RRB NTPC CBT 1 2016: questions with answers

To factorise x² − x − 132, find two numbers whose product is −132 and whose sum is −1 (the coefficient of x). These are −12 and +11, since −12 × 11 = −132 and −12 + 11 = −1. So x² − x − 132 = (x − 12)(x + 11).

A student must satisfy all three conditions: a dance form, a musical instrument and good acting. Z and A have no acting skills, and J only plans to learn the flute, so J does not yet play an instrument. P is a classical dancer, plays the guitar and has acted in road shows, so P is the only one who meets every condition.

Match the letters of RESEARCH with $#!#%$&@: R = $, E = #, S = !, A = %, C = &, H = @. SCARE is therefore S = !, C = &, A = %, R = $, E = #, giving !&%$#.

Colours: Rosy Yellow, Mary Purple, Andy Blue, Lily Brown, so Daisy likes Green. The Librarian likes Green, so Daisy is the Librarian; the Inspector likes Blue, so Andy is the Inspector. Rosy is the Student, which leaves Teacher and Principal for Mary and Lily. Mary is not a Teacher, so Mary is the Principal and Lily is the Teacher. The Teacher (Lily) likes Brown.

From the arrangement (Rosy–Student–Yellow, Daisy–Librarian–Green, Andy–Inspector–Blue, Lily–Teacher–Brown), the only remaining profession, Principal, belongs to Mary, who likes Purple.

Andy is the Inspector, Mary (Purple) is the Principal, and Daisy likes Green, so pairs A, B and C are all correct. Rosy is the Student, not the Teacher (Lily is the Teacher), so Rosy – Teacher is the wrong pair.

Line up the decimal points and add: 1.123 + 11.23 = 12.353, and 12.353 + 112.3 = 124.653.

Standard deviation measures how far values spread from the mean. All five values are 10, so the mean is 10 and every deviation is 0. The standard deviation is therefore 0.

One dozen pens cost Rs 120, so CP = Rs 10 per pen. A pack of 3 sells for Rs 35, so SP = 35/3 ≈ Rs 11.67 per pen. Gain = 1.67 per pen, and gain % = (5/3)/10 × 100 = 16.67%.

Deplete and exhaust are synonyms, both meaning to use up completely. The synonym of replenish (to fill up again) is restore.

Normal conversation between two people is about 60 decibels (dB). For comparison, a whisper is about 30 dB, heavy traffic about 85 dB, and sounds above 85 dB can damage hearing with long exposure.

X = 7 m, Y = 3.5 m and Z = 21 m. P is taller than Z but shorter than A and B, but A and B are not compared with each other, so we cannot say B is the tallest; I does not follow. The average of X, Y and Z is (7 + 3.5 + 21)/3 = 10.5 m, which is more than 10 m, so II does not follow either.

G finishes the work in 30 days and is twice as fast as S, so S takes 60 days. Together they do 1/30 + 1/60 = 3/60 = 1/20 of the work per day, so they finish in 20 days.

Simple interest = P × R × T/100. With the same principal and rate, SI is proportional to time, so the ratio = 9 : 12 = 3 : 4.

The trapezium has a top side of 15 cm, slanting sides of 13 cm and a height of 12 cm. Each slanting side, with the height, forms a right triangle whose base is √(13² − 12²) = 5 cm, so the bottom side = 5 + 15 + 5 = 25 cm. Area = ½ × (15 + 25) × 12 = 240 sq. cm.

Mandatory and compulsory are synonyms (both mean required). Among the options, only hypothesis and supposition are synonyms (both mean an assumption to be tested). Generosity and narrow-mindedness are opposites, and the other pairs are unrelated.

Under RBI rules, effective 1 April 2012, a cheque is valid for 3 months from the date written on it (earlier it was 6 months). After that it becomes a 'stale' cheque and banks will not honour it.

The Ganga Action Plan, launched by Rajiv Gandhi in 1986, aimed to reduce pollution in the Ganga by intercepting, diverting and treating sewage and industrial waste before it reached the river.

