General Intelligence and Reasoning
General intelligence and reasoning test pattern recognition, logical deduction and quantitative reasoning without advanced mathematics. Common topics are series, analogies, coding-decoding, syllogisms, blood relations, directions and seating.
Core rules
- In number series, find the operation between consecutive terms; differences may form a pattern. In analogies, identify the relationship before choosing the pair.
- Coding-decoding uses letter positions or shifts. Syllogisms require Venn diagrams; a conclusion is valid only if true in every possible diagram consistent with the statements.
- Blood relations should be drawn as a family tree. Direction questions track net displacement and final facing direction.
Worked example
Find the next term: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30. The terms are 1×2, 2×3, 3×4, 4×5, 5×6, so the next is 6×7 = 42. The differences are 4, 6, 8, 10, also increasing by 2, which confirms 42.
Traps
Do not assume information not given. In syllogisms, some does not mean all, and possibility is different from certainty. In directions, turning left or right changes the facing direction, not just the path. Check units and signs in arithmetic reasoning.