Reasoning and Logical Ability
Reasoning and Logical Ability tests verbal and non-verbal reasoning: series, analogies, coding–decoding, blood relations, directions, syllogisms, seating arrangement, and figure-based problems. Speed matters, but accuracy depends on writing small diagrams.
Core concepts
- Series: check differences, ratios, alternate series, squares/cubes, and letter positions (A=1 … Z=26).
- Coding: test letter shifts, reversal, and position-value concatenation; do not assume only +1 shifts.
- Blood relations: draw a family tree; use + for male, − for female, and horizontal lines for siblings.
- Directions: fix north at the top; track left/right turns relative to the facing direction.
- Syllogism: draw minimal overlapping circles; a conclusion is valid only if it follows in every possible diagram.
Worked example
If CAT is coded as 3120 and DOG as 4157, what is the code for PEN? Reasoning: the code concatenates letter positions: C=3, A=1, T=20 → 3120; D=4, O=15, G=7 → 4157. For PEN: P=16, E=5, N=14 → 16514. No separator is used, so keep the two-digit values intact.
Traps
- Reversing left/right after a turn instead of using the new facing direction.
- In syllogism, assuming ‘some A are B’ means ‘some B are not A’.
- In series, forcing one rule when two interleaved series exist.
- In seating, ignoring ‘facing north/south’ before fixing positions.
Key points
- Convert letters to numbers automatically.
- Draw diagrams for relations and directions.
- Test every syllogism conclusion against all diagrams.
- Check alternate series before complex rules.
- Verify the final code format, including leading zeros.