CAT CBT 24 With Detailed Solutions

CAT CBT 24 [Combination of CAT 2000-2008/GMAT papers]

NO. OF QUESTIONS: 60
SECTION I
QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE & DATA INTERPRETATION SECTION
Maximum time allowed: 70 minutes. Each question carries one mark. Each wrong answer
would invite a 1/4th negative mark.
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 and 2: Answer these questions based on the following diagram.
In the diagram below: Angle ABC = 900 = Angle DCH = Angle DOE = Angle EHK = Angle FKL
= Angle GLM = Angle LMN
AB = BC = 2CH = 2CD = EH = FK = 2HK = 4KL = 2LM = MN
A
E F N
D G
B C H K L M
1. The magnitude of Angle FGO =
1. 300 2. 450 3. 600 4. none of these
2. The ratio of the areas of the two quadrangles ABCD and DEFG is
1. 1:2 2. 2:1 3. 12:7 4. none of these

3. Four horses are tethered at four corners of a square plot of side 14 metres (m) so that the adjacent
horses can just reach one another. There is a small circular pond of area 20m2 at the centre. The area
left ungrazed is :
1.22m2 2. 42m2 3. 84m2 4. 168m2
4. On a straight road XY, 100 metres long, five heavy stones are placed two metres apart beginning at the
end X. A worker, starting at X, has to transport all the stones to Y, by carrying only one stone at a time.
The minimum distance he has to travel (in metres) is:
1. 472 2. 422 3. 744 4. 860

5. Instead of walking along two adjacent sides of a rectangular field, a boy took a short cut along the
diagonal and saved a distance equal to half the longer side. Then the ratio of the shorter side to the
longer side is:
1. 1/2 2. 2/3 3. 1/4 4. 3/4
1

DIRECTIONS for questions 6 and 7: Answer these questions based on the information given below.
A boy is asked to put in a basket one mango when ordered ‘One’, one orange when ordered ‘Two’, one
apple when ordered ‘Three’ and is asked to take out from the basket one mango and an orange when
ordered ‘Four’. A sequence of orders is given as:
12332142314223314113234
6. How many total oranges were in the basket at the end of the above sequence?
1. 1 2. 4 3. 3 4. 2
7. How many total fruits will be in the basket at the end of the above order sequence?
1. 9 2. 8 3. 11 4. 10
DIRECTIONS for questions 8 and 9: Answer these questions based on the information given below.
Each of the 11 letters A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X and Z appears same when looked at in a mirror.

They are called symmetric letters. Other letters in the alphabet are asymmetric letters.
8. How many four-letter computer passwords can be formed using only the symmetric letters (no repetition
allowed)?
1. 7920 2. 330 3. 14640 4. 419430
9. How many three-letter computer passwords (no repetition allowed) with at least one symmetric letter?
1. 990 2. 2730 3. 12870 4. 15600
10. A train approaches a tunnel AB. Inside the tunnel is a cat located at a point that is 3/8 of the distance
AB measured from the entrance A. When the train whistles, the cat runs. If the cat moves to the entrance
of the tunnel, A, the train catches the cat exactly at the entrance. If the cat moves to the exit, B, the train
catches at exactly the exit. The speed of the train is greater than the speed of the cat by what order?
1. 3:1 2. 4:1 3. 5:1 4. none of these
DIRECTIONS for questions 11 to 13:

A, B and C are three numbers.
Let @(A,B) = average of A and B
*(A,B) = product of A and B
/(A,B) = A divided by B
Q.11. If A = 2 and B = 4, the value of @(/(*A,B),B),A) would be

1. 2 2. 4 3. 6 4. 16
Q.12. Sum of A and B is given by
1. *(@(A,B),2) 2. /@(A,B),2) 3. @(*A,B),2) 4. @(/(A,B),2)
2

Q.13. Average of A, B and C is given by
1. *(/(@(*@(B,A),2),C),3),2) 2. /(@(*@(B,A),3),C),2)
3. /(*(@(*(B,A),2),C),3) 4. None of these

DIRECTIONS for questions 14 and 15: A function f(x) is said to be even if f(–x) = f(x) and odd if f(–
x) = –f(x). Thus, e.g., the function given by f(x) = x2 is even, while the function given by f(x) = x3 is
odd. Using this definition, answer the following questions:
Q.14.
The function given by f(x) = |x|3 is
1. even 2. odd 3. neither 4. both
Q.15.
The sum of two odd functions
1. is always an even function 2. is always an odd function
3. is sometimes odd and sometimes even 4. may be neither odd nor even
Directions for questions 16 and 17: For any positive integer N>1, the “length” of N is the number of
positive prime numbers, not necessarily distinct, whose product is N. For example, the “length” of 50 is 3
since 50= 2*5*5.
16. Which of the following integers has length 3?

(1) 132 (2) 5577 (3) 715 (4) 3146
17. What could be the maximum length of an integer in the range 2000<N<3000?
(1) 8 (2) 9 (3) 10 (4) 11
DIRECTIONS for questions 18 to 20: Based on the following data answer the questions that
follow:
Let x, y, and z be three numbers. Define: (I) le(x,y) = minimum of x and y (II) mo (x,y) = maximum of x
and y and (III) me (x,y) = ½(le(x,y) + mo(x,y))
Q.18. Given that x > y > z, which of the following is true?
(1) x = mo(me(x,y,),mo(y,z))
(2) z = le(le(x,y),me(x,y))
(3) y = me(me(x,y),me(y,z))
(4) y = me(le(x,y),mo(y,z))
Q.19. Given that x > y > z, which of the following is not necessarily true?
(1) le(x,y) > me(mo(y,z),me(y,z)) (2) mo(y,z) < me(me(x,y),me(y,z))

(3) me(x,y) ≥ mo(me(x,y),le(x,y)) (4) me(y,z) ≥ le(me(y,z), mo(y,z))
Q.20. Let x = 6, y = 8, and z = 10. What is the value of the following expression:
mo(me(le(x,z)me(y,z))),
mo(le(y,z),me(x,z))
(1) 6 (2) 7 (3) 7.5 (4) 8
3

Answer Questions 21 to 24 on the basis of the information given below:
In the table below is the listing of players, seeded from highest (#1) to lowest (#32), who are due to
play in an Association of Tennis Players (ATP) tournament for women. This tournament has four knockout
rounds before the final, i.e., first round, second round, quarterfinals, and semi-finals. In the first round,
the highest seeded player plays the lowest seeded player (seed # 32) which is designated match No. 1 of
first round; the 2nd seeded player plays the 31st seeded player which is designated match No. 2 of the
first round, and so on. Thus, for instance, match No. 16 of first round is to be played between 16th
seeded player and the 17th seeded player. In the second round, the winner of match No. 1 of first round
plays the winner of match No. 16 of first round and is designated match No. 1 of second round. Similarly,
the winner of match No. 2 of first round plays the winner of match No. 15 of first round, and is
designated match No. 2 of second round. Thus, for instance, match No. 8 of the second round is to be
played between the winner of match No. 8 of first round and the winner of match No. 9 of first round.
The same pattern is followed for later rounds as well.
21.If there are no upsets (a lower seeded player beating a higher seeded player) in the first round, and
only match Nos. 6, 7, and 8 of the second round result in upsets, then who would meet Lindsay
Davenport in quarter finals, in case Davenport reaches quarter finals?
1. Justine Henin 2. Nadia Petrova 3. Patty Schnyder 4. Venus Williams
22.If Elena Dementieva and Serena Williams lose in the second round, while Justine Henin and Nadia
Petrova make it to the semi-finals, then who would play Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, in the
event Sharapova reaches quarterfinals?
1. Dinara Safina 2. Justine Henin 3. Nadia Petrova 4. Patty Schnyder
23. If, in the first round, all even numbered matches (and none of the odd numbered ones) result in
upsets, and there are no upsets in the second round, then who could be the lowest seeded player facing
Maria Sharapova in semi-finals?
1. Anastasia Myskina 2. Flavia Pennetta 3. Nadia Petrova 4. Svetlana Kuznetsova
24. If the top eight seeds make it to the quarterfinals, then who, amongst the players listed below, would
definitely not play against Maria Sharapova in the final, in case Sharapova reaches the final?
1. Amelie Mauresmo 2. Elena Dementieva 3. Kim Clijsters 4. Lindsay Davenport
4

Answer Questions 25 to 27 on the basis of the information given below:
The table below reports annual statistics related to rice production in select states of India for a particular
year.
25. Which two states account for the highest productivity of rice (tons produced per hectare of rice
cultivation)?
1. Haryana and Punjab 2. Punjab and Andhra Pradesh
3. Andhra Pradesh and Haryana 4. Uttar Pradesh and Haryana
26. How many states have a per capita production of rice (defined as total rice production divided by its
population) greater than Gujarat?
1. 3 2. 4 3. 5 4. 6
27. An intensive rice producing state is defined as one whose annual rice production per million of
population is at least 400,000 tons. How many states are intensive rice producing states?
1. 5 2. 6 3. 7 4. 8
5

DIRECTIONS for questions 28 to 30: Answer these questions based on the table given below.
The table below gives information about four different crops, their different quality categories and the
regions where they are cultivated. Based on the information given in the table answer the questions
below:
Type of Crop Quality Region

High R1, R2, R3, R4, R5
Crop – 1 Medium R6, R7, R8
Low R9, R10, R11
High R5, R8, R12

Crop – 2 Medium R9, R13
Low R6
High R2, R6, R7, R13

Low R1, R4
High R3, R10, R11

Low R5, R9
Question 28
How many regions produce medium qualities of Crop – 1 or Crop – 2 and also produce low quality of
Crop – 3 or Crop - 4
1. Zero 2. One 3. Two 4. Three
Question 29
Which of the following statements is true?

1. All medium quality Crop–2 producing regions are also high quality Crop–3 producing
regions.
2. All high quality Crop–1 producing regions are also medium and low Crop–4 producing
regions.
3. There are exactly four Crop-3 producing regions, which also produce Crop–4 but not Crop–
2.
4. Some Crop–3 producing regions produce Crop–1, but not high quality Crop–2.
Question 30
How many low quality Crop–1 producing regions are either high quality Crop–4 producing regions or
medium quality Crop–3 producing regions?
1. One 2. Two 3. Three 4. Zero
6

