IIFT Entrance Exam Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Syllabus

In Blood Relations, who is 'the daughter of my grandfather's only son' (assuming your father is that only son)?

She is your sister (or yourself if you are female), since grandfather's only son is your father, and his daughter is your sister.

What is the standard convention for representing gender and generations in a blood-relation diagram?

Use symbols: '+' or square for male, '-' or circle for female; horizontal lines (=) for married couples and siblings, vertical/sloped lines for parent-child links across generations.

In Directions and Distances, what are the four cardinal and four ordinal directions and their angular gaps?

Cardinals: North, East, South, West (90 degrees apart). Ordinals: NE, SE, SW, NW, each 45 degrees between two cardinals.

In a Directions problem, how do you find the shortest (straight-line) distance after movements forming a right angle?

Use the Pythagoras theorem: shortest distance = square root of (horizontal displacement squared + vertical displacement squared).

In Directions problems, if you face North and turn right, which direction do you face? And after a further right turn?

Facing North, a right turn faces you East; a further right turn faces you South. Each right (clockwise) turn rotates you 90 degrees: N to E to S to W.

What is the rule for shadows in Direction problems at sunrise and sunset?

At sunrise the sun is in the East, so shadows fall toward the West. At sunset the sun is in the West, so shadows fall toward the East.

In Selection-Based-on-Conditions problems, what does a conditional clue like 'A is selected only if B is selected' mean logically?

It means A implies B: if A is in, then B must be in. It does NOT mean B requires A. The contrapositive: if B is not selected, then A cannot be selected.

In selection problems, how do you interpret 'either A or B but not both'?

Exactly one of A and B is selected (exclusive or): the valid cases are A-without-B or B-without-A; selecting both or neither violates the condition.

What are the four standard categorical statements used in Syllogisms?

All A are B (universal affirmative), No A is B (universal negative), Some A are B (particular affirmative), and Some A are not B (particular negative).

In Syllogisms, what conclusion follows from 'All A are B' and 'All B are C'?

'All A are C' follows definitely. (Also 'Some C are A' and 'Some A are C' follow as immediate inferences.)

In Syllogisms, what is the rule about conclusions when both premises are particular (contain 'Some')?

No definite conclusion can be drawn from two particular premises. At least one premise must be universal to yield a valid conclusion.

In Syllogisms, what does the complementary pair (either-or) case require?

When two conclusions individually do not follow but together exhaust all possibilities (e.g., 'Some A are B' and 'Some A are not B', with same subject-predicate), the 'either-or' answer holds.

What is the difference between an assumption and a conclusion in Statement-based reasoning?

An assumption is something taken for granted and unstated that the statement depends on; a conclusion is an inference derived from and supported by the stated information.

In Statement and Assumptions, what test confirms whether something is a valid (implicit) assumption?

Negate the assumption; if its negation breaks down or contradicts the statement, then it is a necessary assumption. If the statement still holds, it is not an assumption.

In Statement and Conclusions questions, what makes a conclusion 'definitely follow'?

A conclusion follows only if it can be logically derived directly from the statement without extra information or external knowledge; if it requires assumptions or new data, it does not follow.

In Cause and Effect questions, what is the key relationship to identify between two events?

Whether one event (cause) directly leads to the other (effect), whether both are effects of a common cause, or whether they are independent. Time order and direct causation must be checked.

What distinguishes a strong argument from a weak argument in Critical Reasoning?

A strong argument is relevant to the question, directly addresses the issue, and is based on facts/logic; a weak argument is irrelevant, trivial, ambiguous, or based on assumptions or emotion.

In Logical Sequence of Words, what ordering principles are typically applied?

Order words by logical progression such as size (small to large), chronology (earliest to latest), part-to-whole, life cycle, or process sequence (cause then effect).

What is the basic approach to Coding-Decoding by letter shifting?

Find the constant positional shift between each plaintext letter and its code (e.g., +1, +2, or reverse alphabet), then apply the same rule to encode/decode the target word.

In Coding-Decoding, what is the reverse-alphabet (opposite letter) relationship for A and Z?

Each letter maps to its mirror: A<->Z, B<->Y, C<->X, etc. For a letter at position n, its opposite is at position (27 - n).

What is the EJOTY trick used in Coding-Decoding?

EJOTY gives quick reference letter positions: E=5, J=10, O=15, T=20, Y=25, helping you quickly find any letter's numeric position in the alphabet.

In Input-Output (machine logic) problems, what stays constant across all questions of a given set?

The rearrangement rule/logic the machine applies each step is fixed. Once you deduce the step-by-step operation from the example, you apply the same rule to any new input.

What is a common type of operation in Input-Output machine problems?

Common operations include shifting the largest/smallest number or alphabetically first/last word to one end each step, or sorting elements in ascending/descending order one per step.

In Binary Logic (truth-teller and liar) puzzles, what defines a truth-teller, a liar, and an alternator?

A truth-teller always speaks truth, a liar always lies, and an alternator alternates between truth and lie. Each person's type must be deduced consistently from their statements.

What is the standard solving technique for Truth-teller/Liar puzzles?

Assume a person is a truth-teller (or liar), trace all statements for consistency, and discard any assumption that leads to a contradiction; the consistent assignment is the solution.

In Critical Reasoning, what is the role of an 'assumption' that strengthens an argument's conclusion?

A strengthening assumption supplies an unstated link that supports the conclusion; if added, the argument's logic becomes more solid. A weakener does the opposite by attacking that link.

How do you solve a Number Series question?

Identify the pattern between consecutive terms: common difference (arithmetic), common ratio (geometric), squares/cubes, alternating series, or differences of differences, then extend the pattern.

In Analogy questions (A:B :: C:?), what must be identified first?

Identify the exact relationship between A and B (e.g., synonym, antonym, part-whole, cause-effect, worker-tool), then apply the identical relationship to C to find the missing term.

What is the principle behind Odd-One-Out / Classification questions?

Four of five items share a common property (category, pattern, or relationship); the odd one lacks that shared property. Find the common rule, then the exception.

What are the rules for Mirror images and Water (reflection) images?

Mirror image reverses left-right (lateral inversion) about a vertical mirror; water image reverses top-bottom (vertical inversion) about a horizontal surface. In paper folding, punched holes appear symmetrically about each fold line when unfolded.