Analytical & Critical Reasoning — UPSC CSAT Previous Year Questions

Consider the following three statements, namely S1, S2 and S3: S1. Protecting the environment is an existential exigency for humans, given the impact of environmental degradation on climate change. S2. Scientific consensus has not been achieved with regard to the extent of the contribution of human intervention to climate change. S3. Environmental activism includes climate alarmism and other extremist points of view that often become the focus of climate change deniers. Which of the following relationships based on the statements given above is/are correct? 1. S3 is a counterpoint to S1 2. S3 is unconnected to S1 and S2 3. S2 could be the reason for S3 Select the answer using the code given below.

Match List-I with List-II and select the answer using the code given below: List-I (Relationship category): A. Between cricket captain and team members B. Between judge and lawyers in court C. Between Vice Chancellor and Deputy Registrar D. Between peers and coworkers List-II (Communication type): 1. Informal and firm 2. Informal and open-ended 3. Formal and open-ended 4. Formal and firm

Match List-I with List-II and select the answer using the code given below: List-I (Tool of communication): A. Memorandum B. Flyer C. Bcc D. Minutes List-II (Purpose): 1. To record decisions 2. To inform confidentially 3. To intimate a directive 4. To disseminate non-targeted information

Which among the following actions would constitute the most appropriate directive(s) in resolving interpersonal conflict in an office with culturally diverse personnel? 1. Direct personnel to practise activities that are markers of the cultural groups of diverse personnel. 2. Allow conflicts to resolve naturally over time to set an appropriate precedent of leadership. 3. Encourage personnel to seek each other’s perspectives. Select the answer using the code given below.

Match List-I with List-II and select the answer using the code given below: List-I (Barrier to communication): A. Semantic B. Cognitive C. Organisational D. Affective List-II (Example): 1. Lack of feedback 2. Misunderstanding the meaning of a word 3. Fear of social stigma 4. Information overload

You are required to design a ‘questionnaire’ to be filled on-location by visitors, based on the following objective while writing a report: ‘To determine the feasibility of setting up a family-oriented vacation resort in the vicinity of a lake destination in the mountains’ Which of the following heads would you include in the questionnaire to make it most appropriate for your purpose? 1. Size of family 2. Budget 3. Number of earners in the family 4. Food allergies and dietary restrictions Select the answer using the code given below.

With reference to ‘circular letters’, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. Circular letters are usually addressed to a group of people. 2. Non-standard and customized content is typical of circular letters. 3. Circular letters are used to intimate appraisals and increments of employees within organisations. 4. Circular letters are less cost-effective than personalised and specific recipient-directed letters. Select the answer using the code given below.

Seven books P, Q, R, S, T, U and V are placed side by side. R, Q and T have blue covers and other books have red covers. Only S and U are new books and the rest are old. P, R and S are law reports; the rest are Gazetteers. Books of old Gazetteers with blue covers are

In the English alphabet, the first 4 letters are written in opposite order; and the next 4 letters are written in opposite order and so on; and at the end Y and Z are interchanged. Which will be the fourth letter to the right of the 13th letter?

A solid cube is painted yellow, blue and black such that opposite faces are of same colour. The cube is then cut into 36 cubes of two different sizes such that 32 cubes are small and the other four cubes are Big. None of the faces of the bigger cubes is painted blue. How many cubes have only one face painted?

Mr 'X' has three children. The birthday of the first child falls on the 5th Monday of April, that of the second one falls on the 5th Thursday of November. On which day is the birthday of his third child, which falls on 20th December?

Consider the following Statements and Conclusions: Statements: 1. Some rats are cats. 2. Some cats are dogs. 3. No dog is a cow. Conclusions: I. No cow is a cat. II. No dog is a rat. III. Some cats are rats. Which of the above conclusions is/are drawn from the statements?

In a conference, out of a total 100 participants, 70 are Indians. If 60 of the total participants are vegetarian, then which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. At least 30 Indian participants are vegetarian. 2. At least 10 Indian participants are non-vegetarian. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

A five-storeyed building with floors from I to V is painted using four different colours and only one colour is used to paint a floor. Consider the following statements: 1. The middle three floors are painted in different colours. 2. The second (II) and the fourth (IV) floors are painted in different colours. 3. The first (I) and the fifth (V) floors are painted red. To ensure that any two consecutive floors have different colours

All members of a club went to Mumbai and stayed in a hotel. On the first day, 80% went for shopping and 50% went for sightseeing, whereas 10% took rest in the hotel. Which of the following conclusion(s) can be drawn from the above data? 1. 40% members went for shopping as well as sightseeing. 2. 20% members went for only shopping. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

In a school, 60% students play cricket. A student who does not play cricket, plays football. Every football player has got a two-wheeler. Which of the following conclusions cannot be drawn from the above data? 1. 60% of the students do not have two-wheelers. 2. No cricketer has a two-wheeler. 3. Cricket players do not play football. Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Seeta and Geeta go for a swim after a gap of every 2 days and every 3 days respectively. If on 1st January both of them went for a swim together, when will they go together next?

