1500+ Reasoning Questions with Answers for Competitive Exams
Welcome to Preptara’s practice set of 1500+ important Reasoning MCQs. This collection covers Coding-Decoding, Number Series, Alphabet Series, Analogy, Classification, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Ranking, Calendar, Clock, Syllogism, Venn Diagrams, Non-Verbal Reasoning and logical aptitude.
These questions are useful for aspirants preparing for SSC, Railway, Banking, Police, Defence, State PCS, CET and other competitive examinations. Select an option to check your response instantly and read a clear, concept-based explanation.
Preparation tip: First identify the pattern or relationship, then solve the question without guessing. Review every mistake and practise similar questions to improve speed, accuracy and logical thinking.Start with top 100 mixed reasoning MCQs provided below and then Practice MCQs from Topicwise list provide at the end of the page.
1. If CAT is coded as DBU, how is DOG coded?
Each letter is moved one step forward: D→E, O→P and G→H, giving EPH.
2. If PEN is coded as QFO, how is BOOK coded?
Each letter moves one step forward, so BOOK becomes CPPL.
3. If DELHI is coded as EFMIJ, how is INDIA coded?
Each letter is shifted one position forward: INDIA becomes JOEJB.
4. Choose the odd one out.
Carrot is generally classified as a vegetable; the other three are fruits.
5. Choose the odd one out.
Cube is a three-dimensional solid; the others are two-dimensional figures.
6. Choose the odd one out.
June has 30 days, while January, March and May have 31 days.
7. Find the next number: 2, 4, 8, 16, ?
Each term is multiplied by 2, so the next term is 32.
8. Find the next number: 3, 6, 12, 24, ?
Each term is doubled; 24 × 2 = 48.
9. Find the next number: 5, 10, 17, 26, ?
The differences are 5, 7, 9; the next difference is 11, so 26 + 11 = 37.
10. Find the next number: 1, 4, 9, 16, ?
These are consecutive squares: 1², 2², 3², 4²; the next is 5² = 25.
11. Find the next letter: A, C, E, G, ?
The series skips one letter each time, so the next letter is I.
12. Find the next letter: B, E, H, K, ?
Each letter advances by three positions: B, E, H, K, N; therefore the answer is N.
13. Find the missing number: 4, 9, 16, 25, ?
The terms are squares of 2, 3, 4 and 5; the next is 6² = 36.
14. If A=1, B=2, C=3, what is the value of CAB?
C + A + B = 3 + 1 + 2 = 6.
15. If A=1 and Z=26, what is the value of BAD?
B + A + D = 2 + 1 + 4 = 7.
16. Ravi walks 5 km north and then 3 km east. In which direction is he from the starting point?
Moving north and then east places Ravi to the north-east of his starting point.
17. A person walks south and then turns left. Which direction is the person facing?
When facing south, a left turn points east.
18. A man faces east and turns right. Which direction does he face?
A right turn from east leads to south.
19. A person walks 4 km west and then 4 km east. Where is the person now?
The westward and eastward movements cancel each other, returning the person to the start.
20. If north becomes south and east becomes west, what is the opposite of north-east?
Under the stated reversal, north-east corresponds to south-west.
21. Pointing to a boy, Sita says, 'He is the son of my mother’s only daughter.' How is the boy related to Sita?
Sita’s mother’s only daughter is Sita herself, so the boy is Sita’s son.
22. A is the brother of B. B is the sister of C. How is A related to C?
A and C are siblings, and A is male; therefore A is C’s brother.
23. P is the mother of Q. Q is the father of R. How is P related to R?
P is Q’s mother, so she is R’s grandmother.
24. X is the sister of Y. Y is the son of Z. How is X related to Z?
X is the female child of Z, so she is Z’s daughter.
25. A man says, 'The woman is the daughter of the only son of my mother.' How is the woman related to the man?
The only son of the man’s mother is the man himself; therefore the woman is his daughter.
26. In a row, Amit is 7th from the left and 9th from the right. How many people are in the row?
Total people = left rank + right rank − 1 = 7 + 9 − 1 = 15.
27. Rina is 12th from the left in a row of 30 people. What is her position from the right?
Position from right = 30 − 12 + 1 = 19th.
28. In a class, Mohan ranks 8th from the top and 15th from the bottom. How many students are there?
Total students = 8 + 15 − 1 = 22.
29. If Rahul is taller than Sohan but shorter than Varun, who is the tallest?
Varun is taller than Rahul, and Rahul is taller than Sohan; therefore Varun is tallest.
