CSAT (GS Paper II) 2016

Answer: (c) 1 and 4 only

The passage blames the tilt towards internal accountability to political leaders, a balance that was never properly struck, for the adverse consequences, and it asks that the respective roles of civil services and the political executive be defined. Training and service benefits are never mentioned.

• ✓ 1. The emphasis 'tilted in favour of greater internal accountability', and this system 'has not worked out, and has led to several adverse consequences' — the balance was not struck.
• ✗ 2. Professional training of officers is not discussed anywhere in the passage.
• ✗ 3. Service benefits are not discussed; the job security under Articles 311 and 312 is never called inadequate.
• ✓ 4. 'The issue is where to draw the line': the passage wants Articles 311 and 312 reviewed and the 'respective roles' of civil services and the political executive 'defined' — they are not defined now.

Remember · Accept only causes the passage ties to the problem; a remedy it proposes ('roles should be defined') points to a gap behind the problem.

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Answer: (a) 1 only

Civil servants have come to answer mainly to political leaders, and this route to accountability to society has failed; so the political executive stands between the civil services and society. But the passage never says politicians are no longer accountable — they are still meant to answer to society through elections.

• ✓ 1. Accountability runs to 'the political leaders of the day'; this system 'has not worked out', and the passage wants civil service management 'depoliticized' — the political executive is treated as the obstacle.
• ✗ 2. Too sweeping: political leaders are still 'expected to be externally accountable ... through the election process'; what failed is using that route for the civil services.

Remember · An assumption must be needed by the argument; reject statements that stretch a partial failure into 'no longer' or 'never'.

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Answer: (d) There is a need and scope for reforms to improve the accountability of civil services

The first paragraph sets out the accountability problem and the second lists 'special measures' — reviewing Articles 311 and 312, a Civil Services Bill, statutory boards and decentralization. The essential message is that reforms to improve civil service accountability are both needed and possible.

• ✗ (a) Too sweeping: the passage says the balance tilted towards internal accountability, not that civil services answer to no one.
• ✗ (b) The education or quality of political leaders is never discussed.
• ✗ (c) The framers did foresee the issue: 'The need to balance internal and external accountability is thus built into the Constitution'.
• ✓ (d) The second paragraph is a list of measures 'for improving accountability in civil services'.

Remember · The 'essential message' usually sits where the passage moves from problem to solution; pick the option that covers both.

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Answer: (d) Seeking accountability through enhanced participation by people in decision making process

The passage names the means of internal accountability — internal performance monitoring, supervision by bodies such as the CVC and CAG, and judicial review of executive decisions — and sets them against external accountability to society. Bringing decision making closer to the people enhances accountability to society, so (d) is the one option on the external side.

• ✗ (a) Articles 311 and 312 give the service job security and safeguards within the constitutional framework of the executive; the passage uses them to show how internal and external accountability are balanced, not as a route by which the people hold the service to account.
• ✗ (b) Named directly: 'official supervision by bodies like the Central Vigilance Commission'.
• ✗ (c) Named directly: 'judicial review of executive decisions'.
• ✓ (d) Decentralization that brings decision making 'closer to the people' builds accountability to society — the external kind that the passage contrasts with internal accountability.

Remember · In 'which is NOT' items, sort each option into the passage's own categories; the option that belongs to the other category is the answer.

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Answer: (a) 1 only

The passage says our duties to one another derive from religious traditions' stress on duty to god or a universal principle, so assumption 1 holds. It allows 'some universal ethical principle' in place of god, and it calls community solidarity — not religion — essential to justice, so 2 and 3 fail.

• ✓ 1. 'Our duties to one another derive from these', and the concept of rights shapes 'our other relationships' — relationships flow from religious traditions.
• ✗ 2. 'Only if they believe in god' is too extreme; the duty may be to 'some universal ethical principle'.
• ✗ 3. What is 'essential to the practice and understanding of justice' is solidarity in a community, not religious tradition.

Remember · Watch the qualifiers — 'only', 'essential', 'always'. An assumption carrying one must be backed by the passage's own words.

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Answer: (c) Balance between rights and duties is crucial to the delivery of justice in a society

The passage moves from religious duties and rights to its main point: the correspondence between rights and duties is critical to understanding justice, and justice must be practised in a community. So the crux is that balancing rights and duties is central to justice in a society.

• ✗ (a) A supporting detail from the opening lines, not the point the passage builds to.
• ✗ (b) The passage never calls the relationship to the divine a 'great virtue'.
• ✓ (c) 'This correspondence between rights and duties is critical to any further understanding of justice', and justice must be grounded in a community.
• ✗ (d) Another opening detail; the passage uses it only to reach the rights–duties link and justice.

Remember · The crux is the point the details lead to; an option that restates one early sentence is usually a supporting detail.

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Answer: (d) Oranges

Oranges are the only fruit eaten by both B and C, who fell sick, and neither A nor D, who stayed well, ate oranges. Every other fruit was eaten by at least one person who did not fall sick.

1. Sick: B (grapes, oranges) and C (oranges, pineapple, apple). The only fruit common to both is oranges.
2. Well: A (grapes, pineapple) and D (grapes, apple, pineapple) — neither ate oranges.
3. Check: grapes, pineapple and apple were all eaten by someone who stayed well, so they cannot be the cause.

Remember · To find a common cause, take what all affected cases share and strike out anything the unaffected cases also had.

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Answer: (d) The rate of population growth is increasing due to faster decline in death rate than in birth rate

The rate of population growth is the birth rate minus the death rate. If growth is rising while both rates fall, the death rate must be falling faster — statements 1 and 2 together give (d). Migration within a country does not change its population.

1. Rate of population growth = birth rate − death rate.
2. Statement 1: growth is rising, so the gap between the two rates is widening.
3. Statement 2: both rates are falling, the death rate faster — this widens the gap.
4. Statement 3 would narrow the gap, so it cannot explain rising growth; statement 4 moves people within the country and adds nobody.
5. So growth is rising because the death rate is falling faster than the birth rate.

• ✗ (a) Rural-urban migration shifts people inside the country; it does not change the national growth rate.
• ✗ (b) 'Death rate only' ignores the falling birth rate; growth rises because the death rate falls faster than the birth rate.
• ✗ (c) The birth rate is declining, not increasing.
• ✓ (d) With the death rate falling faster, the birth-minus-death gap widens and growth rises.

Remember · Growth rate = birth rate − death rate; internal migration moves people around but never changes a country's total.

