CAT CBT 19 [Combination of CAT 1994-99/GRE papers]

NO. OF QUESTIONS: 60

SECTION I
VERBAL REASONING & LOGICAL REASONING SECTION
NO. OF QUESTIONS: 30
Maximum time allowed: 70 minutes. Each question carries one mark. Each wrong answer
would invite a 1/4th negative mark.

DIRECTIONS for questions 1 to 5: In each of the following sentences, part/parts of the sentence is/are
left blank. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the
best alternative from among the four.

1. In pursuance of their decision to resist what they saw as anti-labour policies, the company employees’
union launched agitation to_________.

1. show their virility

2. reaffirm their commitment to the company

3. bring down the government

4. demonstrate their strength

2. The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition as it has developed up to
now, with all its diverse proponents, is that it consists of a _________ Plato.

1. series of footnotes to

2. set of prologues to

3. collection of chapters on

4. string of commentaries to

3. The interest generated by the soccer World Cup is _______ compared to the way cricket _________ the
nation.

1. milder, fascinates

2. lukewarm, electrifies

3. tepid, inspires

4. unusual, grips

4. No doubt, it was our own government but it was being run on borrowed ideas, using _______ solutions.

1. worn out

2. second hand

3. impractical

4. appropriate

1
5. The telephone symbolizes that awkward _________ in all communication technologies; while it
________ to bring us together, it keeps us apart.

1. paradox, needs

2. irony, intends

3. paradox, tries

4. irony, wishes

DIRECTIONS for questions 6 to 8: Arrange the sentences A, B, C and D to form a logical sequence
between sentences 1 and 6.

6. 1. Why are horses the same?

A. It may be old and lame, and in time it will die.

B. A particular horse ‘flows’, naturally.
C. But there is something all horses have in common.
D. You probably don’t think they are at all.

6. But the ‘form’ of the horse is eternal and immutable.

1. DCAB 2. CABD 3. CBDA 4. DCBA

7. 1. Buddhism is a way to salvation.

A. But Buddhism is more severely analytical.

B. In the Christian tradition there is also a concern for the fate of human society conceived as a
whole, rather than merely as a sum or network of individuals.
C. Salvation is a property, or achievement, of individuals.
D. Not only does it dissolve society into individuals; the individual in turn is dissolved into component
parts and instants, a stream of events.

6. In modern terminology, Buddhist doctrine is reductionist.

1. BCAD 2. ADBC 3. CBAD 4. CDAB

8. 1. Matrilineal systems of land inheritance advantaged women in many respects,

especially in granting them economic and social security.

A. Women, in particular, were profoundly affected by these changes.

B. The large joint family estates came to be partitioned; there was an increasing penetration of
market forces and patriarchal ideologies spread in influence.
C. These systems, however, did not remain fixed over time.
D. Interventions by the colonial and post-colonial states, and the processes of social change which
these set in motion, eroded customary practices.

6. At the same time, their customary exclusion from major authority in public bodies meant that they
were unlikely to be the ones directing the changes.

1. BDCA 2. CDBA 3. CDAB 4. CADB

2
DIRECTIONS for questions 9 to 11: Sentences given in each question, when properly sequenced, form
a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is labeled with a letter. Choose the most logical order of sentences
from among the four given choices to construct a coherent paragraph.

9.
A. However, the real challenge today is unlearning, which is much harder.

B. But the new world of business behaves differently from the world in which we grew up.

C. Learning is important for both people and organisations.

D. Each of us has a “mental model” that we’ve used over the years to make sense.

1. DBCA 2. CADB 3. DACB 4. CBDA

10.
A. A large number of intellectuals believe that the North is using its military and economic powers to force
unequal contracts on the South.

B. The make-believe ethical issue of the sanctity of law camouflages the unethicality of the entire
transaction, which is a travesty of the ethical concept of the greatest good for the greatest number.

C. Once these contracts are made, the North uses the facade of legality and ethics to pin down the South.

D. Thus it suffers from the flaw that the law—one of the useful means to implement ethics—has fouled the
ethicality of the ends.

1. DACB 2. CBDA 3. ACBD 4. BDAC

11.
A. The fact that he could find absolutely nothing to substantiate their wild claims made no difference.

B. We always gave the poor man a cup of tea, and he grew quite fond of some of the animals.

C. The neighbours, now thoroughly indignant, kept bombarding the local health authorities.

D. On an average, twice a week, the poor inspector was forced to come up to the house.

1. DBAC 2. CDAB 3. ADBC 4. CADB

DIRECTIONS for questions 12 to 16: Read each of the short passages given below and answer
the questions that follow it.

12. Cellular phone services are being provided by two companies in each telecom circle. These companies
were awarded the contracts based on the license fees they agreed to pay the government and were
selected on a competitive basis. Cellular phone service providers have found that their profits are much less
than they expected-in fact in most cases they are losing money.

Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?

1. All the cellular phone service providers have been operating inefficiently.

2.The government was wrong in allowing private provision of cellular services.

3. Cellular service providers have been unable to match performance to plan.

4. Paging services have eaten into the revenue of the cellular services.

3
13. Organisations are often defined as groups of people who come together to pursue a common goal. But
more often than not, goals diverge as much as they converge, making the rationality of the overall
organisation no more than an elusive ideal. Beneath the collective irrationality, however, organisations are
often operating in a way that is eminently rational from the standpoint of the individuals, groups and
coalitions directly involved.
Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?

1. If all employees of an organisation pursue their individual goals, one can never have an organisation that
behaves rationally.

2. Although conceptually an organisation may appear to be irrational, behaviours of individuals, groups and
coalitions in the organisation may be rational.

3. As individuals, groups or coalitions in an organisation pursue their own interests, the conceptual issues of
rational behaviour get blurred.

4. Since people are essentially irrational, the ideal of building a rational organisation is elusive.

14. BSE officials point out that ever since on-line trading took off, surveillance isn’t difficult any more.
Sophisticated software has been installed for continuous monitoring of stock prices. If that is so, how could
the unnatural spurt in prices of operator-driven stock go unnoticed? There does not seem to be regular
checks or supervision.

Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?

1. The software used at BSE is not as sophisticated as it is claimed to be.

2. The operators can drive stock prices crazy irrespective of the kind of software installed.

3. Nobody can ever predict how stock prices move in the market.

4. Having the infrastructure in place is one thing, but proper utilization is another.

15. At a movie theatre in Bangalore, last year, the proprietor decided to sell about one-third of his total
balcony capacity on the internet. The response was tremendous. On every new release, the entire on-line
capacity was sold out. Today, there are at least 2 million educated and well-heeled consumers in India who
are ordering everything from cinema tickets to paan and tennis racquets to shirts from the comfort of their
offices or homes.

Which of the following can be inferred from the above passage?

1. There is a growing breed of computer-savvy consumers in Bangalore.

2. It is more comfortable to purchase movie tickets through the internet.

3. A retailing revolution is underway in India with the advent of the internet.

4. The proprietor of the theatre can profitably decide to sell all the balcony tickets through the internet.

4
16. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) while appealing for the retention of an executive
order requiring some federal contractors to set numerical goals for hiring minorities and women asserted
that affirmative action is a good business practice. In the words of the NAM, “Diversity in workforce
participation has produced new ideas in management, product development, and marketing.”

Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument advanced by the NAM as it is
presented in the passage above?

1. The proportion of minority and women workers in business has grown more slowly than many minority
and women’s groups would like
2. Business establishments with higher percentages of minority and women workers have been the most
innovative and profitable
3. Levels of disposable income have been growing at the roughly the same rate among minorities and
women as among the population as a whole
4. Industries that market the most innovative products have seen the largest growth in sales in the
manufacturing sector

Questions 17 to 19 are based on what is stated or implied in the following passage.

Tocqueville, apparently, was wrong. Jacksonian America was not a fluid, egalitarian society where individual
wealth and poverty were ephemeral conditions. At least so argues E. Pessen in his iconoclastic study of the
very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850.

Pessen does present a quantity of examples, together with some refreshingly intelligible statistics, to
establish the existence of an inordinately wealthy class. Though active in commerce or the professions,
most of the wealthy were not self-made, but inherited family fortunes. In no sense mercurial, these great
fortunes survived the financial panics that destroyed lesser ones. Indeed, in several cities the wealthiest
one percent constantly increased its share until by 1850 it owned half of the community’s wealth. Although
these observations are true, Pessen overestimates their importance by concluding from them that the
undoubted progress towards inequality in the late 18th century continued in the Jacksonian period and that
the United States was a class-ridden, plutocratic society even before industrialisation.

Q.17. According to the passage, Pessen indicates that all of the following were true of the very wealthy in
the United States between 1825 and 1850 EXCEPT:
(1) They formed a distinct upper class

(2) Many of them were able to increase their holdings

(3) Some of them worked as professionals or in business

(4) Most of them accumulated their own fortunes

(5) Many of them retained their wealth in spite of financial upheavals

Q.18. The author’s attitude toward Pessen’s presentation of statistics can be best described as
(1) disapproving

(2) shocked

(3) suspicious

(4) amused

(5) laudatory

5
Q.19. Which of the following best states the author’s main point?
(1) Pessen’s study has overturned the previously established view of the social and economic structure of
early 19th century America
(2) Tocqueville’s analysis of the United States in the Jacksonian era remain the definitive account of this
period
(3) Pessen’s study is valuable primarily because it shows the continuity of the social system in the Untied
States throughout the 19th century
(4) The social patterns and political power of the extremely wealthy in the United States between 1825 and
1850 are well documented
(5) Pessen challenges a view of the social and economic system in the United States from 1825 to 1850,
but he draws conclusions that are incorrect.

Questions 20 to 22 are based on what is stated or implied in the following passage.

Great comic art is never otherworldly, it does not seek to mystify us, and it does not deny ambiguity by
branding as evil whatever differs from good. Great comic artists assume that truth may bare all lights and
thus they seek to accentuate contradictions in social action, not gloss over or transcend them by appeals to
extra-social symbols of divine ends, cosmic purpose, or laws of nature. The moment of transcendence in
great comic art is a social moment, born out of the conviction that we are human, even though we try to be
more. The comic community to which artists address themselves is a community of reasoning, loving,
joyful, compassionate beings, who are willing to assume the human risks of acting rationally. Great comic
art arouses courage in reasons, courage that grows out of trust in what human beings can do as humans.