SECTION II
VERBAL REASONING & LOGICAL REASONING SECTION
Maximum time allowed: 70 minutes. Each question carries one mark. Each wrong answer
would invite a 1/4th negative mark.
Directions for Questions 31 to 38: The passage given below is followed by a set of eight questions.
Choose the best answer to each question.
Passage I
The current debate on intellectual property rights (IPRs) raises a number of important issues concerning
the strategy and policies for building a more dynamic national agricultural research system, the relative
roles of public and private sectors, and the role of agribusiness multinational corporations (MNCs). This
debate has been stimulated by the international agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPs), negotiated as part of the Uruguay Round. TRIPs, for the first time, seeks to bring innovations in
agricultural technology under a new world wide IPR regime. The agribusiness MNCs (along with
pharmaceutical companies) played a leading part in lobbying for such a regime during the Uruguay
Round negotiations. The argument was that incentives are necessary to stimulate innovations, and that
this calls for a system of patents which gives innovators the sole right to use (or sell/lease the right to
use) their innovations for a specified period and protects them against unauthorized copying or use. With
strong support of their national governments, they were influential in shaping the agreement on TRIPs,
which eventually emerged from the Uruguay Round.
The current debate on TRIPs in India—as indeed elsewhere—echoes wider concerns about ‘privatisation’
of research and allowing a free field for MNCs in the sphere of biotechnology and agriculture. The
agribusiness corporations. And those with unbounded faith in the power of science to overcome all likely
problems, point to the vast potential that new technology holds for solving the problems of hunger
malnutrition and poverty in the world. The exploitation of this potential should be encouraged and this is
best done by the private sector for which patents are essential. Some, who do not necessarily accept this
optimism, argue that fears of MNC domination are exaggerated and that farmers will accept their
products only if they decisively outperform the available alternatives. Those who argue against agreeing
to introduce an IPR regime in agriculture and encouraging private sector research are apprehensive that
this will work to the disadvantage of farmers by making them more and more dependent on monopolistic
MNCs. A different, though related apprehension is that extensive use of hybrids and genetically
engineered new varieties might increase the vulnerability of agriculture to outbreaks of pest and
diseases. The larger, longer-term consequences of reduced biodiversity that may follow from the use of
specially bred varieties are also another cause for concern. Moreover, corporations, driven by the profit
motive, will necessarily tend to underplay, if not ignore, potential adverse consequences, especially those
which are unknown and which may manifest themselves only over a relatively long period. On the other
hand, high-pressure advertising and aggressive sales campaigns by private companies can seduce
farmers into accepting varieties without being aware of potential adverse effects and the possibility of
disastrous consequences for their livelihood if these varieties happen to fail. There is no provision under
the laws, as they now exist, for compensating users against such eventualities.
Excessive preoccupation with seeds and seed material has obscured other important issues involved in
reviewing the research policy. We need to remind ourselves that improved varieties by themselves are
not sufficient for sustained growth of yields. In our own experience, some of the early high yielding
varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat were found susceptible to widespread pest attacks; and some had
problems of grain quality. Further research was necessary to solve these problems. This largely
successful research was almost entirely done in public research institutions. Of course, it could in
principle have been done by private companies, but whether they choose to do so depends crucially on
the extent of the loss in market for their original introductions on account of the above factors and
7

whether the companies are financially strong enough to absorb the losses, invest in research to correct
the deficiencies and recover the lost market. Public research, which is not driven by profit, is better
placed to take corrective action. Research for improving common pool resource management,
maintaining ecological health and ensuring sustainability is both critical and also demanding in terms of
technological challenge and resource requirements. As such research is crucial to impact of new varieties,
chemicals and equipment in the farmer’s field, private companies should be interested in such research.
But their primary interest is in the sale of seed material, chemicals, equipments and other inputs
produced by them. Knowledge and techniques for resource management are not ‘marketable’ in the
same way as those inputs. Their applications to land, water and forests has a long gestation and their
efficacy depends on resolving difficult problems such as designing institutions for proper and equitable
management of common pool resources. Public or quasi-public research institutions informed by broader,
long-term concerns can only do such work.
The public sector must therefore continue to play a major role in the national research system. It is both
wrong and misleading to pose the problem in terms of public sector versus private sector or of
privatization of research. We need to address problems likely to arise on account of the public-private
sector complementarity, and ensure that the public research system performs efficiently.
Complementarity between various elements of research raises several issues in implementing an IPR
regime. Private companies do not produce new varieties and inputs entirely as result of their own
research. Almost all technological improvement is based on knowledge and experience accumulated from
the past. And the results of basic and applied research in public and quasi-public institutions (universities,
research organizations). Moreover, as is increasingly recognized, accumulated stock of knowledge does
not reside only in the scientific community and its academic publications, but is also widely diffused in
traditions and folk knowledge of local communities all over.
The deciphering of the structure and functioning of DNA forms the basis of much of modern
biotechnology. But this fundamental breakthrough is a ‘public good’ freely accessible in the public domain
and usable free of any charge. Varieties/techniques developed using that knowledge can however be,
and are, patented for private profit. Similarly, private corporations draw extensively, and without any
charge, on germ plasm available in varieties of plants species (neem and turmeric are by now famous
examples). Publicly funded gene banks as well as new varieties bred by public sector research stations
can also be used freely by private enterprises for developing their own varieties and seek patent
protection for them. Should private breeders be allowed free use of basic scientific discoveries? Should
the repositories of traditional knowledge and germ plasma be collected which are maintained and
improved by publicly funded institutions? Or should users be made to pay for such use? If they are to
pay, what should be the basis of compensation? Should the compensation be for individuals or for
communities / institutions to which they belong? Should individuals/institutions be given the right of
patenting their innovations? These are some of the important issues that deserve more attention than
they now get and need serious detailed study to evolve reasonably satisfactory, fair and workable
solutions. Finally, the tendency to equate the public sector with the government is wrong. The public
state is much wider than government departments and includes co-operatives, universities, public trusts
and a variety of non-governmental organizations giving greater autonomy to research organisations from
government control and giving non-government public institutions the space and resources to play a
larger, more effective role in research, is therefore an issue of direct relevance in restructuring the public
research system.
31. Which one of the following statements describes an important issue or important issues, not being
raised in the context of the current debate on IPRs?
1.The role of MNCs in the sphere of biotechnology and agriculture.

2.The strategy and policies for establishing an IPR regime for Indian agriculture.
3.The relative roles of public and private sectors.
4.Wider concerns about ‘privatization’ of research
8

32. The fundamental breakthrough in deciphering the structure and functioning of DNA has become a
public good. This means that;
1.Breakthroughs in fundamental research on DNA are accessible by all without any monetary
considerations.
2. The fundamental research on DNA has the characteristic of having beneficial effects for the public at
large.
3. Due to the large scale of fundamental research on DNA, it falls in the domain of public sector research
institutions.
4. The public and other companies must have free access to such fundamental breakthroughs in
research.
33. In debating the respective roles of the public and private sectors in the national research system, it is
important to recognize
1. that private companies do not produce new varieties and inputs entirely on their own research
2.that almost all technological improvements are based on knowledge and experience accumulated from
the past
3. the complementary role of public and private sector research
4. that knowledge repositories are primarily the scientific community and its academic publications
34. Which one of the following may provide incentives to address the problem of potential adverse
consequences of biotechnology?
1.Include IPR issue in the TRIPs agreement.

2.Nationalise MNCs engaged in private research in biotechnology.
3.Encourage domestic firms to patent their innovation.
4.Make provision in the law for user compensation against failure of newly developed varieties.
35. Which of the following statements is not a likely consequence of emerging Technology in agriculture?
1.Development of newer and newer varieties will lead to increase in biodiversity.
2.MNCs may underplay the negative consequences of the newer technology on environment.
3. Newer varieties of seeds may increase vulnerability of crops to pest and diseases.
4.Reforms in patent laws and user compensation against crop failures would be needed to address new
technology problems.
36. The TRIPs agreement emerged from the Uruguay round to:
1.Address the problem of adverse consequences of genetically engineered new varieties of grain.
2.Fulfill the WTO requirement to have an agreement on trade related property rights.
3.Provide incentives to innovators by way of protecting their intellectual property.
4.Give credibility to the innovations made by MNCs in the field of pharmaceuticals and agriculture.
37. Public or quasi-public research institutions are more likely than private companies to address the
negative consequences of new technologies, because of which of the following reason.
1.Public research is not driven by profit motive.

2.Private companies may not be able to absorb losses arising out of the negative effects of the new
technologies.
3.Unlike new technology product, knowledge and techniques for resource management are not amenable
to simple market transactions.
4.All of the above.
9

38. While developing a strategy and policies for building a more dynamic national agricultural research
system, which one of the following statements needs to be considered?
1. Public and quasi-public institutions are not interested in making profits.

2.Public and quasi-public institutions have a broader and long-term outlook than private companies.
3.Private companies are incapable of building products based on traditional and folk knowledge.
4.Traditional and folk knowledge cannot be protected by patents.
Directions for Questions 39 to 46: The passage given below is followed by a set of eight questions.
Passage II
One of the criteria by which we judge the vitality of a style of painting is its ability to renew itself—its
responsiveness to the changing nature and quality of experience, the degree of conceptual and formal
innovation that is exhibits. By this criterion, it would appear that the practice of abstractionism has failed
to engage creatively with the radical change in human experience in recent decades. It has, seemingly,
been unwilling to re-invent itself in relation to the system of artistic expression and viewers’ expectations
that have developed under the impact of the mass media.
The judgment that abstractionism has slipped into ‘inertia gear’ is gaining endorsement, not only among
discerning viewers and practitioners of other art forms, but also among abstract painters themselves. Like
their companions elsewhere in the world, abstractionists in India are asking themselves an overwhelming
question today: Does abstractionism have a future? The major crisis that abstractionists face is that of
revitalizing their picture surface; few have improvised any solutions beyond the ones that were exhausted
by the 1970s. Like all revolutions, whether in politics or in art, abstractionism must now confront its
moment of truth: having begun life as a new and radical pictorial approach to experience, it has become
an entrenched orthodoxy itself. Indeed, when viewed against a historical situation in which a variety of
subversive, interactive and richly hybrid forms are available to the art practitioner, abstractionism
assumes the remote and defiant air of an aristocracy that has outlived its age; trammeled by formulaic
conventions yet buttressed by a rhetoric of sacred mystery, it seems condemned to being the last citadel
of the self-regarding ‘fine-art’ tradition, the last hurrah of painting for painting’s sake.
The situation is further complicated in India by the circumstances in which an indigenous abstractionism
came into prominence here during the 1960s. From the beginning it was propelled by the dialectic
between two motives, one revolutionary and the other conservative—it was inaugurated as an act of
emancipation from the dogmas of the nascent Indian nation state, when art was officially viewed as an
indulgence at worst, and at best, as an instrument for the celebration of the republic’s hopes and
aspirations. Having rejected these dogmas, the pioneering abstractionists also went on to reject the
various figurative styles associated with the Santiniketan circle and others. In such a situation,
abstractionism was a revolutionary move. It led art towards the exploration of the subconscious mind,
the spiritual quest and the possible expansion of consciousness. Indian painting entered into a phase of
self-inquiry, a meditative inner space where cosmic symbols and non-representational images ruled.
Often, the transition from figurative idioms to abstractionist ones took place within the same artist.
At the same time, Indian abstractionists have rarely committed themselves wholeheartedly to a non-
representational idiom. They have been preoccupied with the fundamentally metaphysical project of
aspiring to the mystical-holy without altogether renouncing the symbolic. This has been sustained by a
hereditary reluctance to give up the murti, the inviolable iconic form, which explains why abstractionism
is marked by the conservative tendency to operate with images from the sacred repertoire of the past.
Abstractionism thus entered India as a double-edged device in a complex cultural transaction.
Ideologically, it served as an internationalist legitimization of the emerging revolutionary local trends.
However, on entry, it was conscripted to serve local artistic preoccupations—a survey of indigenous
10

