General Intelligence and Reasoning
General Intelligence and Reasoning checks logical structure and speed across verbal and non-verbal formats. Most questions are solvable in under a minute once the pattern is recognised, so the real skill is classifying the question type quickly.
Question families
- Verbal: number and alphabet series, analogy, odd one out, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking, seating arrangement and syllogism.
- Non-verbal: mirror and water images, paper folding and cutting, embedded figures, figure series, dice and counting triangles.
- Applied: clock, calendar and age puzzles.
Core rules
- In blood relations, draw a family tree; use vertical lines for parent–child and horizontal lines for siblings. Do not assume a relationship not stated.
- In direction sense, fix north at the top and track each turn; use Pythagoras for the shortest distance.
- In syllogism, draw Venn diagrams. “Some A are B” does not mean “All A are B”, and “No A is B” is reversible.
- In coding, check letter positions first, then reversals, then substitution.
Worked example
Find the next term: 5, 11, 23, 47, ? Test the differences: 6, 12, 24 - each doubles. The next difference should be 48, so 47 + 48 = 95. Cross-check with the rule ×2 + 1: 5 → 11, 11 → 23, 23 → 47, 47 → 95. Both methods agree, so the answer is 95.
Traps that cost marks
- Forgetting reverse alphabet positions; remember A = 26, B = 25, and generally 27 − position.
- Clock angle formula: |30H − 5.5M|. At 3:40 the value is |90 − 220| = 130°, which is already the smaller angle.
- Over-reading blood relations, such as assuming “brother’s wife’s sister” is a sister-in-law when the question asks only for a relation label.
- In seating arrangement, ignoring “facing north” versus “facing south” and reversing left and right.
Exam approach
Attempt non-verbal and series questions first, then arrangements. Write small diagrams for every blood-relation and direction question; mental tracking causes avoidable errors.