If every alternative letter of the English alphabet from B onwards (including B) is written in lower case (small letters) and the remaining letters are capitalized, then how is the first month of the second half of the year written?

In the sequence 1, 5, 7, 3, 5, 7, 4, 3, 5, 7, how many such 5s are there which are not immediately preceded by 3 but are immediately followed by 7?

A joint family consists of seven members A, B, C, D, E, F and G with three females. G is a widow and sister-in-law of D's father F. B and D are siblings and A is daughter of B. C is cousin of B. Who is E? 1. Wife of F 2. Grandmother of A 3. Aunt of C Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Each face of a cube can be painted in black or white colours. In how many different ways can the cube be painted?

If $ means 'divided by'; @ means 'multiplied by'; # means 'minus', then the value of 10#5@1$5 is

If F stands second in the ranking, then the position of B is

If B scores the least, the rank of C will be

If E is ranked third, then which one of the following is correct?

S1: Twice the weight of Sohan is less than the weight of Mohan or that of Rohan. S2: Twice the weight of Rohan is greater than the weight of Mohan or that of Sohan. Which one of the following statements is correct?

S1: Twice the weight of Sohan is less than the weight of Mohan or that of Rohan. S2: Twice the weight of Rohan is greater than the weight of Mohan or that of Sohan. Which one of the following statements is correct?

What is X in the sequence 132, 129, 124, 117, 106, 93, X ?

A wall clock moves 10 minutes fast in every 24 hours. The clock was set right to show the correct time at 8:00 a.m. on Monday. When the clock shows the time 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, what is the correct time?

What is X in the sequence 4, 196, 16, 144, 36, 100, 64, X ?

In a group of 15 people, 7 can read French, 8 can read English while 3 of them can read neither of these two languages. The number of people who can read exactly one language is

Consider the following sequence that follows some arrangement: c_accaa_aa_bc_b. The letters that appear in the gaps are

'A' started from his house and walked 20 m towards East, where his friend 'B' joined him. They together walked 10 m in the same direction. Then 'A' turned left while 'B' turned right and travelled 2 m and 8 m respectively. Again 'B' turned left to travel 4 m followed by 5 m to his right to reach his office. 'A' turned right and travelled 12 m to reach his office. What is the shortest distance between the two offices?

Consider two statements S1 and S2 followed by a question: S1: p and q both are prime numbers. S2: p + q is an odd integer. Question: Is pq an odd integer? Which one of the following is correct?

Which year has the same calendar as that of 2009?

Consider the following three-dimensional figure: [figure shown in paper]. How many triangles does the above figure have?

Consider the following pattern of numbers: [pattern shown in paper]. What is the number at ? in the above pattern?

What is the symbol on the face opposite to that containing a single dot?

What is the symbol on the face opposite to that containing two dots?

What is the symbol on the face opposite to that containing the cross?

If LSJXVC is the code for MUMBAI, the code for DELHI is

If RAMON is written as 12345 and DINESH as 675849, then HAMAM will be written as

If E sits in his office and faces the corridor, whose office is to his left?

Who is/are F's immediate neighbour/neighbours?

A solid cube of 3 cm side, painted on all its faces, is cut up into small cubes of 1 cm side. How many of the small cubes will have exactly two painted faces?

If Pen < Pencil, Pencil < Book and Book > Cap, then which one of the following is always true?

19 boys turn out for playing hockey. Of these, 11 are wearing hockey shirts and 14 are wearing hockey pants. There are no boys without shirts and pants. What is the number of boys wearing full uniform?

A is studying in

Science college is located in

C is studying in

Which one of the following statements is correct?

Which one of the following statements is correct regarding Engineering college?

Which one of the following statements is correct?

Consider the sequence given below: 4/12/95, 1/1/96, 29/1/96, 26/2/96, .... What is the next term of the series?

Consider the figures given below: [figure shown in paper]. To fit the question mark, the correct answer is [options shown as figures in paper].

