are B' shows overlap; 'No A is B' keeps them separate. A conclusion is valid only if it holds in every possible diagram. In non-verbal items, count sides and shaded parts, check rotation angle, distinguish mirror from water image, and trace paper folds.

Worked example

If FRIEND is coded as HTKGPF, how is CANDLE coded? Compare positions: F to H is +2, R to T is +2, I to K is +2, E to G is +2, N to P is +2, D to F is +2. Apply the same shift: C+2=E, A+2=C, N+2=P, D+2=F, L+2=N, E+2=G. Answer: ECPFNG. Checking the first and last letters often eliminates three options immediately.

Traps

Treating 'some' as 'some not'; forgetting to reverse left and right after a U-turn; counting alphabet positions from zero; over-drawing non-verbal figures when simple counting works; and changing a valid conclusion because it sounds unusual.