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Answer: (b) 3 km east, then 1 km north

After 3 km north, 3 km west and 4 km south he is 3 km west and 1 km south of the start. Driving 3 km east and then 1 km north brings him back without retracing any stretch.

1. Take the start as (0, 0), with east and north positive.
2. 3 km north → (0, 3); 3 km west → (−3, 3); 4 km south → (−3, −1).
3. To return he must go 3 km east and 1 km north.
4. (b): 3 km east → (0, −1), then 1 km north → (0, 0). Neither stretch repeats an earlier one.
5. Check: (a) ends at (0, −3), (c) at (−5, 0), (d) at (−3, −3).

Remember · Track direction problems as coordinates: add north and east, subtract south and west, then read off the move back to (0, 0).

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Answer: (d) We do not go either for picnic or for trekking

The claim promises that at least one of the two outings will happen. It is proved false only if neither happens — we go neither for a picnic nor for trekking.

1. 'Either a picnic or trekking' is true if at least one of the two happens.
2. (a) and (c) each have one of them happening — the claim holds.
3. (b) says nothing about what we do.
4. Only (d), neither of them happening, makes the claim false.

• ✗ (a) A picnic alone satisfies the 'either … or' claim.
• ✗ (b) Irrelevant: what health authorities encourage says nothing about what we actually do.
• ✗ (c) Trekking alone also satisfies the claim.
• ✓ (d) If neither outing happens, 'either a picnic or trekking' is false.

Remember · 'Either A or B' is falsified only by 'neither A nor B'.

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Answer: (d) nothing can be said about the gender composition of the party

No man knew music, but only 'many' — not all — of the women did. So six non-musicians could be all men, all non-musical women, or a mix; the fact rules out none of these.

1. Non-musicians: all 30 men and those women who do not know music ('many', not all, women know music).
2. Six non-musicians could be drawn entirely from men, entirely from non-musical women, or from both.
3. Each of (a), (b) and (c) is possible but none is certain, so nothing definite can be said.

• ✗ (a) Women who did not know music could also have been drawn.
• ✗ (b) Men, none of whom knew music, could equally have been drawn.
• ✗ (c) Possible, but not certain — the six could all be men.
• ✓ (d) The non-musicians include all 30 men and some women, so any gender mix fits.

Remember · 'Many' is not 'all'. When a group could be drawn from several sub-groups, no definite conclusion about its make-up follows.

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Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

A's two neighbours can only be C and E, because D is two seats away and B is not next to A. B and D then fill the two adjacent seats away from A, so D is always beside B. D may sit beside C or beside E, so statement 3 is not certain.

1. With 5 seats in a circle, each person has exactly two neighbours.
2. A's neighbours: C (i); not D, who is two seats away (ii); not B (iii). So the other neighbour is E — statement 2 must be true.
3. The two remaining seats are next to each other and each is two seats from A; B and D take them in either order.
4. So D always sits next to B — statement 1 must be true.
5. If D takes the seat beside C, D and C are adjacent; so statement 3 need not be true.

• ✓ 1. B and D fill the two adjacent seats not next to A.
• ✓ 2. A's only possible neighbours are C and E.
• ✗ 3. In one valid arrangement D sits right beside C, so this is not certain.

Remember · In small circular seatings, fix one person, settle the neighbours first, and treat 'must be true' as true in every valid arrangement.

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Answer: (d) 3

All five clubs meet together on days that are common multiples of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, that is every LCM = 60 days. Within 180 days that happens on days 60, 120 and 180 — three times.

1. All five meet on a day that is a multiple of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
2. LCM(2, 3, 4, 5, 6) = 60.
3. Within 180 days: days 60, 120 and 180 — 3 times.

Remember · Events repeating every a, b, c … days coincide every LCM(a, b, c …) days.

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Answer: (c) 3 and 4

One bee per flower leaves a bee over, so bees = flowers + 1. Two per flower leaves a flower empty, so bees = 2 × (flowers − 1). Together these give 3 flowers and 4 bees.

1. Let f = flowers and b = bees.
2. One bee per flower, one bee left: b = f + 1.
3. Two bees per flower, one flower left: b = 2(f − 1).
4. f + 1 = 2f − 2, so f = 3 and b = 4.
5. Check: 4 bees on 3 flowers, one each, leaves 1 bee; two each fills 2 flowers and leaves 1 flower empty.

Remember · Turn each 'left over' condition into an equation — or simply test each option against both conditions.

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Answer: (a) T

P and S are students, so the three professions belong to Q, R and T. Q is the lawyer (neither doctor nor artist) and R is not the doctor, so the doctor is T.

1. P and S are students, so the doctor, lawyer and artist are among Q, R and T.
2. Q is neither doctor nor artist, so Q is the lawyer.
3. R is not the doctor, so R is the artist and T is the doctor.

Remember · Strike out people who can hold no role first, then fill roles from the most restricted person; one 'is not' often fixes two others.

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Answer: (c) R

The professions belong to Q, R and T, since P and S are students. Q must be the lawyer, and R, who is not the doctor, must be the artist.

1. P and S are students, so the doctor, lawyer and artist are among Q, R and T.
2. Q is neither doctor nor artist, so Q is the lawyer.
3. R is not the doctor, so R is the artist and T is the doctor.

Remember · Strike out people who can hold no role first, then fill roles from the most restricted person; one 'is not' often fixes two others.

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Answer: (b) T

T is married to a group member. P and S are unmarried, and Q (P's brother) is a man like T, so T's spouse can only be R.

1. T is married to someone in the group.
2. P and S are unmarried, so T's spouse is Q or R.
3. Q is P's brother, a man; T is also a man. The puzzle treats marriage as between a man and a woman, so T's spouse is R.

Remember · In relation puzzles, list who is ruled out — unmarried, same family, same sex — and the spouse is whoever remains.

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Answer: (b) Q

P and S are students, so only Q, R and T hold the professions. Q is neither doctor nor artist, so Q is the lawyer.

1. P and S are students, so the doctor, lawyer and artist are among Q, R and T.
2. Q is neither doctor nor artist, so Q is the lawyer.

Remember · Strike out people who can hold no role first, then fill roles from the most restricted person; one 'is not' often fixes two others.

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Answer: (c) Q

Q is described as the brother of P, so Q is certainly a man. Nothing fixes the sex of P or S. T is also a man, but T is not among the options.

1. Q is 'the brother of P' — so Q is a man.
2. P and S are only called unmarried students; their sex is not given.
3. T is 'a man' but is not an option, so the answer is Q.