Sorted data: 16, 17, 17, 18, 18, 18, 19, 28, 29. Range = largest − smallest = 29 − 16 = 13. The value 18 appears most often (three times), so the mode is 18.

Dry air is about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and about 1% argon, with small amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases.

Gain = 13,500 − 11,000 = Rs 2,500. Gain % = 2500/11000 × 100 ≈ 22.7%.

The Shimla Agreement was signed on 2 July 1972 by Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at Barnes Court (now Raj Bhavan), Shimla, after the 1971 war. Both countries agreed to settle disputes bilaterally and to respect the Line of Control.

(sin θ + cos θ)² = sin²θ + 2 sin θ cos θ + cos²θ. Since sin²θ + cos²θ = 1, this equals 1 + 2 sin θ cos θ.

A thermostat automatically switches heating or cooling on and off to keep the temperature at a set value, as in irons, refrigerators and air conditioners. A thermometer only measures temperature, a pyrometer measures very high temperatures, and a thermocouple is a temperature sensor.

Pressure is force acting per unit area: P = F/A. Its SI unit is the pascal (1 Pa = 1 N/m²), so it is expressed in terms of force and area.

In the units place, 3 appears in 3, 13, 23, 33, 43, 53, 63, 73, 83 and 93, which is 10 times. (The 3s in the tens place, 30–39, are not counted here.)

The small intestine is about 6–7 metres long, while the large intestine is only about 1.5 metres. It is called 'small' because of its narrower diameter, not its length.

A high-containment Biosafety Level-3 laboratory for the detailed study of disease-causing organisms in livestock (such as foot-and-mouth disease virus) was set up in Bengaluru under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Such labs let scientists handle dangerous animal pathogens safely.

Pole > Signal (shorter than the pole), Signal > Building, Building > Giraffe and Giraffe > Tree. So the order is Pole > Signal > Building > Giraffe > Tree, and the tree is the shortest.

The first letters go N, P, R, T, ?, X, Z (skipping one letter each time), so the missing one is V. The second letters go A, C, E, G, ?, K, M, so the missing one is I. The answer is VI.

Unscrambled, the words are DNHA = HAND, EDAH = HEAD, THEA = HEAT and IRHA = HAIR. Hand, head and hair are parts of the body; heat is not, so THEA is different.

Harnish is Jagdish's maternal uncle, i.e. a brother of Jagdish's mother Sangeeta. Sangeeta is Sunil's sister, so Harnish is Sunil's brother. Karna is Sunil's son, which makes Harnish Karna's uncle.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a UN agency headquartered in London, regulates shipping. Its main concerns are maritime safety and preventing sea pollution from ships, for example through the MARPOL convention.

20 = 2² × 5 and 28 = 2² × 7. HCF = 2² = 4, and LCM = 2² × 5 × 7 = 140. (Check: HCF × LCM = 4 × 140 = 560 = 20 × 28.)

ASTROSAT, launched by ISRO on 28 September 2015 on PSLV-C30, is India's first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory. It studies celestial sources in X-ray, ultraviolet and visible light at the same time.

2 minutes 30 seconds = 150 s, so speed = 300/150 = 2 m/s. To convert to km/h, multiply by 18/5: 2 × 18/5 = 7.2 km/h.

In Chalk : Slate, Pencil : Notebook and Sketch pen : Drawing book, the first is a writing tool and the second is the surface it writes on. Ink is not a surface; it is what fills a pen. So Pen : Ink is the odd pair.

The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed on 5 March 1931. Gandhi agreed to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and attend the Second Round Table Conference, and the government agreed to release political prisoners.

Let the other number be x. If x > 15: 2(x − 15) = x + 15, so x = 45. If x < 15: 2(15 − x) = x + 15, so 3x = 15 and x = 5. The other number is 5 or 45.

Let the numbers be n − 1, n and n + 1. Then 3n = 126, so n = 42. The numbers are 41, 42 and 43, and the highest is 43.