abstractionism will show that its most obvious points of affinity with European and American abstract art
were with the more mystically oriented of the major sources of abstractionist philosophy and practice, for
instance the Kandinsky—Klee school. There have been no takers for Malevich’s Supermatism, which
militantly rejected both the artistic forms of the past and the world of appearances, privileging the new-
minted geometric symbol as an autonomous sign of the desire for infinity.
Against this backdrop, we can identify three major abstractionist idioms in Indian art. The first develops
from a love of earth, and assumes the form of a celebration of the self’s dissolution in the cosmic
panorama; the landscape is no longer a realistic transcription of the scene, but is transformed into a
visionary occasion for contemplating cycles of decay and regeneration. The second idiom phrases its
departures from symbolic and archetypal devices as invitations to heightened planes of awareness.
Abstractionism begins with the establishment or dissolution of the motif, which can be drawn from
diverse sources, including the hieroglyphic tablet, the Sufi meditation dance or Tantric diagram. The
third idiom is based on the lyric play of forms guided by gesture or allied with formal improvisations like
the assemblage. Here, sometimes, the line dividing abstract image from patterned design or quasi-
random expressive marking may blur. The flux of forms can also be regimented through the poetics of
pure colour arrangements, vector-diagrammatic spaces and gestural design.
In this genealogy, some pure lines of descent follow their logic to the inevitable point of extinction, others
engage in cross-fertilization, and yet others undergo mutation to maintain their energy. However this
genealogical survey demonstrates the wave at its crests, those points where the metaphysical and the
painterly have been fused in images of abiding potency, ideas sensuously ordained rather than fabricated
programmatically to a concept. It is equally possible to enumerate the troughs where the two principles
do not come together, thus arriving at a very different account. Uncharitable as it may sound, the history
of Indian abstractionism records a series of attempts to avoid the risks of abstraction by resorting to an
overt and near-generic symbolism, which many Indian abstractionism embrace when they find
themselves bereft of the imaginative energy to negotiate the union of metaphysics and painterliness.
Such symbolism falls into a dual trap: it succumbs to the pompous vacuity of pure metaphysics when the
burden of intention is passed off as justification; or then it is desiccated by the arid formalism of pure
painterliness, with delight in the measure of chance or pattern guiding the execution of a painting. The
ensuing conflict of purpose stalls the progress of abstractionism in an impasse. The remarkable Indian
abstractionists are precisely those who have overcome this and addressed themselves to the basic
elements of their art with a decisive sense of independence from prior models. In their recent work, we
see the logic of Indian abstractionism pushed almost to the furthest it can be taken. Beyond such artists
stand a lost generation of abstractionism whose work invokes a wistful, delicate beauty but stops there.
Abstractionism is not a universal language; it is an art that points up the loss of a shared language of
signs in society. And yet, it affirms the possibility of its recovery through the effort of awareness. While
its rhetoric has always emphasized a call for new forms of attention, abstractionists practice has tended
to fall into a complacent pride in its own incomprehensibility; a complacency fatal in an ethos where
vibrant new idioms compete for viewers’ attention. Indian abstractionists ought to really return to basics,
to reformulate and replenish their understanding of the nature of the relationship between the painted
image and the world around it. But will they abandon their favourite conceptual habits and formal
conventions, if this becomes necessary?
39. Which one of the following is not stated by the author as a reason for abstractionism losing its
vitality?
1.Abstractionism has failed to reorient itself in the context of changing human experience.
2.Abstractionism has not considered the developments in artistic expression that have taken place in
recent times.
3.Abstractionism has not followed the path taken by all revolutions, whether in politics or art.
4.The impact of mass media on viewers’ expectation has not been assessed, and responded to, by
abstractionism.
11

40. Which one of the following, according to the author, is the role that abstractionism plays in a society?
1.It provides an idiom that can be understood by most members in a society.

2.It highlights the absence of a shared language of meaningful symbols, which can be recreated through
greater awareness.
3.It highlights the contradictory artistic trends of revolution and conservation that any society needs to
move forward.
4.It helps abstractionists invoke the wistful, delicate beauty that may exist in society.
41. According to the author, which one of the following characterises the crisis faced by abstractionism?
1.Abstractionists appear to be unable to transcend the solutions tried out earlier.

2.Abstractionism has allowed itself to be confined by set forms and practices.
3.Abstractionists have been unable to use the multiplicity of forms now becoming available to an artist.
4.All of the above.
42. According to the author, the introduction of abstraction was revolutionary because it:
1.Celebrated the hopes and aspirations of a newly independent nation.

2.Provided a new direction to Indian art, towards self-inquiry and non-representational images.
3.Managed to obtain internationalist support for the abstractionist agenda.
4.Was an emancipation from the dogmas of the nascent nation state.
43. Which one of the following is not part of the author’s characterisation of the conservative trend in
Indian abstractionism ?
1.An exploration of the subconscious mind.

2.A lack of full commitment to non-representational symbols.
3.An adherence to the symbolic while aspiring to the mystical.
4. Usage of the images of gods or similar symbols.
44. Given the author’s delineation of the three abstractionist idioms in Indian art, the third idiom can be
best distinguished from the other two idioms through its:
1.depiction of nature’s cyclical renewal.

2.Use of non-representational images.
3.Emphasis on arrangement of forms.
4.Limited reliance on original models.
45. According to the author, the attraction of the Kandinsky-Klee school for Indian abstractionists can be
explained by which one of the following?
1.The conservative tendency to aspire to the mystical without a complete renunciation of the symbolic.
2.The discomfort of Indian abstractionists with Malevich’s supermatism.
3.The easy identification of Obvious points of affinity with European and American abstract art, of which
the Kandinsky-Klee school is an example.
4.The double-edged nature of abstractionism which enabled identification with mystically-oriented
schools.
46. Which one of the following, according to the author, is the most important reason for the stalling of
abstractionism’s progress in an impasse?
1.Some artists have followed their abstractionist logic to the point of extinction.
12

2.Some artists have allowed chance or pattern to dominate the execution of their paintings.
3.Many artists have avoided the trap of a near generic and an open symbolism.
4.Many artists have found it difficult to fuse the twin principles of the metaphysical and the painterly.
Directions for Questions 47 to 50: The passage given below is followed by a set of four questions.
A game of strategy, as currently conceived in game theory, is a situation in which two or more “players”
make choices among available alternatives (moves). The totality of choices determines the outcomes of
the game, and it is assumed that the rank order of preferences for the outcomes is different for different
players. Thus the “interests” of the players are generally in conflict. Whether these interests are
diametrically opposed or only partially opposed depends on the type of game.
Psychologically, most interesting situations arise when the interests of the players are partly coincident
and partly opposed, because then one can postulate not only a conflict among the players but also inner
conflicts within the players. Each is torn between a tendency to cooperate, so as to promote the common
interests, and a tendency to compete, so as to enhance his own individual interests.
Internal conflicts are always psychologically interesting. What we vaguely call “interesting” psychology is
in very great measure the psychology of inner conflict. Inner conflict is also held to be an important
component of serious literature as distinguished from less serious genres. The classical tragedy, as well
as the serious novel, reveals the inner conflict of central figures. The superficial adventure story, on the
other hand, depicts only external conflict; that is, the threats to the person with whom the reader (or
viewer) identifies stem in these stories exclusively from external obstacles and from the adversaries who
create them. On the most primitive level this sort of external conflict is psychologically empty. In the
fisticuffs between the protagonists of good and evil, no psychological problems are involved or, at any
rate, none are depicted in juvenile representations of conflict.
The detective story, the “adult” analogue of a juvenile adventure tale, has at times been described as a
glorification of intellectualized conflict. However, a great deal of the interest in the plots of these stories is
sustained by withholding the unraveling of a solution to a problem. The effort of solving the problem is in
itself not a conflict if the adversary (the unknown criminal) remains passive, like Nature, whose secrets
the scientist supposedly unravels by deduction. If the adversary actively puts obstacles in the detective’s
path toward the solution, there is genuine conflict. But the conflict is psychologically interesting only to
the extent that it contains irrational components such as a tactical error on the criminal’s part or the
detective’s insight into some psychological quirk of the criminal or something of this sort. Conflict
conducted in a perfectly rational manner is psychologically no more interesting than a standard Western.
For example, Tic-tac-toe, played perfectly by both players, is completely devoid of psychological interest.
Chess may be psychologically interesting but only to the extent that it is played not quite rationally.
Played completely rationally, chess would not be different from Tic-tac-toe.
In short, a pure conflict of interest (what is called a zero-sum game) although it offers a wealth of
interesting conceptual problems, is not interesting psychologically, except to the extent that its conduct
departs from rational norms.
13

47. According to the passage, internal conflicts are psychologically more interesting than external
conflicts because
1. internal conflicts, rather than external conflicts, form an important component of serious literature as
distinguished from less serious genres.
2. only juveniles or very few “adults” actually experience external conflict, while internal conflict is more
widely prevalent in society.
3. in situations of internal conflict, individuals experience a dilemma in resolving their own preferences for
different outcomes.
4. there are no threats to the reader (or viewer) in case of external conflicts.
48. Which, according to the author, would qualify as interesting psychology?
1. A statistician’s dilemma over choosing the best method to solve an optimisation problem.
2. A chess player’s predicament over adopting a defensive strategy against an aggressive opponent.
3. A mountaineer’s choice of the best path to Mt. Everest from the base camp.
4. A finance manager’s quandary over the best way of raising money from the market.
49. According to the passage, which of the following options about the application of game theory to a
conflict-of-interest situation is true?
1. Assuming that the rank order of preferences for options is different for different players.
2. Accepting that the interests of different players are often in conflict.
3. Not assuming that the interests are in complete disagreement.
4. All of the above.
50. The problem solving process of a scientist is different from that of a detective because
1. scientists study inanimate objects, while detectives deal with living criminals or law offenders.
2. scientists study known objects, while detectives have to deal with unknown criminals or law offenders.
3. scientists study phenomena that are not actively altered, while detectives deal with phenomena that
have been deliberately influenced to mislead.
4. scientists study psychologically interesting phenomena, while detectives deal with “adult” analogues of
juvenile adventure tales.
14

DIRECTIONS for questions 51 to 56: Answer these questions based on the chart given below:
The chart given below indicates the annual sales tax revenue collections (in crores of rupees) of seven
states from 1997 to 2001. The values given at the top of each bar represents the total collections in that
year.
50000- 49,638
4300
45000- 42,348
6375
40000- 36,068 3500
35000- 33,168 3118 5270 8015

2844 4458
30000- 29,870
WB 2704 3935 6113 7000 12034
25000- 10284
UP 3473 5604 8067
20000- 5413
TN 5341 4839
15000- 7826 4265
MA 7290 5400 6300
10000- 3829 4796
KA 3510 7202
5000- GU 4026 4402 5251 6055
4728
0- AP 3526
1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01
WB West Bengal UP Uttar Pradesh TN Tamil Nadu MA Maharashtra

KA Karnataka GU Gujarat AP Andhra Pradesh
Question 51
If for each year, the states are ranked in terms of the descending order of sales tax collections, how
many states don’t change the ranking more than once over the five years.
1. 1 2. 5 3. 3 4. 4
Question 52
Which of the following states has changed its relative ranking most number of times when you rank the
states in terms of the descending volume of sales tax collections each year?
1. Andhra Pradesh 2. Uttar Pradesh 3. Karnataka 4. Tamil Nadu
Question 53
The percentage share of sales tax revenue of which state has increased from 1997 to 2001?
1. Tamil Nadu 2. Karnataka 3. Gujarat 4. Andhra Pradesh
Question 54
Which pair of successive years shows the maximum growth rate of tax revenue in Maharashtra?
1. 1997 to 1998 2. 1998 to 1999 3. 1999 to 2000 4. 2000 to 2001
15

Question 55
Identify the state whose tax revenue increased exactly by the same amount in two successive pair of
years?
1. Karnataka 2. West Bengal 3. Uttar Pradesh 4. Tamil Nadu
Question 56
Which state below has been maintaining a constant rank over the years in terms of its contribution to
total tax collections?
1. Andhra Pradesh 2. Karnataka 3. Tamil Nadu 4. Uttar Pradesh
DIRECTIONS for questions 57 to 60: “Kya-Kya” is an island in the South Pacific. The inhabitants of
“Kya-Kya” always answer any question with two sentences, one of which is always true and the other is
always false.
Q.57. You are walking on a road and come to a fork. You ask the inhabitants Ram, Laxman and Lila,
“Which road will take me to the village?”
Ram says, “I never speak to strangers. I am new to these parts”.
Laxman says, “I am married to Lila. Take the left road”.
Lila says, “I am married to Ram. He is not new to this place”.
Which of the following is true?