Remember · 'Definitely' needs a direct word in the data — brother, man, husband; roles like student or doctor say nothing about sex.

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Answer: (c) 20

Only 95% of each day's 1000 units can be sold, which is 950 units a day. The order of 19000 therefore takes 19000 ÷ 950 = 20 days.

1. Usable output per day = 95% of 1000 = 950.
2. Days needed = 19000 ÷ 950 = 20.
3. Check: 20 × 950 = 19000.

Remember · Divide the order by the usable output per day, not the gross output.

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Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

The passage names all three: a reliable, sustainable supply of biomass is the biggest challenge; energy crops compete with food production; and some biofuels such as corn-based ethanol may worsen carbon emissions on a life-cycle basis.

• ✓ 1. 'The biggest challenge ... is a long-term reliable supply', and projections ignore 'the limits to the sustainable biomass supply'.
• ✓ 2. 'Energy crops, if not managed properly, compete with food production'.
• ✓ 3. Corn-based ethanol 'may aggravate rather than ameliorate carbon emissions on a life-cycle basis'.

Remember · For 'constraints', collect every problem the passage states — supply, competing uses, side effects — before looking at the codes.

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Answer: (b) 3 only

Only energy crops are said to compete with food production and to affect food prices. Residues are by-products of farms and forests, and carbon capture and storage is mentioned only as an unproven technology — neither is linked to food.

• ✗ 1. For residues the passage worries about supply logistics and collection costs, not food.
• ✗ 2. Carbon capture and storage is called 'an unproven technology'; no link to food is drawn.
• ✓ 3. Energy crops 'compete with food production and may have undesirable impacts on food prices'.

Remember · Tie each statement to the exact sentence about it; a risk named for one source (energy crops) does not carry over to others.

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Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

The passage sets a sustainable potential of 80 – 170 exajoules a year obtainable without disrupting food and forest resources, and notes that nascent biomass-based carbon capture and storage could give negative emissions. But even the high projection is only about a quarter of world primary energy, not all of it.

• ✗ 1. Even the high projection is 'almost a quarter of world primary energy in 2050'.
• ✓ 2. There is a 'maximum sustainable technical potential ... without disruption of food and forest resources'.
• ✓ 3. Some models rely on 'biomass-based carbon capture and storage, an unproven technology, to achieve negative emissions'.

Remember · Numbers in the passage are the test: 'almost a quarter' can never become 'all'.

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Answer: (a) 1 only

Biomass has 'the highest mitigation potential of all renewable sources', and climate-energy models project its use rising nearly four-fold — so these models treat it as cutting emissions. The passage also gives a potential available without disrupting food and forest resources, which rules out statement 2.

• ✓ 1. 'Highest mitigation potential', a projected four-fold rise in use, and some models even rely on biomass for 'negative emissions'.
• ✗ 2. The passage puts 80 – 170 exajoules a year within reach 'without disruption of food and forest resources'.

Remember · An assumption the passage directly contradicts is invalid, however plausible it sounds.

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Answer: (d) Green revolution can pose a threat to biodiversity in food supply and food security in the long run

The passage calls the green revolution a mixed blessing: reliance on uniform high-yield crops has caused a 'dangerous dwindling of biodiversity' in our food and has put us 'at risk for food shortages in future'. So it can threaten both biodiversity and long-run food security.

• ✗ (a) 'Only due to green revolution' is too extreme; the passage links chemicals to high-yield varieties, not as the sole cause of dependence.
• ✗ (b) A plain factual link that leaves out the risk the passage is warning about.
• ✗ (c) 'The only way' runs against the passage, which says this practice risks future food shortages.
• ✓ (d) 'Dangerous dwindling of biodiversity in our food supply' and 'at risk for food shortages in future'.

Remember · A 'critical inference' carries the author's warning; drop options with 'only' and neutral facts that miss the author's concern.

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Answer: (a) 48 minutes

The class lasts 207 minutes. Four periods have three 5-minute rests between them, since the last period ends the class, so each period is (207 − 15) ÷ 4 = 48 minutes.

1. 11:00 am to 2:27 pm = 3 h 27 min = 207 minutes.
2. Four periods have three rests between them: 3 × 5 = 15 minutes.
3. Teaching time = 207 − 15 = 192 minutes; each period = 192 ÷ 4 = 48 minutes.
4. Check: 48 + 5 + 48 + 5 + 48 + 5 + 48 = 207.

Remember · n periods in a block have n − 1 breaks between them: subtract the breaks, then divide by n.

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Answer: (a) 23 minutes

Because the faster member of each pair must bring the lamp back, A (1 minute) should escort each of the others: 10 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 2 = 21 minutes. Taking the lamp back and crossing again without it adds A's 1 + 1 minutes, giving 23.

1. The faster person of each pair returns with the lamp, so the fastest, A, should pair with each of the others.
2. A and D cross: 10 min; A returns: 1 min.
3. A and C cross: 7 min; A returns: 1 min.
4. A and B cross: 2 min. All are across after 10 + 1 + 7 + 1 + 2 = 21 min.
5. A takes the lamp back (1 min) and crosses again without it (1 min): 21 + 2 = 23 minutes.
6. Check: any pair without A sends back B or slower, which only adds time.

Remember · Read the special rules first: here the faster partner must return, so the fastest person should shuttle everyone.

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Answer: (d) less sweet than that in C

Sweetness depends on sugar per unit of water. A has 30/180 = 1/6, B has 40/280 = 1/7 and C has 20/100 = 1/5 g per ml, so B is the weakest and is less sweet than C.

1. Sugar per ml of water — A: 30/180 = 1/6; B: 40/280 = 1/7; C: 20/100 = 1/5.
2. 1/7 < 1/6 < 1/5, so B is the least sweet of the three.
3. So B is less sweet than C (and than A); (a), (b) and (c) are false.

Remember · Compare concentrations as ratios; reducing each to a simple fraction (1/5, 1/6, 1/7) makes the order obvious.

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Answer: (b) 21

If there are n students, each gives Rs. n, so the collection is n². With the extra Rs. 2 it is 443, so n² = 441 and n = 21.

1. n students each give Rs. n: total = n².
2. n² + 2 = 443, so n² = 441 and n = 21.
3. Check: 21 × 21 = 441; 441 + 2 = 443.

Remember · 'As many rupees as the number of people' makes the total a perfect square — look for the square near the figure.

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Answer: (b) 5

She answered 7 + 12 + 18 = 37 problems correctly, while a pass needs 60% of 70 = 42. She needed 5 more correct answers.

