Symbiosis SET · Paper 1

20 MCQs · General English 6, Quantitative 5, General Awareness 5, Analytical & Logical Reasoning 4

No negative marking, as in the real test.

Tap an option to answer

Section 1 · General English

Q1Vocabulary › SynonymsEasy
Choose the word nearest in meaning to the word given in capitals.
METICULOUS
Correct option APainstaking
Meticulous means showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.
Painstaking means taking great care over every detail, so it is the closest match.
Careless is the opposite, and hesitant and generous are unrelated.
The Fast Way
Drop each option into one phrase: 'a meticulous check of the accounts'.
'A painstaking check' keeps the sense of great care; 'careless' is the antonym trap.
So the answer is Painstaking.
Q2Vocabulary › One-Word SubstitutionEasy
Choose the one word for the given phrase.
A person who cannot be corrected or reformed
Correct option CIncorrigible
Incorrigible = in- (not) + corrigible (able to be corrected): a person whose bad habits cannot be corrected.
Invincible means cannot be defeated, indelible means cannot be erased, and inevitable means cannot be avoided.
The Fast Way
Read the root: 'corrig-' is the root of 'correct'.
In- + corrig- + -ible = not able to be corrected; the others mean not defeated, not erased, not avoided.
So the word is Incorrigible.
Q3Vocabulary › Idioms & PhrasesEasy
Choose the option that best expresses the meaning of the underlined idiom.
With the deadline a day away, the team decided to bite the bullet and work through the night.
Correct option ATo face an unpleasant task with courage
To bite the bullet means to make yourself do something difficult or unpleasant that cannot be avoided.
Here the team accepts the hard choice of working all night to meet the deadline.
Giving up is the opposite of what the sentence says, and the other two do not fit the context.
The Fast Way
Let the sentence do the work: the team stays and works through the night.
That is accepting a hard task, not quitting, quarrelling or rushing.
So it means to face an unpleasant task with courage.
Q4Grammar › Subject-Verb AgreementMedium
Find the part of the sentence that contains an error. If there is no error, choose 'No error'.
Neither the captain nor the players / was happy / with the umpire's decision.
Correct option Bwas happy
With 'neither ... nor' and 'either ... or', the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.
The nearer subject is 'the players', which is plural, so the verb must be 'were'.
Correct sentence: Neither the captain nor the players were happy with the umpire's decision.
The Fast Way
Apply the proximity rule for 'neither ... nor'.
The subject touching the verb is 'the players', plural, so 'was' must be 'were'.
The error is in 'was happy'.
Q5Reading Comprehension › Inference-BasedEasy
Read the passage and answer the question.
Many cities have tried to cut traffic by building wider roads. Within a few years, however, the new lanes fill up again: better roads make driving more attractive, and people who once avoided the rush hour start driving at that time. Planners call this 'induced demand'. The cities that have kept congestion down for longer have usually paired new roads with better public transport and a charge for driving into busy areas.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
Correct option AWidening roads on its own is unlikely to reduce congestion for long.
The passage says new lanes fill up again within a few years, and that the cities with lasting success combined roads with other measures. So roads alone do not keep congestion down for long.
Costs are never compared, a ban is never suggested (only a charge), and city size is never mentioned.
The Fast Way
Kill options that bring in new information or go extreme.
'Costs less' is never discussed, 'banned' is stronger than the passage's 'charge', and 'only in very large cities' is unsupported.
What remains: widening roads on its own is unlikely to reduce congestion for long.
Q6Verbal Ability › Para JumblesMedium
Arrange the sentences P, Q, R, S and T to form a coherent paragraph.
P. These rules travelled west through Arab scholars, who called the Indian numerals 'Hindu numerals'.
Q. Zero as a number, and not merely an empty place, was first treated systematically in India.
R. From the Arab world the system reached Europe, where merchants found it far easier than Roman numerals.
S. In 628 CE, the mathematician Brahmagupta set out rules for adding, subtracting and multiplying with it.
T. Ironically, Europeans came to call them 'Arabic numerals', the name still used today.
Correct option DQSPRT
Q introduces the topic, zero as a number, so it opens.
S follows: 'it' in S needs zero as its antecedent.
P comes next: 'These rules' points back to Brahmagupta's rules in S.
R follows P: 'From the Arab world' needs the Arab scholars of P.
T closes: Europeans can name the numerals only after the system reaches Europe in R, and 'Ironically' contrasts with 'Hindu numerals' in P.
Order: QSPRT.
The Fast Way
Chain the pointer words: 'it' in S needs Q, 'These rules' in P needs S, 'From the Arab world' in R needs P.
That fixes Q-S-P-R, and 'Ironically ... Arabic numerals' can only come after Europe appears.
So the order is QSPRT.