1. Left road takes you to the village. 2. Right road takes you to the village.
3. Lila is married to Laxman. 4. None of these.
Q.58. You find that your boat is stolen. You question three inhabitants of the island and they reply as
follows:
John says, “I didn’t do it. Matthew didn’t do it”.
Matthew says, “I didn’t do it. Krishna didn’t do it”.
Krishna says, “I didn’t do it. I don’t know who did it”.
Who stole your boat?

1. John 2. Matthew 3. Krishna 4. None of these
Q.59. You want to speak to the chief of the village. You question three inhabitants. Amar, Bobby and
Charles. Only Bobby is wearing a red shirt.
Amar says, “I am not Bobby’s son. The chief wears a red shirt.”
Bobby says, “I am Amar’s father. Charles is the Chief.”
Charles says. “The chief is one among us. I am the chief.”
Who is the chief ?

1. Amar 2. Bobby 3. Charles 4. None of these
Q.60. There is only one pilot on the island. You interview three men. Koik, Lony and Mirna. you also
notice that Koik is wearing a cap.
Mirna says, “Lony’s father is the pilot. Lony is not the priest’s son.”
Koik says, “I am the priest. On this island, only pilots can wear caps.”
Lony says, “I am the priest’s son. Koik is not the priest.”
Which of the following is true?

1. Lony is Koik’s son. 2. Koik is the pilot.
3. Mirna is the pilot. 4. Lony is the priest.
16

DETAILED SOLUTIONS TO CAT CBT 24 [Combination of CAT 2000-
2008/GMAT papers]
Answer 1
You are told that the following angles are right angles: ABC, DCH, DOE, EHK, FKL, GLM, and LMN. Mark
these right angles in the diagram and you will see that FK is a perpendicular to DG. Mark the point where
FK cuts DG as P. Therefore the question is essentially about the measure of the angle FGP in a right-angled
triangle FGP.
In a right-angled triangle, one of the angles (let us call this the first angle) is 90 degrees and hence if you
know the measure of one of the remaining two angles you know the measure of the third since the second
and the third angle add up to 90 degrees.
You are also told that AB = BC = 2CH = 2CD = EH = FK = 2HK = 4KL = 2LM = MN. This means KL is the
smallest of them all. If we were to assume that KL=1 unit, FK=4 and DC=2. Mark these measures in the
diagram and you will find that since OH and PK are both 2, FP=2 units.
In right-angled triangles such as FGP, there are three sides: the hypotenuse FG that lies opposite to the
right angle, the side FP that lies opposite to angle FGP, and the side GP that is adjacent to the angle FGP.
There are six relationships between the sides of right-angled triangles:
1. The length of the Opposite Side ÷ the length of the Hypotenuse (which in triangle FGP above is FP
÷ FG and is known as the SINE of the angle FGP and the inverse of the SINE is known as the
COSECANT of angle FGP)
2. The length of the Adjacent Side ÷ the length of the Hypotenuse (which in triangle FGP above is GP
÷ FG and is known as the COSINE of the angle FGP and the inverse of the COSINE is known as the
SECANT of angle FGP)
3. The length of the Opposite Side ÷ the length of the Adjacent Side (which in triangle FGP above is
FP ÷ GP and is known as the TANGENT of the angle FGP and the inverse of the TANGENT is known
as the COTANGENT of angle FGP)
These six ratios – SINE, COSINE, and so on - remain constant so long as the angles of right-angled
triangles remain the same although the measures of the sides may differ.
It is another fundamental of a triangle (right-angled or otherwise) that the side opposite the larger angle is
longer than the side opposite a smaller angle.
We know from the given information that in right-angled triangle FGP, Side FP ÷ Side PG=2.
If angle FGP were to be 30 degrees as per Option 1, in the right-angled triangle FGP, the angle GFP would
be 60 degrees. Since FP lies opposite angle FGP, and PG lies opposite angle GFP, Side FP would be smaller
than Side PG and hence Side FP ÷ Side PG would be less than 1 whereas we have derived that Side FP ÷
Side PG=2. This is why Option 1 is not workable.
If angle FGP were to be 45 degrees as per Option 2, the right-angled triangle FGP would be an isosceles
triangle and hence Side FP would be equal to the Side PG. That would mean Side FP ÷ Side PG would be 1
whereas we have derived that Side FP ÷ Side PG=2. This is why Option 2 is not workable either.
If angle FGP were to be 60 degrees as per Option 3, then if you were to look at the mirror image of triangle
FGP you would see the following figure in which angle FGP would be 600 and since angle FQP is a mirror
image, so would angle FQP = 600. This means the third angle – angle QFG - in triangle FQG cannot help
being 600. This means triangle FQG would be equilateral and FP cuts QG into two equal halves.
17

F
Q P G
Therefore if you were to take PG=1, all sides would be 2 and hence FG would be 2 and by Pythagoras
Theorem, FP2= FG2 – PG2 = 22 – 12 = 3 and hence FP = √3. This would mean Side FP ÷ Side PG would be
√3 whereas we have derived that Side FP ÷ Side PG=2. Since √3 is less than 2, Option 3 is not workable
either. This is why Option 4 is to be marked as correct.
Answer 2
This can be derived without putting pen to paper if you were to go by sheer logic.
If you were to produce GD to touch AB at Q, then ABCD is essentially a sum of two figures:
• Rectangle BCDQ which is 2 units by 4 units and has an area of 8 sq units and
• Right triangle AQD in which AQ the height is 2 units and QD is 4 units and thus its area will be 4
units.
The area of ABCD will be thus 8+4=12 square units.
The area of DEFG is equal to the sum of the areas of:
• Square EFPO, which has each side of 2 units and thus will be 4 square units
• Right triangle EOD that has base of 2 units and height of two units and is thus 2 square units and
• Right triangle FGP that has base of 1 unit and height of two units and is thus 1 square unit
Thus the area of DEFG is 7 sq units and hence the ratio of ABCD to DEFG is 12:7.
Answer 3
This calls for logic as well. The corners of a square are right angles. Presuming that a horse would like to
graze the most which is quite a natural presumption, he would be able to do so by stretching as long as the
rope allows him. Since the rope is tethered to a post at the corner of a square, it would allow him to go in a
circle with the length of the rope as the radius. When adjacent horses can just touch one another, it means
that they meet halfway along the side of the square and this is 7 meters. This means that the radius of the
quarter circle in which each of the four horses can graze is 7 meters. Four quarter circles make one whole
circle of radius 7 meters and this would have an area of 22/7×(7×7) square meters or 154 square meters.
The plot has an area of 14×14= 196 square meters and that means the horses will have to stay away from
the grass in 196-154= 42 square meters but there is a pond of 20 square meters in which they can only
drink but not graze.
It is unlikely that horses are aware of the distinction between the meaning of the words drinking and
grazing. But we are. And the question is posed to us and not to them. Thus on behalf of the horses we
18

would have to exclude another 20 square meters from their grazing and so the area left ungrazed is 42 –
20 = 22 square meters.
Answer 4
This calls for logic coupled with some small dose of arithmetic. The fellow would have to:
Travel 100 meters with the first stone and then

Walk back 98 meters to the second stone
Walk another 98 meters and come back 96 meters for the third stone
Walk another 96 meters and come back 94 meters for the fourth stone
Walk another 94 meters and come back 92 meters for the fifth stone
Walk another 92 meters with the fifth stone and reach Y and then sit down for a cigarette and blame his
luck for all the stones that he has had to lug for no rhyme or reason just so that you can answer this simple
question
If you were to add up only the last digits, you would get 8+8+6+6+4+4+2+2 and this will end with a zero
and hence Option 4.
Answer 5
See the rectangular field ABCD. Let us assume that the boy wants to go from D to B. Had the boy walked
along two adjacent sides, he would have on the line DC and then on CB. If the boy took a short cut along
the diagonal he went along the diagonal DB.
A B
D C
If the ratio of the shorter side to the longer side had been ½ as per Option 1, then had we assumed the
larger side to be 2 meters, the shorter side would have been 1 meter. Had the boy travelled along DC
and CB he would have travelled 2+1= 3 meters. By Pythagoras Theorem the diagonal DB would have
been √5. The distance that he has saved is 3 - √5. Half the longest side makes 1 meter. Is 3 - √5 = half
of the longest side? No. Option 1 will not do for this reason.
Option The ratio Had we The By The Is the

of the assumed shorter Pythagoras distance distance
shorter the longer side would Theorem the that he saved =
side to the side to have been diagonal DB would 1/2 the
longer would have have longest
side had been saved = side?
been half of
the
longest
side
1 ½ 2 1 √5 3 - √5. No
2 2/3 3 2 √13 5 - √13 No
3 ¼ 4 1 √17 5 - √17 No
4 ¾ 4 3 5 7-5 Yes
Hence mark Option 4 as correct.
19

Answer 6
How many total oranges were in the basket at the end of the above sequence? How many 2’s are there
in the sequence? 6. That makes 6 oranges that the boy has put. When does he remove oranges? When
ordered ‘4’. How many ‘4’s in the sequence? 4 of them! That means the boy puts in six oranges and takes
off 4 and thus there are 2 oranges left. So Option 4.
Answer 7
How many total fruits will be in the basket at the end of the above order sequence? A mango is put in
when ordered ‘1’ and an orange when ‘2’ and an apple when ‘3’. There are 6 ‘1’s and 6 ‘2’s and 7 ‘3’s. That
makes 19 fruits. How many ‘4’s are there? 4 and each time 2 fruits are taken away and that means 8 fruit
are removed. Thus there are 11 fruit left. So Option 3.
Answer 8
This is a matter of sheer logic. We must see the problem on a smaller scale in order to study the pattern
that is being formed and then to identify as to what is the precise pattern.
Imagine that you are to form two-letter passwords from A, H and I only. There can be three letters possibly
starting the passwords: A, H and I. Here are the possible combinations:
• If we start the two-letter password with A, there can be two possibilities: AH and AI.
• Similarly if we start the two-letter password with H, there can be two possibilities: HA and HI.
• Finally, if we start the two-letter password with I, there can be two possibilities: IA and IH.
If you have observed these six passwords, with each starting letter (of which there are three choices),
there are two choices and hence with each possible starting letter we can make two passwords. This is why
there are six possible two-letter passwords that could be made from three letters. Thus the total number of
passwords that you can make is a product of (I) The number of choices for the first letter and (II) The
number of choices for the second letter.
Back to the main question, one can choose from out of 11 letters: A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X and Z for the
first letter and having done so, one can choose from out of the remaining ten letters for the second place
and then out of the remaining nine letters for the third place and out of eight letters for the fourth place.
This means that the number of computer passwords that can be formed using only the symmetric letters
(no repetition allowed) is 11×10×9×8= 7920. This is why Option 1 is to be marked correct.
Answer 9
This is a matter of logic. This question is a variation on the first one in order only to find out whether you
have the necessary analytical ability.
When you wish to form three-letter computer passwords (no repetition allowed) with at least one
symmetric letter, you have to see how many passwords can be formed with:
(1) Exactly one symmetric letter
(2) Exactly two symmetric letters
(3) Exactly three symmetric letters
20

