IBPS PO Reasoning Ability Syllabus

Reasoning Ability syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Reasoning Ability in IBPS PO, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Logical Reasoning

   2 topics

   • Seating Arrangement
   • Puzzles
2. 2

   Analytical Reasoning

   3 topics

   • Syllogism
   • Blood Relations
   • Coding-Decoding
3. 3

   Verbal Reasoning

   3 topics

   • Statement and Assumptions
   • Statement and Conclusions
   • Course of Action

Reasoning Ability flashcards for IBPS PO

22 of 50 cards from the Reasoning Ability deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In a Linear Seating Arrangement where everyone faces north, how do you interpret 'P sits to the immediate left of Q'?

   When facing north, left is towards the west and right is towards the east. So P sits directly next to Q on Q's western (left-hand) side, with no one in between.

2. In a Linear Arrangement of N people in a single row, how do you find a person's position from the other end if you know their position from one end?

   Position from the other end = N - (given position) + 1. For example, the 4th person from the left in a row of 9 is the 9 - 4 + 1 = 6th from the right.

3. In a Circular Seating Arrangement, how do 'left' and 'right' differ when people face the centre versus face outward?

   Facing the centre: a person's right is anti-clockwise and left is clockwise. Facing outward: it reverses, so right is clockwise and left is anti-clockwise.

4. In a Square (or Rectangular) Arrangement, what is the difference between people sitting only at corners versus at corners plus middle of sides?

   If 4 people sit only at the corners, each faces the centre or outward and has two diagonal/adjacent neighbours. If 8 people sit (4 at corners, 4 at middle of sides), corner persons typically face the centre while middle persons face outward (or vice-versa), so their left/right interpretations differ.

5. In a Triangular Arrangement with people at corners and on the sides, how is facing direction usually defined?

   People at the three corners and at the midpoints of the three sides; conventionally corner persons face one direction (e.g. outward) and side persons face the opposite (e.g. centre), so left/right must be evaluated per their individual facing direction.

6. In a Double-line (parallel-row) arrangement where Row 1 faces south and Row 2 faces north, how are the rows related?

   The two rows face each other, so each Row 1 member sits directly opposite a Row 2 member. Because they face opposite ways, the leftmost of one row aligns opposite the rightmost of the other (mirror image).

7. In a Variable-Distance arrangement, what does a clue like 'the number of people to the left of A equals the number to the right of B' help you fix?

   It is a counting (gap) clue used when seats are not fixed in number; it lets you equate two side-counts to pin down relative positions and the total occupied seats, rather than absolute positions.

8. In a Floor-Based puzzle where the ground floor is numbered 1 and the top is the highest number, what does 'A lives immediately above B' mean numerically?

   A's floor number = B's floor number + 1; A is on the floor directly above B with no floor between them.

9. In a Floor and Flat puzzle (a building with multiple floors and flats per floor), what two coordinates must each person be assigned?

   Each person must be assigned both a floor (vertical level) and a flat/position on that floor (e.g. Flat 1 to the west, Flat 2 to the east). Clues combine vertical (above/below) and horizontal (left/right, same flat number) relations.

10. What is the recommended first step when solving any Puzzle (floor, box, scheduling), before placing elements?

    Read all statements first and classify clues into definite/fixed clues and conditional/negative clues. Begin with the most definite clues to anchor positions, then use comparative and negative clues to eliminate options and build cases.

11. What is a Scheduling Puzzle (months/dates), and what is the key to placing items?

    Persons or events are assigned to given dates, days, or months. The key is to list all slots in chronological order, anchor a fixed clue, then use the stated gaps/intervals between clues to position the remaining items.

12. In a date-based scheduling puzzle, if an event is 'on the 23rd' and another is 'three days before it', what is the second date, and why count carefully?

    Three days before the 23rd is the 20th (23 - 3 = 20). Count carefully because 'three days before' means subtracting the gap, not naming the third day, and month-end/start boundaries can shift the count across months.

13. What is a Categorisation/Comparison Puzzle, and how does it differ from a pure ranking question?

    It groups people by an attribute (e.g. age, salary, marks) and asks comparative relations, often with categories or multiple parameters. Unlike a single linear ranking, it may require comparing across categories and combining two variables (e.g. age plus department) to fix the order.

14. In Order and Ranking, if a person is X-th from the top and Y-th from the bottom in a group of N, what formula relates them?

    N = X + Y - 1. (The person is counted from both ends, so 1 is subtracted to avoid double counting.)

15. In Ranking, 'A is taller than B but shorter than C' gives what order, and who is tallest among the three?

    C > A > B. C is the tallest of the three and B the shortest; A is in the middle. (Someone unmentioned could still be taller than C.)

16. What is a Syllogism, and what two components make up each statement?

    A Syllogism draws conclusions only from given premises, assumed true even if unreal. Each statement has a quantifier (All / Some / No / Some-not) linking two terms (subject and predicate).

17. In Syllogism, what definite conclusion follows from 'All A are B', and what does it NOT prove?

    It proves 'Some B are A' (conversion). It does NOT prove 'All B are A', because B may include things that are not A.

18. In Syllogism, what conclusions follow from 'No A are B'?

    'No B are A' also follows (it is convertible), and it implies 'Some A are not B' and 'Some B are not A'.

19. In Syllogism, what is an 'Either-Or' (complementary pair) case and when does it apply?

    It applies when neither conclusion is individually definite but the two are complementary - they cover all possibilities between the same two terms (typically a 'Some' paired with its 'No', or 'All' with 'Some-not'). The answer is then 'Either I or II follows'.

20. In Syllogism, when is a 'Possibility' conclusion true?

    A possibility conclusion is TRUE when the given statements do not rule it out - i.e. at least one valid Venn diagram can be drawn in which it holds. It is false only when the statements make it impossible.

21. In Inequality, what definite conclusion follows from the chain A > B > C, and can B equal C?

    A > C is definite (strict greater-than is transitive). B is strictly greater than C, so B and C can never be equal.

22. In Inequality, why can no definite relation be drawn between A and C from 'A > B < C'?

    The inequality reverses direction at B (A and C are both greater than B). A and C are not directly comparable, so the A-C relationship is indeterminate.

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