1. Correct answers: 70% of 10 = 7; 40% of 30 = 12; 60% of 30 = 18. Total = 37.
2. Pass mark: 60% of 70 = 42 questions.
3. More needed: 42 − 37 = 5.

Remember · With equal marks per question, turn every percentage into a count of questions and compare counts.

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Answer: (b) 12

Eighteen is three-fourths of the boys, so there are 24 boys. They are two-thirds of the class, so the class has 36 students and 12 of them are girls.

1. Boys = 18 ÷ 3/4 = 24.
2. Class = 24 ÷ 2/3 = 36.
3. Girls = 36 − 24 = 12.

Remember · Work back from the part to the whole one fraction at a time: whole = part ÷ fraction.

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Answer: (d) A is older than C

Statement 1 gives A ≥ B and statement 3 gives B > C, so A is certainly older than C. Each other option rests on an 'either … or' that may go the other way, or on a comparison the statements never make.

1. Statement 1: A ≥ B. Statement 2: D ≥ C. Statement 3: B > C.
2. Chain: A ≥ B > C, so A > C.
3. Check the rest: A may equal B; D may equal C; B and D are never compared.

• ✗ (a) A and B may be of the same age.
• ✗ (b) Nothing compares B with D.
• ✗ (c) C and D may be of the same age.
• ✓ (d) A ≥ B and B > C give A > C.

Remember · Write 'either the same age or older' as ≥, then chain the signs; one strict > in the chain makes the result strict.

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Answer: (b) 80%

The overall average of Rs. 5000 is Rs. 200 below the men's average and Rs. 800 above the women's. So men and women are in the ratio 800 : 200 = 4 : 1, and men are 80% of the staff.

1. Let the share of men be m; women are 1 − m.
2. 5200m + 4200(1 − m) = 5000, so 1000m = 800 and m = 0.8.
3. Men = 80%.
4. Check by alligation: distances 5200 − 5000 = 200 and 5000 − 4200 = 800; men : women = 800 : 200 = 4 : 1.

Remember · Alligation: each group's share is proportional to the other group's distance from the overall average.

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Answer: (b) E

Hockey cannot be in A, B or C (their balls are known) or in D and E, so it is in F. Golf is not in D, so golf must be in E, leaving football for D.

1. Stated outright: A — tennis, orange; C — cricket, green; B — volleyball.
2. Hockey is not in D or E, and A, B, C already hold other balls, so hockey is in F.
3. Golf is not in D, so golf is in E and football is left for D.

Remember · In box puzzles, fix what is stated outright, then place the item with the most 'not' clues; note what stays open before answering.

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Answer: (b) F is painted indigo

Hockey is in F, and F can be neither blue nor yellow; orange, green and violet belong to A, C and E, so F is indigo. B and D take blue and yellow in an order the clues never fix, so only (b) is certain.

1. Stated outright: A — tennis, orange; C — cricket, green; B — volleyball.
2. Hockey is not in D or E, and A, B, C already hold other balls, so hockey is in F.
3. Golf is not in D, so golf is in E and football is left for D.
4. Golf is in the violet box, so E is violet.
5. F (hockey) is neither blue nor yellow; orange, green and violet are taken, so F is indigo.
6. B and D share blue and yellow, and no clue says which is which.

• ✗ (a) D may be blue or yellow — not fixed.
• ✓ (b) F must be indigo.
• ✗ (c) B may be blue or yellow — not fixed.
• ✗ (d) Only (b) is certain.

Remember · In box puzzles, fix what is stated outright, then place the item with the most 'not' clues; note what stays open before answering.

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Answer: (c) Cannot be determined as data are inadequate

Football ends up in box D. But D and B share blue and yellow, and no clue decides which of them is which, so the colour of the football's box cannot be determined.

1. Stated outright: A — tennis, orange; C — cricket, green; B — volleyball.
2. Hockey is not in D or E, and A, B, C already hold other balls, so hockey is in F.
3. Golf is not in D, so golf is in E and football is left for D.
4. Golf is in the violet box, so E is violet.
5. F (hockey) is neither blue nor yellow; orange, green and violet are taken, so F is indigo.
6. B and D share blue and yellow, and no clue says which is which.

Remember · In box puzzles, fix what is stated outright, then place the item with the most 'not' clues; note what stays open before answering.

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Answer: (b) 10%

Take Z = 100: then X = 80 and Y = 72. Y is 8 less than X, and measured against X that is 8/80 = 10%.

1. Let Z = 100. Then X = 80 and Y = 72.
2. Y is less than X by 80 − 72 = 8.
3. As a percentage of X: 8/80 × 100 = 10%.

Remember · 'By what % is Y less than X' uses X as the base. Taking the reference number as 100 avoids fractions.

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Answer: (c) 4

A train leaving at 6 AM arrives 42 hours later, at midnight, and can start back only at the next 6 AM — so each one-way trip uses 2 days and a round trip 4 days. With a departure needed every day, 4 trains keep the shuttle going.

1. Leaving A at 6 AM on day 1, a train reaches B 42 hours later — midnight at the end of day 2.
2. It starts back from B at 6 AM on day 3 and reaches A at midnight at the end of day 4.
3. It leaves A again at 6 AM on day 5: one full cycle takes 4 days.
4. A train must leave A every day, so 4 trains are needed (trains 1–4 leave A on days 1–4; train 1 is back for day 5).
5. Check: the same 4 trains also give a daily 6 AM departure from B, each leaving B two days after leaving A.

Remember · For a shuttle, find one train's full cycle, waiting included; trains needed = cycle in days × daily departures from one end.

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Answer: (c) 4 cm

The whole sheet of 12 × 8 = 96 cm² becomes the surface of the cube. A closed cube has six square faces, so 6s² = 96, s² = 16 and each side is 4 cm.

1. Area of the sheet = 12 × 8 = 96 cm².
2. Closed cube: 6s² = 96, so s² = 16 and s = 4 cm.
3. Check: 6 × 4 × 4 = 96.

Remember · Sheet-to-solid problems: the sheet's area equals the surface area of the solid made from it.

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Answer: (d) 32

Each question can be answered in 2 ways, so there are 2⁵ = 32 different answer sequences. If no two candidates repeat a sequence, at most 32 candidates are possible.

1. Each of the 5 questions has 2 possible answers.
2. Distinct sequences = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 2⁵ = 32.
3. No two candidates share a sequence, so the maximum is 32.