Section 2 · Quantitative

Q7Arithmetic › PercentagesEasy
If 35% of a number is 84, what is 60% of the same number?
Correct option C144
Let the number be $x$ . Then $0.35x = 84$ , so $x = \frac{84}{0.35} = 240$ .
60% of 240 $= 0.6 \times 240 = 144$ .
The Fast Way
Work through 5%: 35% is 84, so 5% is $84 \div 7 = 12$ .
60% is twelve lots of 5%, so it is $12 \times 12 = 144$ .
Q8Arithmetic › Profit & LossMedium
A shopkeeper marks an article 50% above its cost price and then allows two successive discounts of 10% each. What is his profit percentage?
Correct option B21.5%
Take the cost price as ₹100. Marked price = ₹150.
After the first discount of 10%: $150 \times 0.9 = 135$ , so ₹135.
After the second discount of 10%: $135 \times 0.9 = 121.5$ , so ₹121.50.
Profit = ₹21.50 on ₹100, that is 21.5%.
Trap: two 10% discounts are not one 20% discount, and 50% minus 20% is not the profit.
The Fast Way
Turn each change into a multiplier: marking up 50% is $\times 1.5$ , and two 10% discounts are $\times 0.9 \times 0.9 = \times 0.81$ .
$1.5 \times 0.81 = 1.215$ , so the selling price is 121.5 for every 100 of cost.
So the profit is 21.5%.
Q9Arithmetic › Time & WorkMedium
Meena can type a report in 10 hours and Arjun can type it in 15 hours. Meena starts alone and types for 4 hours, after which Arjun joins her. How many more hours will they take together to finish the report?
Correct option B3.6 hours
In one hour Meena types $\frac{1}{10}$ of the report and Arjun $\frac{1}{15}$ .
In 4 hours Meena alone types $\frac{4}{10} = \frac{2}{5}$ , leaving $\frac{3}{5}$ .
Together they type $\frac{1}{10} + \frac{1}{15} = \frac{1}{6}$ an hour, so the rest takes $\frac{3}{5} \div \frac{1}{6} = \frac{18}{5} = 3.6$ hours.
The Fast Way
Make the report 30 pages, the LCM of 10 and 15: Meena types 3 pages an hour, Arjun 2.
Meena's 4 hours give 12 pages, leaving 18.
Together they type 5 an hour: $18 \div 5 = 3.6$ hours.
Q10Modern Math › ProbabilityMedium
A card is drawn at random from a well-shuffled pack of 52 playing cards. What is the probability that it is a king or a heart?
Correct option D $\frac{4}{13}$
There are 4 kings and 13 hearts, and the king of hearts is in both groups.
Cards that are a king or a heart: $4 + 13 - 1 = 16$ .
Probability $= \frac{16}{52} = \frac{4}{13}$ .
The Fast Way
For 'or', add the two groups and take away the card counted twice.
$4 + 13 - 1 = 16$ cards out of 52.
$\frac{16}{52} = \frac{4}{13}$ ; $\frac{17}{52}$ counts the king of hearts twice.
Q11Geometry › MensurationMedium
A solid metal cube of edge 12 cm is melted and recast into small cubes of edge 3 cm each, with no metal lost. By what percentage does the total surface area increase?
Correct option C300%
Number of small cubes $= \frac{12^3}{3^3} = \frac{1728}{27} = 64$ .
Surface area of the big cube $= 6 \times 12^2 = 864$ sq cm.
Total surface area of the small cubes $= 64 \times 6 \times 3^2 = 3456$ sq cm.
Increase $= \frac{3456 - 864}{864} \times 100 = 300\%$ .
Trap: the new area is 4 times the old one, which is an increase of 300%, not 400%.
The Fast Way
Cutting a cube into $n^3$ equal cubes multiplies the total surface area by $n$ .
Here $n = 12 \div 3 = 4$ , so the area becomes 4 times.
4 times means an increase of $(4 - 1) \times 100 = 300\%$ .

