RRB NTPC (Non-Technical Popular Categories) General Intelligence and Reasoning Syllabus

What does 'Some A are B' imply about the reverse, 'Some B are A'?

It is always valid — if some A are B, then some B are A (immediate inference / conversion of a particular affirmative).

In 'Seating Arrangement' puzzles, what are the two main arrangement types?

Linear arrangement (people in a row, facing same or different directions) and circular arrangement (around a table, facing center or outward).

In a circular arrangement facing the center, how do 'left' and 'right' differ from a linear row?

When facing the center, a person's left and right are reversed compared to an observer's view — left is clockwise and right is anticlockwise (opposite of facing outward).

What is the first step in solving any seating/arrangement puzzle?

Identify and place the fixed/definite clues first, then use conditional clues to eliminate possibilities and fill remaining positions.

What does a 'Statement and Assumptions' question ask you to determine?

Whether a given assumption (something taken for granted, not stated) is implicit in the statement — i.e., necessary for the statement to make sense.

In 'Statement and Arguments', what makes an argument 'strong'?

A strong argument is directly related to the question, logically sound, and addresses the real issue — not trivial, ambiguous, or based on individual perception.

What is a 'Course of Action' question?

Given a problem situation, you judge whether a suggested administrative step (course of action) logically follows to solve or improve the problem.

In Decision Making questions, what is the basis for choosing an action?

Applying given conditions/rules strictly to the candidate's data to decide which decision category (selected, rejected, referred, etc.) applies.

What is an 'Inference' in reasoning?

A conclusion that can be logically drawn from given facts/passage as definitely true, probably true, false, or data inadequate.

In Mathematical Operations problems, what does the BODMAS rule stand for?

Brackets, Orders (powers/roots), Division, Multiplication, Addition, Subtraction — the order in which operations are performed.

What is 'symbol substitution' in mathematical operations questions?

Standard math symbols are replaced by other symbols/letters; you substitute back the real operators and solve using BODMAS.

In coded inequalities, if A > B and B > C, what can you conclude?

A > C (the inequality is transitive when signs point the same direction).

In inequalities, when does the conclusion become 'Either-Or' (>=)?

When you cannot definitely establish strict '>' or '=' between two terms, but one of them must hold — combining a strict and an equality relation across terms.

What is a 'Mirror Image'?

The image of an object as seen in a mirror, where the left and right sides are interchanged (laterally inverted) while top and bottom stay the same.

What is a 'Water Image'?

The reflection of an object as seen in water, which is vertically inverted (upside down) while left and right remain unchanged.

In a mirror image of text, what stays unchanged for symmetrical letters like A, H, I, M, O, T?

These vertically symmetrical letters look the same in a vertical mirror image (their left-right symmetry preserves their appearance).

What does 'Paper Folding and Cutting' test require you to visualize?

How a folded paper, after being punched or cut, will look when fully unfolded — the cuts appear symmetrically along each fold line.

In paper cutting, how many holes result when paper folded twice (into four layers) is punched once?

Four holes — one for each layer the punch passes through.

What is 'Completion of Figures' / Pattern Series?

You identify the rule governing a sequence of figures (rotation, addition, deletion, shading) and select the figure that completes or continues the pattern.

Name common transformations to look for in figure series.

Rotation (clockwise/anticlockwise), reflection, increase/decrease in number of elements, movement of elements, and changes in shading or size.

What is an 'Embedded' (Hidden) Figure problem?

You must find which given simple figure is completely contained/hidden within a larger complex figure, without rotation.

What is the key constraint when searching for an embedded figure?

The hidden figure must appear in the same orientation and proportion (not rotated or resized) as part of the complex figure.

How many faces, edges, and vertices does a cube have?

6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 vertices.

What is the rule for opposite faces of a standard dice?

On a standard dice, opposite faces sum to 7 (1-6, 2-5, 3-4); also two faces that appear together in any view can never be opposite each other.

If a painted cube is cut into 'n' smaller cubes per edge, how many small cubes have exactly 3 painted faces?

Always 8 — these are the corner cubes (regardless of n, for n>=2).

What is 'Data Sufficiency'?

A question gives a problem and two (or more) statements; you decide whether the statements — individually or together — provide enough data to answer, without actually solving fully.

What are the standard answer options in a two-statement Data Sufficiency question?

(a) Statement I alone sufficient, (b) Statement II alone sufficient, (c) both together sufficient, (d) either alone sufficient, (e) both together still insufficient.

What does a Venn diagram represent in set-relation problems?

It uses overlapping circles to show relationships (union, intersection, subset, disjoint) between categories or groups of items.

In Venn diagrams, what does the overlapping region of two circles represent?

The intersection — elements that belong to BOTH sets simultaneously.

In data interpretation, what is the difference between a bar graph and a pie chart?

A bar graph compares discrete quantities using bar heights/lengths; a pie chart shows each part as a proportional slice (percentage) of a whole (360 degrees).

In a pie chart, how many degrees represent the whole, and how do you convert a percentage to degrees?

The whole circle is 360 degrees; degrees = (percentage/100) x 360, so 1% = 3.6 degrees.