Classification Questions and Answers

Answer: B

EGK is the odd one out. Look at the gaps between the letters in each cluster. WZB: W to Z is 3 places, and Z to B is 3 places (Z, A, B). JMO: J to M is 3, M to O is 2. ADF: A to D is 3, D to F is 2. EGK: E to G is 2, G to K is 4. The three clusters WZB, JMO and ADF all begin with a gap of 3, while EGK begins with a gap of 2 and then has a gap of 4, so it does not share the first-gap pattern. EGK is therefore the cluster that differs from the other three.

Answer: B

The different pair is 14 - 2744.

In the other pairs the second number is the cube of the first plus 3: 16³ + 3 = 4096 + 3 = 4099, 13³ + 3 = 2197 + 3 = 2200 and 11³ + 3 = 1331 + 3 = 1334. For 14 the cube is 2744 itself, with nothing added.

So 14 - 2744 does not follow the rule shared by the other three pairs.

You can also see this by comparing each second number with the cube of the first: 16 cubed is 4096, 13 cubed is 2197 and 11 cubed is 1331, and each pair is 3 above the cube. For 14, the cube is 2744, exactly the second number, so this pair does not add 3 and is the odd one out.

Answer: B

The odd one out is 33.

13, 23, 43 and 53 are all prime numbers: none has a divisor other than 1 and itself. 33 = 3 × 11 is composite, so it is the only number in the list that is not prime.

All five numbers end in 3 and step by 10, so that pattern does not separate any of them; primality does. 23, 43 and 53 are prime like 13, so none of them is the odd one.

Answer: D

LOR is the odd one out. In CGJ, RVY and HLO the second letter is four places after the first and the third is three places after the second. LOR breaks that rule because both gaps are three.

\[ C \to G\ (+4),\ G \to J\ (+3) \]

\[ R \to V\ (+4),\ V \to Y\ (+3) \]

\[ H \to L\ (+4),\ L \to O\ (+3) \]

\[ L \to O\ (+3),\ O \to R\ (+3) \]

Three clusters follow the +4, +3 pattern, so the cluster that does not, LOR, is different.

Answer: B

Rich-Poor is the odd pair because its two words are opposites. Rock, brick, stones, pebbles, cement and sand are all kinds of construction material, so in each of the other three pairs both words name building or construction materials of that kind. Rich and Poor do not, and they are related by contrast rather than by material.

The question rests on a single relation within the pair, so the pair that breaks the common pattern is Rich-Poor.

Answer: B

Pen-Paper is the odd pair. In the other three, the second term is produced from or follows out of the first: inference is drawn from statistics, information results from processing data, and success results from hard work. A pen and paper are two separate tools used together for writing, and neither produces the other.

Statistics-Inference, Data-Information and Hard work-Success therefore share one kind of relation, and Pen-Paper does not.

Answer: C

HNP is the odd one. In each of SXZ, BGI and TYA the gap between the first two letters is 5 and between the last two is 2 (S to X is 5, X to Z is 2; B to G is 5, G to I is 2; T to Y is 5, Y to A is 2). In HNP the gaps are 6 (H to N) and 2 (N to P). So HNP breaks the pattern. In each of the other three clusters the letters follow the same shape: every letter is moved forward by the same two steps, 5 and then 2, so the cluster is built from one rule. HNP is the only cluster whose first step is 6, which is why it does not belong.

Answer: A

Look at the gaps between the letters of each cluster in the alphabet. In EAI the letters go back 4 places and then forward 8 places, in KGO they go back 4 and then forward 8, and in UQY they go back 4 and then forward 8, so these three follow the same pattern. In HEL the letters go back 3 and then forward 7, which is a different pattern. So the odd one out is HEL, option (A), while EAI, KGO and UQY are alike.

Answer: C

Three of the pairs follow the rule 'opposite letters, then swap each pair of letters'. BOLD gives opposite letters Y L O W, and swapping the pairs gives L Y W O, which is LYWO. ABLE gives Z Y O V, and swapping gives Y Z V O, which is YZVO. BAIL gives Y Z R O, and swapping gives Z Y O R, which is ZYOR.

ARMY has the opposite letters Z I N B. Swapping the pairs should give I Z B N, but the option has IZNB, in which the second pair is not swapped. So ARMY : IZNB is the one that is different.

Answer: B

The odd pair is Wrestling-Stadium.

In the other three pairs the second word is the specific playing area of the game: a tennis court, a race track and a boxing ring. A stadium is a large venue that can host many different sports and is not the dedicated area of wrestling, which is contested on a mat or in a ring.

That is why Tennis-Court, Race-Track and Boxing-Ring belong together and Wrestling-Stadium is different.

Wrestling is contested on a mat or in a ring, so the 'place' in the pair is the wrong kind of word compared with the court, the track and the ring, which are each the exact surface of play. A stadium only houses the event, and it also houses races and tennis matches.