30. P is older than Q, Q is older than R, and R is older than S. Who is youngest?
The order from oldest to youngest is P, Q, R, S; therefore S is youngest.
31. Which word cannot be formed from the letters of 'REASONING'?
ORANGE requires the letter O, but the word REASONING contains no O.
32. Arrange the words in dictionary order: 1. Bat 2. Ball 3. Banana 4. Bank.
Alphabetically, Ball, Bank, Banana and Bat appear in that order.
33. If all vowels are removed from 'EDUCATION', what remains?
Removing E, U, A, I and O leaves D, C, T and N: DCTN.
34. How many pairs of letters in the word 'MATERIAL' have as many letters between them as in the alphabet?
The pairs M–O and A–C satisfy the stated spacing condition.
35. Which number does not belong to the group?
8, 27 and 64 are cubes; 100 is not a perfect cube.
36. If 1 January is Monday, what day is 8 January?
Seven days later is the same weekday, so 8 January is Monday.
37. If today is Wednesday, what day will it be after 45 days?
45 divided by 7 leaves remainder 3; three days after Wednesday is Saturday.
38. How many odd days are there in a non-leap year?
A non-leap year has 365 days = 52 weeks and 1 extra day.
39. At 3:00, what is the angle between the hour and minute hands?
At 3:00, the minute hand is at 12 and the hour hand is at 3, forming 90°.
40. At 6:00, what is the angle between the clock hands?
At 6:00, the hands lie in opposite directions, forming 180°.
41. How many times do the hands of a clock overlap approximately in 12 hours?
The hands overlap 11 times in a 12-hour period.
42. If a mirror is placed to the right of the word CAT, which side of the reflected word contains C?
A mirror reverses the left-right order, so C appears on the right side of the reflection.
43. Which figure has no line of symmetry?
A scalene triangle has no line of symmetry because all its sides and angles differ.
44. If a paper is folded once and one hole is punched through it, how many holes appear after unfolding?
One fold creates two layers, so one punch produces two corresponding holes.
45. A cube has how many faces?
A cube has six square faces.
46. How many edges does a cube have?
A cube has 12 edges.
47. Which solid has one curved surface and two circular faces?
A cylinder has one curved surface and two circular flat faces.
48. In a Venn diagram, the common part of two sets represents:
The common elements of two sets form their intersection.
49. If all roses are flowers and some flowers are red, which conclusion is definitely true?
The first statement directly establishes that every rose is a flower.
50. Statements: All cats are animals. Some animals are black. Conclusion: Some cats are black.
The black animals need not be cats, so the conclusion cannot be determined.
51. Statements: All pens are blue. This object is a pen. What follows?
Because every pen is blue and the object is a pen, the object must be blue.
52. If A > B, B > C and C > D, which is greatest?
The inequalities establish the order A > B > C > D.
53. If P = Q and Q = R, then:
Equality is transitive, so P equals R.
54. A is twice as old as B. If B is 8 years old, A is:
A’s age = 2 × 8 = 16 years.
55. If 5 machines make 5 items in 5 minutes, how many minutes will one machine take to make one item at the same rate?
Each machine makes one item in 5 minutes under the stated rate.
56. A clock gains 5 minutes every hour. How much does it gain in 6 hours?
Gain = 5 × 6 = 30 minutes.
57. A person faces north, turns right, then right again. Which direction is faced?
Two right turns from north lead to south.
58. Find the missing term: AZ, BY, CX, ?
The first letter moves forward and the second moves backward: AZ, BY, CX, DW.
59. Find the next pair: AB, DE, GH, JK, ?
The pairs begin with A, D, G, J and M, increasing by three letters.
60. If 2 means +, 3 means −, 4 means × and 5 means ÷, find 8 4 2.
Replacing symbols gives 8 × 2 = 16; however, under the encoded operation sequence the intended result is 16.
61. Which number should replace the question mark: 7, 14, 28, 56, ?
Each term is doubled, so 56 × 2 = 112.
62. If SOUTH is written as HTUOS, how is NORTH written?
The word is written in reverse order, so NORTH becomes HTRON.
63. Which pair is related in the same way as Bird : Nest?
A nest is the dwelling place of a bird, just as a den is the dwelling place of a lion.
64. Which pair is related as Doctor : Hospital?
A doctor generally works in a hospital, just as a teacher generally works in a school.
65. Book is to Reading as Fork is to:
A book is used for reading, while a fork is used for eating.
66. Find the odd pair.
In the first three pairs, the second number is the square of the first; 5² is 25, not 20.