Let the son's age be s, so Surya is s + 25. In 5 years: s + 30 = 2(s + 5), so s = 20 and Surya is 45 now. After 3 years Surya will be 48.

The Bank of Hindustan, set up in 1770 in Calcutta, was the first bank established in India; it closed in 1832. The oldest bank still operating is the State Bank of India (originally the Bank of Calcutta, 1806). The RBI was founded in 1935.

Number the letters backwards (Z = 1, Y = 2, …, A = 26). Then M = 14, and TANK = 7 + 26 + 13 + 16 = 62, which fits. STARDOM = S 8 + T 7 + A 26 + R 9 + D 23 + O 12 + M 14 = 99.

The fourth proportional x satisfies 3 : 8 = 12 : x. So 3x = 8 × 12 = 96, and x = 32.

GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation), built by ISRO and the Airports Authority of India, is India's Space-Based Augmentation System. It improves the accuracy of GPS signals for aviation. INSAT and GSAT are communication satellites, and SARAL is an oceanographic satellite.

The assertion that forest cover has gradually decreased is true, and human encroachment on forest land is a real concern for forest departments. Encroachment (clearing forest for farming, settlements and other uses) is one of the direct reasons forest cover falls, so R correctly explains A.

Each exterior angle = 180° − 108° = 72°. Since the exterior angles of a polygon add up to 360°, the number of sides = 360/72 = 5, so it is a pentagon.

The rupee symbol ₹, designed by D. Udaya Kumar and adopted in 2010, combines the Devanagari letter 'र' (ra) and the Roman capital 'R', with two horizontal lines on top suggesting the tricolour and the equals sign.

Lakshadweep, the Nicobar Islands and the Andaman Islands are island groups. Puducherry is a Union Territory on the mainland coast, so it does not belong to the group.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), formed in 1969, has its headquarters at Antariksh Bhavan in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

In dictionary order: Assert (As…), then Auspicious (Aus-p), Austere (Aus-t) and Autumn (Aut). The third word is Austere.

sin θ = 1/√2 gives θ = 45°, so tan θ = 1 and cos θ = 1/√2. Then tan θ + cos θ = 1 + 1/√2 = (√2 + 1)/√2.

The sum is 7 + 5 + 5 + 2 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 3 + 7 + 6 = 53, so the mean = 53/10 = 5.3. Sorted: 2, 3, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 7; with 10 values the median is the average of the 5th and 6th, (5 + 6)/2 = 5.5.

Cod liver oil comes from fish, so not all are vegetable oils, and only cod liver oil is especially rich in vitamins A and D. The only thing they all have in common is that they are oils.

Human nails, like hair and the outer layer of skin, are made of keratin, a tough fibrous structural protein.

In the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Kashmir Valley is bordered on the east by the Ladakh region, beyond the Zoji La pass. Jammu lies to the south, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Line of Control lie to the west.

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is both an analgesic (it relieves pain) and an antipyretic (it reduces fever). Unlike aspirin or ibuprofen, it has very little anti-inflammatory action, so it is not classed as a typical NSAID.

Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut aged 16 against Pakistan at the National Stadium, Karachi, on 15 November 1989.

Pressing F11 toggles full-screen mode in most Windows browsers, such as Chrome, Edge and Firefox. F1 usually opens Help, F10 activates the menu bar, and F12 opens developer tools.

ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) is the standard screening test for HIV; it detects antibodies to the virus in the blood (positive results are confirmed by a Western blot). A Pap smear screens for cervical cancer, and the Mantoux test is for tuberculosis.

Each set must have equal numbers of each item with nothing left over, so the number of sets is the HCF of 32, 24 and 16, which is 8. Each set has 4 pens, 3 pencils and 2 erasers.

The Air Quality Index is a single number (on India's scale, 0–500) that converts the concentrations of several pollutants into one easy-to-read value with a colour band, from 'Good' to 'Severe'. The official key marks 'A number', since the AQI itself is an index number rather than a measuring instrument.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was independent India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister (1947–1950), serving under Jawaharlal Nehru. Morarji Desai later became Deputy PM in 1967.