Q.20.The passage suggests that great comic art can be characterised as optimistic about the ability of
humans to
(1) rid themselves of pride

(2) transcend the human condition

(3) differentiate clearly between good and evil

(4) avoid social conflicts

(5) act rationally

Q.21. It can be inferred from the passage that the author admires great comic artists primarily for their
(1) ability to understand the frequently subtle differences between good and evil

(2) ability to reconcile the contradictions in human behaviour

(3) ability to distinguish between rational and irrational behaviour

(4) insistence on confronting the truth about the human condition

(5) insistence on condemning human faults and weaknesses

Q.22. Which of the following is the most accurate description of the organisation of the passage?
(1) A sequence of observations leading to a prediction

(2) A list of inferences drawn from facts stated at the beginning of the passage

(3) A series of assertions related to one general subject

(4) A statement of the major idea, followed by specific examples

(5) A succession of ideas moving from specific to general

6
DIRECTIONS for questions 23 to 25: Choose the word or phrase that is most nearly opposite in
meaning to the word in capital letters.

Question 23
SEMINAL
(1) oblique (2) provincial (3) incomplete (4) fluctuating (5) derivative
Question 24
LACONIC
(1) operative (2) acerbic (3) voluble (4) pompous (5) erect
Question 25
PROSAIC
(1) appropriate (2) propitious (3) ambiguous (4) modern (5) extraordinary

Directions for questions 26 to 30:

In the following diagram: Circle stands for “educated”, Square stands for “hard-working”, Triangle stands
for “urban”, Rectangle stands for “honest”.
The various regions are numbered from 2 to 12. Using the diagram and the above classification, choose the
correct answer for the category given below from the choices (1) to (4) specified below:

Q.26.
Non-urban people who are honest and hard-working but not educated.
1. 7 2. 9 3. 10 4. 11
Q.27.
Urban people who are hard-working and educated but not honest..
1. 2 2. 3 3. 4 4. 5
Q.28.
Uneducated, urban, hard-working and honest.
1. 2 2. 4 3. 5 4. 6
Q.29.
Honest, educated and hard-working non-urban
1. 4 2. 6 3. 9 4. 11
Q.30.
Hard-working, non-urban who are neither educated nor honest.
1. 6 2. 7 3. 8 4. 12
7
SECTION II
QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE & DATA INTERPRETATION SECTION
NO. OF QUESTIONS: 30
Maximum time allowed: 70 minutes. Each question carries one mark. Each wrong answer
would invite a 1/4th negative mark.

Q.31. A creeper plant is climbing up and around a cylindrical tree trunk in a helical manner (or, in other
words, like a regular spiral). The tree trunk has a height of 525 inches and a circumference of 40 inches. If
the creeper covers a vertical distance of 75 inches in one complete twist around the tree trunk, what is the
total length of the creeper in inches?
1. 35*(161)^½ 2. 7*(289)^½ 3. 35*(289)^½ 4. 5*(289)^½

Q.32. Let A denote the set of positive integers each of which when divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 leaves a
remainder of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 respectively. How many numbers in A are between 0 and 500?
1. 10 2. 9 3. 8 4. 7

Q.33. Shirts Galore, a store retailing a popular brand of shirts, has organized a sale of shirts from 1st
January 2008. The owner observed that the ratio between the number of shirts sold each day and the
number of shirts in closing stock on the previous day was 2:3 on all days that the sale lasted. What is the
minimum possible number of shirts sold during the sale that ended on the 6th January 2008?
(1) 2187 (2) 729 (3) 243 (4) None of these

Q.34. If 1/3rd the number of students in Aura School = 2/7th the number of students in Bliss School =
7/12th the number of children in Clara School= 9/13th the number of children in Donna School= 15/22th
the number of children in Easter School, what is T, the total of the exact numbers of students in each
school, if 20000 < T < 22000.
1. 20027 2. 21027 3. 21127 4. 21177

Q.35: A grandmother who had four granddaughters (Alice, Beatrice, Cynthia, and Denise) and four
grandsons (Eric, Frank, George, and Henry) distributed 32 apples among these eight grandchildren in the
following manner: Alice, Beatrice, Cynthia, and Denise got 1, 2, 3, and 4 apples respectively. Eric got four
times as many apples as his sister. Frank got three times as many apples as his sister and so on till Henry
got as many apples as his sister. Which one among the following is a brother-sister pair?
1. Alice and Eric 2. Alice and Henry
3. Alice and Frank 4. Alice and George

Q.36. A certain number when divided by 1599 gives a remainder 63. What is the remainder when the same
number is divided by 41?
1. 22 2. 25 3. 27 4. Cannot be determined

Q.37. Let P, Q, R and S be four statements such that:

If P is true, then Q is true;

If Q is true, then R is true; and
If S is true, then at least one of Q and R is false.

Then it follows that:

(1) If P is true than S is false
(2) If S is false both Q and R are true
(3) If at least one of Q and R is false then S is false
(4) If Q is true then S is true

Q.38. X and Y are integers such that 7X + 15Y= 126. Then, which of the following is necessarily true?
1. There cannot be a corresponding value for Y when X lies in the range 203 < X < 223

2. There cannot be a corresponding value for X when Y lies in the range 203 < X < 212

3. There cannot be a corresponding value for X when Y lies in the range -212 < X < -203

8
4. X cannot lie within the range – 165 < X < - 162

Q.39. From a barrel containing 500 ml of alcohol, 3 cups of alcohol, each of 150 ml capacity, not necessarily
full, are poured into a barrel containing 500 ml of water. After mixing the contents well, 3 cups of the
mixture are poured into the barrel of alcohol. The percentage of water in the barrel of alcohol and the
percentage of alcohol in the barrel of water are then compared. Which one of the following is true?

(1) The former is greater than the latter (2) The two are equal
(3) The latter is greater than the former (4) Cannot be determined

Q.40. In an examination of the objective type, there are 100 questions. Each correct answer caries 1 mark,
each wrong answer carries -1/3rd mark and each question that has not been attempted invites a negative
1/6th mark. If a student has a net score of 50 marks, which of the following is not true about the
combination(s) of the number of correct, wrong and not attempted questions that make a net score of 50
possible?

(1) Such a combination is not unique

(2) There are more than two such combinations possible

(3) In no such combination it is possible that the number of wrong answers is equal to the number of
questions not attempted

(4) There are exactly five such combinations possible.

DIRECTIONS for questions 41 to 43: A race consists of three stretches A, B and C each of 2 km length.
The mode of coverage, the maximum and the minimum speeds possible in each stretch are:

Stretch Mode Minimum Speed (kmph) Maximum Speed (kmph)

A Car 40 60
B Motorcycle 30 50
C Bicycle 10 20

Speed in a given stretch remains constant. The previous record was ten minutes to complete the race.

41. Anshuman travelled at the minimum speed by car and at the maximum speed over the stretch B. What
should be his minimum speed over stretch C to beat the previous record?

1. 15 kmph
2. Not possible to beat the previous record
3. 20 kmph
4. None of the these

42. Mr. Hare travelled at the slowest speed in stretch A and took the same amount of time to travel in
stretch B as he took in stretch A. If he took fifty per cent more time than the previous record to complete
the race, what was his speed in stretch C?

1. 10 kmph 2. 15 kmph 3. 20 kmph 4. None of these

43. Mr. Tortoise travelled in the overall race at an average speed of 20 kmph. However, his average speed
over the first two stretches combined was four times that over the last stretch. What was his speed over
the lat stretch.

1. 15 kmph 2. 10 kmph 3. 20 kmph 4. Cannot be determined

9
DIRECTIONS for questions 44 and 45: At Weird Holiday Company, an employee gets a holiday on
those days whose first letter is the same as the first letter of the employee’s name. All other days are
working days. For instance, William gets a holiday on each Wednesday. Assume that the daily productivity
of all employees is the same.

44. Raja started the work on Sunday, the 25th February 1996 and finished the work on March 2, 1996. If
Tom and Jerry were assigned this task on 25th February 1996, when will the work have been completed?

1. 26th February 1996 2. 1st March 1996

3. 28th February 1996 4. Tom and Jerry cannot possibly work together

45. If Raja had actually completed the work on April 2, 1996, and if Tom and Shyam were assigned the
same task on the same starting day, when will the work have been completed?

1.March 15, 1996 2. March 22, 1996

3. March 29, 1996 4. April 2, 1996

Q.46. A large water tank has two inlet pipes (a large one and a small one) and one outlet pipe. It takes 3
hours to fill the tank with the large inlet pipe. On the other hand, it takes 5 hours to fill the tank with the
small inlet pipe. The outlet pipe allows the full tank to be emptied in 8 hours. What part of the tank (initially
empty) will be filled if all three pipes are in operation for 1 hour and 24 minutes?

1. 25% 2. 37% 3. 57% 4. 65%

Q.47. Whether I divide 39006 by a certain number N or 37104 by that number N, I get the same
remainder. Then N is:
1. 517 2. 317 3. 470 4. 217

Q.48. The distance between Ahmedabad Railway Station and Baroda Railway Station is 84 miles. A train
starts from Ahmedabad towards Baroda. A bird starts at the same time from Baroda straight towards the
moving train. On reaching the train, it instantaneously turns back and returns to Baroda. The bird makes
these journeys from Baroda to the train and back to Baroda continuously till the train reaches Baroda. The
bird, which flies along the railway tracks all the while, finally returns to Baroda and rests. The total distance
in miles the bird travels when the bird travels at 60 miles per hour and the train runs at 80 miles per hour
is:
1. 112 2 . 84 3. 72 4. 56

Q.49. A block of wood in the form of a cuboid 6" × 7" × 14" has all its six faces painted pink. If the wooden
block is cut into 588 cubes of 1" × 1" × 1", how many of these would have pink paint on them?
1. 240 2. 348 3. 308 4. 280

Q.50. The 8" pizza, a circular Italian delicacy, sells for Rs.24 at Jasuben’s Pizza Parlour which claims that
they have a great bargain on the large 14" pizza (meaning, pizza with 14 inch diameter), which is specially
priced at Rs.58.80. What discount is Jasuben’s Pizza Parlour offering on the 14" pizza?
1. 0% 2. 10% 3. 30% 4. None of these

10
DIRECTIONS for questions 51 and 52: A factory produces a product (measured in cubic feet) over
seven days as per the following schedule:

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

150 180 120 250 160 120 150

The finished goods are to be transported to the market by a truck having a capacity of 2000 cubic feet. Any
finished goods (ready at the end of the day) retained overnight at the factory will incur a storage cost of
Rs. 5 per cubic foot for each night of storage. The hiring cost for the truck is Rs. 1000 per day.