We shall refer to each of the 11 symmetric letters as SL and to the remaining 15 asymmetric letters ASL for
the sake of brevity.
If you were to form a password with only one SL then you can have the following
arrangements:
Combination One: SL in the first place, ASL in the second place and ASL in the third place, you have 11
choices for the first place, 15 choices for the second place and 14 choices for the third place. This means
you can make 11×15×14=2310 passwords.
Combination Two: ASL in the first place, SL in the second place and ASL in the third place. Here too you
can make 15×11×14=2310 passwords.
Combination Three: ASL in the first and second places, and SL in the third place, Here too you can make
15×14×11=2310 passwords.
This means when you wish to make passwords with exactly one symmetric letters, there are 6930
possibilities.
If you were to form a password with exactly two SL then you can have the following
arrangements:
Combination One: SL, SL, and ASL. This means you can make 11×10×15=1650 passwords.
Combination Two: SL, ASL, and SL. Here too you can make 11×15×10=1650 passwords.
Combination Three: ASL, SL, and SL. Here too you can make 15×11×10=1650 passwords.
This means when you wish to make passwords with exactly two symmetric letters, there are 4950
possibilities.
If you were to form a password with exactly three SL, then you can have the following
arrangement only: SL, SL and SL. The number of possibilities is 11×10×9=990.
Therefore the total number of three-letter computer passwords (no repetition allowed) with at least one
symmetric letter is 6930+4950+990=12870. Hence Option 3 is to be marked correct.
Answer 10
Tunnel Tunnel
Entrance Exit
……..3 meters…. ……… 5 meters …………………
A…………………………….. 8 meters …………………………. B
The question is about (I) the cat’s speed and (II) the train’s speed. The question does not give either I or
II. It does not give the time taken for the two to run nor the absolute distances that they run or else since
Speed= Distance/ Time, we would have been able to determine the speeds of the cat and the train and
21

therefore the ratio of these two speeds. We have therefore no choice but to go by the options that set out
possible ratios of the speeds and determine which option will work and why it will work.
We must however bear in mind that the ratio of the distances that two objects cover in the same time is
directly proportional to their individual speeds. This is what is at the crux of the question. For example, if
P’s speed is twice Q’s speed, then the distance P runs in a given time must be twice what Q runs during the
same time.
Let us assume that the tunnel is 8 meters long. Therefore the cat is 3 meters form A and 5 meters from B.
If the ratio By the time the cat would By the time the cat would run 5 metes to B, the
of the speed run 3 metes to A, the train train would run
of the engine would run
and the cat
were
3: 1 as per 3 times the distance that the 9 meters in order to reach A and then 8 more meters to
Option 1 cat would run and hence the reach B and hence the train would run 17 meters. Thus
train would run 9 meters. This the train would run 17 meters by the time the cat runs 5
means the train is 9 meters to meters. If the ratio of the speeds was 3: 1, the train
the left of A when the cat would have run 15 meters by time the cat runs 5 meters
starts after the whistle and not 17 meters as seen here. This is why Option 1 is
not workable.
4: 1 as per 4 times the distance that the 12 meters in order to reach A and then 8 more meters
Option 2 cat would run and hence the to reach B and hence the train would run 20 meters.
train would run 12 meters. Thus the train would run 20 meters by the time the cat
This means the train is 12 runs 5 meters. If the ratio of the speeds was 4: 1, the
meters to the left of A when train would have run 20 meters by time the cat runs 5
the cat starts after the whistle meters. This it indeed does. This is why Option 2 is
correct.
Answer 11
The general instructions are
(1) @(A,B) = average of A and B;
(2) *(A,B) = product of A and B,
(3) /(A,B) = A/B.
If A = 2 and B = 4, then the value of @(/(*(A,B), B),A) is = @(/(*(2,4),4),2) = @(/(8,4),2) = @(2,2) =
(2 + 2)/2 = 2. Hence Option 1.
Answer 12
Sum of A (which is 2) and B (which is 4) is 6. We need to pick the option that gives this sum. Let us go
by the options:
Option 1: (@(A,B),2) = (3,2) = 6. So Option 1. Option 2 would give (A+B)/4; Option 3 would give a
product of AB and it is useless when one wants the sum whereas Option 4 gives A/B and is equally
useless.
22

Answer 13
The average of A, B and C is = (A+B+C)/3. Let us go from option to option.
Option 1: *(/(@(*(@(B,A),2),C),3),2) = *(/(@(*(A + B)/2,2),C),3),2)= *(/(@(*(A+B),C),3),2) = *(/(A +
B + C)/2,3),2) = *((A + B + C)/6),2) = A + B + C/3. Hence Option 1.
Answer 14
Whether the function is odd or even is to be derived from the following definition:
If f(–x) = f(x), then the function is said to be even.
If f(–x) = –f(x), then the function is said to be odd.
By this definition, f(x) = x2 is even. This means that if x = –2, f(x) = (–2) 2and f(–x) = 22, so f(–x) = f(x)
= 4.
Going by this definition, f(x) = modulus of x3 is = 8 whether x = 2 or x = –2. Hence the function modulus
of x3 is even since f(x) = f(–x). Hence Option 1.
Answer 15
One is told that f(x) = x3 is an odd function. One should proceed with this since there is no need to
reinvent the wheel. Let us assume two different values of x once when it is even—say x1 = 2 and
another value of x when it is odd, say x2 = 3, then if f(x) = x3, f(x1) = 8 and f(x2) = 27 and the sum of
these odd functions denoted by f(x3) is = 35. So (x3) 3 = 35 and hence x3 is the cube root of 35 and will
necessarily be a positive number. Substituting the value of x in f(x3) = (x3)3, f(–x3) will be = (–cube root
of 35) 3 = –35 whereas –f(x3)= –(cube root of 35) 3= –35. Hence in this case, f(–x3) = –f(x3) and hence
this is an odd function as per the definition of an odd function given at the outset. Hence Option 2.
Answer 16
The “length” of N is the number of positive prime numbers, not necessarily distinct, whose product is N.
For example, the “length” of 50 is 3 since 50=2*5*5.
Let us go from option to option beginning with option 1. 132 is 2*2*3*11 and has length 4. The integer
5577 is quite clearly divisible by 11 since the first two digits (55) and the last two digits (77) are
apparently divisible by 11. Divide 5577 by 11 and you get 507 which, since its digits add up to 6 is clearly
divisible by 3. Divide 507 by 3 and you get 169 which is the square of 13 and hence 5577 is 3*11*13*13
which has length 4. Moving on to Option 3, 715 is clearly divisible by 5. Divide 715 by 5 and you get 143
which is divisible by 11 since the difference between the sum of its digits in odd places (1 in the first
place and 3 in the third place) and digits in even places (4 in the second place) is zero. Hence 715 is
essentially 5*11*13 and has length 3. So Option 3.
Answer 17
The maximum length of an integer in the range 2000<N<3000 is feasible when the factors of that
integer are the most and this is possible when the prime factors are at their least possible value. 29=512
but 512 is well below 2000. 210=1024. We could multiply 1024 by 2 in order to cross 2000. Do that and
we find that 211=2048. So the maximum possible length of an integer in the range 2000<N<3000 is 11.
So Option 4.
Answer 18
le(x,y) = minimum of x and y; mo(x,y) = maximum of x and y; me(x,y) = 1/2(le(x,y) + mo(x,y)). Now
given that x > y > z, le(x,y) = y and mo(x,y) = x and thus me (x,y) = 1/2(le(x,y) + mo(x,y)) = ½(x + y)
and is equal to the average of x and y.
23

Which of the following is true? Now, let us go by the options.
Option 1: x = mo(me(x,y), mo(y,z)); me(x,y) = (x + y)/2 and mo(y,z) = y. mo((x + y)/2,y) is (x + y)/2
since x is greater than y and the average of x and y will be always greater than y itself. Hence Option 1 is
not correct.
Option 2: z = le(le(x,y), me(x,y)) = le(y, (x + y)/2)) = y; since as we have seen in Option 1, x is greater
than y and the average of x and y will be always greater than y itself. Hence Option 2 is not correct.
Option 3: y = me(me(x,y), me(y,z)) = me(x + y/2, y + z/2) = ½((x + 2y + z)/2) = y + (x + z)/2 and is
more than y because it is y plus something. Hence Option 3 is not correct.
Option 4: y = me(le(x,y),mo(y,z)) = average of (y,y) = y. Thus Option 4.
Answer 19
Option 1: le(x,y)>me(mo(y,z), me(y,z); le(x,y) is y. me(mo(y,z), me(y,z) = me(y, (y+z)/2); average of y

and (y+z)/2; me(2y+y+z)/2 = 1/2(3y+z)/2= 0.75y+0.25z. If we take y as 2 and z as 1, then
0.75y+0.25z= 1.5+0.25=1.75 and is lesser than 2. So Option 1 is not correct since it is necessarily true.
Option 2: mo(y,z) < me(me(x,y), me(y,z). mo(y,z) is y. me(me(x,y), me(y,z) = ½((x + y)/2, (y + z)/2))
= ½(x + 2y + z)/2) = ¼(x + 2y + z). If one takes x as 3, y as 2 and z as 1, then ¼(x + 2y + z) = 1/4 ×
(3 + 4 + 1) = 2. We have taken y as 2 and 2 is equal to 2. So mo(y,z) < me(me(x,y), me(y,z). mo(y,z) is
not necessarily true. Hence Option 2 is correct.
Answer 20
Let x = 6, y = 8 and z = 10. What is the value of the expression mo(me(le(x,z), me(y,z))), mo(le (y,z),
me(x,z))? Let us substitute the values of x, y and z in the expression. And one gets mo(me(le(6,10),
me(8,10))), mo(le(8,10), me(6,10)). So the expression is now mo(me(6, 9)), mo(8, 8) = mo(7.5, 8) = 8.
Hence Option 4.
Answer 21
Before we start answering this question in particular, we must keep the following things in mind in order
to be able to answer all the four questions (54 to 57) flowing from the same set of information:
There are 32 players. That would make 16 matches in the first round. The sixteen winners of the first
round will pay 8 matches in the second round. The eight winners of the second round will play four
matches in the quarterfinals and the four winners of the quarters will play two semi-final matches and the
two winners of the semi-finals will clash for the title in the final.
If there are no upsets (a lower seeded player beating a higher seeded player) in the first round), this
means the first sixteen seeds will enter the second round.
If only match nos. 6, 7, and 8 of the second round result in upsets, the first five seeds will remain in the
tournament and play the quarterfinals. Seeds 6, 7, and 8 will go out and in their place, Seeds 9, 10, and
11 will come in. This means the quarterfinals will be played among eight players some of whose names
are given in brackets against their seedings in order to facilitate understanding: Seeds 1 (Maria
Sharapova), 2, 3, 4, 5 (Svetlana Kuznetsova), 9, 10, and 11 (Patty Schnyder).
The four matches in the quarterfinals will be played among eight players as follows:
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Match No. 1 - Seed 1 Versus Seed 11

This means Seed No. 2 –Lindsay Davenport – will play Seed No. 10 – Venus Williams – in the
quarterfinals. Hence mark Option 4.
Answer 22
There is no mention of any upsets in the first round and hence we take it that the second round is played
between the first 16 seeds. The eight matches in the second round will be as follows (you can write the
following in brief, for example: M1, 1 V 16 and so on):
Match 1: Seed 1 versus Seed 16

If Elena Dimentieva (Seed 6) and Serena Williams (Seed 8) lose in the second round, the quarterfinals
scenario will be as follows:
M1: 1 Vs 9
M2: 2 Vs 7
M3: 3 Vs 11
M4: 4 Vs 5
Seed 9 (Nadia Petrova) will play against Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals. Hence Option 3 is to be
marked correct. If Justin Henin and Nadia Petrova make it to the semi-finals, let them. The question is
about the quarterfinals. We need worry only about quarterfinals.
Answer 23
In the first round the indicative pattern of matches would be as follows:
Match 1 will be between Seed 1 and Seed 32

In Match 1, the sum of the seeds is 1+32=33.

