UPSC Prelims 2014 CSAT Paper — 65 Questions with Answers

CSAT Paper II of the 2014 Preliminary examination, held on 24 August 2014. 80 questions · 200 marks · qualifying at 33%. The questions broke down as Comprehension 29, Logical Reasoning 16, Basic Numeracy 15, Data Interpretation 3, Mental Ability 2.

  1. Q1 The author's central focus is on
    Comprehension· medium
  2. Q2 The author supports policies which will help
    Comprehension· medium
  3. Q3 Consider the following statements : According to the author, India's economy has grown but there is no room for complacency as 1. growth eradicates poverty. 2. growth has resulted in prosperity for all. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
    Comprehension· easy
  4. Q4 Consider the following statements : According to the passage, an oil company can make greater profits, if a transparent formula for petrol pricing is announced every fortnight or month, by 1. promoting its sales. 2. undertaking innovation. 3. cutting costs…
    Comprehension· medium
  5. Q5 Consider the following statements : According to the passage, private oil companies re-enter the oil producing market if 1. a transparent rule-based petrol pricing exists. 2. there is no government interference in the oil producing market. 3. subsidies are…
    Comprehension· medium
  6. Q6 Five persons fire bullets at a target at an interval of 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 seconds respectively. The number of times they would fire the bullets together at the target in an hour is
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  7. Q7 A group of 630 children is seated in rows for a group photo session. Each row contains three less children than the row in front of it. Which one of the following number of rows is not possible ?
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  8. Q8 There are seven persons up on a ladder, A, B, C, D, E, F and G (not in that order). A is further up than E but is lower than C. B is in the middle. G is between A and B. E is between B and F. If F is between E and D, the person on the bottom step of the…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  9. Q9 Consider that : 1. A is taller than B. 2. C is taller than A. 3. D is taller than C. 4. E is the tallest of all. If they are made to sit in the above order of their height, who will occupy the mid position ?
    Logical Reasoning· easy
  10. Q10 Consider the following statements : There are six villages A, B, C, D, E and F. F is 1 km to the west of D. B is 1 km to the east of E. A is 2 km to the north of E. C is 1 km to the east of A. D is 1 km to the south of A. Which three villages are in a line ?
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  11. Q11 Four children are sitting in a row. A is occupying the seat next to B but not next to C. If C is not sitting next to D, who is/are occupying seat/seats adjacent to D ?
    Logical Reasoning· easy
  12. Q12 Assume that 1. the hour and minute hands of a clock move without jerking. 2. the clock shows a time between 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock. 3. the two hands of the clock are one above the other. After how many minutes (nearest integer) will the two hands be again…
    Mental Ability· medium
  13. Q13 Consider the following statements : Climate change may force the shifting of locations of the existing crops due to 1. melting of glaciers. 2. water availability and temperature suitability at other locations. 3. poor productivity of crops. 4. wider…
    Comprehension· medium
  14. Q14 According to the passage, why is it important to promote agricultural research in India ?
    Comprehension· easy
  15. Q15 According to the passage, which of the following would help in the mitigation of greenhouse gases ? 1. Reducing the consumption of meat 2. Rapid economic liberalization 3. Reducing the consumerism 4. Modern management practices of livestock Select the correct…
    Comprehension· medium
  16. Q16 Why do we continue to depend on the fossil fuels heavily ? 1. Inadequate technological development 2. Inadequate funds for research and development 3. Inadequate availability of alternative sources of energy Select the correct answer using the code given…
    Comprehension· easy
  17. Q17 According to the passage, how does the mitigation of greenhouse gases help us ? 1. Reduces expenditure on public health 2. Reduces dependence on livestock 3. Reduces energy requirements 4. Reduces rate of global climate change Select the correct answer using…
