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Placement Aptitude (Quant, Logical, Verbal) Module 11

Series, analogies and coding interview questions

Interview questions on series, analogies and coding: short warm-ups, then what each harder question tests, the first step of a good answer and its follow-ups.

8 questions: 2 warm-ups and 6 with model answers · Levels: Fresher to mid

Warm-up questions

Short questions with short answers, each answered in full.

Fresher

Why is a letter's position counted from Z equal to 27 minus its position counted from A, and where does it help?

Answered in the lesson Letter series and coding-decoding
Fresher

What is a bridge sentence in an analogy question, and why does it help?

Answered in the lesson Analogies and odd one out

Questions with model answers

What each question tests, the first step of a good answer and the follow-ups to expect.

Fresher to mid

In a code, MANGO is written NCQKT. Find the rule, code GRAPE with it, and show that no fixed shift could explain the example.
What it tests

Reading a code letter by letter, telling a fixed shift from a shift that depends on a letter's place, and applying the rule with wrap-around past Z.

First step

Write down how far each letter moves: M to N is 1 place, A to C is 2, N to Q is 3, G to K is 4 and O to T is 5. The moves differ, so look at how they grow with the letter's place in the word.
Follow-ups
- How do you decode a word written in this code?
- What happens to letters near the end of the alphabet?
- How many examples tell this rule from one that counts places from the end of the word?
From the lesson Letter series and coding-decoding
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In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 2 minutes
Fresher to mid

In a code, “green tea leaves” is “po mi sa” and “tea leaves fall” is “sa ru mi”. What is the code for “green”, and what is the code for “tea”?
What it tests

Treating code words as an unordered set, matching shared words with shared code words, and answering “cannot be determined” when the data does not decide.

First step

Compare the two sentences: tea and leaves are in both, and mi and sa are in both codes, so those two words share those two code words. The words in only one sentence then take the code words in only one code.
Follow-ups
- What third sentence would settle the code for tea?
- Why must the code words be read as an unordered set?
- How do you lay out a five-sentence puzzle so that nothing is missed?
From the lesson Letter series and coding-decoding
Model answer, Pro.
In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 2 minutes
Fresher to mid

A code writes a word backwards and then shifts each letter by its new place, the 1st letter 1 place, the 2nd 2 places and so on. Code MARKET, decode the result, and say whether the steps in the other order give the same code.
What it tests

Applying a two-step code, undoing the steps in reverse order, and knowing which pairs of steps give the same result in either order.

First step

Do the steps in the order given: MARKET written backwards is TEKRAM; then move T 1 place, E 2 places, K 3 places, and so on. To decode, undo the last step first.
Follow-ups
- For which pairs of steps does the order never matter?
- How can a coded example show which step came first?
- What does a fixed shift followed by the reverse alphabet do to a letter?
From the lesson Letter series and coding-decoding
Model answer, Pro.
In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 2 minutes
Fresher to mid

An analogy item reads BOOK : LIBRARY :: PAINTING : ? and offers GALLERY, MUSEUM, ARTIST and FRAME. Two options seem to fit. Which is the intended answer, how do you defend it, and how would you repair the item?
What it tests

Writing a bridge sentence exact enough to separate close options, using dictionary meanings as evidence, and rewriting a flawed item.

First step

Write the bridge sentence from what a library is: a building where collections of books are kept for people to read, study or borrow. Then test each option against that sentence, not against a general feeling of “a place for art”.
Follow-ups
- Why are ARTIST and FRAME ruled out at once?
- What change to the item would make MUSEUM the better answer?
- How would you rewrite the item so that only one option fits?
From the lesson Analogies and odd one out
Model answer, Pro.
In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 2 minutes
Fresher to mid

In the set 2, 7, 11, 13, 15, one candidate picks 2 as the odd one out and another picks 15. Who is right, how do you defend the choice, and how would you change the set so that only one answer fits?
What it tests

Finding every property that four items share, choosing between competing properties by how specific they are, and repairing a classification item.

First step

List the properties that exactly four of the numbers share: all but 15 are prime, and all but 2 are odd. Before choosing, compare how common each property is among whole numbers.
Follow-ups
- Why is being prime more specific than being odd?
- Which single change makes 15 the only answer, and which makes 2 the only answer?
- Why is a property that only one of the numbers has weak evidence?
From the lesson Analogies and odd one out
Model answer, Pro.
In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 2 minutes
Fresher to mid

An item reads 6 : 35 :: 8 : ? and gives no other pair. Three candidates answer 63, 47 and 45, and each shows a rule. Who is right, and what should the item have included?
What it tests

Searching for rules that fit one pair, comparing rules by how many constants they need, and knowing that a second pair or the options settle a number analogy.

First step

Write each candidate's rule and test it on the given pair: n² − 1 gives 35 for 6 and 63 for 8, 6n − 1 gives 35 and 47, and 5n + 5 gives 35 and 45. All three fit the one pair shown.
Follow-ups
- Which answer would you defend, and on what grounds?
- Which second pair would leave only one of the three rules?
- How do the options of a multiple-choice item settle it?
From the lesson Analogies and odd one out
Model answer, Pro.
In the answer:
- Model answer
- Follow-up answers
- Common mistakes
- Rubric
- Variants
- about 2 minutes

All Placement Aptitude (Quant, Logical, Verbal) interview questions · The Placement Aptitude (Quant, Logical, Verbal) track

Warm-up questions

Why is a letter's position counted from Z equal to 27 minus its position counted from A, and where does it help?

What is a bridge sentence in an analogy question, and why does it help?

Questions with model answers

In a code, MANGO is written NCQKT. Find the rule, code GRAPE with it, and show that no fixed shift could explain the example.

In a code, “green tea leaves” is “po mi sa” and “tea leaves fall” is “sa ru mi”. What is the code for “green”, and what is the code for “tea”?

A code writes a word backwards and then shifts each letter by its new place, the 1st letter 1 place, the 2nd 2 places and so on. Code MARKET, decode the result, and say whether the steps in the other order give the same code.

An analogy item reads BOOK : LIBRARY :: PAINTING : ? and offers GALLERY, MUSEUM, ARTIST and FRAME. Two options seem to fit. Which is the intended answer, how do you defend it, and how would you repair the item?

In the set 2, 7, 11, 13, 15, one candidate picks 2 as the odd one out and another picks 15. Who is right, how do you defend the choice, and how would you change the set so that only one answer fits?

An item reads 6 : 35 :: 8 : ? and gives no other pair. Three candidates answer 63, 47 and 45, and each shows a rule. Who is right, and what should the item have included?