In Match 2, the sum of the seeds is 2+31=33.
If you will observe this, the sum of the seed numbers comes to 33 in each case. This means if all the
even numbered matches are to end in upsets, Matches 2, 4, 6, 8 and so on will mean a win for the lower
seed. This means:
25

The winner of Match 2 is Seed 31, of Match 4 is Seed 29, of Match 6 is Seed 27, of Match 8 is Seed 25, of
Match 10 is Seed 23, of Match 12 is Seed 21, of Match 14 is Seed 19, and of Match 16 is Seed 17. The
eight matches in second round will be played among the following sixteen players: Seeds 1, 3, 5, 7, 9,
11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31. Since there are no upsets in the second round, these
matches and their results will be as follows:
Second Who versus Winner of

Round Who Second
Round
Match 1 Seed 1 versus Seed 17 Seed 1
While we are told that there are no upsets in the second round, there could be upsets in the later rounds.
As per the pattern in the question, the four matches in the quarterfinals will be between the following
players:
Quarter Who versus

Finals Who
Match 1 Seed 1 versus Seed 9
This means if Maria Sharapova (Seed 1) hopes to reach the semi-finals, she will have to beat Seed 9.
That means the winner of Match 4 will meet Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals. Since the question is
about the lowest possible seed who could meet Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals, would be Seed 13
since the first match in the semi-finals will be between Maria Sharapova and either Seed 13 or Seed 5.
The lowest seed in this probable semi-final match with Maria Sharapova (if indeed Maria Sharapova
makes it to the semi-finals) is Seed 13. Thus mark Option 1 as correct.
Answer 24
If the top eight seeds make it to the quarterfinals, the four matches in the quarterfinals will be played as
follows:
Match 1 - Seed 1 Versus Seed 8

If as per Option 1, if Maria Sharapova (Seed No.1) hopes to make it to the finals she has to win her
match against Seed 8 in the quarterfinals. In semi-finals Seed 1 will play the winner of Match 4 as per the
pattern given in the question. If she does not win this semi-final match, Seed 1 cannot make it to the
finals. This means Maria Sharapova will have to beat the winner of Match 4 in the quarters that will be
played between Kim Clijsters (Seed 4) and Svetlana Kuznetsova. This means Kim Clijsters (Seed 4) or
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Svetlana Kuznetsova (Seed 5) cannot be in the finals against Maria Sharapova. Since V is not among the
options, mark Option 3 as correct.

Answer 25
The productivity of rice is defined in the question. It is as such A/B where A is the production of rice (as
can be seen under Column 4) and B is the number of hectares under rice cultivation that is the total area
(Column 2) multiplied by the percentage of area under rice cultivation(Column 3).
If you see the options, you will need to find the productivity of only four states: Haryana, Punjab, Uttar
Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The productivity of these four states is as follows:
Haryana = 19.2/(80% of 4) =19.2/3.2=192/32=6

Punjab = 24/(80% of 5) =24/4=6
Andhra Pradesh = 112/(80% of 28) = 112/22.4 =1120/224=5.
Uttar Pradesh = 67.2/(70% of 24) = 67.2/16.8 =672/168=4.
Option 1 is to be marked correct.
Answer 26
The per capita production of rice in Gujarat is 24/51 or 8/17. This is very nearly ½ although a wee bit
less than ½ considering that 8/16 is exactly ½. This means the production figure against Gujarat (Row 9)
in Column 4 is almost ½ the population figure in Column 5. Our task is to find half of the figure in
Column 5 against each state and see where the figure in Column 4 is either equal to or more than ½ the
figure in Column 5. For example, in case of Himachal the figure in Column 5 is 6 and half of this is 3. The
figure in Column 4 is 1.2 and this is well below 3. This means the per capita production of rice in
Himachal is less than the per capita production of rice in Gujarat. This means Himachal has not to be
counted. You will find that the per capita productivity of the followig four states is higher than that of
Gujarat: Haryana (19.2/21 which is close to 1), Punjab (24/24 which is 1), Maharashtra (which is 48/97
which is closer to ½ than 8/17 in case of Gujarat) and Andhra Pradesh (which is 112/76 that is over 1).
This is why Option 2 is correct.
Answer 27
A production of 400,000 tons is 0.4 million tonnes. This is why what we are to really do in this case is to
multiply the figure in Column 5 and see whether the figure in Column 4 is equal to or more than 0.4
times Column 5. If it is, the state concerned is intensive rice producing. If it is not, the state concerned is
not intensive rice producing. You will find that, for example, I the case of Himachal Pradesh 0.4 times 6 is
2.4 whereas the figure in Column 4 is 1.2. This means Himachal is not intensive rice producing. You will
find that in the case of the following states, the figure in Column 4 is either equal to or more than the
figure in Column 5:
Haryana: 0.4 times 21 is 8.4 whereas the figure of 19.2 in Column 4 is much higher than 8.4. This means
Haryana is intensive rice producing.
Gujarat: 0.4 times 51 is 20.4 whereas the figure of 24 in Column 4 is much higher than 20.4.
Punjab: 0.4 times 24 is 9.6 whereas the figure of 24 in Column 4 is much higher than 9.6.
Madhya Pradesh: 0.4 times 60 is 24 whereas the figure of 24.8 in Column 4 is higher than 24.
Tamil Nadu: 0.4 times 62 is 24.8; the figure of 27.3 in Column 4 is much higher than 24.8.
Maharashtra: 0.4 times 97 is 38.8; the figure of 48 in Column 4 is much higher than 38.8.
Uttar Pradesh: 0.4 times 166 is 66.4; the figure of 67.2 in Column 4 is higher than 66.4.
Andhra Pradesh: 0.4 times 76 is 30.4; the figure of 112 in Column 4 is much higher than 30.4.
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Since 8 states are intensive rice producing, Option 4 is correct.
Answer 28
In the table there are the following regions producing medium qualities of Crop–1 and Crop–2: Regions
6, 7, 8, 9 and 13. The regions that produce low quality of Crop-3 and Crop-4 are: 1, 4, 5 and 9. Only
Region 9 is common to both. So Option 2 is to be marked as correct.
Answer 29
Let us see which of the following statements is true.
1. Regions 9 and 13 produce medium quality Crop–2. Regions 2, 6, 7 and 13 produce high quality
Crop–3. Only Region 13 is common to both. Region 9 is not. This statement is not true.
Regions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 produce high quality Crop–1. Regions 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9 produce medium and
low Crop–4. Region 3 is not common to both. This is why statement 2 is false.
2. Six regions produce Crop-3 and Crop–4. These are regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 9 and 11. Among these
six, only Region 9 produces Crop–2. This means there are exactly 5 Crop-3 producing regions,
which also produce Crop–4 but not Crop–2. This is why Option 3 is false as well.
3. Some Crop–3 producing regions produce Crop–1, but not high quality Crop–2. Mark Option 4 as
correct. This is the only one left ion any case.
Answer 30
The following regions produce low quality Crop 1: Regions 9, 10, and 11.
The following regions produce high quality Crop 4: Regions 3, 10, and 11.
The following regions produce medium quality Crop 3: Regions 3, 9, and 11.
Regions 9, 10 and 11 are the three regions that produce low quality Crop–1 and are also high quality
Crop–4 producing regions or medium quality Crop–3 producing regions.
Hence Option 3 is to be marked as correct.

Answer 31
If one sees the opening lines of the passage, these read as follows: “The current debate on IPRs raises a
number of important issues concerning the strategy and policies for building a more dynamic national
agricultural research system, the relative roles of public and private sectors, and the role of
agribusiness multinational corporations (MNCs), strategy and policies for building a more dynamic
national agricultural research system.” If one sees the opening lines of the second paragraph in the
passage, “the current debate on TRIPS in India as elsewhere echoes wider concerns about
privatisation of research and allowing a free field for MNCs in the sphere of biotechnology and
agriculture.” Three points as highlighted in bold text are covered in the debate on IPRs; the point at
Option 2 about “the strategy and policies for establishing an IPR regime for Indian agriculture” is not
covered; thus Option 2.
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Answer 32
Quite frequently you would find the importance of scanning being emphasised in this book. Here is one
more instance. The question talks about DNA. It is now our turn to start hunting for the letters “DNA” in
the passage. Our intention here is to find the answer to a specific question asked about DNA and thus no
matter how interesting DNA might seem, it would be prudent to come quickly to the point lest we miss all
the trains in the process of mugging the time table.
If one reads the opening lines of paragraph 5 in the passage, these read as follows: The deciphering of
the structure and functioning of DNA forms the basis of much of modern biotechnology. But this
fundamental breakthrough is a “public good”, freely accessible in the public domain and usable free of
any charge. We have found our target, the letters “DNA”. We have found that whoever wants to make
use of this breakthrough can do so without touching his wallet. It is a free lunch. There is no monetary
consideration.
Option 1 says precisely what is highlighted in bold letters: that the breakthroughs in fundamental
research on DNA are accessible by all without any monetary consideration. Thus Option 1. We
may as such classify this inference as something that emerges verbatim but are for the present
classifying this as nearly verbatim since the mater involves knowing that “free of charge” means “without
any monetary consideration”.
Answer 33
If one reads the following lines in paragraph 4, “It is both wrong and misleading to pose the problem in
terms of public sector versus private sector or of privatisation of research. We need to address problems
likely to arise on account of the public-private sector complementarity, and ensure that the public
research system performs efficiently”, it would seem clear that this is precisely what Option 3 says. As
regards the other options, if we see (A) Option 1: if private companies do not produce new varieties
entirely on their own research, they have no role to play in the national research system, so the question
of debating such a role does not arise. (B) Option 2 and Option 4: there is no mention whatsoever about
public and private sector roles in the national research system although the issue under debate is the
respective roles of the public and private sectors in the national research system; thus Option 3.
Answer 34
The concluding lines of paragraph 2 of the passage mention about the potential adverse effects of
biotechnology saying that “On the other hand, high pressure advertising and aggressive sales campaigns
by private companies can seduce farmers into accepting varieties without being aware of potential
adverse effects and the possibilities of disastrous consequences for their livelihood if these varieties
happen to fail. There is no provision under the laws, as they now exist, for compensating users against
such eventualities.” Clearly, the incentive to address the problem of potential adverse consequences of
biotechnology is at Option 4: “make provisions in the law for user compensation against failure of newly
developed varieties.” Thus Option 4.
Answer 35
Towards the middle of paragraph 2 of the passage one may see the lines reading as follows: “The larger,
longer term consequences of reduced biodiversity that may follow from the use of specially bred
varieties are also another cause for concern.” Quite clearly, the newer varieties will lead to decrease in
biodiversity and not increase in biodiversity. Thus Option 1.
Answer 36
If one sees the fifth line in paragraph 1 of the passage it reads as follows: "TRIPS, for the first time,
seeks to bring innovations in agricultural technology under a new worldwide IPR regime. The
agribusiness MNCs (along with pharmaceutical companies) played a leading part in lobbying for such a
regime during the Uruguay Round negotiations. The argument was that incentives are necessary to
stimulate innovation, and this calls for a system of patents which gives innovators the sole right
29

