Logical Reasoning Practice Set (40 Questions with Answers)

These are practice questions written in the style of company aptitude tests. They are not actual questions from any company's test. Time yourself: aim for 40 questions in 40 minutes, then check the answers and explanations at the end.

Answers that can be computed (series, codes, clocks, calendars, directions, syllogisms and the seating puzzle) were checked by running code. Blood relations and analogies were worked through twice by hand. For the quantitative side of the same tests, use the quantitative aptitude formulas.

A. Number and letter series

1. 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?

   (a) 40   (b) 42   (c) 44   (d) 48

2. 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, ?

   (a) 95   (b) 125   (c) 127   (d) 129

3. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ?

   (a) 30   (b) 34   (c) 36   (d) 49

4. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, ?

   (a) 15   (b) 16   (c) 17   (d) 19

5. 120, 99, 80, 63, 48, ?

   (a) 35   (b) 36   (c) 33   (d) 30

6. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, ?

   (a) 18   (b) 20   (c) 21   (d) 26

7. 6, 11, 21, 36, 56, ?

   (a) 76   (b) 81   (c) 86   (d) 91

8. Find the wrong number: 2, 5, 10, 17, 26, 38, 50

   (a) 10   (b) 26   (c) 38   (d) 50

9. A, C, F, J, O, ?

   (a) T   (b) U   (c) V   (d) S

10. AZ, BY, CX, DW, ?

    (a) EU   (b) FV   (c) EV   (d) EW

B. Coding and decoding

11. If CAT is written as DBU, how is DOG written?

    (a) EPH   (b) EOH   (c) CNF   (d) FQI

12. If MANGO is coded as OCPIQ, how is APPLE coded?

    (a) BQQMF   (b) CRRNG   (c) CRRMG   (d) DSSOH

13. In a code, each letter is replaced by the letter at the same position from the other end of the alphabet (A becomes Z, B becomes Y). How is GLOW written?

    (a) TOLD   (b) TPLD   (c) SOLD   (d) TOKD

14. If 2 = 6, 3 = 12 and 4 = 20, then 5 = ?

    (a) 25   (b) 28   (c) 30   (d) 32

C. Blood relations

15. Pointing to a man, Riya says, "He is the son of my grandfather's only son." How is the man related to Riya?

    (a) Cousin   (b) Brother   (c) Uncle   (d) Nephew

16. A is B's sister. C is B's mother. D is C's father. How is A related to D?

    (a) Daughter   (b) Granddaughter   (c) Niece   (d) Sister

17. P is the brother of Q. Q is the daughter of R. S is R's father. How is P related to S?

    (a) Son   (b) Nephew   (c) Grandson   (d) Brother

D. Direction sense

18. Aman walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 9 km. How far is he from his starting point, and in which direction?

    (a) 5 km south-east   (b) 4 km south   (c) 5 km north-east   (d) 7 km south-east

19. Facing north, you turn 90° clockwise, then 180° anticlockwise, then 45° clockwise. Which direction do you face now?

    (a) North-east   (b) North-west   (c) South-west   (d) West

20. One morning after sunrise, Arjun's shadow falls exactly to his right. Which direction is he facing?

    (a) North   (b) South   (c) East   (d) West

E. Ranking and order

21. Ravi is 12th from the left and 18th from the right in a row. How many people are in the row?

    (a) 28   (b) 29   (c) 30   (d) 31

22. In a class of 40, Neha is 15th from the top. What is her rank from the bottom?

    (a) 25   (b) 26   (c) 27   (d) 24

23. A is taller than B. B is taller than C. D is taller than A. E is shorter than C. Who is in the middle by height?

    (a) A   (b) B   (c) C   (d) D

F. Clocks and calendars

24. What is the angle between the hour and minute hands at 3:40?

    (a) 120°   (b) 125°   (c) 130°   (d) 140°

25. At what time between 4 and 5 o'clock are the two hands together?

    (a) 4:20   (b) 21 9/11 minutes past 4   (c) 22 minutes past 4   (d) 21 3/11 minutes past 4

26. How many times do the hands of a clock coincide in 12 hours?

    (a) 10   (b) 11   (c) 12   (d) 24

27. What day of the week was 15 August 1947?

    (a) Thursday   (b) Friday   (c) Saturday   (d) Sunday

28. 1 January 2026 was a Thursday. What day of the week is 1 January 2027?

    (a) Thursday   (b) Friday   (c) Saturday   (d) Wednesday

G. Syllogisms

For each, decide which conclusions definitely follow from the statements.

29. All cats are animals. Some animals are dogs. Conclusion: Some cats are dogs.

    (a) Follows   (b) Does not follow

30. All roses are flowers. No flower is a stone. Conclusion: No rose is a stone.

    (a) Follows   (b) Does not follow

31. Some pens are books. All books are papers. Conclusions: I. Some pens are papers. II. All papers are pens.

    (a) Only I   (b) Only II   (c) Both   (d) Neither

32. No A is B. All C are B. Conclusion: No C is A.

    (a) Follows   (b) Does not follow

H. Seating arrangement

Five friends A, B, C, D and E sit in a row facing north. C sits in the middle. D sits immediately to the right of C. B sits at one end, but not next to D. A does not sit next to B.

