Questions
2 questions per paper
Difficulty
Medium
Importance
Low yield but critical for overall cutoff clearing.
Overview
Missing number puzzles evaluate logical deduction and pattern recognition by requiring candidates to identify the mathematical rule governing a set of figures. These questions test your speed in observing arithmetic progressions, geometric relationships, and positional logic within grids or dice faces.
Missing Number in Figures
These puzzles present numbers in grids, triangles, or circles where one value is replaced by a question mark. You must determine the relationship between numbers across rows, columns, or by finding sums and differences that yield a consistent logic.
- Check for common arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division in rows/columns.
- Look for squares, cubes, and their variations (n^2 +/- k or n^3 +/- k).
- Test for digital sums or individual digit manipulations if the numbers are large.
- Assess circular arrangements by checking diametrically opposite numbers or sector-wise relationships.
- Use differences of differences for sequence-based patterns within grids.
Dice Reasoning
Dice puzzles require identifying opposite faces when provided with multiple views of a single cube. Mastering the rules of adjacency and rotation is critical for visualizing the folded structure of these figures under time constraints.
- Rule of Adjacency: Numbers adjacent to a face in one view cannot be on the opposite face.
- Rotation Rule: If two dice have two common faces, the third faces are always opposite.
- Single Common Face Rule: Rotate clockwise from the common face to find pairs of opposite faces.
- Opposite face sum rule for standard dice: Sum of opposite faces is always 7.
- Open Dice: Faces separated by one square are always opposite in the folded cube.
Formula Sheet
Sum of opposite faces = 7 (Standard Dice)
n^2 and n^3 series identification
Constant difference/ratio identification in rows and columns
Exam Tip
If the pattern isn't obvious within 45 seconds, mark it for review and move on; these questions are often designed as time-sinks.
Common Mistakes
- Over-complicating the pattern by assuming complex algebraic equations when simple arithmetic suffices.
- Ignoring the 'Standard Dice' assumption and applying non-standard logic where not intended.
- Spending more than 60 seconds on a single puzzle, which disrupts the section-wise time management.
More Revision Notes
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