NTS NAT-ICOM Analytical Reasoning Syllabus

In Course of Action questions, what is a 'course of action'?

A course of action is an administrative or practical step recommended for improvement, follow-up, or to solve a problem mentioned in the statement.

What two conditions must a suggested course of action satisfy to be considered valid (to 'follow')?

(1) It must logically relate to and address the problem in the statement, and (2) it must be practical, effective, and likely to produce the desired result.

In Course of Action questions, why are extreme or impractical actions usually rejected?

Because they are not feasible or proportionate; a valid course of action must be reasonable, implementable, and likely to actually solve the stated problem.

In linear Seating Arrangement (single row), how do 'left' and 'right' work when people face the same direction (e.g., facing north)?

When all face north, a person's left is the solver's left and their right is the solver's right — directions match the reader's perspective. (If they face south, left and right reverse.)

In a circular Seating Arrangement where everyone faces the CENTER, how do left and right run?

Facing center, each person's left-hand side is the clockwise direction and right-hand side is anticlockwise (opposite to a normal clockwise reading).

In a circular arrangement where everyone faces OUTWARD (away from center), how do left and right run?

Facing outward, each person's left is anticlockwise and right is clockwise — the reverse of facing-center arrangements.

How do you count people sitting 'between' two persons in a circular arrangement?

Count the seats along the specified direction (clockwise or anticlockwise) from one person to the other, excluding the two endpoints; both arcs may need checking unless direction is fixed.

In Ordering and Sequencing, what is the difference between 'rank from the top/start' and 'rank from the bottom/end'?

Rank from top counts position from the highest/first; rank from bottom counts from the lowest/last. Together they describe the same item from opposite ends of the order.

What is the formula for the total number of items in a row given a person's position from both ends?

Total = (position from left) + (position from right) − 1. The −1 avoids counting that person twice.

If a person ranks Mth from the top and Nth from the bottom in a class, how many students are there in total?

Total students = M + N − 1.

How do you find a person's position from the other end given total count and position from one end?

Position from other end = Total − position from given end + 1.

In comparison/ranking puzzles, what does the relation 'A > B > C' establish about A and C?

Transitivity gives A > C: A is greater/higher than C. Chained inequalities in the same direction can be combined directly.

In Grouping and Selection problems, what do 'conditional selection' rules typically specify?

They specify which items must be chosen together, which cannot be chosen together (mutual exclusion), and which require another item's presence/absence — constraints governing valid group formation.

In Grouping/Selection, how do you handle a rule like 'If A is selected, then B must also be selected'?

Treat it as a conditional: whenever A is in the group, B is forced in. By contrapositive, if B is NOT selected, then A cannot be selected either.

What is the contrapositive of the conditional statement 'If P then Q'?

'If not Q then not P' — logically equivalent to the original statement and always true when the original is true.

In Conditional Relationships, what does the converse of 'If P then Q' state, and is it equivalent?

The converse is 'If Q then P.' It is NOT logically equivalent to the original; the truth of a conditional does not guarantee the truth of its converse.

In Conditional Relationships, what does the inverse of 'If P then Q' state, and is it equivalent?

The inverse is 'If not P then not Q.' It is NOT logically equivalent to the original statement (it IS equivalent to the converse).

What is the valid argument form modus ponens?

Given 'If P then Q' and 'P is true,' you may validly conclude 'Q is true.' (Affirming the antecedent.)

What is the valid argument form modus tollens?

Given 'If P then Q' and 'Q is false (not Q),' you may validly conclude 'P is false (not P).' (Denying the consequent.)

Name the two classic logical fallacies tied to conditional statements.

Affirming the consequent (P→Q, Q, therefore P — invalid) and denying the antecedent (P→Q, not P, therefore not Q — invalid).

What is a syllogism?

A syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning with two premises and a conclusion, relating categories using quantifiers (All, Some, No), where the conclusion must follow from the premises.

What are the four standard categorical (A, E, I, O) propositions in syllogisms?

A = Universal affirmative ('All S are P'); E = Universal negative ('No S is P'); I = Particular affirmative ('Some S are P'); O = Particular negative ('Some S are not P').

State the rule for combining 'All A are B' and 'All B are C' in syllogisms.

The valid conclusion is 'All A are C.' (Two universal affirmatives in a chain give a universal affirmative conclusion.)

What conclusion follows from 'All A are B' and 'No B is C'?

'No A is C' follows. (Universal affirmative + universal negative in chain yields a universal negative.)

Why do two particular premises (both 'Some...') in a syllogism yield no definite conclusion?

A valid syllogistic conclusion requires at least one universal premise; two particular premises do not distribute the middle term, so no certain conclusion can be drawn.

In syllogisms, what is the 'possibility' rule for converting 'Some A are B'?

'Some A are B' implies 'Some B are A' (valid conversion of I-type). It also leaves open the possibility that 'All A are B' or 'All B are A' could be true.

In Venn diagram logic, how is 'All A are B' represented?

Circle A is drawn entirely inside circle B (A is a subset of B). Every element of A lies within B.

In Venn diagram logic, how is 'No A is B' represented?

Circles A and B are drawn completely separate with no overlap (disjoint sets) — they share no common region.

In Venn diagram logic, how are 'Some A are B' and 'Some A are not B' represented?

'Some A are B' = two partially overlapping circles (a shared region exists). 'Some A are not B' = part of A lies outside B; the circles overlap but A has a region beyond B.

In Blood Relations, what relation is 'my father's sister' and 'my mother's brother'?

Father's sister = paternal aunt; mother's brother = maternal uncle.

In Blood Relations coding, how do you decode 'A is the son of B's father's only son'?

B's father's only son is B himself (assuming B is male), so A is the son of B — meaning B is A's father. (If B's gender is unspecified, B's father's only son is B's brother or B.)