FAST-NU Entry Test Analytical Skills and IQ Syllabus

In number series, what defines a geometric progression and how do you find the next term?

A geometric progression has a constant common ratio (r): each term = previous term × r. nth term = a × r^(n−1).

In number series, what is a 'difference of differences' (second-order) pattern?

A series where the differences between consecutive terms themselves form a pattern (e.g., differences increase as +2, +4, +6...). You analyze the second-level differences to find the rule.

Identify the pattern type: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ... What comes next?

Differences are 4, 6, 8, 10 (increasing by 2). Next difference is 12, so the next term is 42. (Also n(n+1): 1·2, 2·3, 3·4...)

In number series, what is a common 'squares' and 'cubes' pattern to watch for?

Squares: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25... (n²). Cubes: 1, 8, 27, 64, 125... (n³). Variations add/subtract a constant, e.g., n²+1: 2, 5, 10, 17, 26.

What is an alternating (mixed) number series?

A series containing two interleaved sub-series following different rules (e.g., odd positions increase by one rule, even positions by another). Solve each sub-series separately.

What is the next number: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ...? Name the series.

21. It is the Fibonacci series, where each term is the sum of the two preceding terms.

In letter/alphabet series, what numeric positions correspond to A, M, N, and Z?

A = 1, M = 13, N = 14, Z = 26. Knowing these landmarks speeds up letter-gap calculations.

What is the EJOTY rule for the English alphabet?

EJOTY marks every 5th letter: E=5, J=10, O=15, T=20, Y=25. It helps quickly locate a letter's position.

In letter series, how do you find the 'opposite' letter of a given letter?

Opposite letter position = 27 − (position of given letter). Example: opposite of C(3) is W(24), since 27−3=24. (The pairs are A-Z, B-Y, C-X...)

What is the EJOTY-based shortcut to find the middle letter between two letters?

Add the two letters' positions and divide by 2; convert the resulting number back to a letter. Example: between F(6) and L(12), (6+12)/2 = 9 = I.

In letter series, what does a 'skip' pattern look like and how is it solved?

Letters advance by a fixed step (e.g., +2: A, C, E, G) or a changing step. Convert letters to numbers, find the gap pattern, then convert back to letters.

In figure/pattern series, what are the main types of transformations to look for?

Rotation (clockwise/anticlockwise), reflection (mirror image), addition/removal of elements, increase/decrease in number of sides or dots, and movement of a shape's position.

In figure series, how do you identify a rotation pattern and its direction?

Track a fixed reference element across figures; if it moves consistently around the figure, it is rotating. Determine angle (45°, 90°, etc.) and direction (clockwise or anticlockwise) by the step size between figures.

In figure series 'odd-one-out', what is the general approach?

Find the common property shared by most figures (symmetry, number of lines/sides, shading, orientation) and pick the figure that breaks that common rule.

What is a word analogy question?

It presents a pair of related words and asks you to find another pair sharing the same relationship (A is to B as C is to D).

List five common relationship types tested in word analogies.

Synonym, antonym, part-to-whole (component), cause-and-effect, worker-and-tool (or worker-and-product), and category/classification relationships.

How should you solve a word analogy reliably?

Form a precise sentence stating the relationship of the given pair, then apply that exact sentence to the answer choices; pick the pair where the sentence holds with the same direction and specificity.

In word analogies, give an example of a 'part to whole' relationship.

Petal : Flower (a petal is a part of a flower). Other examples: Page : Book, Branch : Tree, Wheel : Car.

In word analogies, what is a 'worker and tool' relationship? Give an example.

It pairs a person with the instrument they use. Example: Carpenter : Saw, Surgeon : Scalpel, Writer : Pen, Farmer : Plough.

What is an 'Odd One Out' (classification) question?

It gives a group of items and asks which one does not belong with the others because the rest share a common property that it lacks.

What is the standard method to solve an Odd One Out question?

Identify the common characteristic (category, property, pattern) shared by the majority of items, then eliminate the single item that fails to share it.

Which is the odd one out: Square, Rectangle, Rhombus, Triangle, Trapezium? Why?

Triangle — it has three sides, while all the others are quadrilaterals (four-sided figures).

What is coding-decoding in reasoning?

It is a technique where words/letters/numbers are encrypted using a particular rule or pattern; you must decode the rule from given examples and apply it to encode/decode a new word.

In letter-shifting coding, how do you decode a word coded by shifting each letter forward by a fixed number?

Shift each coded letter backward by the same number of positions in the alphabet. Example: if 'CAT' is coded as 'ECV' (shift +2), decode by shifting −2.

What is 'number coding' where letters are assigned numerical values?

Each letter is replaced by a number (often its alphabetical position, A=1...Z=26, or a custom scheme); decode by mapping numbers back to letters using the established rule.

In substitution coding, how is the message disguised?

Whole words are replaced by other words (e.g., 'sky is blue' becomes 'blue is green'); you decode by substituting back according to the given word-for-word mapping.

In direction sense, what are the four cardinal and four ordinal directions, and how are they arranged?

Cardinals: North (top), South (bottom), East (right), West (left). Ordinals between them: NE, NW, SE, SW. Clockwise order: N → E → S → W.

In direction sense, what happens to your facing direction after a right turn versus a left turn?

A right turn rotates you 90° clockwise (N→E→S→W); a left turn rotates you 90° anticlockwise (N→W→S→E).

In direction sense, which formula gives the shortest (straight-line) distance between start and end points after perpendicular movements?

The Pythagorean theorem: shortest distance = √(x² + y²), where x and y are the net horizontal and net vertical displacements.

In blood relations, who are your 'maternal' versus 'paternal' relatives?

Maternal relatives are on the mother's side (maternal uncle = mother's brother, maternal grandfather = mother's father); paternal relatives are on the father's side (paternal uncle = father's brother).

In blood relations, define: father's sister, mother's brother, brother's son, and son's wife.

Father's sister = aunt (paternal); mother's brother = (maternal) uncle; brother's son = nephew; son's wife = daughter-in-law.

What is the recommended technique for solving blood relation puzzles?

Draw a family tree/diagram using symbols (e.g., + for male, − for female, horizontal line for spouse, vertical/branching lines for parent-child), then trace the relationship step by step from the given clues.