Consider the following figures: [figures shown in paper]. In the figures (I) to (VI) above, some parts are shown to change their positions in regular directions. Following the same sequence, which of the figures given below will appear at (VII) stage?

Lakshmi, her brother, her daughter and her son are badminton players. A game of doubles is about to begin: Lakshmi's brother is directly across the net from her daughter. Her son is diagonally across the net from the worst player's sibling. The best player and the worst player are on the same side of the net. Who is the best player?

With reference to the above information, which one among the following statements must be true?

With reference to the above information, consider the following statements: 1. Some supporters of ‘party X’ knew Z. 2. Some supporters of ‘party X’, who opposed Z’s campaign strategy, knew Z. 3. No supporters of ‘party X’ supported Z’s campaign strategy. Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?

If second and fourth Saturdays and all the Sundays are taken as only holidays for an office, what would be the minimum number of possible working days of any month of any year?

Four tests—Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology are to be conducted on four consecutive days, not necessarily in the same order. The Physics test is held before the test which is conducted after Biology. Chemistry is conducted exactly after two tests are held. Which is the last test held?

The sum of income of A and B is more than that of C and D taken together. The sum of income of A and C is the same as that of B and D taken together. Moreover, A earns half as much as the sum of the income of B and D. Whose income is the highest?

Consider the following: Statement: Good voice is a natural gift but one has to keep practising to improve and excel well in the field of music. Conclusions: I. Natural gifts need nurturing and care. II. Even though one’s voice is not good, one can keep practising. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statement and conclusions?

“Rights are certain advantageous conditions of social well-being indispensable to the true development of the citizen.” In the light of this statement, which one of the following is the correct understanding of rights?

15 students failed in a class of 52. After removing the names of failed students, a merit order list has been prepared in which the position of Ramesh is 22nd from the top. What is his position from the bottom?

Consider the following: A + B means A is the son of B. A - B means A is the wife of B. What does the expression P + R - Q mean?

In a group of six women, there are four tennis players, four postgraduates in Sociology, one postgraduate in Commerce and three bank employees. Vimala and Kamla are the bank employees while Amala and Komala are unemployed. Komala and Nirmala are among the tennis players. Amala, Kamla, Komala and Nirmala are postgraduates in Sociology of whom two are bank employees. If Shyamala is a postgraduate in Commerce, who among the following is both a tennis player and a bank employee?

A watch loses 2 minutes in every 24 hours while another watch gains 2 minutes in every 24 hours. At a particular instant, the two watches showed an identical time. Which of the following statements is correct if 24-hour clock is followed?

A clock strikes once at 1 o’clock, twice at 2 o’clock and thrice at 3 o’clock, and so on. If it takes 12 seconds to strike at 5 o’clock, what is the time taken by it to strike at 10 o’clock?

Consider the given statement and the two conclusions that follow: Statement: Morning walk is good for health. Conclusions: 1. All healthy people go for morning walk. 2. Morning walk is essential for maintaining good health. What is/are the valid conclusion/conclusions?

There are 4 horizontal and 4 vertical lines, parallel and equidistant to one another on a board. What is the maximum number of rectangles and squares that can be formed?

In a test, Randhir obtained more marks than the total marks obtained by Kunal and Debu. The total marks obtained by Kunal and Shankar are more than those of Randhir. Sonal obtained more marks than Shankar. Neha obtained more marks than Randhir. Who amongst them obtained highest marks?

Examine the following statements: 1. All colours are pleasant. 2. Some colours are pleasant. 3. No colour is pleasant. 4. Some colours are not pleasant. Given that statement 4 is true, what can be definitely concluded?

Consider the following relationships among members of a family of six persons A, B, C, D, E and F: 1. The number of males equals that of females. 2. A and E are sons of F. 3. D is the mother of two, one boy and one girl. 4. B is the son of A. 5. There is only one married couple in the family at present. Which one of the following inferences can be drawn from the above?

If 2 boys and 2 girls are to be arranged in a row so that the girls are not next to each other, how many possible arrangements are there?

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above?

In a certain code, ‘256’ means ‘red colour chalk’, ‘589’ means ‘green colour flower’ and ‘254’ means ‘white colour chalk’. The digit in the code that indicates ‘white’ is

Who is specialized in Geography?

To which city does the Lecturer specialized in Economics belong?

Who of the following belongs to Hyderabad?

In a school, there are five teachers A, B, C, D and E. A and B teach Hindi and English. C and B teach English and Geography. D and A teach Mathematics and Hindi. E and B teach History and French. Who teaches maximum number of subjects?