51. If the total cost of transportation and storage is to be minimised, the truck should operate on
1. 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th days 2. only the 7th day
3. 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th days 4. none of the above

52. If the storage cost reduces to Rs. 0.80 per cubic foot per night, the truck should operate on
1. 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th days 2. only the 7th day
3. 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th days 4. none of the above

DIRECTIONS for questions 53 and 54: Suppose shirts of only three colours, namely, red, blue and
green are available. Further suppose Amar does not wear a red shirt. Akbar does not wear a green shirt
and Anthony does not wear a blue shirt.

53. If Akbar and Anthony wear shirts of the same colour then which of the following is necessarily true?
1.The colour of Amar’s shirt is not blue
2.The colour of Amar’s shirt is definitely blue
3.The colour of Amar’s shirt is not green
4. None of the above is necessarily true

54. If any two of them wear shirts of the same colour then how many of the following statements are
definitely false?
A. The colour of Anthony’s shirt is red and that of Akbar’s shirt is green.
B. The colour of Anthony’s shirt is red and that of Amar’s shirt is blue.
C. The colour of Akbar’s shirt is blue and that of Anthony’s shirt is red.
D. The colour of Amar’s shirt is blue and that of Akbar’s shirt is red.

1. 0 2. 2 3.1 4.3

DIRECTIONS for questions 55 to 58: Kamal Babu came home just after judging a beauty contest
where there were four semi-finalists, Ms. Andhra Pradesh, Ms. Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Maharashtra and Ms.
West Bengal. His wife was very keen on knowing who the winner was and Kamal Babu replied immediately
that it was the one wearing the yellow saree. When his wife asked for more details, he gave the following
information:
• The four girls were wearing sarees of different colours (yellow, red, green, white) and the runner-up was
wearing green.
• The four girls were sitting in a row, and Ms. West Bengal was not sitting at either end.
• There was only one runner-up and she was sitting next to Ms. Maharashtra.
• The girls wearing yellow and white sarees occupied the seats at either end.
• Ms. West Bengal was neither the winner nor the runner-up.
• Ms. Maharashtra was wearing white.
• The winner and the runner-up were not sitting next to each other.
• The girl wearning the green saree was not Ms. Andhra Pradesh.
Answer the following questions based on the above information:

11
55. What was the colour of the saree that Ms. Andhra Pradesh was wearing?
1. white 2. yellow 3. red 4. cannot be determined
56. Between which two was Ms. West Bengal sitting?
1. Ms. Andhra Pradesh and Ms. Maharashtra
2. Ms. Andhra Pradesh and Ms. Uttar Pradesh
3. Ms. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra
4. Cannot be uniquely determined

57. Who was wearing the red saree?

1. Ms. Andhra Pradesh 2. Ms. Uttar Pradesh
3. Ms. West Bengal 4. Cannot be uniquely determined

58. What was the colour of the saree that Ms. Uttar Pradesh was wearning?
1. white 2. green 3. red 4. yellow

DIRECTIONS for questions 59 and 60: A company imports component A from Germany and
component B from USA. It then assembles them along with other components to produce a machine used
in a chemical process. Component A contributes 30% to the production cost and component B contributes
50% to the production cost. The current practice is to sell the machine at a price that is 20% over the
production cost. Due to foreign exchange fluctuations the German Mark has become costlier by 30% and
the US Dollar by 22%. But the company is unable to increase the selling price by more than 10%.

59. The current margin of profit is:

1.10% 2. 15% 3. 12% 4. 8%

60. Suppose the US Dollar becomes cheaper by 12% of its original value, and the German Mark becomes
costlier by 20% of its original value. To achieve a profit margin of 10%, the selling price must exceed the
production cost by
1. 10% 2. 20% 3. 12% 4. 15%

12
DETAILED SOLUTIONS TO CAT CBT 19 [Combination of CAT 1994-99/GRE
papers]

Answer 1
It is important to note the meanings of a few words here. Virility is male sexual potency or manliness. A
trade union is the least likely of the forums where one can display virility. Option 1 therefore would be
absurd. As regards Option 2—commitment to the company—an agitation would involve go-slow, strike and
so on all of which would have adverse impact on the company’s productivity and an agitation is the least
likely of the manners in which one shows commitment to the company because such commitment would
involve productivity. As regards Option 3, an agitation by the trade union of a company may mean loss of
production and thus lesser excise and—if the profit for the relevant year is adversely affected—lesser
income tax. Such an agitation does not affect a government so substantially so as to bring it down. The
rationale is that if there is loss of production of a particular commodity from Company A and if there is a
demand for the commodity that Company A produces, then the unsatisfied demand will be satisfied by
Company B and thus the government will realise the shortfall in internal revenues from a source other than
Company A. Thus, Option 4 since a trade union is a forum to display collective strength and thus collective
bargaining capacity

Answer 2
Look at the words diverse proponents. Diverse is various and a proponent is someone who brings forward a
proposal or theory. (Remember pro is forward or favouring). Thus there were several persons who have
influenced European philosophy, not just Plato. A prologue is a preamble and the words ‘prologue’,
‘collection of chapters’ and ‘string of commentaries’ to Plato would lead to the impression that Plato was the
sole influence on European philosophical tradition whereas Plato was not. Options 2, 3 and 4 would thus
get eliminated. Hence Option 1: a series of footnotes, since a footnote is additional or incidental
information.

Answer 3
The word in the first blank cannot be a comparative word since the words immediately succeeding the
blank is “compared to...” Hence Option 1 is out since the word “milder” is a misfit. Lukewarm and tepid
mean the same thing; they are synonyms. But cricket cannot inspire a nation; the word ‘inspire’ means to
animate or motivate with a noble cause. Thus grips and electrifies are eligible to be in the second blank.
But the word “unusual” is ‘uncommon’ and is thus neither here nor there. Thus the first blank is ‘lukewarm’
and the other is ‘electrifies’. Hence Option 2.

Answer 4
The word “borrowed” essentially means second hand, because one can borrow a thing from someone who
has it first. Secondly, one borrows something from someone else when one needs it and thus, there is
perceptible need for it. So a worn-out thing is unlikely to be borrowed and so also an impractical thing. The
words ‘no doubt’ at the start of the sentence would be out of place if the ideas were indeed appropriate.
Appropriate would mean either of “correct” or “seized”. A bank might appropriate the sale proceeds of the
assets of a borrower in default and apply the sale proceeds towards the loan in arrears in which the word
“borrowed” is out of context. If the ideas were “correct”, then the words “no doubt”, would also be out of
place. Hence Option 2.

Answer 5
Although the words paradox and irony are perilously close in meaning, paradox is a self-contradiction and
an irony is a satire. However, it is the second blank that would decide the issue. The telephone is a
mechanical device and cannot be said to have “...a need just as a cow needs...” fodder. The words ‘intend’
and ‘wish’ are indicative of the human mind [or, in a broader sense, the mind of animates], which the
telephone does not have, although it is a product of the ingenuity of the human mind. Hence Option 3:
paradox and tries.

Answer 6
The word eternal means that which has neither a beginning nor an end. The word immutable is that which
cannot be altered. There is reference to death in statement A whereas the concluding sentence (6) refers to
the eternal form, meaning something that will perpetuate even beyond physical death. So Statement A
concludes the series and with this one’s options are 3: CBDA and 4: DCBA. The word ‘it” in Statement A is

13
the reference to a singular and this singular one can find only in Statement B: A particular horse flows
naturally. Thus B immediately precedes A. Thus Option 4: DCBA.

Answer 7
The opening lines are “Buddhism is a way to salvation”. Statement C tells as to what salvation is and hence
C starts the sequence. Now the options get limited to 3: CBAD and 4: CDAB.

Statement A says: Buddhism is more severely analytical (severe is ‘harsh’ or as a verb the word severe
means ‘to cut’) and as to what is the effect of this severe analysis is given by Statement D which says that
“Not only does it dissolve society into individuals; the individual is, in turn, cut into component parts…”
Hence Statement D succeeds Statement A. This is at Option 3: CBAD and hence Option 3.

Answer 8
A matrilineal system is that in which the descent is through females; here the meaning is that property
passes from mother to daughter(s) in lieu of father to son(s). The opening sentence makes reference to
matrilineal systems. The concluding sentence makes reference to “their exclusion”; the word “their” can
only refer to “women (profoundly affected by these changes)” in Statement A. Thus A ends the series. The
choice gets narrowed to 1: BDCA and 2: CDBA. Statement C makes reference to systems and the word
‘systems ’ appears only in the opening line (1). Hence C starts the sequence. So Option 2: CDBA.

Answer 9
Statement C says: “Learning is important for both people and organisations” whereas Statement A says:
“However, the real challenge today is unlearning, which is much harder”. From among the four sentences,
the only harder challenge that seems to emerge is in relation to the challenge of “learning” in Statement A
and hence A immediately follows C. With this the choice gets limited to Options 1: DBCA and 2: CADB. D
does not fit the bill, as a starting line since it describes a mental model with which we have used for years
to make sense and that model (singular as denoted by the article “a”) is one among the systems that make
the systematic acquisition of knowledge that constitutes learning. So it is statement C that has the
generality of an opening statement. Hence Option 2: CADB.

