Classification Questions and Answers

Answer: D

AF - CI is the odd pair. In SX - UZ, HM - JO and EJ - GL each letter of the first cluster moves two places forward in the alphabet to give the second: S to U and X to Z, H to J and M to O, E to G and J to L. In AF - CI the first letter moves two places (A to C) but the second moves three (F to I), so the rule breaks only here. The other three pairs follow one shift of +2 for both letters. Written as steps, S, X to U, Z is +2, +2; H, M to J, O is +2, +2; E, J to G, L is +2, +2; and A, F to C, I is +2, +3, so only the last pair breaks the rule.

Answer: C

The odd word is praise.

Mock, deride and jeer all mean to ridicule or treat someone with contempt: to mock is to make fun of, to deride is to express contempt for, and to jeer is to shout rude, mocking remarks.

Praise means to express approval or admiration, the opposite of the other three, so it is the one that does not belong. Choosing any of the other three would leave praise in a group of words that it contradicts.

Answer: D

The odd one is ONPMQ.

Write each letter as its position in the alphabet and look at the steps:

• CADBE: 3, 1, 4, 2, 5, steps -2, +3, -2, +3
• JHKIL: 10, 8, 11, 9, 12, steps -2, +3, -2, +3
• XVYWZ: 24, 22, 25, 23, 26, steps -2, +3, -2, +3
• ONPMQ: 15, 14, 16, 13, 17, steps -1, +2, -3, +4

The first three follow the same alternating pattern of back two, forward three; ONPMQ follows a different one, so it is the odd one out.

Answer: A

The odd one out is 21.

19, 37, 17, 23, 29, 31 and 11 are all prime numbers, divisible only by 1 and themselves. 21 is the only composite number in the set, since \(21 = 3 \times 7\).

29, 37 and 23 are prime like the rest, so choosing any of them leaves 21 still standing out. There is no other pattern (such as odd or even, or digit sums) that separates one of those primes from the others as cleanly.

Answer: B

The odd pair is ZBN-EHU.

Add the alphabet positions of the letters in each half of a pair. In three pairs the second group's total is 18 more than the first:

Only ZBN-EHU breaks the rule, so it is the odd one out.

Answer: C

The best description is These are greek letters.

Theta (θ), phi (φ) and omega (ω) are the eighth, twenty-first and twenty-fourth letters of the Greek alphabet; omega is its last letter.

They are not Latin letters. They are widely used as symbols in mathematics and physics (theta for angles, omega for angular velocity or ohms), but that is a use of the letters, not what they are, so 'signs of algebra' and 'used in physical derivatives' describe only some applications and are not the most appropriate description.

Answer: C

The word least like the others is Brass.

Copper, zinc and aluminium are pure metals, chemical elements. Brass is an alloy, a mixture made mainly of copper and zinc. So it differs from the other three in kind.

The trap is that brass is made from two of the other options; that is precisely why it is not like them. Copper, zinc and aluminium share no such difference among themselves.

Answer: D

The odd pair is Dengue : Fever.

In the other three pairs, the second word is the organ that the disease mainly affects: jaundice is a sign of liver disorder, rickets affects the bones, and tuberculosis most commonly attacks the lungs.

In Dengue : Fever, the second word is a symptom (dengue is itself called a fever), not an organ, so the relation is different.

Answer: A

The word that belongs to the group is Adrenal.

Pituitary, thyroid and pancreas are all endocrine glands: they secrete hormones directly into the blood (the pancreas through its islets of Langerhans, which make insulin and glucagon). The adrenal glands, above the kidneys, are endocrine glands too, secreting adrenaline and cortisol.

The heart, liver and kidney are organs, not glands of the endocrine system. The liver is the most tempting distractor because it is a large gland, but it is chiefly an exocrine and metabolic organ, not one of the classic hormone-secreting glands.

Answer: C

The odd one out is Brass.

Copper, tin and platinum are metallic elements. Brass is an alloy, a mixture of copper and zinc.

Grouping by other features does not single out one word: copper and brass are both reddish-yellow, and tin and platinum are both white metals, so the element-versus-alloy distinction is the one that separates exactly one item.