to use (or sell/lease the right to use) their innovations for a specified period and protects
them against unauthorised copying or use.” The TRIPS agreement emerged from the
Uruguay Round to provide incentives to innovators by way of protecting their intellectual
property. Thus Option 3.
Answer 37
Here if we see the options, Option 4 says “all of the above” This would mean that even if two of the
options are inferable from the passage, then Option 4 is a natural choice since there is no
Option that says even two statements may be correct. Now Option 1 (public research is not driven
by profit motive) is seen from the 9th line in paragraph 3 in the passage where it is stated that “… public
research which is not driven from profit” and regarding Option 2 (private companies may not be able to
absorb losses arising from the negative effects of the new technology), if we see paragraph 3 again the
following lines tell it all: “This largely successful research was almost entirely done in public research
institutions. Of course, it could, in principle, have been done by private companies but whether they
choose to do so depends crucially on the loss in market for their original introductions on account of the
above factors and whether the companies are financially strong enough to absorb the ‘losses’”. Thus
Options 1 and 2 are inferable from the passage; there is no need to go further. Mark Option 4.
Answer 38
Paragraph 3 relates to research work in agriculture. At the conclusion of this paragraph one would see
the lines “Public or quasi-public research institutions informed by broader, long-term concerns can only
do such work.” Option 2 states precisely this.
General guidelines for solving Questions 39 to 43
Before we start solving the above pattern of questions, let us see what it takes to develop the necessary
reasoning skills that should enable us to answer these questions correctly.
Let us understand what is the meaning of the words “conclusions drawn about the unknown, on
the basis of the known”? If you see a young girl slapping a boy of around her age, which of
the following possibilities are real?
(1) He has tried to get fresh with her and she has not liked that one bit
(2) They are brother and sister and she has tapped him in affection after he has teased her as usual
(3) She is his sister and having caught him smoking on the sly, she has decided to spank him.
What is known is the fellow got a tight slap. What is unknown is the reason for the slap.
Which of these are things that could have happened and if you do not believe that these are
not true, someone could prove them?
(1) The number of children enrolled in a certain school has grown 3.75% over the last year’s figures
(2) The average height of the boys in Class III in a certain school is more than the average height of girls
in Class V in the same school.
(3) Based on the past five year’s figures, enrolments in a certain school will rise 5.5% during the current
academic year.
All three statements above are verifiable.
Which of the following are judgments as defined in the guidelines above?

(1) You call this food tasty?
(2) Spend carefully!
(3) Sudarshan Churna is the bitterest remedy that can ever be.
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(1) and (3) above are judgements. Statement 2 is an advice only.
Which of the following are facts as defined above?
(1) I am thirty five.

(2) Do you see that big lion in the tall Savannah grass? The blighter has not eaten anything for the past
4½ days.
(3) Bangladesh has 939 fresh water lakes such that each has an area of more than 10 square miles.
Only (1) and (3) are facts. Statement 2 cannot be verified. Only the lion could tell us whether he has
eaten or not eaten.
Answer 39
The reasons for abstractionism losing its vitality are stated at the opening stages of the passage: “One of
the criteria by which we judge the vitality of a style of painting is its ability to renew itself—its
responsiveness to the changing nature and quality and experience, the degree of conceptual and formal
innovation that it exhibits. By this criteria, it would appear that the practice of abstractionism has
failed to engage creatively with the radical change in human experience in recent decades. It
has seemingly, been unwilling to re-invent itself in relation to the system of artistic expression
and viewers’ expectation that have developed under the impact of the mass media.” Thus the
reasons for this art form losing its vitality at Option 1, 2 and 4 are in bold letters. Only Option 3
(abstractionism has not followed the path taken by all revolutions, whether in politics or arts) is not a
reason for abstractionism losing its vitality; it is a prescription for regaining vitality, because the moment
one follows someone else, originality evaporates. Thus Option 3 since we are to identify which of the
options is not a reason for abstractionism losing its vitality.
Those willing to look at things logically may take note of this: abstraction itself is a revolution in art.
How can a revolution become a revolution if it does not take the path of revolutions? Option 3 becomes
the odd man out at a glance, my dear reader.
Answer 40
About the role of abstractionism in society, there is mention of this role only in the concluding
paragraph of the passage: “Abstractionism is not a universal language; it is an art that points up the
loss of a shared language of signs in society. And yet, it affirms the possibility of its recovery through the
effort of awareness.” Please see Option 2 in regard to the role of abstractionism in society: “it highlights
the absence of a shared language of meaningful symbols which can be recreated through greater
awareness.” Thus Option 2.
Answer 41
If one sees the options, either only one of the options is correct or all of them are correct since
there is no provision for two options being correct. Thus if more than one option can be inferred
from the passage, “all of the above” is the obvious right choice. Now let us see Option 1: Abstractionists
appear to be unable to transcend the solutions tried out earlier; this is evident from the concluding stages
of paragraph 2 in the passage: “The major crisis that abstractionists face is that of revitalising their
picture surface; few have improvised any solutions beyond the ones that were exhausted by
the 1970s. Moving on to Option 2 that says: “Abstractionism has allowed itself to be confined by set
forms and practices”, this inference is derived from the following lines at the heart of paragraph 4
“Abstractionism is marked by the conservative tendency to operate with images from the sacred
repertoire of the past…” A conservative is characterised by reluctance to change. Since Options 1
and 2 are both derivable from the passage, the obvious correct answer is Option 4: “all of the above.”
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Answer 42
According to the author, the introduction of abstractionism was revolutionary because—here one may see
the third paragraph that gives the correct choice almost verbatim—“Abstractionism was a revolutionary
move. It led art towards the exploration of the subconscious mind, the spiritual quest and the possible
expansion of consciousness, Indian painting entered into a phase of self-enquiry, a meditative inner
space where cosmic symbols and non-representational images ruled.” The correct choice is Option 2:
(the introduction of abstractionism was revolutionary because it) provided a new direction to Indian art,
towards self-inquiry and non-representational images.
Answer 43
The conservationist is one who is characterised by reluctance to change. Let us see the following words
in the third paragraph: “In such a situation, abstractionism was a revolutionary move. It led art
towards the exploration of the subconscious mind, the spiritual quest and the possible expansion
of consciousness, Indian painting entered into a phase of self-enquiry…” A revolutionary is the opposite
of the conservative. There is no need to look further. It is the exploration of the subconscious mind that
is not a characteristic of the conservative trend in Indian art. So Option 1.
Answer 44
One would do well to see the following words in paragraph 5 of the passage: “The third idiom is based on
the lyric play of forms guided by gesture or allied with formal improvisations like the assemblage.” An
assemblage is the fitting or joining together of a number of components and thus “formal (meaning
pertaining to forms) improvisation like the assemblage” is nothing but an arrangement of forms. So
Option 3.
Answer 45
The Kandinsky-Klee school finds mention in paragraph 4 of the passage and one may move there
forthwith and see the following words: “A survey of indigenous abstractionism will show that its most
obvious points of affinity with European and American abstract art were with the more mystically
oriented of the major sources of abstractionist philosophy and practice, for instance, the Kandinsky-Klee
school.” The attraction of the Kandinsky-Klee school for Indian abstractionists was because Indian art
was more mystically oriented and mystique was the common agenda with the Kandinsky-Klee school.
Thus Option 1.
Answer 46
Please see the concluding lines of paragraph 6 in the passage: “Uncharitable as it may sound, the history
of Indian abstractionism records a series of attempts to avoid the risks of abstraction by resorting to an
overt and near-generic symbolism, which many Indian abstractionists embrace when they find
themselves bereft of the imaginative energy to negotiate the union of metaphysics and
painterliness.” Option 4 – many artists have found it difficult to fuse the twin principles of the
metaphysical and the painterly – fits well. Thus Option 4.
It is so important to read the question first. No other illustration could be more effective
than this one to support the contention we have been making all along.
In this question there is room for arriving at the correct answer without even glancing at the passage.
See the question that goes as follows: Which one of the following, according to the author, is the most
important reason for the stalling of abstractionism’s progress in an impasse?
Do we not know that if you stall something it means that you stop it from happening? Now let us see the
options:
1. Some artists have followed their abstractionist logic to the point of extinction. The fact that
something is extinct means it is dead. Had anyone stalled, it would not have become extinct.
32

2. Some artists have allowed chance or pattern to dominate the execution of their paintings. If a
chap has allowed something to dominate his style, it means that he has not stalled it all.
3. Many artists have avoided the trap of a near generic and an open symbolism. If a chap avoids a
trap it means that he has not allowed something to be stalled. This is precisely the reverse of
what has been asked.
4. Many artists have found it difficult to fuse the twin principles of the metaphysical and the
painterly. If your car is stalled on the highway for want of fuel, you will certainly find it difficult to
make progress. Option 4 can be marked as right straight away.
Answer 47
If you were to refer to internal conflicts as Type A and external conflicts as Type B, then when you say
that internal conflicts are psychologically more interesting than external conflicts, what you mean is as
under:
(1) Both Type A and Type B are psychologically interesting

(2) Type A is more interesting than Type B
The question is about why is it that Type A is more interesting than Type B.
Imagine that Mr. A and Mr. B sell sandwiches side by side and Mr. A’s sandwiches sell more than Mr. B’s.
If someone asks you why is it that Mr. A’s sandwiches are selling more, you would be expected to tell the
reason why such as Mr. A uses better bread, Mr. A’s sauces are tangier and so on. Saying that Mr. A’s
sandwiches have a greater market share or Mr. A is considered a better businessman are only facts that
support that Mr. A’s sandwiches are selling more than Mr. B’s. They are not reasons for the better sales.
Option 1 says that Type A forms an important part of serious literature. This statement in effect only
reiterates that Type A is considered more important. It does not say why Type A is more interesting than
Type B. Option 1 is as such a fact supporting the contention that Type A is more interesting than Type B.
It does not tell us why so.
Option 2 also says that Type A is more prevalent. This again only reiterates that Type A is considered
more important without giving any reasons why Type A is more interesting than Type B.
Option 3 seems a very plausible reason why internal conflicts are more interesting than external conflicts.
When students from the nearby school go to Mr. A’s sandwich parlour, so tasty are the sandwiches that
they are not able to decide whether to eat egg sandwiches or vegetable grilled or cheese sandwiches.
Option 3 would do very well.
Option 4, the blooming idiot, in effect tells us that Mr. B’s sandwiches are better whereas the whole thing
is about why Mr. A’s sandwiches are better.
Answer 48
In line 1 of paragraph 2 the author has told us what is psychologically most interesting. He refers to
players meaning more than one player. He has referred to competition in the last sentence of the same
paragraph in which he tells us about which situations are psychologically most interesting.
Having seen Mr. A and Mr. B standing side by side and competing against each other selling sandwiches,
it can be seen that in Option 1, 3 and 4 there is only one sandwich seller. There is no competition. This is
why Option 2 fits admirably.
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Answer 49
Option 1 emerges verbatim in the following words in the second sentence of the first paragraph as
follows: “it is assumed that the rank order of preferences for the outcomes is different for
different players”
Option 2 emerges verbatim from the third sentence in paragraph 1 of the passage as follows: “the
“interests” of the players are generally in conflict”
With this there is no need to see Option 3. Option 4 is to be marked as correct.
Answer 50
Since the question does not ask us to refer to any text in the passage, it is most likely to be one where
we are to use our judgement.
Let us eliminate the options that prima facie do not seem workable and see which seems the best choice
and why.
Option 1: Scientists study animate objects as well. They study human beings, cats, rats and so on. This
option seems stupid.
Option 2: Scientists study unknown objects as well. An earthquake flattens a city. A tsunami wave
flattens a city and kills thousands. The government asks scientists to find out why earthquakes occur and
what are the early warning signs. They are asked to forecast the weather. They study mostly unknown
things. This Option2 seems inane as well.
Option 3: This is very plausible. If a scientist is asked to analyse the sand from the moon, he can be sure
that no man has gone to the moon and altered the sand there. A criminal could hope to escape only if he
misleads the detective. This is why there is great likelihood of detectives dealing with phenomena that
have been deliberately influenced to mislead. Option 3 seems great.
Option 4: Scientists study diverse things such as (A) how far is the moon from the earth (B) why does
sodium not exist as an element in humid atmosphere (C) why the aeroplane’s tyres get heated when
landing. These are just three illustrative items in a mile-long list of things that scientists study but things
that are not psychologically interesting primarily since they do not involve animate things and therefore
any psychology. Option 4 needs to be crumpled and chucked into the wastebasket for that reason alone.
Answer 51
Take a pencil. Go to 1996-97. In this year, the highest collection is of Maharashtra: 7290. Maharashtra is
first. Write 1 in the blank space to the right of MA. Do we see which is lesser than MA? TN has 5341. Allot
2 to TN and write 2 in the blank space to the right of TN. Use this method to allot ranks for all years.
When you come to 2000-01, you will see that 12034 is highest. So write 1 to the right of MA and so on.
Write the ranks in the blanks spaces. It will not take even half a minute. You will not get extra material to
write on. Make the most of what you have. Put a tick mark against those states that do not change their
ranking more than once. You will then see that WB, TN, MA, KA and AP are the five states that do not
change their ranking more than once- meaning either no change at all (MA, TN and WB) or only one
change (KA and AP). Mark Option 2 as correct.
Answer 52
Preserve the rankings made in the previous solution. There are five states that have not changed more
than once. This you know from the previous solution. Ignore these five – out of seven about whom this
34

question is - and you will find that only two states are to be looked at – UP and GU. Among these latter
two only UP is among the options. Mark Option 2 as correct.
Answer 53
In the case of all four states their share in sales tax revenue in 1997 and 2001 are as under after
rounding off the thousands:
STATE 1997 2001