While travelling from C to H, which one of the following stations must be passed through?

In how many different ways can a train travel from F to A without passing through any station more than once?

If the route between G and C is closed, which one of the following stations need not be passed through while travelling from H to C?

Consider the following statements: 1. Some claim to have seen UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects). 2. Life on other heavenly bodies is considered to be a possibility. 3. Voyage to space is now an established fact. From the above statements, it may be concluded that

Six books are labelled A, B, C, D, E and F and are placed side by side. Books B, C, E and F have green covers while others have yellow covers. Books A, B and D are new while the rest are old volumes. Books A, B and C are law reports while the rest are medical extracts. Which two books are old medical extracts and have green covers?

Examine the following figure. Which one of the following figures has the above figure embedded in it?

Consider the following matrix. Which one of the following figures fits into the blank part of the above matrix?

Consider the table given below in which the numbers bear certain relationship among themselves along the rows: 29 | 13 | 18 33 | X | 19 30 | 27 | 3 Which one of the following numbers is the missing number indicated above by X?

Consider the following matrix with one empty block in the lower extreme corner. Which of the following figures could fit in the empty block and thus complete the matrix?

With reference to the figure given below, the number of different routes from S to T without retracing from U and/or V, is

Consider the following figures. Change in positions of beads in the four figures above follows a sequence. Following the same sequence, which of the figures below should appear as the fifth figure above?

Four friends, A, B, C and D distribute some money among themselves in such a manner that A gets one less than B, C gets 5 more than D, D gets 3 more than B. Who gets the smallest amount?

Which mode of transport would help one to reach R starting from Q, but without changing the mode of transport?

If a person visits each of the places starting from P and gets back to P, which of the following places must he visit twice?

Which one of the following pairs of cities is connected by any of the routes directly without going to any other city?

Between which two cities among the pairs of cities given below are there maximum travel options available?

The music director of a film wants to select four persons to work on different aspects of the composition of a piece of music. Seven persons are available for this work; they are Rohit, Tanya, Shobha, Kaushal, Kunal, Mukesh and Jaswant. Rohit and Tanya will not work together. Kunal and Shobha will not work together. Mukesh and Kunal want to work together. Which of the following is the most acceptable group of people that can be selected by the music director?

Five people A, B, C, D and E are seated about a round table. Every chair is spaced equidistant from adjacent chairs. (i) C is seated next to A. (ii) A is seated two seats from D. (iii) B is not seated next to A. Which of the following must be true? (I) D is seated next to B. (II) E is seated next to A. Select the correct answer from the codes given below.

Who does not play hockey?

Who plays football, basketball and hockey?

Which game do B, C and D play?

Geeta is older than her cousin Meena. Meena's brother Bipin is older than Geeta. When Meena and Bipin visit Geeta, they like to play chess. Meena wins the game more often than Geeta. Based on the above information, four conclusions, as given below, have been made. Which one of these logically follows from the information given above?

A, B, C, D and E belong to five different cities P, Q, R, S and T (not necessarily in that order). Each one of them comes from a different city. Further it is given that: 1. B and C do not belong to Q. 2. B and E do not belong to P and R. 3. A and C do not belong to R, S and T. 4. D and E do not belong to Q and T. Which one of the following statements is not correct?

Seven men, A, B, C, D, E, F and G are standing in a queue in that order. Each one is wearing a cap of a different colour like violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. D is able to see in front of him green and blue, but not violet. E can see violet and yellow, but not red. G can see caps of all colours other than orange. If E is wearing an indigo coloured cap, then the colour of the cap worn by F is

Sedimentary rock leads to the formation of oil deposits because

Consider the following three statements: 1. Only students can participate in the race. 2. Some participants in the race are girls. 3. All girl participants in the race are invited for coaching. Which one of the following conclusions can be drawn from the above statements?

Examine the following statements: 1. All animals are carnivorous. 2. Some animals are not carnivorous. 3. Animals are not carnivorous. 4. Some animals are carnivorous. Select the pair of statements that cannot both be true, but both can be false.

Examine the following statements: 1. All trains are run by diesel engine. 2. Some trains are run by diesel engine. 3. No train is run by diesel engine. 4. Some trains are not run by diesel engine. Select the pair of statements that cannot both be true, but both can be false.

Consider the following argument: “In order to be a teacher one must graduate from college. All poets are poor. Some mathematicians are poets. No college graduate is poor.” Which one of the following is not a valid conclusion regarding the above argument?