Answer 10
There is reference to contracts in Statement A which talks about unequal contracts and the words “once
these contracts are made” in Statement C lead to the conclusion that C follows A. The choice gets limited to
Options 1: DACB, 3: ACBD and 4: BDAC. The flaw as referred to in Statement D is “the make-believe issue
of the sanctity of the law camouflaging the unethicality of the entire transaction” in Statement B, and hence
D follows B. So the choice rests between Options 3: ACBD and 4: BDAC only. The entire transaction as
referred to in Statement B is the North using the façade of legality and ethics to pin down the South. So B
does not start the sequence since it refers to a transaction previously described. Statement D begins with
“thus” and is derived from a previous statement. So D ends the sequence. Thus Option 3: ACBD.

Answer 11
It is due to the bombarding (figuratively “repeatedly bothering”) the local health authorities that the poor
inspector was forced to come twice a week. Thus C starts the sequence and D immediately follows C. This
is only at Option 2: CDAB. Thus Option 2.

Answer 12
No company in the private sector plans to lose money. The ultimate corporative object of the private sector
is profit maximisation. This is the plan on which they operate. If profits are planned and they do not occur,
the failure to match performance to plan becomes clear. So Option 3.

Answer 13
Goal is aim and interest is priority. It is given that goals diverge as much as they converge. It is also stated
that (A) the rationality of the overall organisation may be no more than an elusive ideal and (B)
organisations are often operating in a way that is eminently rational from the standpoint of the individuals,
groups and coalitions directly involved. Option 1 relates to all employees pursuing their individual goals.
There is nothing in the passage that would lead to the inference of all employees pursuing their own goals;
some or most may adhere to the common goal. Thus Option 1 gets eliminated. Option 3 talks about
interests and not goals whereas the passage talks about only goals. So Option 3 gets eliminated as well. As
regards Option 4, there is nothing in the passage about people being irrational; only collective irrationality is
14
mentioned in the passage. So Option 4 also gets eliminated. One is thus left with only Option 2, which
states that (X) conceptually an organisation may appear to be irrational and (Y) behaviours of individuals,
groups and coalitions in the organisation may be rational. Part (X) of Option 2 is derived from the given
statement that the rationality of the overall organisation may be no more than an elusive ideal and part (Y)
of Option 2 is derived from the given statement that organisations are often operating in a way that is
eminently rational from the standpoint of the individuals, groups and coalitions directly involved. Here the
words “may be rational” is derived from the operating of organisation from the standpoint of the
individuals, groups and coalitions directly involved. It is not stated anywhere that the operations of the
organisation are irrational although the individuals, groups and coalitions may deem these to be rational.
Hence Option 2.

Answer 14
Software is infrastructure for continuous monitoring of stock prices. People have to make use of the data
thrown up by the software; the software cannot make use of the people to remedy a situation shown to be
alarming from the data generated by software. Software can wake people from their slumbers provided
people are alert to alarms. Otherwise, alarms can ring till they are blue in the face and yet the chap who
has set it may snore away merrily. Ultimately any system works as well as the people implementing it. So
Option 4: Having the infrastructure is one thing, but proper utilisation is another.

Answer 15
The experience at Bangalore is the starting point and thereafter there are at least 2 million educated and
well-heeled consumers in India who are ordering everything from cinema tickets to paan and tennis
racquets to shirts from the comfort of their offices or homes. Option 1 is in relation to Bangalore alone
whereas the general statement pertains not only to India but also encompasses a wide range of items
purchased through the use of the Internet. Option 2 limits itself to movie tickets and is too narrow. Option
3: A retail revolution is underway in India with the advent of the internet can be directly inferred since there
is mention of not only India but also a consumer revolution that cannot limit itself to mere cinema tickets.
Only one-third of the balcony capacity in that single theatre in Bangalore was sold online. Based on this
experience in relation to only a part of the capacity, it cannot be said that the entire balcony capacity would
sell on the Internet. So Option 3.

Answer 16
The gist of the passage is as follows: The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has appealed for
retaining an order made by the government making it necessary for contractors that supply goods and
services to the government to set numerical goals for hiring minorities and women. According to the NAM,
“Diversity in workforce participation has produced new ideas in management, product development, and
marketing.” We are to see which of the options, if true, would most strengthen the argument advanced by
the NAM as it is presented in the passage above. The options are as follows but before we go to the options
we must realize that whatever shows that manufacturing organizations benefit by employing minorities and
women:

Option 1: “The proportion of minority and women workers in business has grown more slowly than many
minority and women’s groups would like.” The question is not what women’s groups and minorities like.
The question is whether manufacturers benefit by employing minorities and women. Since this question is
unanswered, Option 1 will not work.
Option 2: “Business establishments with higher percentages of minority and women workers have been the
most innovative and profitable.” This option shows benefit to manufacturers by employing minorities and
women. Option 2 should do very well.
Option 3: “Levels of disposable income have been growing at roughly the same rate among minorities and
women as among the population as a whole.” This option does not talk about benefit to manufacturers by
employing minorities and women and will not do.
Option 4: “Industries that market the most innovative products have seen the largest growth in sales in the
manufacturing sector.” This option also does not talk about benefit to manufacturers by employing
minorities and women and will not do.

Answer 17
Let us go from option to option and see which one fits about the very wealthy in the United States between
1825 and 1850.

15
Option 1: They formed a distinct upper class. If we were to see the following words at the beginning of
paragraph 2, we will see that there was an inordinately wealthy (abnormally rich) class and therefore there
was a distinct upper class: Pessen does present a quantity of examples, together with some refreshingly
intelligible statistics, to establish the existence of an inordinately wealthy class. If two lads in Class V stand
six feet tall whereas the others in his class are in the range of four feet, these two are inordinately tall and
therefore form a distinct class of tall boys. Option 1 is inferred from the passage.

Option 2: Many of them were able to increase their holdings. Towards the middle of paragraph 2 we shall
see the following words that will testify to the fact that Option 2 is inferred as well: Indeed, in several cities
the wealthiest one percent constantly increased its share.

Option 3: Some of them worked as professionals or in business. Please see these words in paragraph 2 that
will show that Option 3 is inferred from the passage but Option 4 is not: Though active in commerce or the
professions, most of the wealthy were not self-made.

Option 4: Most of them accumulated their own fortunes. This is not inferred and thus Option 4 is to be
marked as correct.

Option 5: Many of them retained their wealth in spite of financial upheavals. Please see these words in
paragraph 2 from where we can infer Option 5: In no sense mercurial, these great fortunes survived the
financial panics that destroyed lesser ones.

Answer 18
Let us see the following words in the passage where one can see the author’s attitude towards Pessen’s
presentation of statistics: Tocqueville, apparently, was wrong. Jacksonian America was not a fluid,
egalitarian society where individual wealth and poverty were ephemeral conditions. At least so argues E.
Pessen in his iconoclastic study of the very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850.

Religious images or idols are known as icons. An iconoclast is someone who destroys icons or, figuratively,
someone who destroys a general belief. General beliefs cannot be broken unless one presents exceptionally
strong arguments. General beliefs are not pieces of pottery that we can break them with our fingers. It
takes great courage to first of all even present a case against a general belief. Besides courage it takes a
powerfully meritorious argument to destroy a general belief. Therefore one who presents an iconoclastic
study (a study that breaks a widely accepted belief) is to be admired and hence Option 5 emerges
straightaway.

Answer 19
If you see the opening sentence of the passage, you will find that the fellow Tocqueville was wrong. This
means that Option 2 is ruled out straightaway. A wrong analysis can remain a definitive account of
something only till such time that it is proved wrong and not thereafter. Since the very first line says that
Tocqueville was wrong, the question of his analysis having remained the definitive account of the United
States in the Jacksonian era does not arise.

If you will see these words in the opening paragraph, you will find that Pessen was concerned only about
the very wealthy in the USA in the early 18th century and thus he focussed his energies on just the very
rich and not about the economic and social structure: At least so argues E. Pessen in his iconoclastic study
of the very rich in the United States between 1825 and 1850. A study on economic structure would cover all
the economic strata of people – the poor, the middle class, the higher income group and the aristocrat -
that make the economic structure. Pessen does not mention anything about social structure at least in this
passage. Option 1 would not work for this reason. Since Pessen deals with the periods 1825 to 1850 and
not the entire 19th century, Option 3 would get eliminated on this account.

As regards Option 4, the political power of the extremely wealthy is not mentioned anywhere in the
passage leave alone this being well documented. Since Pessen presented an iconoclastic study, Option 5 is
correct.

16
Answer 20
What is optimism? It is a temperament that makes people hopeful. Imagine that a boat has capsized in the
river and rescue work is in progress. Optimists will hope that most people will be saved whereas the
pessimists will feel that no one can be saved. Optimism is thus necessarily a positive trait.

Now as regards the question, please see these words in the last lines of the passage: Great comic art
arouses courage in reasons, courage that grows out of trust in what human beings can do as humans. If
you trust the human beings who are engaged in rescue work and are confident that they shall do their best
even at the risk of their lives, you as a bystander at the mishap will get courage from their efforts. You too
will hope that most people will be saved. If comic art arouses courage in reasons, it means that comic art
arouses the courage to act in a reasonable manner. Thus Option 5 is inferred verbatim.

Courage is a positive trait. Foolishness is negative. Yet quite frequently there is a thin line dividing what is
courageous and what is foolish. Imagine that two people have jumped into the river when the rescue team
is trying to do its very best. One of them is a strong swimmer and the other knows not how to swim. On
the face of it, both may seem equally courageous. However, a strong swimmer would be courageous. A
man who does not know how to swim is foolish. He may in fact add himself to the number of persons to be
rescued.

Answer 21
When you admire somebody, you speak well of him. If a girl were to admire a boy she would not say, for
example, that he is of average height and speaks with a stutter. A girl who says that the fellow is never
otherworldly would not seem to admire some boy whereas some girl who says that he is simply out of this
world would be able to give the impression that she is admiring the boy. We shall therefore have to quickly
look for a word or phrase that one would use in admiration.