TN 53/299 80/496
KA 35/299 54/496
GU 40/299 63/496
AP 35/299 72/496
When you are comparing the share in sales tax revenue of Tamil Nadu in 1997 with 2001, what you are
really trying to find out is as follows: Which is bigger? Is it 53/299 or 80/496? In case of 53/299, the
denominator is less than six times the numerator and hence 53/299 is more than 1/6th whereas in the
case of 80/496, the denominator is more than 6 times the numerator and hence 80/496 is less than 1/6th.
There is decrease here. Option 1 will not do.
In case of Karnataka where the share in sales tax revenue is 35/299 in 1997, the denominator is more
than 8 times the numerator and hence 35/299 is less than 1/8th whereas in the case of 54/496, the
denominator is more than 9 times the numerator and hence 54/496 is less than 1/9th. There is decrease
here. Option 2 will not do either.
In case of Gujarat where the share in sales tax revenue is 40/299 in 1997, the denominator is nearly 7.5
times the numerator whereas in the case of 63/496, the denominator is nearly 8 times the numerator.
There is decrease here as well. Option 3 will not do either. Hence mark Option 4 as correct.
Answer 54
What is the base figure in, say, 1997-98? 7290. Why? This is because the previous year figure was
Rs.7290. Round off 7290 to the nearest hundred and what do you get? 7300. What is the revenue figure
in, say, 1997-98? 7826. Round off 7826 to the nearest hundred and what do you get? 7800. What are
we to compare? 7800 with 7300. Then what is the need for keeping the two zeroes in both cases? Now
see this table.
Base Figure (Increased Increase

revenue)
From 1997-98 73 78 5/73
From 1998-99 78 81 3/78
From 1999-00 80 103 23/80
From 2000-01 102 120 18/102
Clearly the highest growth rate is in 1999 to 2000 at Option 3. Is there any need to calculate at all? Will
the fraction in which the denominator is the smallest multiple of the numerator not emerge as the
fraction with the highest value? Do you want to see how this will? Then see the following fractions:
1 2 5
8 5 6
35

Which is highest? In case of 1/8, the denominator is 8 times the numerator, in 2/5 the denominator is
over twice the numerator whereas in case of 5/6 the denominator is only a little more than the
numerator. In case of 5/6 therefore the denominator is the least multiple of the numerator and thus 5/6
has the highest value among the three fractions 1/8, 2/5 and 5/6.
Answer 55
If you were to see Karnataka first (since it is in Option 1) and see the increase between 1998-99 to 1999-
2000 this was up from 4265 to 4839 showing an increase of 4839 –4265 and then up from 4839 to 5413
showing an increase of 5413 –4839 between 1999-2000 to 2000-01. The last digit in both cases is 4.
Only where the last digit is the same will qualify to be an exact increase. When the word in the question
is exact, one has to adhere to it in letter and spirit. This is why Option 1 is to be marked as correct.
In the case of West Bengal, for example, the sales tax revenue for the years 1997 to 2001 is as follows:
2704, 2844, 3118, 3500, 4300. If, for example, the increase between 1997 and 1998 has got to be
exactly the same as the increase between 1998 and 1999, it follows that when you subtract 2704 from
2844, you should get the same answer as when you subtract 2844 from 3118. However when you
subtract 2704 from 2844 the last digit in the answer would be 0 whereas in the case of subtracting 2844
from 3118 the last digit would be 4. This cannot be an exact increase. You will find this true in the
remaining options as well.
Answer 56
This can be cracked in a jiffy through logic. The important thing to remember is that the exercise that
you did in Question 42 will be of use to you now. If you see, this question has been placed so
innocuously after you think that there is no need for the rankings that you have worked out earlier.
Anyone who is not alert might restart the ranking process. In the solution to Question 42, we have seen
that three states – WB, TN and MA – have maintained constant ranking. Among the options, only TN
appears. Hence Option 3.
Answer 57
A fork in the road is one from where there are two paths. When Ram answers the question posed by the
stranger, his statement, “I never speak to strangers” is false, because he has indeed spoken to a
stranger. That means his other sentence “I am new to these parts” is true. It also means that Leela’s
saying that “Ram is not new to these parts” is false and her statement “I am married to Ram” is true;
therefore Laxman’s saying “I am married to Leela” is false and “Take the left road” is true. Hence left
road takes you to the village as at Option 1.
Answer 58
There are six statements in all.

A. John didn’t do it. B. Mathew didn’t do it
C. Mathew didn’t do it. D. Krishna didn’t do it.
E. Krishna didn’t do it. F. Krishna didn’t know who did it.
First possibility: If A is true, B is false; C is false, D is true; E is true; F is false.
Second possibility: If A is false, B is true; C is true, D is false; E is false, F is true.
If Krishna has done it, then he must know who did it and then F is also false and since only one of the
statements, according to the second possibility, Krishna is speaking two false statements which is not in
the scheme of things because what is given is that each one speaks two statements out of which one is
true and the other is false. Hence only the first possibility stands. Mathew has done it. So Option 2.
36

Answer 59
Only Bobby is wearing a red shirt. There are six statements in all.
A. Amar is not Bobby’s son; B. the chief wears a red shirt
C. Bobby is Amar’s father; D. Charles is the chief
E. The chief is one among us: F. Charles is the chief
First possibility: If A is true, B is false, C is false, D is true, E is false and F is true. According to this,
Charles is the chief. If Charles is the chief, then E cannot be false because E says “the chief is one among
us” and Charles cannot speak two true statements. This is, therefore, not a correct option.
Second possibility: If A is false, B is true (which means chief is wearing a red shirt), C is true, D is false, F
is false and E is true. According to this Bobby is the chief since he is wearing a red shirt. This is a correct
option. Bobby is the chief and is also wearing a red shirt.
Hence Option 2.
Answer 60
There is only one pilot. You interview three men: K, L and M. K wears a cap: this is the punch line. There
are six statements in all.
A. L’s father is the pilot; B. L is not the priest’s son

C. K is the priest; D. Only pilots can wear caps
E. L is the priest’s son; F. K is not the priest.
L, K, priest and pilot are the four under discussion. Let us go by the options:
Option 1: L is not K’s son; if this is true, then one has to assume either of the two professions for K: if K
is pilot then C is false and D is true and if D is true then since only priests can wear a cap, K is bound to
be the priest since he is already wearing a cap as has been given at the very outset. If K is the priest,
then C is true and D is false. If D is false, and C is true so K is the priest, then F is false and E is true and
B is false and A is true, meaning L’s father is the pilot. L has two fathers—priest and pilot.
Option 2: K is the pilot; if this is true, C is false and D is true (meaning that only pilots can wear caps)
and since K is wearing a cap as is given at the outset, K is the pilot. Taking it further, F is true and E is
false. So B is true and A is false. Each person makes one true and one false statement. Hence Option 2.
37

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CAT CBT 24 [Combination of CAT 2000-2008/GMAT papers]

1. The magnitude of Angle FGO =

1. 300 2. 450 3. 600 4. none of these

1. 1:2 2. 2:1 3. 12:7 4. none of these

1.22m2 2. 42m2 3. 84m2 4. 168m2

1. 472 2. 422 3. 744 4. 860

1. 1/2 2. 2/3 3. 1/4 4. 3/4

Each of the 11 letters A, H, I, M, O, T, U, V, W, X and Z appears same when looked at in a mirror.

1. 7920 2. 330 3. 14640 4. 419430

1. 990 2. 2730 3. 12870 4. 15600

1. 3:1 2. 4:1 3. 5:1 4. none of these

DIRECTIONS for questions 11 to 13:

Q.11. If A = 2 and B = 4, the value of @(/(*A,B),B),A) would be

16. Which of the following integers has length 3?

Q.18. Given that x > y > z, which of the following is true?

(1) le(x,y) > me(mo(y,z),me(y,z)) (2) mo(y,z) < me(me(x,y),me(y,z))

Type of Crop Quality Region

High R5, R8, R12

High R2, R6, R7, R13

High R3, R10, R11

Which of the following statements is true?

1. One 2. Two 3. Three 4. Zero

1.The role of MNCs in the sphere of biotechnology and agriculture.

1.Include IPR issue in the TRIPs agreement.

1.Public research is not driven by profit motive.

1. Public and quasi-public institutions are not interested in making profits.

1.It provides an idiom that can be understood by most members in a society.

1.Abstractionists appear to be unable to transcend the solutions tried out earlier.

1.Celebrated the hopes and aspirations of a newly independent nation.

1.An exploration of the subconscious mind.

1.depiction of nature’s cyclical renewal.

48. Which, according to the author, would qualify as interesting psychology?

2. Accepting that the interests of different players are often in conflict.

3. Not assuming that the interests are in complete disagreement.

4. All of the above.

35000- 33,168 3118 5270 8015

1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01

WB West Bengal UP Uttar Pradesh TN Tamil Nadu MA Maharashtra

Which of the following is true?

Who stole your boat?

Who is the chief ?

Which of the following is true?

The area of ABCD will be thus 8+4=12 square units.

The area of DEFG is equal to the sum of the areas of:

Travel 100 meters with the first stone and then

Option The ratio Had we The By The Is the

Hence mark Option 4 as correct.

……..3 meters…. ……… 5 meters …………………

A…………………………….. 8 meters …………………………. B

Which of the following is true? Now, let us go by the options.

Option 4: y = me(le(x,y),mo(y,z)) = average of (y,y) = y. Thus Option 4.

Option 1: le(x,y)>me(mo(y,z), me(y,z); le(x,y) is y. me(mo(y,z), me(y,z) = me(y, (y+z)/2); average of y

Match No. 1 - Seed 1 Versus Seed 11

Match 1: Seed 1 versus Seed 16

In the first round the indicative pattern of matches would be as follows:

Match 1 will be between Seed 1 and Seed 32

In Match 1, the sum of the seeds is 1+32=33.

Second Who versus Winner of

Quarter Who versus

Match 1 - Seed 1 Versus Seed 8

Haryana = 19.2/(80% of 4) =19.2/3.2=192/32=6

Let us see which of the following statements is true.