Time for the first 40 km at 60 km/h = 40/60 = 2/3 h. Time for the remaining 60 km at 40 km/h = 60/40 = 1.5 h. Total time = 2/3 + 3/2 = 13/6 h. Average speed = total distance / total time = 100 ÷ 13/6 ≈ 46.15 km/h, closest to 46.20 km/h.

Secularism means the state has no official religion and treats all religions equally, guaranteeing every person the freedom to profess, practise and propagate any religion, or none. In India it is part of the Preamble (added by the 42nd Amendment) and Articles 25–28.

Total cost = 18 + 3 = Rs 21 lakh, and selling price = Rs 24.57 lakh. Profit = 3.57 lakh, and profit % = 3.57/21 × 100 = 17%.

National Science Day is celebrated on 28 February to mark the discovery of the Raman effect by Sir C. V. Raman on 28 February 1928, for which he won the 1930 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Train travellers are all numbers inside the circle: 100 + 50 + 10 + 20 + 100 + 50 + 50 = 380. People who do not travel by train are those outside it: 100 (bus only) + 40 (car only) + 20 (cycle only) = 160. Ratio = 380/160 = 38/16.

Two modes are mutually exclusive if no region is common to both shapes. The cycle shape overlaps the bus rectangle and the train circle, and the car triangle overlaps the bus and the train, but the triangle and the cycle shape never meet. So car and cycle are mutually exclusive.

We need regions inside the train circle that are also in the car triangle or the bus rectangle, but outside the cycle shape. These are 50 (train and bus), 10 (train, bus and car) and 20 (train and car). Total = 50 + 10 + 20 = 80.

The terms are multiples of 14: 14 × 1, 14 × 2, 14 × 3, 14 × 4, ?, 14 × 6, 14 × 7. The missing term is 14 × 5 = 70.

The main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex is called One World Trade Center (the 'Freedom Tower'). It opened in 2014 and is 1,776 ft (541 m) tall, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Nek Chand's Rock Garden is in Chandigarh. Nek Chand Saini, a road inspector, built it secretly from the 1950s using industrial and household waste, and it opened to the public in 1976.

(a − b)² = a² − 2ab + b². With a = W and b = 9: W² − 2 × 9 × W + 81 = W² − 18W + 81.

Compounded half-yearly at 10% p.a., the rate is 5% per half-year for 2 half-years. Amount factor = (1.05)² = 1.1025, so interest = 10.25% of the principal per year. The effective annual rate is 10.25%.

From READY = 41095: R = 4, E = 1, A = 0, D = 9, Y = 5. From FRAILS = 840327: F = 8, R = 4, A = 0, I = 3, L = 2, S = 7. Decoding 83145419: 8 = F, 3 = I, 1 = E, 4 = R, 5 = Y, then 4 = R, 1 = E, 9 = D, which spells FIERY RED.

Keyboard, webcam and mouse are input devices: they send data into the computer. A monitor is an output device that displays information, so it does not belong to the group.

Each letter of RATIONAL moves 11 places forward (wrapping after Z): R→C, A→L, T→E, I→T, O→Z, N→Y, A→L, L→W = CLETZYLW. Apply +11 to EXPERIENCE: E→P, X→I, P→A, E→P, R→C, I→T, E→P, N→Y, C→N, E→P = PIAPCTPYNP.

With the margin, one dollar costs 67.89 + 1.11 = Rs 69.00. So $150 costs 150 × 69 = Rs 10,350.

Area = πr² = 9π, so r² = 9 and r = 3 cm. Circumference = 2πr = 2π × 3 = 6π cm.

'Maharatna' is the highest status given by the Government of India to large, profitable Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) such as ONGC, NTPC, SAIL and Coal India. It gives them more financial and operational autonomy (above 'Navratna' and 'Miniratna').

