UPSC Prelims 2015 CSAT Paper II · Q60 of 74 Logical Reasoning easy

Usha runs faster than Kamala, Priti runs slower than Swati, Swati runs slower than Kamala. Who is the slowest runner ?

  1. (a) Kamala
  2. (b) Priti ✓ UPSC's answer
  3. (c) Swati
  4. (d) Usha

Why the answer is (b)

• The statement 'Usha runs faster than Kamala' establishes the order: Usha > Kamala.

• The statement 'Swati runs slower than Kamala' establishes the order: Kamala > Swati.

• Combining these gives the sequence: Usha > Kamala > Swati.

• The statement 'Priti runs slower than Swati' places Priti at the end: Swati > Priti.

• The complete ranking from fastest to slowest is Usha, Kamala, Swati, Priti.

• Therefore, Priti is the slowest runner, which corresponds to option (b).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Kamala
Kamala is faster than both Swati and Priti, so she is not the slowest.
(c) Swati
Swati is faster than Priti, so she is not the slowest.
(d) Usha
Usha is the fastest runner in the group, so she is not the slowest.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2015, held on 23 August 2015. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

Practise this paper free