Classification Questions and Answers

Answer: A

Correct answer: Microbe

Microfilm, microphone and microscope are all things made by human beings, in which micro- refers to the small scale they work at. A microbe is a living organism, not a device.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Neurologist

A sociologist, economist and educationist all study human society and its institutions. A neurologist studies the nervous system and practises medicine, which belongs to the natural sciences.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Insipid

Sweet, bitter and salty are all tastes. Insipid means having no taste at all, so it denotes the absence of the quality the other three describe.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Centaur

The lion, goat and tortoise are all real animals. The centaur - half man, half horse - exists only in Greek mythology.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Circle

The square, rectangle and triangle are all bounded by straight sides and have corners. The circle is bounded by a single curved line and has no sides or corners at all.

Answer: D

The odd pair is Snobbery : Shoes.

In the other pairs, the first word names the trade, place or goods connected with the second: millinery is the making and selling of hats, a brewery makes beer and other alcohol, and stationery is writing material such as paper.

Snobbery means looking down on others; it has nothing to do with shoes. The craft of making or mending shoes is cobbling (or shoemaking).

Answer: C

The odd group is W,C,G,J.

In the other groups, the letters advance by 6, 3 and 2 places (wrapping round after Z). Q to W is +6, W to Z +3, Z to B +2. B, H, K, M and M, S, V, X follow the same steps.

In W,C,G,J, W to C is +6 but C to G is +4 and G to J is +3, so it breaks the pattern.

Answer: B

The odd pair is Fish : River.

In the other three pairs, the second word is what the first eats: lizards eat insects, giraffes eat leaves, and lions eat meat. The relationship is animal and its food.

A fish lives in a river; the river is its habitat, not its food. So Fish : River is related differently from the other three.

Answer: D

The odd group is L P M.

In the other groups the first two letters are three places apart and the third letter is the opposite of the second (positions adding to 27): C (3), F (6), U (21) with \(6 + 21 = 27\); F (6), I (9), R (18) with \(9 + 18 = 27\); I (9), L (12), O (15) with \(12 + 15 = 27\).

In L P M, L (12) and P (16) are four places apart, and P (16) and M (13) add to 29, not 27. It breaks both rules, so it is the odd one out.

Answer: A

The numbers are 22, 32, 10, 20 and 33. Four of them (22, 32, 10 and 20) are even numbers, and 33 is odd, so 33 is the one different from the others. Other patterns do not single out an answer in the same way: the digit sums are 4, 5, 1, 2 and 6, and the products or differences of digits give no clear odd one out. The simplest classification is by even and odd, so the answer is 33, option A.