67. If MONDAY is coded as 123456, what is the code for DAY?
Using M=1, O=2, N=3, D=4, A=5 and Y=6, DAY is coded as 456.
68. In a queue, A stands before B, and B stands before C. Who stands last among them?
The order is A, B, C, so C is last.
69. If all squares are rectangles, which statement is correct?
Every square is a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square.
70. A group has 40 students. Ravi is 13th from the front. What is his rank from the back?
Rank from back = 40 − 13 + 1 = 28th.
71. If the letters of the word 'TRAIN' are arranged alphabetically, which is the first letter?
Alphabetically, A comes before I, N, R and T.
72. Which number is exactly midway between 18 and 42?
The midpoint is (18 + 42)/2 = 30.
73. If a=3, b=5 and c=7, what is a+b×c?
Using multiplication first: 3 + 5×7 = 3 + 35 = 38.
74. A man is facing west. He turns 90° clockwise. Which direction does he face?
A 90° clockwise turn from west leads to north.
75. What comes next: Z, X, V, T, ?
The series moves backward by two letters: Z, X, V, T, R.
76. Which of the following is a meaningful word when the letters are rearranged: 'LPAEP'?
The letters LPAEP can be rearranged to form APPLE.
77. If '×' means '+', '+' means '−', '−' means '÷', calculate 8 × 2 + 4.
Replace the symbols: 8 + 2 − 4 = 6. Therefore the correct result is 6.
78. A family has two parents and three children. How many people are there in total?
Two parents plus three children make five people.
79. Which month comes immediately after September?
October immediately follows September.
80. If yesterday was Friday, what day is tomorrow?
If yesterday was Friday, today is Saturday and tomorrow is Sunday.
81. A is 5 years older than B. If B is 12, A is:
A = 12 + 5 = 17 years.
82. Which number is missing: 11, 22, 33, ?, 55?
The sequence increases by 11, so the missing number is 44.
83. If 10 people shake hands with each other once, how many handshakes occur?
The number of handshakes is 10×9/2 = 45.
84. A bag contains red, blue and green balls. What is the minimum number of balls to draw to guarantee two of the same colour?
After drawing three different colours, the fourth ball must match one of them.
85. Which is the smallest angle?
An acute angle is less than 90°, making it smaller than the other listed types.
86. If the day after tomorrow is Monday, what day was yesterday?
If the day after tomorrow is Monday, today is Saturday and yesterday was Friday.
87. Which number is both even and prime?
2 is the only even prime number.
88. A person travels 3 km east, 3 km north and 3 km west. How far is the person from the starting point?
The east and west movements cancel, leaving the person 3 km north of the start.
89. Find the next number: 100, 90, 81, 73, ?
The differences are −10, −9, −8; the next difference is −7, giving 66.
90. If every second letter of the alphabet is selected starting from B, which is the fourth letter?
The sequence is B, D, F, H; the fourth selected letter is H.
91. Which statement is true?
Some birds, such as penguins and ostriches, cannot fly.
92. A person is 10th from the left and 15th from the right. Total people are:
Total = 10 + 15 − 1 = 24.
93. If 4 + 5 = 41 and 3 + 6 = 45 under a pattern, then 2 + 7 = ?
The pattern is the sum of the squares: 4²+5²=41, 3²+6²=45; therefore 2²+7²=53, so none of the listed options matches.
94. Which word is opposite in meaning to 'Ancient'?
Modern means recent or current, which is opposite to ancient.
95. Which word is most closely related to 'Honest'?
Honest means truthful and sincere.
96. If 1=5, 2=10, 3=15, then 7=?
Each number is multiplied by 5, so 7 × 5 = 35.
97. A person faces south and turns left twice. Which direction does the person face?
A left turn from south is east; another left turn leads north.
98. Which one is not a means of transport?
A table is furniture, not a means of transport.
99. If 12 workers complete a task in 8 days, the total work in worker-days is:
Total work = workers × days = 12 × 8 = 96 worker-days.
100. What is the next term: 1, 2, 6, 24, ?
Each term is multiplied by the next integer: 1×2, 2×3, 6×4, 24×5 = 120.
Reasoning ability improves through regular practice, careful observation and a clear understanding of patterns. Solving mixed reasoning questions helps you become comfortable with unfamiliar problems and improves decision-making under time pressure.
For stronger preparation, practise topic-wise questions, revise common shortcuts and attempt timed mock tests. Revisit difficult questions until the underlying logic becomes clear. Keep learning and keep progressing with Preptara – Learning Simplified.
Topicwise Reasoning Questions
Explore important Reasoning topics and practice questions.