PAF Aeronautical Engineering Intelligence Test Syllabus

Solve the number analogy $2 : 8 :: 3 : ?$ using the cube relationship.

Each result is the cube of the first number: $2^{3}=8$, so $3^{3} = 27$. Answer: 27.

Solve the number analogy $7 : 49 :: 9 : ?$

The second number is the square of the first: $7^{2}=49$, so $9^{2} = 81$. Answer: 81.

What is Classification (Odd One Out) and the method to solve it?

A task to find the one item in a group that does not share the common property of the others. Method: identify the rule common to most items, then pick the item that violates it.

In the group 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 which is the odd one out and why?

9 is the odd one out: all others (3, 5, 7, 11) are prime numbers, while $9 = 3 \times 3$ is composite.

What is Coding-Decoding in reasoning tests?

A process where words, letters, or numbers are encrypted using a specific rule (the code); you must decode given examples to discover the rule, then encode/decode the target item.

What is Letter Coding, and what is the most common shift used?

Letter coding replaces each letter of a word with another letter based on a fixed positional shift in the alphabet. The most common is a forward or backward shift of $+1$ or $-1$ position.

If CAT is coded as DBU, what is the coding rule and how would DOG be coded?

Each letter shifts forward by $+1$ ($C\to D, A\to B, T\to U$). So DOG becomes EPH ($D\to E, O\to P, G\to H$).

What is Number Coding in reasoning?

A scheme where letters or words are assigned numerical values (often alphabet positions) according to a rule; you decode examples to find the rule and apply it to the target.

If A=1, B=2, ... and the word CAB is coded as a sum, what number does CAB give?

$C+A+B = 3 + 1 + 2 = 6$.

What is Substitution Coding?

A coding type where given words are replaced (substituted) by other words according to a key, and you must answer a question by substituting the correct replacement words (e.g. 'if sky is called blue, blue is called water...').

In substitution: if 'water' is called 'food' and 'food' is called 'tree', what do you drink when thirsty?

You drink 'food' — because the substance water has been renamed 'food', and you drink water when thirsty.

What are Blood Relations problems and the recommended solving technique?

Problems describing family relationships through clues; you determine how two people are related. Best solved by drawing a family-tree diagram using symbols for gender and lines for generations.

In blood relations, who is referred to by 'my father's only son's wife'?

'My father's only son' is the speaker himself, so 'his wife' is the speaker's wife.

In a family tree diagram, what symbols are conventionally used for male, female, and a couple?

Commonly: '+' or a square for male, '−' or a circle for female, a horizontal double line (=) connecting a married couple, and vertical lines for parent-child links.

How is the relation 'mother's brother' and 'father's brother' named?

Mother's brother is the maternal uncle; father's brother is the paternal uncle.

What is a Synonym and what is an Antonym?

A synonym is a word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another (e.g. happy / joyful). An antonym is a word with the opposite meaning (e.g. happy / sad).

Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'brave'.

Synonym: courageous (or bold/valiant). Antonym: cowardly (or timid).

Give a synonym and an antonym for the word 'expand'.

Synonym: enlarge (or extend/grow). Antonym: contract (or shrink).

What is Direction Sense Test in reasoning?

A test where a person moves in various directions over given distances; you must determine the final direction faced or the shortest distance/direction from the start point, using a compass framework.

List the four cardinal and four ordinal (intercardinal) directions.

Cardinal: North, East, South, West. Ordinal: North-East, South-East, South-West, North-West.

When you face North, which direction is to your right, left, and back?

Right = East, Left = West, Back = South. (Right is always clockwise from the facing direction.)

In Distance and Direction problems, which formula gives the shortest (straight-line) distance after perpendicular movements?

The Pythagorean theorem: if displacements along two perpendicular axes are $a$ and $b$, the shortest distance is $d = \sqrt{a^{2} + b^{2}}$.

A man walks 3 km East then 4 km North. What is his shortest distance from the start?

By Pythagoras, $d = \sqrt{3^{2} + 4^{2}} = \sqrt{9+16} = \sqrt{25} = 5\text{ km}$.

A person walks 6 km South, then 8 km West. How far is he from the starting point?

$d = \sqrt{6^{2} + 8^{2}} = \sqrt{36 + 64} = \sqrt{100} = 10\text{ km}$.

In Turns and Paths problems, what does a right turn followed by another right turn do to your direction?

Two successive right turns ($90^{\circ} + 90^{\circ} = 180^{\circ}$) reverse your direction, making you face exactly the opposite way.

If you are facing East and make a left turn, which direction do you now face?

A left turn is $90^{\circ}$ anticlockwise, so from East you turn to face North.

If you face South and turn $90^{\circ}$ clockwise (right), which direction do you face?

From South, a right (clockwise) turn brings you to face West.

What is a Ranking and Ordering problem, and what key formula relates the two end-counts to the total?

A problem placing people/objects in a sequence by position from each end. If a person is $m$-th from the top and $n$-th from the bottom, the total number is $\text{Total} = m + n - 1$.

In a row, a student is 7th from the left and 12th from the right. How many students are in the row?

Total $= 7 + 12 - 1 = 18$ students. (We subtract 1 because the student is counted from both ends.)

If there are 30 students in a row and a boy is 10th from the left, what is his position from the right?

Position from right $= \text{Total} - \text{position from left} + 1 = 30 - 10 + 1 = 21$st from the right.