See these words in the passage about comic artists: Great comic artists assume that truth may bare all
lights and … seek to accentuate contradictions in social action. If it were said that great comic artists were
truthful, it could be taken as admiration for the qualities of these artists. If you admire truth, you are
admiring truth; you are not admiring great comic artists. To accentuate something is to highlight or
emphasise it. If you are reading a novel and accentuate a phrase in it by drawing a line under it, you are
only deciding what you will like to recall from the book. You admire the phrase. If great comic artists
accentuate something, then it is a case of great comic artists admiring something and not the author
admiring great comic artists.

Now see these words in the passage: The moment of transcendence in great comic art is a social moment,
born out of the conviction that we are human. The word transcendence means excellence or predominance.
If a chess grandmaster acknowledges the transcendence of another grandmaster it means that he accepts
the other person’s excellence at the game. The word transcendence is thus indicative of admiration.
Conviction means the courage to stand up for what one believes is right or correct. Between two persons
where one who is convinced about what he thinks is right and another who is not so sure, the only one who
will insist about what he thinks is right is the fellow who is sure. The conviction that we are human means
that great comic art is convinced that the truth is that we are human and insists on it. Thus Option 4.

Answer 22
When you predict you forecast something which means that you say today something that may happen in
the future. If you wish to predict rain, for example, then you will have to say that it will rain tomorrow and
hence in every prediction there will have to be a future tense. If you see the paragraph, there is only
present tense employed all through. Thus Option 1 will not work.

If you see the words at the beginning of the passage, you are told something that great comic arts assume.
A fact does not have to be assumed. If you know that someone is ten years old, then the fact is that he is
ten years old. Once you are aware of that fact, you need not assume the fellow’s age. Thus since there are
no facts stated at the beginning of the passage, Option 2 would not work.

An assertion does not mean that it is the truth. An assertion is merely an insistence or emphasis. If I make
an assertion that I am the most handsome, I am merely emphasising what is my view or opinion about me.
It may be miles away from the truth. If you will see the passage it has opinions of the author. About a

17
general subject, great comic art seems to fit very well since the whole passage is about great comic art.
Option 3 should do very well unless we find another option that is close.

About Options 4 and 5, it would be noticed that there is no specific example at all and hence these two
options will not do. This means Option 3 is correct.

Answer 23
The word seminal comes from the word semen, and means something that has the property of a seed and
is therefore highly original. Something seminal thus has possibility of growth or future development. If the
French painter Theodore had seminal influence on the 19th century romanticism style of painting, he was
the origin of this art form. The opposite of original is something that is imitated or copied or derived from
another. It is for this reason that Option 5 fits like a shot.

Something oblique is that which does not go straight. If someone has become rich by oblique ways, he has
not gathered wealth by straight means; he may have defrauded the bank or have sold imitations passing
them off as original paintings and so on. The word oblique is the opposite of straight but not of the word
original and hence Option 1 will not do. The word provincial comes from the word province or a particular
region. So if you find that you are able to guess someone’s hometown from his typical provincial dialect,
then his dialect (and therefore the dialect of his origin) is commonly spoken in a particular region of the
country. The word provincial can at best be faintly synonymous to seminal but not opposite. Thus Option 2
will not do. The words incomplete and fluctuating have nothing to do with the word seminal.

Answer 24
Imagine that you have been trying to talk to the chap in the next seat on a bus journey of some ten hours’
duration and all that he has said during these ten hours is really and is that so. He does not say yes or no
when hmm will do. He is laconic (or someone who speaks very less). The opposite of laconic is someone
who speaks as if today is the last day for all speaking. The word voluble fits rather well and hence Option
3.

Something operative is in working condition. A laconic person may have a tongue in working condition and
yet not give it the bother. Operative cannot be the antonym for laconic. If someone has been making harsh
and bitter criticism of someone, his tone is acerbic. It has nothing to do with laconic. Someone may say a
few extremely harsh words about someone else and shut up for the rest of the ten-hour journey. A
pompous person is one who brags or shows off. Typically a pompous person feels that most others are
below him in rank and status. He brags or shows off. Someone pompous may deem it below his dignity to
chat with the lesser mortal in the next seat and this may make him seem laconic. An erect position is when
someone stands or sits straight. This posture has nothing to do with laconic. A sentry has to stand erect
and generally does not chatter while on duty although the moment he goes off duty he may give his family
members a headache with his babbling. Erect has also nothing to do with laconic.

Answer 25
Imagine that a young boss and his stunning female secretary are out on a business trip and are sharing a
room at the hotel. They are back to the hotel after a day’s work. Does this not whip up your imagination?
What if he settles down to reading the papers and she knits woollen socks all evening? What if he yawns
from time to time and she yawns even louder? They have had a prosaic evening, dull, ordinary, and
humdrum. The opposite of prosaic, as it would seem so clear form this situational usage of the word prosaic
is something that is out of the ordinary and hence Option 5 fits like a shot.

We shall however not let this chance to strike/ refresh acquaintance with the words in the other options go
past.

• When someone comes to play football in appropriate clothes, he is dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and
football shoes. A tuxedo and a Stetson would be inappropriate when playing football.

• Imagine that someone has borrowed a million dollars from you against the security of blue-chip shares.
He does not repay the loan although you have sent him several reminders. You then sell the shares. You
realise an amount more than what he owes you. You appropriate (or apply) the sale proceeds of shares to
the loan amount and refund the remaining amount to him.

18
• Imagine that a passionate painter resides in a poor country. He starves. He migrates to a developed
country. Decades later he returns to his homeland and finds that top rung painters are making a killing in
art sales. He has returned to his homeland at a propitious (or opportune or favourable) time.

• The word ambiguous has the prefix AMBI- that means two. This is why someone ambidextrous is one
who can work as well with his right hand as with his left. Some statement with double meaning (and
therefore doubtful, unclear and thus confusing) is ambiguous. So if you are on an archaeological site and
find some clay figurines, you need not jump with joy at having been able to establish that toys were in
fashion even in prehistoric times. The evidence that you have is ambiguous because the figurines may as
well be associated with religious beliefs.

Answer 26
Non-urban and non-educated means we are to look outside the triangle and circle. Then honest and
hardworking means we are to into the common area between the rectangle and square and we find 11
persons in this common area. Hence Option 4.
Answer 27
Urban, hardworking and educated but not honest means we are to look into the common area among the
triangle, square and circle but look outside the rectangle. That leaves us with Option 1: 2 persons.
Answer 28
Urban, honest and hardworking but uneducated means we are to look into the common area among the
triangle, square and rectangle but look outside the circle. That leaves us with Option 2: 4 persons.
Answer 29
Honest, hardworking and educated but not urban means we are to look into the common area among the
rectangle, square and circle but look outside the triangle. That leaves us with Option 3: 9 persons.
Answer 30
Hardworking means we are to look into the square. That leaves us with Option 4: 12 persons.
Answer 31
A creeper plant is climbing up and around a cylindrical tree in a regular spiral. The tree trunk has a height
of 525 inches and circumference of 40 inches. The creeper covers a vertical distance of 75 inches in one
complete twist around the tree trunk. This means the creeper takes 7 twists around the trunk. Let us see
what would be the path of the creeper in just one twist. The figure in one twist would be a right-angled
triangle as follows with the dotted line being the creeper:

75 inches

40 inches

We have now to use the Pythagoras theorem to find the length of the creeper which would be seven times
the length of the dotted line which is the hypotenuse. 75 = 5*15. 40 = 5*8. So the square of the length of
the doted line is (5*15)^2 + (5*8)^2 = 25 (15^2 + 8^2)= 25*17^2 and hence the dotted line is 5*17
inches and seven times that is 35*17 inches. Option 3 fits.

Answer 32
If you divide a certain number of chocolates between two children and one chocolate is remaining, it means
had there been one more chocolate, you would have had a number of chocolates that could be divided by
two.

19
If you divide a certain number of chocolates among three children and one chocolate is remaining, it means
had there been one more chocolate, you would have had a number of chocolates that could be divided by
three.

If A is a set of positive integers each of which when divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 leaves a remainder of 1, 2, 3, 4,

5 respectively, it means had if you were to add 1 to each such integer, you would have had another integer
that would be divisible by all: 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The smallest number divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 is 60, the
next higher numbers divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are 180, 240, 300, 360, 420, and 480. So A is a set
consisting of the following members: 59, 119, 179, 239, 299. 359, 419, and 479 (meaning, 1 less than each
integral multiple of 60). So A has 8members between 0 and 500. So Option 3.

Answer 33
Shirts Galore, a store retailing a popular brand of shirts, has organized a sale of shirts from 1st January
2008 and ending on 6th January 2008. If the ratio between the number of shirts sold each day and the
number of shirts in closing stock on the previous day was 2:3 on all days that the sale lasted, this means if
3X shirts were in closing stock on the 5th January 2008, 2X shirts were sold on 6th January and hence the
closing stock of shirts on 6th January was X shirts. This means the ratio of number of shirts in closing stock
on any day and the number of stock in closing stock on previous day is 1:3. Thus:

If the number of shirts in closing stock on 6th January 2008 was X, the number of shirts in closing stock on
5th January 2008 was 3X.
If the number of shirts in closing stock on 5th January 2008 was 3X, the number of shirts in closing stock on
4th January 2008 was 9X.
If the number of shirts in closing stock on 4th January 2008 was 9X, the number of shirts in closing stock on
3rd January 2008 was 27X.
If the number of shirts in closing stock on 3rd January 2008 was 27X, the number of shirts in closing stock
on 2nd January 2008 was 81X.
If the number of shirts in closing stock on 2nd January 2008 was 81X, the number of shirts in closing stock
on 1st January 2008 was 243X.
If the number of shirts in closing stock on 1st January 2008 was 243X, the number of shirts in closing stock
on 31st December 2007 was 729X.