Remember · Independent choices multiply: k options at each of n places give kⁿ sequences.

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Answer: (c) Greater transparency in the functioning of the government and promoting the financial inclusion are needed at present

The passage blames crony capitalism — land, resources and licences traded for payoffs — for killing transparency and competition and for creating oligarchies that slow growth. The corollary is greater transparency in government, with financial inclusion widening opportunity beyond the favoured few.

• ✗ (a) More welfare spending does nothing about cronyism, the problem the passage raises.
• ✗ (b) 'Other means' of growth and licences for the poor sidestep the real issue — lost transparency and competition.
• ✓ (c) Crony capitalism works 'by killing transparency and competition'; transparency and wider access to finance counter it.
• ✗ (d) Manufacturing versus services is never discussed.

Remember · A corollary follows straight from the passage's diagnosis; choose the option that removes the cause the passage names.

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Answer: (d) Climate adaptation should be examined in tandem with other economic development options

The passage says adaptation may fail if policies ignore other development concerns, and its food security example mixes climate measures with economic development measures. So climate adaptation must be planned together with other development options.

• ✗ (a) Developing countries are not singled out, and difficulty is not the point.
• ✗ (b) The passage never compares how complex food security and adaptation are.
• ✗ (c) 'Every developmental activity' is too sweeping; only 'some of these measures' concern climate.
• ✓ (d) Adaptation 'may be rendered ineffective if policies are not designed in the context of other development concerns'.

Remember · The opening sentence often states the thesis and the example supports it; pick the option that restates the thesis.

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Answer: (a) Biodiversity sustains the ability of nature to recycle water

Water and biodiversity are interdependent: vegetation and soil drive the movement of water, and water passing through fish, trees, bacteria and soil is cleansed. So biodiversity sustains nature's ability to cycle and renew water.

• ✓ (a) 'Vegetation and soil drive the movement of water', and passing through ecosystems water 'is cleansed and made fit for consumption'.
• ✗ (b) 'Cannot ... without' is too absolute; water passes through organisms only 'at least in part'.
• ✗ (c) Generally true, but the passage is about water and biodiversity, not interaction among organisms.
• ✗ (d) How life came into existence is outside the passage.

Remember · Reject absolute words ('cannot', 'never') when the passage hedges ('at least in part'); the right inference keeps the passage's own link.

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Answer: (d) Need to promote financial inclusion

Banking has been restructured to serve mainly the middle and upper-middle classes, and the passage calls for an agenda that 'does not exclude the common man'. Bringing excluded people into banking and finance is financial inclusion.

• ✗ (a) More automation and products is what has already happened — for the better-off.
• ✗ (b) The passage is about banking and non-banking financial services, not the whole public finance system.
• ✗ (c) Merging the two kinds of institutions is not suggested.
• ✓ (d) A new agenda 'that does not exclude the common man' is financial inclusion.

Remember · Name the idea the author describes without naming it — 'does not exclude the common man' means financial inclusion.

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Answer: (b) 2 only

The passage calls for a sustained, large-scale campaign for the right to sanitation, which points to building awareness of safe sanitation. But abolition of manual scavenging is the primary focus, not the only answer — the neglect of women in schemes and dry latrines are problems too — so statement 1 overstates it.

• ✗ 1. 'Fully solved' and 'only' overstate it; the campaign should 'primarily' focus on abolition, alongside women's needs and pour-flush toilets.
• ✓ 2. 'A more sustained and rigorous campaign needs to be launched towards the right to sanitation on a very large scale'.

Remember · 'Primarily' is not 'only'. A statement that turns the main focus into the sole solution fails.

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Answer: (d) Diverse natural wants forced man towards social system

Nature made man's wants greater than his individual powers; no one can meet his wants without society, and those wants 'impel the whole of them into society'. So it is man's natural wants that drove him into social life.

• ✗ (a) Diversity in human society is not discussed.
• ✗ (b) It is the individual, not society, that cannot meet its wants alone.
• ✗ (c) It only echoes the premise 'nature created him for social life'; it misses why man became social, which is the passage's point.
• ✓ (d) 'Those wants, acting upon every individual, impel the whole of them into society'.

Remember · An inference goes beyond a restated premise; pick the option that captures the cause-and-effect the passage builds.

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Answer: (b) the interrelationship of Politics and Economics

Why not the tempting option · UPSC's key is (b). Option (c) tempts because the law is made to depend on the distribution of economic power, but the dependence is hedged ('corresponds', 'in a general way') and the same sentence has the state controlling the society, so the statement describes a mutual relationship rather than the dominance of economics over politics. In the exam, read the whole sentence: the crux must cover both clauses, not only the one that sounds strongest.

The state's laws answer the demands it faces; those demands depend, in a general way, on how economic power is spread in a society that the state in turn controls. Each side shapes the other, so the statement is about the interrelationship of politics and economics.

• ✗ (a) Nothing sets politics and economics against each other.
• ✓ (b) Legal imperatives 'correspond to' demands that 'depend ... upon' the distribution of economic power in a society 'which the state controls': economics shapes the law, and the state controls the society — a two-way link.
• ✗ (c) The dependence is only 'in a general way', the verb is 'corresponds', and the same sentence has the state controlling the society; a relationship is described, not the dominance of one side over the other.
• ✗ (d) The statement makes law answer to economic power, not economic power to law.

Remember · When a text says X corresponds to Y 'in a general way' and keeps both sides active, choose 'relationship'; 'predominance' needs an outright claim that one side dominates.

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Answer: (b) It is imperative for us to modify our land use practices in order to mitigate climate change

Agriculture gives about 15 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, and forestry, land use and land-use change another 17 per cent, mostly from tropical deforestation and peatland. With nearly a third of emissions tied to how we use land, changing land use is essential to fighting climate change.

• ✗ (a) 'Immediately replace ... all over the world' is extreme, and organic farming is never mentioned.
• ✓ (b) About 15 per cent from agriculture plus another 17 per cent from 'forestry, land use, and land-use change'.
• ✗ (c) Technology is not discussed at all.
• ✗ (d) Tropical deforestation appears as a source of emissions; the tropics are not called the chief carbon sinks.

Remember · Add up the shares the passage gives; a large combined share points to the policy lever the author has in mind.

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Answer: (b) 13 km

North-east and north-west are at right angles, so the path turns through 90° at A. OB is the hypotenuse of a right triangle with arms 5 km and 12 km: √(5² + 12²) = 13 km.

