Reasoning
Domain overview
Reasoning in Haryana CET Group D tests verbal and non-verbal logic through series, analogy, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogism, seating arrangement, ranking, clocks and calendars, mirror/water images, paper folding and embedded figures. Questions reward a fixed method, not intuition.
Core rules and concepts
- Alphabet series: Learn positions A=1 … Z=26; EJOTY gives 5,10,15,20,25; reverse positions add to 27.
- Coding-decoding: Check letter shifts (+1, −2), reversal, or position-based codes before trying word patterns.
- Blood relations: Draw a family tree; use + for male, − for female; never assume gender from a name.
- Direction sense: Plot turns on paper; net displacement uses Pythagoras when turns are at right angles.
- Syllogism: Use Venn diagrams; “all A are B” does not imply “all B are A”; “some” is reversible.
Worked example
Question: In a code, PEN is written as QFO. How is INK written? Reasoning: P→Q (+1), E→F (+1), N→O (+1). Apply the same shift: I→J, N→O, K→L. Answer: JOL. Check one option by reversing the shift to confirm.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating a possibility as a certainty in syllogisms.
- Forgetting that a left turn after facing south changes the reference direction.
- Overlooking “only a few” or “no” statements.
- Spending too long on one puzzle; mark and move on.