Since the closing stock on 31st December 2007 is the same thing as the opening stock on 1stn January
2008, the number of shirts sold during the sale = Opening stock as on 1st January – closing stock as on 6th
January = 729X – X = 728X. Since the question is about the minimum possible of shirts sold during the sale
that ended on the 6th January 2008, 728X could be at its minimum only when X = 1. So the answer is 728
shirts. Hence Option 4.

Answer 34
Let 1/3rd the number of students in Aura School = 2/7th the number of students in Bliss School = 7/12th
the number of children in Clara School= 9/13th the number of children in Donna School= 15/22th = X. So
the number of students in Aura school is 3X, in Bliss School is 7X/2, in Clara School is 12X/7, in Donna
School is 13X/9, in Easter school is 22X/15.

Since X could be at least 1, if X=1, the number of students in the schools is:

3 in A; 7 in B, 12 in C, 13 in D and 22 in E.
2 7 9 15

However the number of students in each of these schools could be integral only if we were to multiply each
of these numbers with the LCM of 2, 7, 9 and 15 which is 2*7*9*5=630.

So:
School A has at least 1890 students
School B has at least 2205 students
School C has at least 1080 students
School D has at least 910 students
School E has at least 924 students

20
The total number of students in all these schools put together is at least 1890+2205+1080+910+924=
7009. The next higher number of students in all these schools put together is 7009*2=14018 and then the
next higher number of students in all these schools put together is 7009*3=21027. So T=21027. Hence
Option 2.

Answer 35
Alice, Beatrice, Cynthia, and Denise got 1, 2, 3, and 4 apples respectively. The girls therefore get a total of
10 apples among the four of them. So, 22 apples are distributed among four boys. Eric got four times as
many apples as his sister. And hence:

Eric got four times as many apples as his sister.

Frank got three times as many apples as his sister.
George got two times as many apples as his sister.
Henry got as any apples as his sister.

1 * something + 2 * something + 3 * something + 4 * something =22.

There are two girls who have got an odd number of apples and two who have got an even number of
apples whereas the total number of apples among the four boys is clearly an even number. Therefore:

(I) either it could be 1 * an even number + 2 * an odd number + 3 * an even number + 4 * an odd
number = 22. Would 1*3 + 2*2 + 3*1 + 4*2 work? That would be 3+4+3+16=26. No, it wouldn’t. Would
1*3 + 2*4 + 3*3 + 4*2 work? That would be 1+8+9+8=26. No, it wouldn’t. Would 1*3 + 2*4 + 3*1 +
4*2 work? That would be 3+8+3+8=22. Yes, it would.

(II) or it could be 1 * an odd number + 2 * an even number + 3 * an odd number + 4 * an even number
= 22. Try these and see if they work but you will find that they do not.

Since 1*3 + 2*4 + 3*1 + 4*2 works, Alice and George is a brother-sister pair since Alice has one apple
whereas her brother has three times as many. So Option 3.

Answer 36
A certain number when divided by 1599 gives a remainder 63. This means that number is (A multiple of
1599+ 63 or 1599X+63. The smallest that X could get is 1 and hence the first possible positive integral
value of that certain number is 1662. Divide 1662 by 41 and the remainder is 22.

The next higher positive integral value of that certain number is 1599*2+63=3261. Divide 3231 by 41 and
the remainder is 22. Thus Option 1.

Answer 37
Let us see from Option to Option.
Option 1: If P is true, then Q is true and so also R. This means that when P is true then both Q and R is
true. And the condition for S being true is that at least one of Q and R is false. Since both Q an R are true,
S is not true. So Option 1.
Option 2: If S is false, both Q and R are true. One is given the condition of S being true is when at least
one of Q and R, is false. There is no clue as to what will be when S is false. So Option 2 does not follow in
the absence of the condition under which S is false.
Option 3: Here again, in the absence of the condition under which S is false, Option 3 does not follow.
Option 4: If Q is true, then R is also true. Then both Q and R are true and S is true only if one of Q and R is
false. So Option 4 does not follow.

21
Answer 38
You are told that X and Y are integers. The first thing to remember is: any integer could be negative, zero
or positive. You are told that 7X + 15Y= 126. There are two unknowns in this equation but the moment
you assume the value of anyone of them (X for instance) you know the value of the other. So let us assume
that Y= -1. In this case, 7X= 141 and X cannot be an integer. If Y= -2, 7X= 156 and X cannot be an
integer. If Y= -3, 7X= 171 and X cannot be an integer. If Y= -4, 7X= 186 and X cannot be an integer. If Y=
-5, 7X= 201 and X cannot be an integer. If Y= -7, 7X= 231 and X=33.

We have found the first integral pair of values for X and Y: X=33 when Y=-7.

Now how to find the next one or two pairs so that we can catch a pattern? It is like this. Reduce the
problem to a smaller size and draw your lessons from there.

Imagine that instead of the equation 7X + 15Y= 126, we are dealing with the equation 2X+3Y=13 and are
asked to find the number of value pairs of X and Y that will satisfy the equation 2X+3Y=13 if X and Y are
positive integers. When X=1, 3Y=11 and Y cannot be an integer. When X=2, 3Y=9 and Y=3. We have
found one integral value pair for X and Y. Thereafter when X increases by 1, 2X increases by 2 and 3Y has
therefore to decrease by 2 in order to keep the total of 2X and 3Y exactly at 13. Thus Y decreases by 2/3rd
which will not make Y integral. When X increases by 2, 2X increases by 4 and 3Y has therefore to decrease
by 4 in order to keep the total of 2X and 3Y exactly at 13. Thus Y decreases by 4/3rd which will not make Y
integral. When X increases by 3, 2X increases by 6 and 3Y has therefore to decrease by 6 in order to keep
the total of 2X and 3Y exactly at 13. Thus Y decreases by 2 which will make the next value of Y integral. So
when 2X+3Y=13, after the first integral value pair that you find for X and Y, when X will decrease by 3, you
will find that Y will increase by 2 and then Y will be integral or when X will increase by 3 then you will find
that Y will decrease by 2 and then Y will be integral. So X increases each time by a number equal to the
coefficient of Y and vice-versa.

From the above it will be easy to see why the next few integral value pairs of X and Y (after finding the first
pair of X=33 when Y=-7 (highlighted in the following table) that satisfy the condition that 7X + 15Y= 126)
will be as follows since if X increases by 15, Y will decrease by 7 and if X decreases by 15, Y will increase by
7:

When X= Then Y=
-27 21
-12 14
3 7
18 0
33 -7
48 -14

As can be seen from the above, there is a difference of 15 between each successive value of X and a gap of
7 between each successive corresponding value of Y. With this in mind, let us se the options one by one
and find out which one is necessarily true:

Option 1: “There cannot be a corresponding value for Y when X lies in the range 203 < X < 223”. According
to this option, X could be any one of the following nineteen numbers such as 204, 205, 206, 207, …221,
222. Since the difference between each successive value of X is exactly 15, there would definitely be a
value for X in the nineteen numbers in the range given in the first option. So Option 1 is false.

Option 2: “There cannot be a corresponding value for X when Y lies in the range 203 < X < 212” For the
same reason as given above, Option 2 is also false because the difference between each successive value
of Y is exactly 7 and there would be a value for Y in the eight numbers in the range given in the second
option. Now it should be easy for you to see why Option 4 is to be marked as correct because the first few
negative values of X are -12 and -27 and since these decrease by 15 each time, the value of X anywhere
near -160 is -162 only (since the units digit in the negative values of X is either 2 or 7 just as the units digit
in the positive values of X is either 3 or 8s) and the next lower value is -177. So X cannot lie within the
range – 165 < X < - 162. Mark Option 4.

22
Answer 39
When you take 3 cups of alcohol, each of 150 ml capacity, not necessarily full, let us assume for the sake of
convenience that you fill 100 ml in each cup. So you transfer 300 ml of alcohol into the barrel containing
500 ml of water (let us call it Barrel W) which now has a mixture containing 300 ml of alcohol and 500 ml of
water (ratio of alcohol: water is 3:5 in this barrel). When you transfer 3 cups each of 100 ml of the mixture
to the barrel containing alcohol (let us call it Barrel A), the alcohol content in these 300 ml of mixture that
you transfer to Barrel A is 3/8th of 300 ml = 225/2ml. So Barrel W has [300 – (225/2)] or 375/2 ml of
alcohol. The percentage of alcohol in Barrel W is 375*100/2*500= 37.5%.

When you transfer 3 cups each of 100 ml of the mixture to Barrel A, the water content in these 300 ml of
mixture that you transfer to Barrel A is 5/8th of 300 ml = 375/2ml. So Barrel A has 375/2 ml of water. The
percentage of water in Barrel A is 375*100/2*500= 37.5%.

When you assume that you transfer the same volume of either alcohol or the mixture in each cup, you get
a consistent answer. But “not necessarily full” is neither here nor there. If the volume of liquid is not the
same when you (1) transfer from Barrel A to Barrel W and (2) transfer from Barrel W to Barrel A, nothing
could be said about the percentage of alcohol in Barrel WQ and so on for the reason that without a base
you cannot calculate. Hence Option 4.

Answer 40
The crux of problem solving lies in being able to first identify the number of unknowns in a problem and
then being able to eliminate these one by one till there are none left (which, in other words, means that the
problem is solved). The number of unknowns here is (I) the number of correct answers (II) the number of
wrong answers and (III) the number of un-attempted questions. Let us assume (I) as C, (II) as W and (III)
as U.

We therefore see that:

C + W + U = 100 which we shall call Equation 1 and
C – W – U = 50, which we shall call Equation 2
3 6

Multiplying both equations 1 and 2 by 6, we get

6C + 6W + 6U = 600, (Equation 1) and
6C – 2W - U = 300 (Equation 2)

Subtracting Equation 2 from Equation 1 so as t eliminate at least one unknown – the unknown C – we get
Equation 3: 8W+7U= 300.

Since algebra does not have any known method of solving an equation with two unknowns, we ought to
give algebra some rest here and proceed with finding solutions to 8W+7U= 300 through logic alone.

