Engineering Aptitude and General Studies
Engineering Aptitude and General Studies tests numerical reasoning, logical deduction and a broad awareness of Indian polity, economy, geography and current engineering-related affairs.
Core rules
- Successive percentage changes multiply: a 20% rise followed by a 20% fall gives 1.20 × 0.80 = 0.96, a net 4% decrease, not zero.
- Work-rate problems convert cleanly to worker-days; combined rates add, and remaining work is total minus completed work.
- Averages: if a group average changes after adding a value, set up total = average × number and compare totals.
- Polity: fundamental rights are justiciable; Directive Principles are not; panchayati raj is entrenched by the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments.
- Economy: the Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015; GDP at constant prices removes price effects.
Worked example
A job is scheduled for 12 workers over 20 days. After 8 days, 4 workers leave. How long does the job take? Total work = 12 × 20 = 240 worker-days. Work done in 8 days = 12 × 8 = 96 worker-days. Remaining = 144 worker-days. Remaining workers = 8, so days needed = 144/8 = 18. Total duration = 8 + 18 = 26 days.
Traps
Reading 4 workers leave as 4 remaining; treating percentage changes as additive; using the final average without recomputing totals; confusing fundamental rights with Directive Principles.