1. North-east and north-west are perpendicular, so angle OAB = 90°.
2. OA = 5 km and AB = 12 km are the arms of the right angle.
3. OB = √(5² + 12²) = √169 = 13 km.

Remember · Directions 90° apart (NE and NW, N and E) form a right angle — use Pythagoras; 5-12-13 is a triple worth knowing.

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Answer: (a) 400 sq m

When the length and breadth add up to 40 m, the area is greatest when the rectangle is a square of side 20 m. So the area can never exceed 20 × 20 = 400 sq m.

1. For a fixed sum X₁ + X₂ = 40, the product X₁ × X₂ is largest when X₁ = X₂ = 20.
2. Maximum area = 20 × 20 = 400 sq m.
3. Check: 19 × 21 = 399 and 10 × 30 = 300, both below 400.

Remember · For a fixed sum, a product is largest when the parts are equal.

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Answer: (b) 1 year

The five members now total 80 + 15 = 95 years. With the baby, six people must total 6 × 16 = 96 years to keep the average at 16, so the baby is 1 year old.

1. Three years ago: 5 members, total 80, average 16.
2. Today the same 5 total 80 + 5 × 3 = 95.
3. Today 6 members average 16: total 6 × 16 = 96.
4. Baby's age = 96 − 95 = 1 year.

Remember · Age totals grow by (number of people × years passed); compare the required total with the grown total.

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Answer: (d) 12: 11

Equal totals mean 165% of the first person's basic pay equals 180% of the second's. So the basic pays are in the ratio 180 : 165 = 12 : 11.

1. First: basic x, total 1.65x. Second: basic y, total 1.80y.
2. 1.65x = 1.80y, so x : y = 180 : 165 = 12 : 11.
3. Check: 12 × 1.65 = 19.8 and 11 × 1.80 = 19.8.

Remember · If a% of X equals b% of Y, then X : Y = b : a.

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Answer: (b) 9

Step 1 plus 4 more is step 5, the middle step. A middle step with 4 steps below it has 4 above it too, so the ladder has 9 steps.

1. He stands on step 1; 4 more steps bring him to step 5.
2. Step 5 is the middle, so there are 4 steps below it and 4 above it.
3. Total = 4 + 1 + 4 = 9.

Remember · If the kth item is exactly the middle one, the total is 2k − 1.

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Answer: (a) Ribeiro

Only A can have worn the white sweater (B is excluded and C wore the tie), so A is Kumar. 'Neither B nor Ribeiro' shows B is not Ribeiro, so B is Singh and C is Ribeiro.

1. Clue 1 speaks of a white sweater worn by someone other than B and Ribeiro; it also tells us B is not Ribeiro.
2. C wore the tie (clue 2), so the white sweater was A's.
3. A is not Ribeiro (clue 1) and not Singh (clue 3), so A is Kumar — who indeed wears no jacket (clue 4).
4. B wore the jacket. B is not Ribeiro, so B is Singh and C is Ribeiro.

Remember · 'Neither X nor Y' in a clue means X and Y are different people — a quiet but decisive fact in surname puzzles.

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Answer: (b) Blue

C, who wore the tie, is Ribeiro. White is A's sweater, and Ribeiro does not wear black, so the tie must be blue.

1. Clue 1 speaks of a white sweater worn by someone other than B and Ribeiro; it also tells us B is not Ribeiro.
2. C wore the tie (clue 2), so the white sweater was A's.
3. A is not Ribeiro (clue 1) and not Singh (clue 3), so A is Kumar — who indeed wears no jacket (clue 4).
4. B wore the jacket. B is not Ribeiro, so B is Singh and C is Ribeiro.
5. Ribeiro does not wear black (clue 5), so C's tie is blue and B's jacket is black.
6. Result: A Kumar — white sweater; B Singh — black jacket; C Ribeiro — blue tie.

Remember · 'Neither X nor Y' in a clue means X and Y are different people — a quiet but decisive fact in surname puzzles.

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Answer: (a) A

Clue 1 points to a white sweater worn by neither B nor Ribeiro, and C wore the tie. So the sweater was A's.

1. Clue 1 speaks of a white sweater worn by someone other than B and Ribeiro; it also tells us B is not Ribeiro.
2. C wore the tie (clue 2), so the white sweater was A's.

Remember · 'Neither X nor Y' in a clue means X and Y are different people — a quiet but decisive fact in surname puzzles.

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Answer: (b) 25 m

The standing 12 m of trunk and the 5 m along the ground form a right triangle whose hypotenuse is the broken part: √(12² + 5²) = 13 m. The original height was 12 + 13 = 25 m.

1. AC = 12 m (standing), AD = 5 m (on the ground), angle CAD = 90°.
2. Broken part CD = √(12² + 5²) = √169 = 13 m.
3. Original height = AC + CB = 12 + 13 = 25 m.

Remember · Broken-tree problems: original height = standing part + hypotenuse from the break to where the top touches the ground.

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Answer: (a) 5 km

The moves net to 3 km south (12 north, 15 south) and 4 km west (15 east, 19 west) of the start. The straight-line distance is √(3² + 4²) = 5 km.

1. North–south: 12 km north, then 15 km south → 3 km south.
2. East–west: 15 km east, then 19 km west → 4 km west.
3. Distance = √(3² + 4²) = √25 = 5 km.

Remember · Net out north–south and east–west moves separately, then apply Pythagoras once.

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Answer: (b) 24

Each edge of the big cube is cut into 4, so every face is a 4 × 4 grid of small cubes. Only the inner 2 × 2 on each face has exactly one painted side: 6 × 4 = 24.

1. The big cube becomes 4 × 4 × 4 = 64 small cubes.
2. On each face, the cubes painted on that face alone form the inner (4 − 2) × (4 − 2) = 4.
3. Six faces: 6 × 4 = 24.

Remember · Cube cut into n per edge: one face painted = 6(n − 2)², two faces = 12(n − 2), three faces = 8.

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Answer: (c) 10 days

Together they do 60% in 4 days, i.e. 15% a day. Shyam alone does the other 40% in 8 days, i.e. 5% a day. So Ram does 10% a day and would need 10 days alone.

1. Together: 60% in 4 days = 15% a day.
2. Shyam alone: 40% in 8 days = 5% a day.
3. Ram = 15% − 5% = 10% a day, so 100 ÷ 10 = 10 days.

Remember · Turn work into per-day percentages; rates simply add when people work together.

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Answer: (d) CARFNOIT

The code splits a word into two halves and writes each half backwards: SYS|TEM becomes SYS|MET and NEA|RER becomes AEN|RER. So FRAC|TION becomes CARF|NOIT.