We know that:
™ C, W and U are all positive integers
™ 300 is a multiple of 4 but not 9
™ 8W will always give a multiple of 8 (no matter what be the value of 8)
™ You could get a multiple of 4 (but not 8) only when add a multiple of 8 to a multiple of 4 (but not
8). So 7U will always be a multiple of 4 but not 8. Hence U could be 4 at the least and then 12, or
20, and 28 and so on.

Take U as 4 and see whether you get an integral value for W. The take U = 12 and see whether you get an
integral value for W and so on. You will find that you will get positive integral values W when U= 12, U=20,
and U=28, when W would be equal to 27, 20, and 13 respectively. So Option 1 is not workable since the
statement that such a combination is not unique is true whereas we are looking for a statement that is not
true. Option 2 is also true. The statement in Option 3 is false. Hence mark Option 3.

23
Answer 41
A race consists of 3 stretches, A, B and C of 2 km each. The details of stretch, mode, minimum and
maximum speeds are set out hereunder:

Stretch Mode Minimum Speed (kmph) Maximum Speed (kmph)

A Car 40 60
B Motorcycle 30 50
C Bicycle 10 20

Speed in given a stretch remains constant. The previous record for the race was 10 minutes.

Anshuman travelled @40 km/h for stretch A, @50 km/h over stretch B and took 3 + 2.4 = 5.4 minutes.
Now he has to cover the 2 km in 10 – 5.4 = 4.6 minutes. Even if he goes at top speed,
he can reach in only 6 minutes. Thus it is not possible for him to beat the previous record.

So Option 2: Not possible to beat the previous record.

Answer 42
Mr. Hare travelled @40 km/h in stretch A taking 3 minutes and took 3 minutes to travel stretch B. If he
took, 50% more time than the previous record, he took 15 minutes overall and therefore 9 minutes to
travel stretch C. Now his speed in stretch C was 2 × 60/9 = 13.33 km/h. And hence Option 4: None of
these.

Answer 43
Mr. Tortoise travelled in the overall race @20 km/h and thus took 6 × 60/20 minutes or 18 minutes. If his
average speed combined over the first two stretches was 4 times that of the last stretch, what was his
speed in the last stretch? Here if he did the last stretch @S km/h, then he did the first 4 km @4S km/h and
hence the following equation would emerges.
(4/4S) + 2/S = 18/60
or (4 + 8)/4S = 3/10
or 12/4S = 3/10
or 3/S = 3/10
or S = 10.
Hence Option 2: 10 km/h

Answer 44
Raja gets no holiday because none of the days of the week start with R. Raja starts the work on Sunday
25th February 1996 and works for 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th February (since 1996 is a leap year), 1st
and 2nd March, in all 7 days. So the task is one involving 7 man-days. Tom gets holidays on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Jerry gets no holiday.
Now let us go by the options.
Option 1: 26th February 1996. This is Monday, the day after the one on which they start work and since
both are capable of putting in 1 man-day each and the work involves 7 man-days, they put in two man-
days on Sunday and two more on Monday; this means 4 man-days and not 7 man-days as is required for
completing the work. So Option 1 is not workable.
Option 2: 1st March 1996. This is the 6th day from Sunday 25th February, the starting day and 1st March
1996 is Friday. Tom and Jerry have worked jointly on Sunday and Monday. This is 4 man-days. Tuesday is
off for Tom and Jerry puts in 1 man-day taking the tally of man-days so far to 5. On Wednesday, February
28th, both work together and put in 2 more man-days taking the total number of man-days to 7. This is the
precise number of man-days required for the task and the work is complete on Wednesday by February
28th, 1996. Thus Option 2 is not workable since the work is complete on Wednesday February 28th. And
hence Option 3: February 28th, 1996.

24
Answer 45
If Raja had started on Sunday February 25, 1996 and worked till April 2, 1996, he would have worked for 5
days for February (25, 26, 27, 28, and 29) + 31 days for March + 2 days of April, i.e. 38 days. So the task
involves 38 man-days. Shyam is off on Sundays and Saturdays whereas Tom is off on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. So in a week starting from Sunday (which is indeed a Sunday—25th February 1996—on which
they started), they work jointly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (making 6 man-days/week when they
work jointly) and singly on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (making 4 man-days/week when
they work singly). So per week they put in 10 man-days per week. Since the work is of 38 man-days
duration, the work is over during the 4th week (i.e. before 28 days from start) but definitely not before the
3rd week (i.e. not before 21 days from start). Now let us go by the options. 15th March is 20 days after
the start on Sunday February 25th, 1996 and this is therefore not workable since 20 days is less than 3
weeks (which would mean 21 days). Then the next Option 2: March 22, 1996. March 22 is 27 days after the
start on Sunday February 25 and is on a day before 4th week and after 3rd week and so 22nd March is the
correct option. So Option 2.

Answer 46
We are told that one inlet pipe (call it pipe A) fills the tank in 3 hours and another pipe (call it pipe B) in 5
hours whereas a third outlet pipe (call it pipe C) empties the tank in 8 hours. The only unknown here is the
capacity of the tank and if the answer were to depend on a unique capacity, the blighter would have told us
the capacity. Since the capacity has not been given, it is for us to realise that (I) the answer does not
depend on a specific capacity and (II) we are to assume some suitable capacity for the tank which we shall
assume as 120 litres since 120 is divisible by 3, 5 and 8. This means pipes A and B put in 40 litres and 24
litres per hour respectively whereas pipe C drains 15 litres per hour respectively. So while A and B pour in
64 litres per hour, C drains 15 litres per hour and therefore the hourly net inflow is 49 litres and the net
inflow per minute is 49/60 litres and hence in 1 hour 24 minutes (which is 84 minutes) the inflow would be
49*84/60 litres which is 343/5 litres; this when expressed as percentage of the total capacity (which we
have assumed as 120 litres) is (343*100)/ (5*120)= 343/6 or nearly 57. Hence Option 3.

Answer 47
If I divide 39006 by a certain number N or 37104 by that number N, I get the same remainder, it means
39006 = [(N*a certain integer) + a certain remainder R] and 37104 = [(N*a certain other integer) + R]
and hence 39006 – 37104 = N * an integer. So 1902 is a multiple of N. Let us see which one of the options
fits.

When we try to divide 1902 by 517, we find that there is a remainder left and hence 1902 is not a multiple
of N. So dump Option 1 and move on. When we try to divide 1902 by 317, we find that there is no
remainder left and hence 1902 is a multiple of N. So N is 317. Mark Option 2.

Answer 48
The bird travels at 60 miles per hour and the train runs at 80 miles per hour. This means the ratio of the
speeds of the bird and the train is 3:4. Hence when they meet after starting out simultaneously towards
each other, the bird will have traveled 3/7th the distance between them and the train will have done 4/7th
this distance. We are told that the two were 84 km apart at the start. This means the bird will have traveled
3/7th of 84 or 36 km when they meet. Thereafter, since the train travels faster than the bird, the bird will
have no choice but to enjoy a joy-ride on the way back to its starting station. Hence the bird travels
36+36=72 km. So mark Option 3.

Answer 49
A block of wood in the form of a cuboid 6" × 7" × 14" has all its six faces painted pink. The wooden block
is cut into 588 cubes of 1" × 1" × 1". If we are to answer the question as to how many of these would
have pink paint on them, it would be worth trying to find out how many do not have paint on any face and
then deducting this figure from 588.

Let us assume that the cuboid is 6” long at the base, 7” high and 14” depth. Thus there would be 7
horizontal slabs of 6” × 14" × 1". Of these 7 slabs, the topmost slab would have 1" × 1" × 1" slabs with
pink on at least one face and so would the bottom slab. That leaves five slabs of 6” × 14" × 1" with the
chance of cubes being without colour. Let us visualise that one such slab is placed on a table and you are
looking down at this slab so that you cannot see its 1” depth.

25
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84

Out of these 84 cubes, cubes numbered 1 to 14, and 71 to 84 would have colour on the edges. That makes
28. Plus, cubes numbered 15, 29, 43, and 57 and 28, 42, 56, and 70 would have colours on the edge that
you cannot see. That makes 8 cubes. In all 36 cubes in this 84-cube slab would have colour on one face. 48
cubes in one such slab would be without colour. There are five such slabs. That makes 48*5=240 cubes
without colour on any face and hence 588 – 240 = 348 cubes of 1" × 1" × 1" would have colour on at leas
one face. Hence Option 2.

Answer 50
If a 14” pizza means a pizza with 14” diameter, it follows that an 8" pizza has a diameter of 8”. The area of
an 8” pizza is 16Pi sq inches and this costs Rs.24 which means the cost is Rs.24/16 or Rs.1.50 per/ Pi sq
inch. This means the 14” pizza which has an area of 49Pi sq in should cost Rs.1.50*40 or Rs.73.50 but
since it costs Rs.58.80 it means you get a discount of Rs.73.50 – 58.80 = Rs.14.70 on every Rs.73.50 which
works out to (14.70*100/73.50)% discount or 20% discount. Hence Option 4.

Answer 51
The capacity of the truck, which is 2000 cubic feet, is not a constraint at all since what is produced on all
days is well within 2000 cubic feet. If we see the various options, the storage cost and transport cost will be
as given on the next page:

Option 1
If the truck operates on the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th days then the goods produced on Day 1, Day 3, Day 5
will have to be stored for 1 night each. So storage @ Rs. 5 per cubic feet will be (150 × 5) + (120 × 5) +
(160 × 5) = 750 + 600 + 800 = 2150. The total cost under Option 1 will be Rs. 2150 + 4000 = 6150.
Option 2
If the truck operates on only the 7th day, then goods produced on Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 and
Day 6 will have to be stored for respectively 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 night each. The total storage cost for this
will be (150 × 5 × 6) + (180 × 5 × 5) + (120 × 5 × 4) + (250 × 5 × 3) + (160 × 5 × 2) + (120 × 5 × 1)
= 4500 + 4500 + 2400 + 3750 + 1600 + 600 = 17350. The total cost under Option 2 will be Rs. 18350. AS
it is this option is not worth looking at since if One were to add the storage cost for goods produced on Day
1 and Day 2, this would exceed the entire cost under Option 1.
Option 3
If the truck operates on the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th days then the goods produced on Day 1, Day 3, and
Day 6 will have to be stored for 1 night each. So storage @Rs. 5 per cubic feet will be (150 × 5) + (120 ×
5) + (120 × 5) = 750 + 600 + 600 = 1950. The total cost under Option 3 will be Rs. 1950 + 4000 = 5950
and this is the lowest so far.