From the chart: L1 = 500 + 350 = 850, L2 = 400 + 400 = 800, L3 = 500 + 450 = 950 and L4 = 350 + 300 = 650 books. L1 + L3 = 1,800 and L2 + L4 = 1,450. Ratio = 1800 : 1450 = 36 : 29.

Non-fiction total = 350 + 400 + 450 + 300 = 1,500. Fiction total = 500 + 400 + 500 + 350 = 1,750. Ratio = 1500/1750 = 6/7.

In L3 and L4, fiction = 500 + 350 = 850 and non-fiction = 450 + 300 = 750. The difference is 100. Taken as a percentage of the fiction books, (850 − 750)/850 × 100 ≈ 11.76%.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is a character encoding scheme: it assigns numbers 0–127 to letters, digits, punctuation and control codes (for example 'A' = 65). It is not a programming language, and the 'S' stands for Standard, not Security.

The ancient Olympic Games began in Olympia, Greece, in 776 BC, and the first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. Either way, Greece hosted the first Olympics.

Let the numbers of notes be 3x, 2x and x. Total value = 5(3x) + 10(2x) + 20(x) = 55x = 165, so x = 3. There are 3 notes of Rs 20, worth Rs 60.

In decimals: 5/4 = 1.25, 4/3 ≈ 1.33, 3/2 = 1.50 and 6/5 = 1.20. The highest is 3/2.

Sundar Pichai became CEO of Google in August 2015, when Google was restructured under the parent company Alphabet; he became Alphabet's CEO in 2019. Satya Nadella heads Microsoft, and Vishal Sikka led Infosys.

The Commonwealth Games are held every 4 years. The first were in 1930 at Hamilton, Canada, and India hosted them in Delhi in 2010.

The 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup was hosted by India alone (October–November 2023). Australia won, beating India in the final at Ahmedabad.

On 24 November 2015 Japan launched its first commercial satellite, the Canadian communications satellite Telstar 12 Vantage, on an H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. It marked Japan's entry into the commercial launch market.

Puducherry, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep are Union Territories. Sikkim became the 22nd state of India in 1975, so it is not a Union Territory.

After swapping + ↔ ÷ and × ↔ −, the expression 17 ÷ 7 − 27 + 7 × 37 becomes 17 + 7 × 27 ÷ 7 − 37. Multiplication and division first: 7 × 27 = 189 and 189 ÷ 7 = 27. Then 17 + 27 − 37 = 7.

Replacing the operators, 1 × 7 + 21 × 2 ÷ 2 + 3 − 4 becomes 1 − 7 ÷ 21 − 2 + 2 ÷ 3 × 4. Division and multiplication first: 7 ÷ 21 = 1/3, and 2 ÷ 3 × 4 = 8/3. Then 1 − 1/3 − 2 + 8/3 = (3 − 1 − 6 + 8)/3 = 4/3.

10 people × 30 days = 300 person-days for one unit of work, so double the work needs 600 person-days. With 15 people it takes 600 ÷ 15 = 40 days.

There are six positions round the circle. From figure 1 to figure 2, the top and bottom symbols swap (☼ and △), and the other four symbols move one place anticlockwise (upper-right → upper-left → lower-left → lower-right → upper-right). Applying this to figure 2 gives ☼ at the top and △ at the bottom, with □ upper-right, ○ lower-right, ◇ lower-left and ● upper-left, which is option C. Applying the rule once more gives figure 4, which confirms it.

Most people have orange scooters and people like bright colours, so most people prefer orange over other bright colours; II follows. Nothing in the statements is about affordability, so I does not follow.

Sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite (bleaching powder) and hydrogen peroxide bleach by oxidation. Hydrogen sulphide is a reducing agent and a toxic gas smelling of rotten eggs; it is not used as a bleaching agent.

In February 1922 a mob set fire to the police station at Chauri Chaura (Gorakhpur, UP), killing 22 policemen. Gandhi, opposed to violence, called off the Non-Cooperation Movement soon after.