Odd Man Out & Series Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Written as position numbers, three of the groups move the same way:

• K(11), M(13), N(14), L(12): \( +2,\; +1,\; -2 \)
• P(16), R(18), S(19), Q(17): \( +2,\; +1,\; -2 \)
• J(10), L(12), M(13), K(11): \( +2,\; +1,\; -2 \)
• V(22), W(23), Y(25), Z(26): \( +1,\; +2,\; +1 \)

VWYZ is the exception. The other three also share a neat property: the fourth letter sits immediately after the first, which VWYZ does not.

Answer: B

Compare the steps between letters, allowing the alphabet to wrap round:

• O(15), Q(17), M(13), S(19): \( +2,\; -4,\; +6 \)
• N(14), P(16), L(12), R(18): \( +2,\; -4,\; +6 \)
• B(2), D(4), Z(26), F(6): \( +2,\; -4,\; +6 \)
• U(21), A(1), W(23), Y(25): \( +6,\; -4,\; +2 \)

UAWY runs the same three steps in the opposite order, so it is the odd one out. To match the others it would have to be UWSY.

Answer: C

Each group of five should alternate forward four and back two:

• Y(25), C(3), A(1), E(5), C(3): \( +4,\; -2,\; +4,\; -2 \)
• K(11), O(15), M(13), Q(17), O(15): \( +4,\; -2,\; +4,\; -2 \)
• G(7), K(11), I(9), M(13), K(11): \( +4,\; -2,\; +4,\; -2 \)
• P(16), T(20), R(18), U(21), T(20): \( +4,\; -2,\; +3,\; -1 \)

PTRUT breaks the rhythm at the third step, taking three instead of four. PTRVT would fit. As with YCAEC, the alphabet is taken to wrap round from Z to A.

Answer: B

In each group the two digits, read together, give the letter's position in the alphabet.

• 1P6: P is the 16th letter, and the digits read 16 ✓
• 2T0: T is the 20th letter, and the digits read 20 ✓
• 1R8: R is the 18th letter, and the digits read 18 ✓
• 2Y4: Y is the 25th letter, but the digits read 24 ✗

So 2Y4 does not belong.

Answer: D

In each group the number should be the square of the letter's position.

• B4: \( 2^{2} = 4 \) ✓
• D16: \( 4^{2} = 16 \) ✓
• E25: \( 5^{2} = 25 \) ✓
• F35: \( 6^{2} = 36 \neq 35 \) ✗

So F35 does not belong - it is one short of the square it should be.

Answer: D

All four are animals, so the grouping must be finer than that.

Cats, dogs and tigers are carnivores - flesh-eaters with the teeth and gut to match.

The elephant is a herbivore, living on grasses, leaves and bark.

So ELEPHANT does not belong. Word length is a red herring: CAT and DOG have three letters, TIGER five, so size of word is not the shared property.

Answer: A

All four are reptiles, so look at where they live.

Crocodiles, turtles and alligators are amphibious - at home in water as well as on land.

The chameleon is entirely terrestrial, an arboreal lizard that does not take to water.

So Chameleon does not belong.

Answer: C

Three of the four are state capitals.

• Thiruvananthapuram - capital of Kerala
• Hyderabad - capital of Telangana
• Bangalore - capital of Karnataka
• Calicut (Kozhikode) - a city in Kerala, but not a capital

So Calicut does not belong. Note that Kerala appears twice in the list, which is the hint that being a capital, not the state, is the shared property.

Answer: B

Three of the four words end in the same three letters.

\[ \text{P-art}, \quad \text{C-art}, \quad \text{D-art} \]

Each is a single letter followed by -art.

Trap does not fit that shape - it is an anagram of "part" rather than a member of the -art family.

Answer: D

Asteroids, stars and planets are natural bodies found in space.

A rocket is man-made - a vehicle built to travel through space, not an object that occurs there.

So Rocket does not belong.