किसी निश्चित कोड में ‘256’ का अर्थ ‘लाल रंग चाक’ है, ‘589’ का अर्थ ‘हरा रंग फूल’ है और ‘254’ का अर्थ ‘सफ़ेद रंग चाक’ है। उस कोड में ‘सफ़ेद’ को इंगित करने वाला अंक कौन-सा है?
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In a certain code, ‘256’ means ‘red colour chalk’, ‘589’ means ‘green colour flower’ and ‘254’ means ‘white colour chalk’. The digit in the code that indicates ‘white’ is
(a) 2 · (b) 4 · (c) 5 · (d) 8
उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English
Answer: (b) 4
'Colour' is the only word in all three phrases and 5 the only digit in all three codes. 'Chalk' is shared by the first and third phrases, whose codes also share 2. That leaves 4 for 'white' in 254.
- 'colour' is in all three phrases and 5 is in all three codes, so colour = 5.
- 'chalk' is in 256 and 254; apart from 5 they share 2, so chalk = 2.
- 254 = white colour chalk, so white = 4.
- Check: 256 then gives red = 6, and 589 splits green and flower between 8 and 9.
Remember · In word-to-digit codes, match the word common to two phrases with the digit common to their codes, and eliminate step by step.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·