Aptitude Test Preparation: Quant, Reasoning and Verbal with Solved Examples

What aptitude tests look like

Most mass-recruitment drives, especially at IT services companies, start with an online aptitude test. It usually has three parts: quantitative aptitude (maths), logical reasoning and verbal ability (English), sometimes followed by technical questions and coding. The questions are not hard, but the time pressure is strong, and sections often have individual cut-offs, so one weak area can eliminate you.

The good news: aptitude improves quickly with practice, because the same patterns repeat.

Quantitative aptitude

Topics to cover: percentages, profit and loss, ratio and proportion, averages, time and work, time-speed-distance, simple and compound interest, ages, mixtures, permutations and combinations, probability, number systems, data interpretation.

Key formulas and shortcuts

• Percentage change = (change ÷ original) × 100
• Profit % = (profit ÷ cost price) × 100
• If A finishes a job in a days and B in b days, working together they take ab ÷ (a + b) days
• Average speed for equal distances at speeds x and y = 2xy ÷ (x + y)
• Simple interest = PRT ÷ 100; compound amount = P(1 + R/100)ⁿ
• Probability = favourable outcomes ÷ total outcomes

Solved examples

1. A price increases by 20% and then decreases by 20%. What is the net change? Multiply: 1.2 × 0.8 = 0.96, so the price is 4% lower.
2. A can complete a job in 12 days and B in 18 days. How long together? 12 × 18 ÷ (12 + 18) = 216 ÷ 30 = 7.2 days.
3. A trader buys an item for ₹500 and sells it for ₹575. Profit %? (75 ÷ 500) × 100 = 15%.
4. A car travels equal distances at 60 km/h and 90 km/h. Average speed? 2 × 60 × 90 ÷ 150 = 72 km/h.
5. Two dice are rolled. Probability that the sum is 7? Six favourable outcomes out of 36 = 1/6.

Logical reasoning

Topics: number and letter series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, seating arrangements, syllogisms, puzzles, data sufficiency, pattern and abstract reasoning.

Solved examples

1. Series: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ? The differences are 4, 6, 8, 10, so the next difference is 12: 42.
2. Pointing to a man, Anu says, "His mother is the only daughter of my mother." The only daughter of Anu's mother is Anu herself, so the man is Anu's son.
3. Directions: you walk 5 km north, turn right and walk 3 km, then turn right and walk 5 km. How far are you from the start? You end 3 km east of the start: 3 km.

Method for puzzles and arrangements: draw a table or diagram, fill in the certain facts first, then deduce. Do not hold everything in your head.

Verbal ability

Topics: reading comprehension, sentence correction, fill in the blanks, synonyms and antonyms, para jumbles, error spotting, and sometimes an essay or email.

How to improve

• Read one editorial or long article daily and note unfamiliar words
• Learn grammar rules that are tested again and again: subject-verb agreement, tenses, articles, prepositions, parallel structure
• For comprehension, read the questions first, then scan the passage
• For essays, use a simple structure: introduction, two or three points with examples, conclusion

Test-day strategy

1. Skim the whole section if allowed; start with questions you can solve in under a minute.
2. Do not spend more than 90 seconds on any one question in the first pass.
3. Check for negative marking. If there is none, always guess; if there is, guess only when you can eliminate options.
4. Watch the clock at fixed points (for example every ten questions).
5. Keep rough work neat so you do not make copying mistakes.
6. Stay calm if a section goes badly. Other sections still count.

A four-week practice plan

Week	Focus	Daily routine
1	Quant basics: percentages, ratios, averages, time and work	30 questions, then review mistakes
2	Reasoning: series, relations, arrangements, syllogisms	25 questions timed
3	Verbal: grammar, vocabulary, comprehension	1 passage + 20 questions
4	Full mock tests	One full timed test, then 1 hour of analysis

Analysing your mistakes matters more than doing more questions. Keep a notebook of formulas and error patterns.

Common mistakes

• Memorising formulas without practising speed
• Practising untimed, so the real test feels too fast
• Ignoring verbal ability because you "know English"
• Not reading the instructions for sectional cut-offs

What next

Combine aptitude with coding preparation using the DSA study plan. See how companies use these tests in the TCS, Infosys and Cognizant guides, and browse current fresher jobs.