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UPSC Civil Services
Reasoning Ability

UPSC IAS/IPS MCQ questions — History, Polity, Economy, Science, General Studies.

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Difficulty: All Easy Medium Hard 171–180 of 202
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Q.171 Easy Reasoning Ability Puzzles & Seating Arrangement
If CRICKET is coded as FWHBMHW, how is PUZZLE coded?
A SXYYOH
B SXZZOH
C SUZZOH
D TUZZOH
Correct Answer:  B. SXZZOH
EXPLANATION

Each letter is shifted 3 positions forward (C→F, R→U, I→L, C→F, K→N, E→H, T→W). Applying same: P→S, U→X, Z→C(wraps), Z→C, L→O, E→H becomes SXZZOH.

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Q.172 Easy Reasoning Ability Puzzles & Seating Arrangement
In a row of 8 people, A is 3rd from the left. B is 2 positions to the right of A. C is immediately to the left of B. What is C's position from the left?
A 4th
B 5th
C 6th
D 3rd
Correct Answer:  A. 4th
EXPLANATION

A is 3rd from left. B is 2 positions right of A = 5th position. C is immediately left of B = 4th position.

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Q.173 Hard Reasoning Ability
Odd one out: 2, 5, 10, 17, 26, 36?
A 5
B 17
C 26
D 36
Correct Answer:  D. 36
EXPLANATION

This question asks you to identify which number doesn't follow the pattern established by the others in the sequence.

Step 1: Find the differences between consecutive terms

Calculate the gap between each pair of adjacent numbers.

\[2 \to 5: \text{ difference} = 3\]
\[5 \to 10: \text{ difference} = 5\]
\[10 \to 17: \text{ difference} = 7\]
\[17 \to 26: \text{ difference} = 9\]
\[26 \to 36: \text{ difference} = 10\]
Step 2: Identify the pattern in differences

The differences should follow a logical sequence of odd numbers.

\[\text{Differences: } 3, 5, 7, 9, 10\]
\[\text{Expected pattern: } 3, 5, 7, 9, 11\]
Step 3: Determine which number breaks the pattern

The difference between 26 and 36 is 10, but it should be 11 to maintain the pattern of consecutive odd numbers.

\[\text{Correct value should be: } 26 + 11 = 37 \text{ (not 36)}\]

**The odd one out is 36 (option D), because it breaks the pattern where differences

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Q.174 Medium Reasoning Ability
Water image shows word flipped?
A Left-right
B Upside down
C Both
D No change
Correct Answer:  B. Upside down
EXPLANATION

This question asks about the orientation of a word's reflection when viewed in water (a mirror image).

Understanding Water/Mirror Reflection:

Water acts as a horizontal mirror surface. When you look at a word reflected in water, the reflection flips along the horizontal axis (top becomes bottom), not along the vertical axis (left-right remains the same).

Why Left-Right is incorrect:

Left-right reversal occurs with a vertical mirror (like a bathroom mirror), not a horizontal water surface.

Why Upside Down is correct:

A water reflection flips the image vertically — the top of the letters moves to the bottom and vice versa. If you write "HELLO" and look at its reflection in still water, it appears upside down as the vertical orientation is reversed.

Why Both and No Change are incorrect:

Water only flips vertically (upside down), not both directions, and there is definitely a change in orientation.

The word appears upside down when reflected in water because water acts as a horizontal mirror that reverses the vertical orientation of the image.

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Q.175 Medium Reasoning Ability
If CLOUD=67394, LOUD=?
A 6394
B 7394
C 3948
D 3947
Correct Answer:  B. 7394
EXPLANATION

This question requires identifying the numerical code assigned to each letter in the word CLOUD, then using those values to decode LOUD.

Step 1: Decode the CLOUD sequence

Given that CLOUD = 67394, assign each letter its corresponding digit position.

\[C=6, \quad L=7, \quad O=3, \quad U=9, \quad D=4\]
Step 2: Identify letters in LOUD

The word LOUD contains the letters L, O, U, and D in that order.

\[\text{LOUD} = L, O, U, D\]
Step 3: Apply the code values to LOUD

Using the digit values decoded from CLOUD, substitute each letter in LOUD with its assigned number.

\[\text{LOUD} = 7, 3, 9, 4 = 7394\]

The answer is 7394, which is option (B).

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Q.176 Easy Reasoning Ability
Series: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, __?
A 30
B 36
C 35
D 40
Correct Answer:  B. 36
EXPLANATION

This question asks us to identify the pattern in a sequence of numbers and find the missing term.

Step 1: Identify the pattern

Look at each term and find what they represent.

\[1 = 1^2, \quad 4 = 2^2, \quad 9 = 3^2, \quad 16 = 4^2, \quad 25 = 5^2\]
Step 2: Recognize the sequence rule

Each term is a perfect square of consecutive natural numbers.

\[\text{Term}_n = n^2 \text{ where } n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ...\]
Step 3: Find the missing term

The next number in the sequence follows the pattern with n = 6.

\[\text{Term}_6 = 6^2 = 36\]

The missing term in the sequence is 36, making the answer (B).