Section 3 · General Awareness

Q12General Knowledge › PolityEasy
Which Article of the Constitution of India abolishes untouchability and forbids its practice in any form?
Correct option AArticle 17
Article 17 abolishes untouchability and makes enforcing any disability arising from it an offence punishable by law.
It is part of the Right to Equality (Articles 14 to 18) in Part III.
Article 14 is equality before law, Article 21 is protection of life and personal liberty, and Article 32 is the right to constitutional remedies.
The Fast Way
Memory hook: the Right to Equality runs from Article 14 to 18, and untouchability sits at 17.
21 (life and liberty) and 32 (constitutional remedies) are other famous rights, so they go.
So the answer is Article 17.
Q13General Knowledge › SportsEasy
India won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating which team in the final at Barbados?
Correct option ASouth Africa
India beat South Africa by 7 runs in the final at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, on 29 June 2024.
India made 176 for 7, and South Africa finished on 169 for 8. Virat Kohli was Player of the Match.
The Fast Way
Memory hook: 2024 was the final of two unbeaten teams, India and South Africa.
India defended 176 and won by 7 runs.
So the opponent was South Africa.
Q14General Knowledge › Awards & HonoursEasy
Who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2024?
Correct option DHan Kang
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature went to the South Korean writer Han Kang, 'for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life'.
She is the first South Korean to win it. Jon Fosse won in 2023, Annie Ernaux in 2022 and Abdulrazak Gurnah in 2021.
The Fast Way
Line up the recent winners: 2021 Gurnah, 2022 Ernaux, 2023 Fosse.
The one name left belongs to 2024: Han Kang, the first South Korean winner.
Q15General Knowledge › Business Personalities & BrandsMedium
In 2025, Zomato Ltd, the listed company behind the Zomato and Blinkit apps, changed its corporate name to:
Correct option CEternal Ltd
Zomato Ltd became Eternal Ltd in March 2025 after shareholder and Ministry of Corporate Affairs approval; its stock ticker changed from ZOMATO to ETERNAL.
Only the company was renamed, not the apps. Hyperpure (supplies for restaurants), District (a going-out app) and Bistro (a quick food app launched by Blinkit in 2024) are the group's own brand names, not the new name of the company.
The Fast Way
The other three are the group's own brands, so they are the trap.
The parent took a new name it had used internally since buying Blinkit: Eternal Ltd.
Q16General Knowledge › Science & TechnologyEasy
In January 2025, ISRO's SpaDeX mission docked two satellites in orbit. With this, India became the ______ country to achieve docking in space.
Correct option Cfourth
On 16 January 2025, ISRO docked the SpaDeX satellites SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), launched on PSLV-C60 on 30 December 2024.
Only the United States, Russia and China had achieved space docking before, so India became the fourth country.
The Fast Way
Count the countries that had docked earlier: the USA, Russia and China.
India is next in line, so it is the fourth.

Section 4 · Analytical & Logical Reasoning

Q17Logical Reasoning › Coding-DecodingEasy
In a certain code, MANGO is written as NBOHP. How is GRAPE written in that code?
Correct option DHSBQF
Each letter of MANGO moves one place forward: M to N, A to B, N to O, G to H, O to P.
Apply the same to GRAPE: G to H, R to S, A to B, P to Q, E to F, giving HSBQF.
The Fast Way
Check one letter: M to N is +1.
Move each letter of GRAPE one step forward: H, S, B, Q, F.
So the code is HSBQF.
Q18Logical Reasoning › Blood RelationsMedium
In a certain code, $X + Y$ means X is the mother of Y, $X - Y$ means X is the brother of Y, and $X \times Y$ means X is the father of Y.
If $P \times Q - R + S$ , how is P related to S?
Correct option DMaternal grandfather
$P \times Q$ : P is the father of Q.
$Q - R$ : Q is the brother of R, so P is also the father of R.
$R + S$ : R is the mother of S.
So P is the father of S's mother, that is, S's maternal grandfather.
The Fast Way
Read the chain left to right and keep genders: P (male) is father of Q and R, and R (female) is mother of S.
The father of one's mother is the maternal grandfather.
So P is S's maternal grandfather.
Q19Critical Reasoning › SyllogismsMedium
Statements:
All pens are books.
Some books are tables.
No table is a chair.
Conclusions:
I. Some pens are tables.
II. Some books are not chairs.
Which conclusion(s) follow from the statements?
Correct option BOnly II follows
I: All pens are books, and some books are tables, but the tables may lie in the part of 'books' that has no pens. So I does not follow.
II: The books that are tables cannot be chairs, because no table is a chair. So some books are not chairs: II follows.
The Fast Way
Use the 'some + no' rule: Some books are tables + No table is a chair gives Some books are not chairs.
'All + Some' with the middle term in the wrong place gives nothing definite, so I fails.
Only II follows.
Q20Logical Reasoning › Seating ArrangementMedium
Six cousins, Pavan, Qasim, Rehan, Sana, Tanvi and Uma, stand in a single line, all looking towards a stage.
Rehan is third from the left end of the line.
Tanvi stands at one of the two ends.
Exactly two cousins stand between Tanvi and Qasim.
Uma stands immediately to the right of Qasim.
Pavan does not stand beside Rehan.
Who is second from the left end?
Correct option BSana
Rehan is at place 3 from the left.
If Tanvi were at the right end (place 6), Qasim would be at place 3, which is Rehan's. So Tanvi is at place 1 and Qasim at place 4.
Uma is immediately to the right of Qasim, at place 5.
Pavan and Sana take places 2 and 6. Pavan cannot be beside Rehan (places 2 and 4), so Pavan is at 6 and Sana at 2.
The line from the left: Tanvi, Sana, Rehan, Qasim, Uma, Pavan. Second from the left is Sana.
The Fast Way
Fix the definite clue, then test Tanvi at each end.
At the right end Tanvi would push Qasim onto Rehan's place, so Tanvi is first, Qasim fourth, Uma fifth.
Pavan cannot be beside Rehan, so Pavan is last and Sana is second.