    Comprehension· medium
  18. Q18 What is the essential message of the passage ?
    Comprehension· easy
  19. Q19 There are 50 students admitted to a nursery class. Some students can speak only English and some can speak only Hindi. 10 students can speak both English and Hindi. If the number of students who can speak English is 21, then how many students can speak Hindi…
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  20. Q20 A gardener increased the area of his rectangular garden by increasing its length by 40% and decreasing its width by 20%. The area of the new garden
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  21. Q21 Six books are labelled A, B, C, D, E and F and are placed side by side. Books B, C, E and F have green covers while others have yellow covers. Books A, B and D are new while the rest are old volumes. Books A, B and C are law reports while the rest are medical…
    Logical Reasoning· easy
  22. Q22 A straight line segment is 36 cm long. Points are to be marked on the line from both the end points. From each end, the first point is at a distance of 1 cm from the end, the second point is at a distance of 2 cm from the first point and the third point is at…
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  23. Q23 If Sohan, while selling two goats at the same price, makes a profit of 10% on one goat and suffers a loss of 10% on the other
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  24. Q24 Out of a total of 120 musicians in a club, 5% can play all the three instruments, guitar, violin and flute. It so happens that the number of musicians who can play any two and only two of the above instruments is 30. The number of musicians who can play the…
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  25. Q25 Six identical cards are placed on a table. Each card has number '1' marked on one side and number '2' marked on its other side. All the six cards are placed in such a manner that the number '1' is on the upper side. In one try, exactly four (neither more nor…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  26. Q26 Consider the following statements : According to the passage, the adverse impact of climate change on an ecosystem can be a 1. permanent disappearance of some of its flora and fauna. 2. permanent disappearance of ecosystem itself. Which of the statements…
    Comprehension· medium
  27. Q27 Which one of the following statements best implies the need to shift toward contemporary conservation approach ?
    Comprehension· medium
  28. Q28 What is the most important message conveyed by the passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  29. Q29 With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1. To maintain natural ecosystems, exploitation of natural resources should be completely avoided. 2. Not only anthropogenic but also natural reasons can adversely affect ecosystems. 3…
    Comprehension· medium
  30. Q30 According to the passage, under the globalization, government interventions are viewed as processes leading to
    Comprehension· easy
  31. Q31 According to the passage, the basic philosophy of globalization is to
    Comprehension· easy
  32. Q32 According to the passage, which of the following is/are necessary for ensuring globalization ? 1. Privatization of public enterprises 2. Expansionary policy of public expenditure 3. Free play of market forces to determine wages and employment 4. Privatization…
    Comprehension· medium
  33. Q33 According to the passage, in the process of globalization the State should have
    Comprehension· easy
  34. Q37 What is the trend of the average profit of B from the year 1997 to the year 2000 ?
    Data Interpretation· medium
  35. Q38 The following table shows the marks obtained by two students in different subjects : | Subject | Student A | Maximum Marks | Student B | Maximum Marks | | :--- | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | | English | 60 | 100 | 80 | 150 | | Psychology | 70 | 100 | 70 |…
    Data Interpretation· easy
  36. Q41 The following table gives population and total income of a city for four years : | Year | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | | :--- | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | | Population in lakhs | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | | Income in crores (₹) | 1010 | 1111 | 1225 | 1345 |…
    Data Interpretation· medium
  37. Q46 A bell rings every 18 minutes. A second bell rings every 24 minutes. A third bell rings every 32 minutes. If all the three bells ring at the same time at 8 o'clock in the morning, at what other time will they all ring together ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  38. Q47 "Price is not the same thing as value. Suppose that on a day the price of everything viz., coal, bread, postage stamps, a day's labour, the rent of houses, etc. were to double. Prices then would certainly rise, but values of all things except one would not."…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  39. Q48 A and B decide to travel from place X to place Y by bus. A has ₹ 10 with him and he finds that it is 80% of the bus fare for two persons. B finds that he has ₹ 3 with him and hands it over to A. In this context, which one of the following statements is…
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  40. Q49 As per agreement with a bank, a businessman had to refund a loan in some equal instalments without interest. After paying 18 instalments he found that 60 percent of his loan was refunded. How many instalments were there in the agreement ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  41. Q50 A worker reaches his factory 3 minutes late if his speed from his house to the factory is 5 km/hr. If he walks at a speed of 6 km/hr, then he reaches the factory 7 minutes early. The distance of the factory from his house is
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  42. Q51 "Liberty, therefore, is never real unless the Government can be called to account when it invades rights." Which one of the following is the best justification of the above statement ?
