General Studies (Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, Haryana GK and Current Affairs)
General Studies
This paper bundles three strands: Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, and Haryana General Knowledge with current affairs. Each strand carries its own share of marks, so a neglected strand caps the total however strong the others are.
Quantitative Aptitude
- Percentage–fraction conversions; successive change: net = a + b + ab/100.
- Ratio and proportion, averages (and the shift caused by adding or removing an item), time–speed–distance, time and work (take the LCM of days as total work), profit–loss with marked price, simple and compound interest, mensuration.
Reasoning Ability
- Series (difference, product, square/cube patterns), coding–decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking, syllogism by Venn diagram, seating arrangement.
- In syllogism, a conclusion is valid only if it holds in every possible diagram, not in one convenient diagram.
Haryana GK
- Haryana was carved out on 1 November 1966 under the Punjab Reorganisation Act; Chandigarh is the shared capital and a Union Territory, not a Haryana district.
- State symbols: blackbuck (animal), black francolin (bird), lotus (flower), peepal (tree).
- Landmarks: Kurukshetra (Mahabharata, Gita Jayanti), Surajkund International Crafts Mela at Faridabad, Sultanpur bird sanctuary near Gurugram, Pinjore gardens in Panchkula.
Worked example
Two successive discounts of 20% and 10% on ₹2,000. Reasoning: apply them in order - 20% leaves ₹1,600; 10% of 1,600 is 160, leaving ₹1,440. Check with the formula: single equivalent discount = 20 + 10 − (20×10)/100 = 28%, and 28% of 2,000 = 560 off, i.e. ₹1,440. Discounts compound; they are never simply added to 30%.
Traps
- Adding successive percentages instead of compounding them.
- Assuming Chandigarh lies within Haryana.
- Accepting a syllogism conclusion from a single diagram.
- Ignoring whether interest is compounded half-yearly before choosing the formula.