1. SYSTEM = SYS | TEM; reversing each half gives SYS | MET = SYSMET.
2. NEARER = NEA | RER; reversing each half gives AEN | RER = AENRER. The rule fits both.
3. FRACTION = FRAC | TION; reversing each half gives CARF | NOIT = CARFNOIT.

Remember · In coding items, test a positional rule — halves, pairs, reversal — on every example given before applying it.

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Answer: (b) R + S is divisible by 10

Write R = 5a and S = 5b. The difference, product and sum of squares always keep the factor 5 (or 25), but R + S = 5(a + b) is a multiple of 10 only when a + b is even — 5 + 10 = 15 shows it can fail.

1. Let R = 5a and S = 5b, where a and b are different integers.
2. R − S = 5(a − b), R × S = 25ab and R² + S² = 25(a² + b²): always true.
3. R + S = 5(a + b) is divisible by 10 only if a + b is even. Counter-example: R = 5, S = 10 gives 15.

• ✗ (a) R − S = 5(a − b) is always a multiple of 5.
• ✓ (b) Fails for R = 5, S = 10: the sum 15 is not divisible by 10.
• ✗ (c) R × S = 25ab is always a multiple of 25.
• ✗ (d) R² + S² = 25(a² + b²) is always a multiple of 5.

Remember · For 'not necessarily true', try one quick counter-example with the smallest numbers allowed.

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Answer: (a) 110

All numbers from 200 to 299 begin with 2 — 100 numbers — and 20 numbers from 102 to 292 end in 2. Ten of those (202 to 292) are counted twice, so the total is 100 + 20 − 10 = 110.

1. Beginning with 2: 200 to 299 — 100 numbers.
2. Ending in 2: 102, 112, …, 292 — 20 numbers.
3. Both: 202, 212, …, 292 — 10 numbers.
4. Total = 100 + 20 − 10 = 110.

Remember · 'Either … or' counting: add both groups, then subtract the overlap once.

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Answer: (a) Our increasing demand for foods sourced from animals puts a greater burden on our natural resources

As we prepare to feed two billion more people by 2050, the passage says a diet built on meat and dairy — rising across the developing world — takes a greater toll on the world's resources than a plant-based one. The critical message is that growing demand for animal foods burdens natural resources.

• ✓ (a) A meat and dairy diet 'will take a greater toll on the world's resources'.
• ✗ (b) The passage weighs the toll on resources, not health.
• ✗ (c) Habits changing 'irrespective of the health concerns' is not discussed.
• ✗ (d) The passage does say which diet is lighter on resources; it does not claim ignorance.

Remember · The critical message usually sits in the 'simply put' sentence; reject options that switch the frame, such as health instead of resources.

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Answer: (b) A permanent change in the food habits of a community can bring about a genetic change in its members

Once herders began drinking milk as adults, lactose tolerance evolved among them, while groups not dependent on cattle stayed intolerant. The passage rests on the idea that a lasting change in a community's diet can bring about a genetic change in its members.

• ✗ (a) Cattle domestication 10,000 years ago is stated in the passage — a given fact, not the assumption behind its argument.
• ✓ (b) Lactose tolerance 'evolved' among herders after milk entered their diet; groups 'not dependant on cattle' remain intolerant.
• ✗ (c) Lactase only breaks lactose into simple sugars; nothing says others cannot get simple sugars — 'only' is unsupported.
• ✗ (d) 'Any dairy product' is too extreme; the passage speaks only of digesting milk sugar.

Remember · The best assumption links the passage's cause to its effect; options that repeat a stated fact or add 'only' or 'any' are weaker.

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Answer: (b) the existence of a non-commercialized sector in different underdeveloped countries renders the national income comparisons over countries difficult

The author says national income comparisons between underdeveloped and industrialised countries are hard because part of the underdeveloped countries' output never passes through commercial channels. So the non-commercialised sector is what makes such comparisons difficult.

• ✗ (a) 'The entire' output of industrialised countries is an overreach the statement does not make.
• ✓ (b) Output 'produced without passing through the commercial channels' is the stated reason the difficulties are 'particularly serious'.
• ✗ (c) A prescription ('should') the author never makes.
• ✗ (d) The author notes where such output exists; he does not call it a sign of underdevelopment.

Remember · For 'the author implies', restate the author's own cause-and-effect; options adding 'should', 'entire' or a fresh judgement go beyond it.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Increasing green cover could trigger the release of carbon trapped in soil

More carbon dioxide boosts plant growth, and flourishing roots stimulate soil microbes that speed up the decomposition of soil carbon and its release as carbon dioxide. So an increase in green cover could trigger the release of carbon locked in soil.

• ✗ (a) The passage says CO₂ 'supports plant growth'; it says nothing about it being essential for microorganisms.
• ✗ (b) 'Solely' is too strong; human-made CO₂ is one addition, not the only source.
• ✗ (c) Reverses the chain: plant growth stimulates the microbes, not the other way round.
• ✓ (d) As vegetation flourishes, 'their roots could stimulate microbial activity in soil that may in turn accelerate the decomposition of soil carbon'.

Remember · Follow the chain the passage builds (CO₂ → plant growth → microbes → soil carbon released); the corollary is its end point.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

The passage ends by naming 'food production, marketing and prices, especially price-affordability by the poor' as the global issues needing global solutions. Improving affordability for the poor and regulating marketing follow from this; agro-based industries and subsidies for everyone are never proposed.

• ✗ 1. Agro-based industries are not mentioned.
• ✓ 2. 'Especially price-affordability by the poor' — hunger comes from 'empty-pocket hungry mouths'.
• ✓ 3. 'Food production, marketing and prices' are named as global issues needing global solutions.
• ✗ 4. A subsidy 'to one and all' is not suggested; the concern is the poor who lack purchasing power.

Remember · For 'solutions according to the passage', use the issues it names in its conclusion; drop remedies it never proposes, especially sweeping ones.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) to achieve a balance between demand for and supply of food

The passage opens by saying that the biggest challenge to world agriculture has been to achieve a balance between demand for and supply of food. Option (d) repeats this directly.

• ✗ (a) Land and food processing are not mentioned.
• ✗ (b) Hunger is discussed as a result of lack of purchasing power, not as agriculture's biggest challenge.
• ✗ (c) Non-food items are never discussed.
• ✓ (d) The passage's first sentence says exactly this.

