RBI Assistant 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 RBI Assistant, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Verbal and Analytical Reasoning

   5 topics

   • Seating Arrangement
     • Linear arrangement (single and double row)
     • Circular and square arrangement
   • Puzzles
     • Floor-based puzzles
     • Box and stack puzzles
     • Scheduling (day/month/year) puzzles
   • Blood Relations
     • Coded blood relations
     • Family tree problems
   • Direction Sense
   • Order and Ranking
2. 2

   Logical Reasoning

   5 topics

   • Syllogism
     • Possibility cases
     • Reverse syllogism
   • Statement and Conclusion
   • Statement and Assumptions
   • Cause and Effect
   • Course of Action
3. 3

   Coding and Series

   4 topics

   • Coding-Decoding
     • Symbol and number coding
     • Chinese coding
   • Alphanumeric Series
   • Number and Letter Series
   • Analogy and Classification
4. 4

   Non-Verbal and Miscellaneous Reasoning

   4 topics

   • Inequality (Coded and Direct)
   • Input-Output
     • Shifting-based input-output
   • Data Sufficiency in Reasoning
   • Logical Venn Diagrams

Reasoning Ability flashcards for RBI Assistant

22 of 51 cards from the Reasoning Ability deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In a linear seating arrangement where all persons face north, who is to the immediate 'right' of a person from the observer's view?

   The person sitting to the observer's right is to the LEFT of the seated person (because they face north). For a north-facing row, the person's own right is toward the west end and left is toward the east end.

2. In a circular seating arrangement, when do 'left' and 'right' directions of seated persons get reversed?

   When persons face the CENTRE, their left/right are opposite to ours (clockwise = each person's left). When they face OUTWARD (away from centre), clockwise = each person's right.

3. What is the key difference between a 'linear' and a 'circular' seating arrangement puzzle?

   Linear: people sit in one or two rows facing a single/opposite direction with definite ends. Circular: people sit around a table with no ends, facing centre or outward, and the first and last positions are adjacent.

4. In puzzle solving, what is the recommended order for placing clues?

   Start with definite (direct) clues that fix exact positions first, then use comparative/negative clues to eliminate possibilities, and finally handle conditional clues last.

5. In a floor-based puzzle, if the ground floor is numbered 1, what does 'lives above' versus 'lives below' mean?

   'Lives above' means a higher floor number; 'lives below' means a lower floor number. The topmost floor has the highest number and the ground floor (lowest) is number 1.

6. In blood relations, who is your father's brother's wife and your mother's brother's wife?

   Father's brother's wife is your aunt (uncle's wife). Mother's brother's wife is also your aunt (maternal uncle's wife).

7. In blood relations, what relation is your mother's father to you, and your father's mother?

   Mother's father is your maternal grandfather; father's mother is your paternal grandmother.

8. How do you decode 'A is the son of B' versus 'A is the daughter-in-law of B' for gender?

   'Son of' confirms A is male; 'daughter-in-law of' confirms A is female and is married to B's son. Daughter-in-law gives the gender of A directly.

9. In a coded blood-relation pointing problem, how do you interpret 'pointing to a photo, X said: He is the son of my mother's only son'?

   My mother's only son is X himself (assuming X is male), so 'his son' means the person in the photo is X's son.

10. In direction sense, what are the four cardinal and four ordinal (inter-cardinal) directions?

    Cardinal: North, South, East, West. Ordinal: North-East, North-West, South-East, South-West (each bisecting two adjacent cardinals).

11. In a direction-sense problem, what formula gives the shortest (net) distance between start and end points?

    When the path forms a right angle, use the Pythagoras theorem: shortest distance = sqrt((net horizontal)^2 + (net vertical)^2).

12. If you face North and turn 90 degrees clockwise, then 90 degrees clockwise again, which direction do you face?

    First turn faces East, second turn faces South. Two clockwise 90-degree turns from North gives South.

13. In direction sense, what happens to left/right turns when a person is moving but we describe from their own perspective?

    Turns are always relative to the direction the person is currently moving (their own left/right), not to a fixed map. Re-orient after each turn before applying the next left/right.

14. In Order and Ranking, if A is 7th from the top and 18th from the bottom, what is the total number of items?

    Total = (rank from top) + (rank from bottom) - 1 = 7 + 18 - 1 = 24.

15. In a ranking row of n persons, how do you find a person's position from the other end?

    Position from other end = (n + 1) - position from given end. (Equivalently total = both positions - 1.)

16. In Order and Ranking, how do you interpret 'A is taller than B' combined with 'C is shorter than B'?

    It gives an order A > B > C in height. Chain such comparisons to build a complete tallest-to-shortest sequence.

17. What is a syllogism in logical reasoning?

    A syllogism is a deductive argument with two premises (statements) and a conclusion, where the conclusion's validity is judged solely from the given statements, not real-world facts.

18. State the rule about negative premises in syllogisms.

    If even one premise is negative, the conclusion (if any) must be negative; from two affirmative premises you cannot draw a negative conclusion.

19. In syllogisms, what conclusion follows from two universal negative premises ('No A is B', 'No B is C')?

    No definite conclusion follows. Two negative premises cannot together yield a valid conclusion.

20. In syllogisms, what does a 'possibility' conclusion require to be true?

    A possibility is true if it is NOT contradicted by a definite (already established) conclusion. If the definite conclusion forces a relationship, the opposite possibility becomes false.

21. In syllogisms, how are 'Some A are B' and its converse related?

    'Some A are B' implies the converse 'Some B are A' is also true. The particular affirmative statement can be reversed validly.

22. In Statement and Conclusion questions, what is the basic decision rule?

    Accept a conclusion only if it logically and definitely follows from the statement alone, using no outside knowledge or assumptions. Vague or extra-information conclusions are rejected.

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