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Q.177 Medium Reasoning Ability
Mirror image of SMART?
A TRAMS
B TRAMS reversed
C SMART same
D None
Correct Answer:  B. TRAMS reversed
EXPLANATION

This question asks what the mirror image of the word "SMART" would look like when reflected horizontally.

Step 1: Understand mirror image reflection

When a word is reflected in a mirror, each letter is reversed and the order of letters is also reversed (reading right to left instead of left to right).

\[\text{SMART} \rightarrow \text{mirror reflection} \rightarrow \text{TRAMS (reversed)}\]
Step 2: Reverse the letter sequence

Original word: S-M-A-R-T

When mirrored horizontally, the sequence becomes right-to-left: T-R-A-M-S

\[\text{Original: S-M-A-R-T} \rightarrow \text{Reversed: T-R-A-M-S}\]
Step 3: Account for individual letter orientations

Each letter in the mirror image would also be horizontally flipped (S becomes reversed S, M becomes reversed M, etc.), so the complete mirror image is "TRAMS reversed" (meaning TRAMS with each letter flipped).

\[\text{Mirror Image} = \text{TRAMS with each letter horizontally flipped}\]

The mirror image of SMART is TRAMS reversed (each letter is flipped and the sequence is reversed).

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Q.178 Hard Reasoning Ability
5 cats catch 5 rats in 5 min. Cats needed for 100 rats in 100 min?
A 5
B 10
C 100
D 50
Correct Answer:  A. 5
EXPLANATION

This question tests understanding of work rates and proportional reasoning with multiple workers and time periods.

Step 1: Find the rate per cat

If 5 cats catch 5 rats in 5 minutes, each cat catches rats at a constant rate.

\[\text{Rate per cat} = \frac{5 \text{ rats}}{5 \text{ cats} \times 5 \text{ min}} = \frac{1}{5} \text{ rats per cat per minute}\]
Step 2: Calculate total rat-catching capacity needed

To catch 100 rats in 100 minutes, we need the total work capacity.

\[\text{Total capacity needed} = \frac{100 \text{ rats}}{100 \text{ min}} = 1 \text{ rat per minute}\]
Step 3: Determine number of cats required

Since each cat catches \(\frac{1}{5}\) rats per minute, we need enough cats to produce 1 rat caught per minute.

\[\text{Number of cats} = \frac{1 \text{ rat/min}}{\frac{1}{5} \text{ rats/cat/min}} = 1 \times 5 = 5 \text{ cats}\]

**The same 5 cats are needed to catch

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Q.179 Hard Reasoning Ability
Clock shows 3:15. Angle between hands?
A
B 7.5°
C 15°
D 22.5°
Correct Answer:  B. 7.5°
EXPLANATION

This question asks us to find the angle between the hour and minute hands on an analog clock displaying 3:15.

Step 1: Calculate the minute hand position

The minute hand moves 360° in 60 minutes, so it moves 6° per minute.

\[\text{Minute hand angle} = 15 \times 6 = 90°\]
Step 2: Calculate the hour hand position

The hour hand moves 360° in 12 hours (720 minutes), so it moves 0.5° per minute. At 3:15, it has moved from 12 o'clock.

\[\text{Hour hand angle} = (3 \times 30) + (15 \times 0.5) = 90 + 7.5 = 97.5°\]
Step 3: Find the angle between both hands

The angle between the hands is the absolute difference between their positions.

\[\text{Angle between hands} = |97.5 - 90| = 7.5°\]

The angle between the hour and minute hands at 3:15 is 7.5°.

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Q.180 Medium Reasoning Ability
P walks 5km North, 3km East, 5km South. Distance from start?
A 3 km
B 5 km
C 8 km
D 13 km
Correct Answer:  A. 3 km
EXPLANATION

This question tests the ability to track position changes on a coordinate system and calculate the straight-line distance from the starting point.

Step 1: Set up a coordinate system

Let P start at the origin point (0, 0), with North as positive Y-axis and East as positive X-axis.

\[\text{Starting position} = (0, 0)\]
Step 2: Track position after each movement

After walking 5 km North, then 3 km East, then 5 km South, the vertical movements cancel out and only the eastward movement remains.

\[\text{Final position} = (0 + 3, 5 - 5) = (3, 0)\]
Step 3: Calculate distance from starting point

Use the distance formula to find the straight-line distance between the starting point (0, 0) and final position (3, 0).

\[\text{Distance} = \sqrt{(3-0)^2 + (0-0)^2} = \sqrt{9} = 3 \text{ km}\]

The distance from the starting point is 3 km.

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