Remember · When a question borrows the passage's own phrase ('biggest challenge'), find that phrase and read what follows it.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Supply-demand balance is called an 'inescapable prerequisite for warding off hunger and starvation', and hunger persists where the poor lack purchasing power. So balancing supply and demand and raising the purchasing power of the poor both help; imports and changes in diet are not offered as remedies.

• ✓ 1. Supply-demand balance is 'an inescapable prerequisite for warding off hunger and starvation'.
• ✗ 2. Buying food abroad is mentioned only for open economies with 'adequate exchange surpluses', not as a remedy for poor economies.
• ✓ 3. Food does not move to deficit countries 'if the latter lack in purchasing power'; hunger comes from 'empty-pocket hungry mouths'.
• ✗ 4. The changing 'composition of demand' is a reason the issue has grown, not a remedy.

Remember · Separate what the passage gives as a cause of the problem from what it gives as a remedy; only remedies count here.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 3 only

The passage gives two reasons: the quantum and composition of demand have been changing, and countries' capabilities to keep an uninterrupted chain of food supplies have come under strain. Only the second matches a statement; population overgrowth and a fall in food-growing area are never mentioned.

• ✗ 1. The passage speaks of changes in 'the quantum and the composition of demand', not of population overgrowth.
• ✗ 2. A decline in the area under food production is not mentioned.
• ✓ 3. 'The capabilities of individual countries to generate uninterrupted chain of food supplies have come under strain'.

Remember · Match each statement to the passage's exact reasons; a plausible real-world cause the passage does not state is out.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 6

Listing the arrangements by first digit (1 cannot lead) and striking out any with 2 and 3 side by side, with 1 directly before 3, or with 4 at the end leaves 2143, 2431, 3142, 3412, 3421 and 4312 — six numbers.

1. 1 cannot come first, so the number starts with 2, 3 or 4.
2. Starting with 2: 2143 and 2431 work (2134 and 2413 contain 13; 2314 and 2341 contain 23).
3. Starting with 3: 3142, 3412 and 3421 work (3124 ends in 4; 3214 and 3241 contain 32).
4. Starting with 4: only 4312 works (4123 and 4231 contain 23; 4132 and 4213 contain 13; 4321 contains 32).
5. Total = 2 + 3 + 1 = 6.

Remember · With only 24 arrangements, list them systematically by first digit and strike out rule-breakers rather than trusting a formula with overlapping conditions.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1/3

The cylinder holds 22/7 × 2² × 7 = 88 m³, and the full underground tank holds 5.5 × 4 × 6 = 132 m³. After the cylinder is filled, 44 m³ remain — one-third of the underground tank.

1. Overhead tank: πr²h = 22/7 × 2 × 2 × 7 = 88 m³.
2. Underground tank (taken as full at the start): 5.5 × 4 × 6 = 132 m³.
3. Left: 132 − 88 = 44 m³, and 44/132 = 1/3.

Remember · When 7 appears in a radius or height, take π = 22/7; the numbers are usually set to cancel neatly.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 12

The class has 20 boys and 40 girls. Of the 16 students ahead of Kamal, 9 are girls, so 7 are boys. Leaving out Kamal himself, 20 − 7 − 1 = 12 boys rank below him.

1. Girls = 2 × boys and the total is 60, so boys = 20 and girls = 40.
2. Kamal is 17th: 16 students are ahead; 9 are girls, so 7 are boys.
3. Boys after Kamal = 20 − 7 − 1 = 12.

Remember · In ranking items, split the people ahead by group, then subtract them and the person himself from his group's total.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 7

Walking in opposite directions they together cover 5 rounds an hour, so they meet every 12 minutes. In the 90 minutes up to 9:30 they cross at 12, 24, …, 84 minutes — 7 times.

1. In opposite directions their speeds add: 2 + 3 = 5 rounds an hour.
2. They meet each time they together complete one round: every 60 ÷ 5 = 12 minutes.
3. 8:00 to 9:30 is 90 minutes: meetings at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 and 84 minutes.
4. That is 7 crossings; the next would be at 96 minutes, after 9:30.

Remember · Opposite directions on a circular track: crossings = combined rounds covered, counting only whole rounds completed within the time.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Z

Scaling each part-job up to the whole work: W needs 120 days, X 40, Y 100 and Z 39. Z finishes first.

1. W: 25% in 30 days → 30 ÷ 1/4 = 120 days.
2. X: 1/4 in 10 days → 40 days.
3. Y: 40% in 40 days → 40 ÷ 2/5 = 100 days.
4. Z: 1/3 in 13 days → 39 days — the fastest.

Remember · Convert every rate to days for the whole job (days ÷ fraction done) before comparing.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Rs. 12,000

A rise of Rs. 1,20,000 a year is Rs. 10,000 a month. Shared across 5 people it lifts the monthly average by Rs. 2,000, from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000.

1. Family's monthly income = 5 × Rs. 10,000 = Rs. 50,000.
2. Rs. 1,20,000 a year = Rs. 10,000 a month.
3. New average = (50,000 + 10,000) ÷ 5 = Rs. 12,000.

Remember · Put all figures in the same time unit first; the average then rises by the increase divided by the number of people.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) 150 m

The apples lie 5, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20 m from the bucket, and he must run to each and back. The total is 2 × (5 + 8 + 11 + 14 + 17 + 20) = 2 × 75 = 150 m.

1. Distances from the bucket: 5, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20 m.
2. Each apple needs a run there and back: 2 × distance.
3. Total = 2 × (5 + 8 + 11 + 14 + 17 + 20) = 2 × 75 = 150 m.

Remember · One-at-a-time fetching doubles every distance; add the distances as a series (number of terms × average).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 0.16

Taking every point of the target as equally likely, the probability is the red area over the whole area: (0.20 ÷ 0.50)² = 0.16. The widths of the other bands do not matter.

1. Target radius = 1 m ÷ 2 = 0.50 m; red radius = 0.20 m.
2. Probability = red area ÷ target area = (0.20/0.50)² = 0.4² = 0.16.

Remember · For circles, the ratio of areas is the square of the ratio of radii.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Rs. 630

After a 10% discount the toy sells for Rs. 693. That price already includes a 10% gain, so the cost price is 693 ÷ 1.1 = Rs. 630.

1. Selling price = 90% of Rs. 770 = Rs. 693.
2. Cost price × 1.1 = 693, so cost price = Rs. 630.
3. Check: 630 × 1.1 = 693.

Remember · Chain the percentages: marked price × (1 − discount) = cost price × (1 + gain).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error