Intelligence and Reasoning
Intelligence and Reasoning
Verbal and non-verbal reasoning: number series, letter series, analogies, odd-one-out, coding-decoding, direction sense, blood relations and simple syllogisms. It is a speed test - the same logic, under time pressure, so method beats intuition.
Method for each type
- Number series: find the gap between consecutive terms. If gaps grow steadily, take differences again; if terms jump, check multiplication or squares and cubes.
- Letter series: write A to Z with positions 1 to 26 and convert letters into numbers before hunting for the pattern.
- Analogy: state the relationship in words first - part to whole, worker to tool, cause to effect - then apply the same words to the options.
- Coding: compare the coded word with the plain word position by position; a fixed shift of one or two letters is the usual trick.
- Direction: draw the path. Every right turn is 90° clockwise, and net displacement is the straight line from start to finish.
- Blood relations: draw a family tree and never assume gender from a name.
Worked example
A man walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 4 km, then turns right and walks 5 km. How far is he from his starting point? Draw it: 5 km north, 4 km east, 5 km south. The north and south legs cancel, leaving 4 km east, so the answer is 4 km. Second pattern: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, - the differences are 4, 6, 8, 10, so the next difference is 12 and the missing term is 42.
Traps
Forcing a complicated rule when a simple difference already fits; missing whether the odd one out is odd by type, by unit or by being prime; refusing to sketch direction and blood-relation items, which are almost always solved by a ten-second diagram.