33. Who sits at the right end?

    (a) B   (b) D   (c) A   (d) E

34. Who sits between B and C?

    (a) A   (b) D   (c) E   (d) Nobody

I. Analogies and odd one out

35. Find the odd one out: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11

    (a) 3   (b) 7   (c) 9   (d) 11

36. Find the odd one out: Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars

    (a) Mercury   (b) Venus   (c) Moon   (d) Mars

37. Book : Author :: Statue : ?

    (a) Painter   (b) Sculptor   (c) Architect   (d) Museum

38. 8 : 512 :: 5 : ?

    (a) 25   (b) 100   (c) 125   (d) 225

J. Puzzles

39. A cube painted on all faces is cut into 27 equal smaller cubes. How many small cubes have exactly two painted faces?

    (a) 8   (b) 6   (c) 12   (d) 1

40. In a mirror, a clock appears to show 3:15. What is the actual time?

    (a) 9:45   (b) 8:45   (c) 9:15   (d) 8:15

Answers and explanations

Series

1. (b) 42. Each term is n × (n + 1): 1×2, 2×3, 3×4, 4×5, 5×6, so next is 6×7.
2. (c) 127. Each term is double the previous plus 1 (equivalently 2ⁿ − 1).
3. (c) 36. Squares of 1 to 6.
4. (c) 17. Consecutive prime numbers.
5. (a) 35. Each term is one less than a square: 11² − 1, 10² − 1, 9² − 1, 8² − 1, 7² − 1, so next is 6² − 1.
6. (c) 21. Each term is the sum of the two before it (Fibonacci): 8 + 13.
7. (b) 81. The differences are 5, 10, 15, 20, so the next difference is 25.
8. (c) 38. The rule is n² + 1: 2, 5, 10, 17, 26, 37, 50. The sixth term should be 37.
9. (b) U. The gaps grow by one each time: +2, +3, +4, +5, then +6 from O gives U.
10. (c) EV. The first letter moves forward from A, the second moves backward from Z.

Coding and decoding

11. (a) EPH. Each letter moves forward by 1.
12. (b) CRRNG. Each letter moves forward by 2.
13. (a) TOLD. G becomes T, L becomes O, O becomes L, W becomes D.
14. (c) 30. The rule is n × (n + 1), so 5 × 6.

Blood relations

15. (b) Brother. Riya's grandfather's only son is her father, so his son is her brother.
16. (b) Granddaughter. C is the mother of A and B, and D is C's father, so A is D's granddaughter.
17. (c) Grandson. P and Q are children of R, and S is R's father.

Direction sense

18. (a) 5 km south-east. He ends 3 km east and 4 km south of the start (5 − 9 = −4). The distance is √(3² + 4²) = 5 km.
19. (b) North-west. North, turned 90° clockwise is east; 180° anticlockwise is west; 45° clockwise is north-west.
20. (b) South. In the morning the sun is in the east, so shadows fall to the west. If west is on his right, he is facing south.

Ranking and order

21. (b) 29. 12 + 18 − 1, because Ravi is counted twice.
22. (b) 26. 40 − 15 + 1.
23. (b) B. Tallest to shortest: D, A, B, C, E.

Clocks and calendars

24. (c) 130°. Angle = |30 × H − 5.5 × M| = |90 − 220| = 130°.
25. (b) 21 9/11 minutes past 4. The hands meet when 5.5 × M = 30 × 4, so M = 120 ÷ 5.5 = 240/11 = 21 9/11.
26. (b) 11. The minute hand gains 330° an hour on the hour hand, so they meet every 12/11 hours: 11 times in 12 hours.
27. (b) Friday.
28. (b) Friday. 2026 is not a leap year, so it has 365 days, which is 52 weeks and 1 day. The weekday moves on by one.

Syllogisms

29. (b) Does not follow. The dogs could be animals that are not cats.
30. (a) Follows. Every rose is a flower, and no flower is a stone.
31. (a) Only I. The pens that are books are also papers. Nothing says every paper is a pen.
32. (a) Follows. Every C is a B, and no B is an A, so no C is an A.

Seating arrangement

The only arrangement that fits, from left to right, is B, E, C, D, A. C is third and D is fourth. B must be at an end but not next to D, so B is first. A can't sit next to B, so A takes the fifth seat and E the second.

33. (c) A.
34. (c) E.

Analogies and odd one out

35. (c) 9. It is the only number that isn't prime.
36. (c) Moon. The others are planets; the Moon is a satellite.
37. (b) Sculptor. An author creates a book; a sculptor creates a statue.
38. (c) 125. 512 is 8 cubed, so the answer is 5 cubed.

Puzzles

39. (c) 12. Cubes with two painted faces sit on the edges, excluding corners. A cube has 12 edges, each with 3 − 2 = 1 such cube.
40. (b) 8:45. Subtract the mirror time from 11:60 (which is 12:00): 11:60 − 3:15 = 8:45.

Score yourself