As regards Option 4: “none of these”, one has done an analysis of sending the goods for four days a week
and also for only the 7th day and found that sending goods on the 7th day alone is awfully expensive. If
one were to send goods on all days, then the cost of transportation alone would be Rs. 7000 and this would
be much higher than what is worked out. If one were to send out the goods for six days, then
transportation alone would mean Rs. 6000 and this would be higher than the cost of Rs. 5950 as in Option
3. So far one has seen the impact of sending goods on 7 days a week, 4 days a week and only once a
week. One has to see what would be the impact on cost if one sent goods for 6 days a week, 5 days a
week, 3 days a week and 2 days a week. If the goods were sent 6 days a week, transportation cost alone
of Rs. 6000 would exceed the cost worked out in Option 3. If goods were sent on 5 days and the truck
should carry only the largest quantity, then even if we allow the minimum quantity of goods of 120 cubic
feet (on Day 3 and Day 6) to remain overnight, even then storage cost would be (120 × 5) + (120 × 5) =
1200 and transportation cost would be Rs. 5000, adding up to Rs. 6200 which is higher than in Option 3. If
the truck were to operate on 3 days on Day 2, Day 4 and Day 7 every week and the minimum quantities of
150 on Day 1, 120 on Day 3, 120 on Day 6 would mean storage cost of Rs. (150 × 5 × 1) + (120 × 5 × 1)
+ (160 × 5 × 2) + (120 × 5 × 1) = 750 + 600 + 1600 + 600 = Rs. 3550 and plus transportation cost of
Rs. 3000 would mean Rs. 6550 and this would cross the cost in Option 3. Transporting for 2 days a week
26
would be even more expensive than for 3 days a week. Hence “none of these” is not valid. This analysis,
however, becomes essential in the context of “none of these” since one should not be caught napping.
Thus Option 3.

Answer 52
If the storage cost reduces to Rs. 0.80 per night per cubic feet, even then transportation would remain
unaltered. In this case, one may see the storage cost worked out if the goods are sent on the 7th day
alone. This one has worked out as Rs. 17350 in the above example. But this Rs. 17350 is @Rs. 5/cubic feet.
At Rs. 0.80 per cubic feet (which is 16% of Rs. 5) the cost would be 17350 × 16/100 = Rs. 2776 (since
16% of Rs. 17000 is Rs. 2720 and 16% of 350 is 56). This plus transportation cost @Rs. 1000 would add
up to Rs. 3776. Now if one were to see the lowest cost in the event of the storage cost being Rs. 5950 as in
Option 3 in the Question no. 51, the storage cost worked in the solution to question 51 is Rs.1950 @Rs. 5
per cubic feet. But this Rs. 1950 is @Rs. 5 per cubic foot whereas if this is reduced to Rs. 0.80 per cubic
foot, then storage cost at the reduced rate would come to Rs. 1950 × 16/100 = Rs. 320 roughly (since
16% of Rs. 2000 is Rs. 320). The total cost in case goods were sent four days a week would come to Rs.
4320 and this is higher than Rs. 3776 that would have to be incurred if goods are sent only on the 7th day.
Having done the analysis as regards other periodicities and found up to 4 days a week, it is the
transportation cost and not storage cost that makes sending goods more frequently than 4 days week as
patently unviable, there is no need to go further with periodicities of more than 4 days a week.

One is left with checking the cost of sending goods at lesser than 4 days a week such as on 3 days a week
and 2 days a week. If goods are moved 3 days a week—moving the largest quantities —then the truck will
operate on the 2nd, 4th and 7th days. This would mean that goods produced on Day 1, Day 3, Day 5 and
Day 6 will lie overnight for respectively 1, 1, 2 and 1 nights. This would mean storage cost of Rs. (150 ×
0.8 × 1) + (120 × 0.80 × 1) + (160 × 0.80 × 2) +(120 × 0.80 × 1) = 120 + 96 + 256 + 96 = 568; to this
transportation of Rs. 3000 will be added and hence the total cost of storage plus transportation will be Rs.
3568 which is lower than Rs. 3776 worked out for transporting goods only on the 7th day as in Option 2.
The Answer Key to the CAT Bulletin mentions Option 2 as the correct answer to Question 52 but it is
wrong. The correct answer is “None of the above”. Incidentally, if the goods were carried away on Day 4
and day 7, then the storage cost would work out to Rs. 1096 and the transportation cost would work out to
Rs. 2000 and the aggregate cost would be even lower at Rs. 3096.

Answer 53
Amar Akbar Anthony
(A) Only R, B, G are available R, B, G R, B, G R, B, G
(B) Amar does not wear R B,G R, B, G R, B, G
(C ) Akbar does not wear G B,G R,B R, B, G
(D) Anthony does not wear B B,G R,B R,G
(E) Akbar and Anthony wear same B,G R R

Amar can wear either B or G. So “none of the above” at Option 4.

Answer 54
Let us put the data evolved in the previous question till the relevant stage. If any two of them wear shirts
of the same colour, then if one should see the above data in Answer 41 only up to Statement D, one gets—
Amar Akbar Anthony
(A) Only R, B, G are available R, B, G R, B, G R, B, G
(B) Amar does not wear R B,G R, B, G R, B, G
(C ) Akbar does not wear G B,G R,B R, B, G
(D) Anthony does not wear B B,G R,B R,G

Statement A, among the Options, states “The colour of Anthony’s shirt is red and that of
Akbar’s shirt is green”; this is definitely false since Akbar does not wear green in the first place. So
Statement A is definitely false. As regards Statement B: Anthony can wear red and Amar can wear blue and
yet Akbar can wear red (so Akbar and Anthnoy have the same colour as required). So this may be true.
Statement C: Akbar’s shirt is blue and Anthony’s is red. This is possible and even then Amar and Akbar will
both wear blue. So Statement C may be true. Statement D: Amar wears blue and Akbar wears red. This is
possible and even thereafter Akbar and Anthony can both be wearing red as required. So Statement D may
be true. Hence only one statement—Statement A—is definitely false. So Option 3: 1.
27
Answer 55
There are four ladies each wearing different colour and seated on four seats. We shall call Miss UP as UP
and white as WH and so on. We shall refer to the winner as 1st and the runner-up as 2nd and so on. It is not
necessary that the seat number is the same as the rank. Hence the seats can be meaningfully arranged as
follows:

Statement 1 2 3 4
The four girls were sitting in a row, and Miss West Bengal was MAH MAH MAH MAH
not sitting at either end /UP/AP /UP/ AP/ /UP/ AP/ /UP/
WB WB AP
Girls wearing yellow and white dresses occupied seats at either Y GR/RED GR/RED WH
end; Left end may be allotted to Yellow Saree and the right end 1st
to the White Saree; the winner wore yellow
Miss Maharashtra wore white; there was only one runner-up and RED MAH
she was sitting next to Miss Maharashtra; Since Miss West 2nd WH
Bengal was not the runner up, delete WB from the 3rd seat; The GR
runner up wore green
The position so far: Miss Maharashtra has been identified as Y WB 2nd MAH
wearing white and Miss West Bengal as wearing Red. Neither 1st RED SC/ AP WH
Miss Maharashtra nor Miss West Bengal is winner or runner-up. SC/ AP GR
There are two colours left: Green and Yellow and two girls whose
positions remain to be identified: Miss AP and Miss UP; since
among these latter two there is a winner and one is a runner-up,
the only thing remaining to be done is to pint point who is
winner and who is runner-up.
The girl wearing green was not Miss AP; thus from the position Y WB 2nd MAH
of runner-up, delete AP and from the winner’s possible land, 1st RED SC WH
delete everything but AP. The winner is Miss AP and the runner- AP GR
up is Miss UP.

It is important to tabulate this data since as many as 4 questions emanate from the data given.
As per what emerges above, Miss AP wore yellow. So Option 2.
Answer 56
Kindly see the above table. Miss WB sat between Miss AP and Miss UP and hence Option 2.

Answer 57
Kindly see the table in solution to Question 46. Miss WB wore red. So Option 3.

Answer 58
Kindly see the table in Answer 46. Miss UP wore green. So Option 2.

28
Answer 59
The break up of the components of cost, total cost, selling price and margin of profit for Questions 50 and
51 may be set down as given in the table:
(Profit margin = 100 × (SP – CP)/CP)
Suppose the production cost is Rs. 100
Components
A (German) B (USA) Indigenous Total cost Profit Selling Current
(CP) margin price profit
(SP) margin
Percentage of Cost 30 50 20 100 20% 120 20%

Scenario 1
German Mark up
by 30% and USD
up by 22% 39 61 20 120 10% 132 10%
Scenario 2
USD down 12%
DM up 20% 36 44 20 100 10% 110 10%

The components from Germany and those from USA add up to only Rs. 80 which is 80% of the cost taken
as Rs. 100. Thus 20%—or Rs. 20—is taken as the indigenous component of cost. See Scenario 1 where the
profit margin is 10% since the cost price adds up to Rs. 120 and the company is not able to raise the profit
margin beyond 10% and the selling price goes up by 10% of Rs. 120. Hence Option 1.

Answer 60
In this case please refer to Scenario 2 set out in the above table. Since the German Mark (DM) is up 20%,
the cost of the German component goes up from Rs. 30 to Rs. 36 and since the USD is down 12%, the cost
of US component goes down from Rs. 50 to Rs. 44 whereas the indigenous cost remains constant in both
scenarios. In the second scenario the cost of production is Rs. 100 whereas the intended profit margin is
10% and hence at a selling price of 110, the profit margin is 10%. So Option 1.

29
30