Reasoning and Mental Ability

What the official syllabus says

GPSC Preliminary Examination, General Studies, under the heading Reasoning and Mental Ability:

• Reasoning and Analytical Ability.
• Decision Making and Problem Solving Ability.
• General Mental Ability
• Basic Numerical Ability
• Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc.)

Topics in detail

The standard of the Prelims is that of a graduate. This area sits inside the single General Studies paper, so speed matters: practise each type with a time limit.

Reasoning and analytical ability

• Statements and conclusions, statements and assumptions, statements and arguments, courses of action
• Syllogisms and Venn diagrams
• Logical deduction: if-then statements, necessary and sufficient conditions
• Cause and effect; strengthening and weakening an argument
• Puzzles: seating arrangement (linear and circular), scheduling, ordering and ranking

Decision making and problem solving

• Situations in administration and daily life: choosing the most suitable action
• Prioritising tasks, weighing options under constraints
• Problem solving in steps: identifying the issue, alternatives, consequences

General mental ability

• Number and letter series; analogies; classification (odd one out)
• Coding and decoding
• Blood relations; direction sense; clocks and calendars
• Non-verbal reasoning: figure series, mirror and water images, paper folding, counting figures, cubes and dice

Basic numerical ability

• Number system, divisibility, HCF and LCM, fractions and decimals, simplification
• Percentages, ratio and proportion, averages
• Profit and loss, simple and compound interest
• Time and work, time, speed and distance, mixtures
• Basic algebra, mensuration (area, volume), basic probability and permutations

Data interpretation

• Tables, bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and mixed graphs
• Percentage change, ratio and average from data
• Data sufficiency: whether given statements are enough to answer a question
• Caselets (data in a paragraph)

Overlaps

The Main Examination has no separate aptitude paper; decision-making returns in the case studies of General Studies-IV.