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  43. Q52 The apologists of the “Free Market System”, according to the passage, believe in
    Comprehension· medium
  44. Q53 With reference to “ideological bias”, the passage implies that
    Comprehension· medium
  45. Q54 “The exercise of private greed will be in the larger public interest” from the passage 1. refers to the false ideology of capitalism. 2. underlies the righteous claims of the free market. 3. shows the benevolent face of capitalism. 4. ignores resultant gross…
    Comprehension· medium
  46. Q55 According to the passage, what is/are the reason/reasons for saying that the time has come to review the role of public sector ? 1. Now public sector has lost its relevance in the industrialization process. 2. Public sector does not perform satisfactorily. 3…
    Comprehension· medium
  47. Q56 According to the passage, rural roads should be in the domain of public sector only. Why ?
    Comprehension· easy
  48. Q57 The portfolio composition of the government refers to
    Comprehension· easy
  49. Q58 The author prefers government as the umpire and private sector as players because
    Comprehension· easy
  50. Q59 A question paper must have a question on one of the eight poets : A, B, C, D, E, F, G or H. The first four belong to the medieval period while the rest are considered modern poets. Generally, modern poets figure in the question paper in alternate years…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  51. Q60 In a group of six women there are four dancers, four vocal musicians, one actress and three violinists. Girija and Vanaja are among the violinists while Jalaja and Shailaja do not know how to play on the violin. Shailaja and Tanuja are among the dancers…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  52. Q61 The letters L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S and T in their order are substituted by nine integers 1 to 9 but not in that order. 4 is assigned to P. The difference between P and T is 5. The difference between N and T is 3. What is the integer assigned to N ?
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  53. Q62 The number of deaths among the army personnel is 8 in 1000, but among the civilian population it is 20 per 1000. Which one of the following inferences can be drawn from this statement ?
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  54. Q63 Given the statement : “Buses are the cause of more accidents than cars, and trucks cause fewer accidents than buses”, which of the following conclusions can we draw ?
    Logical Reasoning· easy
  55. Q64 “If political leadership fails to emerge, there is likelihood of military taking over power in developing countries. Radical student groups or labour may try to raise revolution but they are not likely to compete with the military. Military intervention…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  56. Q65 Four persons, Alok, Bhupesh, Chander and Dinesh have a total of ₹ 100 among themselves. Alok and Bhupesh between them have as much money as Chander and Dinesh between them, but Alok has more money than Bhupesh; and Chander has only half the money that Dinesh…
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  57. Q66 Examine the following statements : 1. George attends Music classes on Monday. 2. He attends Mathematics classes on Wednesday. 3. His Literature classes are not on Friday. 4. He attends History classes on the day following the day of his Mathematics classes…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  58. Q67 In a row 'A' is in the 11th position from the left and 'B' is in the 10th position from the right. If 'A' and 'B' interchange, then 'A' becomes 18th from the left. How many persons are there in the row other than 'A' and 'B' ?
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  59. Q68 Location of B is north of A and location of C is east of A. The distances AB and AC are 5 km and 12 km respectively. The shortest distance (in km) between the locations B and C is
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  60. Q69 Two cars start towards each other, from two places A and B which are at a distance of 160 km. They start at the same time 08 : 10 AM. If the speeds of the cars are 50 km and 30 km per hour respectively, they will meet each other at
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  61. Q76 If the 3rd day of a month is Monday, which one of the following will be the fifth day from 21st of this month ?
    Mental Ability· easy
  62. Q77 For a charity show, the total tickets sold were 420. Half of these tickets were sold at the rate of ₹ 5 each, one-third at the rate of ₹ 3 each and the rest for ₹ 2 each. What was the total amount received ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  63. Q78 What is the profession of B ?
    Comprehension· medium
  64. Q79 Which of the following is/are a couple/couples ?
    Comprehension· medium
  65. Q80 What is the profession of D ?
    Comprehension· medium

Question paper and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanations: UPSC Answer Check. Practise this paper with a timer →