UPSC Prelims 2016 CSAT Paper — 79 Questions with Answers

CSAT Paper II of the 2016 Preliminary examination, held on 7 August 2016. 80 questions · 200 marks · qualifying at 33%. The questions broke down as Comprehension 38, Basic Numeracy 27, Logical Reasoning 12, Mental Ability 2.

  1. Q1 According to the passage, which of the following factor/factors led to the adverse consequences for governance/public administration ? 1. Inability of civil services to strike a balance between internal and external accountabilities 2. Lack of sufficient…
    Comprehension· medium
  2. Q2 With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1. Political executive is an obstacle to the accountability of the civil services to the society 2. In the present framework of Indian polity, the political executive is no longer…
    Comprehension· medium
  3. Q3 Which one of the following is the essential message implied by this passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  4. Q4 According to the passage, which one of the following is not a means of enhancing internal accountability of civil services ?
    Comprehension· medium
  5. Q5 With reference to the passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1. Human relationships are derived from their religious traditions 2. Human beings can be duty bound only if they believe in god 3. Religious traditions are essential to practice and…
    Comprehension· medium
  6. Q6 Which one of the following is the crux of this passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  7. Q7 A ate grapes and pineapple; B ate grapes and oranges; C ate oranges, pineapple and apple; D ate grapes, apple and pineapple. After taking fruits, B and C fell sick. In the light of the above facts, it can be said that the cause of sickness was :
    Logical Reasoning· easy
  8. Q8 Consider the following statements : 1. The rate of population growth is increasing in the country 2. The death rate is declining faster in the country compared to birth rate 3. The birth rate is declining faster in the country compared to death rate 4…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  9. Q9 A person X was driving in a place where all roads ran either north-south or east-west, forming a grid. Roads are at a distance of 1 km from each other in a parallel. He started at the intersection of two roads, drove 3 km north, 3 km west and 4 km south…
    Logical Reasoning· easy
  10. Q10 Consider the following statement : “We shall go either for a picnic or for trekking”. Which of the following, if true, would falsify this claim ?
    Logical Reasoning· easy
  11. Q11 There were 50 faculty members comprising 30 males and the rest females. No male faculty member knew music, but many of the female faculty members did. The Head of the institution invited six faculty members to a tea party by draw of lots. At the party it was…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  12. Q12 Five people A, B, C, D and E are seated about a round table. Every chair is spaced equidistant from adjacent chairs. (i) C is seated next to A (ii) A is seated two seats from D (iii) B is not seated next to A On the basis of above information, which of the…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  13. Q13 There are five hobby clubs in a college — photography, yachting, chess, electronics and gardening. The gardening group meets every second day, the electronics group meets every third day, the chess group meets every fourth day, the yachting group meets every…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  14. Q14 There are some nectar-filled flowers on a tree and some bees are hovering on it. If one bee lands on each flower, one bee will be left out. If two bees land on each flower, one flower will be left out. The number of flowers and bees respectively are :
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  15. Q15 Who is the doctor ?
    Comprehension· medium
  16. Q16 Who is the artist ?
    Comprehension· easy
  17. Q17 Who is the spouse of R ?
    Comprehension· medium
  18. Q18 Who is the lawyer ?
    Comprehension· medium
  19. Q19 Who of the following is definitely a man ?
    Comprehension· medium
  20. Q20 There is an order of 19000 quantity of a particular product from a customer. The firm produces 1000 quantity of that product per day out of which 5% are unfit for sale. In how many days will the order be completed ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  21. Q21 What is/are the present constraint/constraints in using biomass as fuel for power generation ? 1. Lack of sustainable supply of biomass 2. Biomass production competes with food production 3. Bio-energy may not always be low carbon on a life-cycle basis Select…
    Comprehension· medium
  22. Q22 Which of the following can lead to food security problem ? 1. Using agricultural and forest residues as feedstock for power generation 2. Using biomass for carbon capture and storage 3. Promoting the cultivation of energy crops Select the correct answer using…
    Comprehension· medium
  23. Q23 In the context of using biomass, which of the following is/are the characteristic/characteristics of the sustainable production of biofuel ? 1. Biomass as a fuel for power generation could meet all the primary energy requirements of the world by 2050 2…
    Comprehension· medium
  24. Q24 With reference to the passage, following assumptions have been made : 1. Some climate-energy models suggest that the use of biomass as a fuel for power generation helps in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions 2. It is not possible to use biomass as a fuel for…
    Comprehension· medium
  25. Q25 Which among the following is the most logical and critical inference that can be made from the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  26. Q26 A class starts at 11:00 am and lasts till 2:27 pm. Four periods of equal duration are held during this interval. After every period, a rest of 5 minutes is given to the students. The exact duration of each period is :
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  27. Q27 Four friends A, B, C and D need to cross a bridge. A maximum of two persons can cross it at a time. It is night and they just have one lamp. Persons that cross the bridge must carry the lamp to find the way. A pair must walk together at the speed of slower…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  28. Q28 30 g of sugar was mixed in 180 ml water in a vessel A, 40 g of sugar was mixed in 280 ml of water in vessel B and 20 g of sugar was mixed in 100 ml of water in vessel C. The solution in vessel B is :
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  29. Q29 In aid of charity, every student in a class contributes as many rupees as the number of students in that class. With the additional contribution of Rs. 2 by one student only, the total collection is Rs. 443. Then how many students are there in the class ?
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  30. Q30 Anita's mathematics test had 70 problems carrying equal marks i.e., 10 arithmetic, 30 algebra and 30 geometry. Although she answered 70% of the arithmetic, 40% of the algebra and 60% of the geometry problems correctly, she did not pass the test because she…
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  31. Q31 In a class, there are 18 very tall boys. If these constitute three-fourths of the boys and the total number of boys is two-thirds of the total number of students in the class, what is the number of girls in the class ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  32. Q32 Consider the following statements : 1. Either A and B are of the same age or A is older than B 2. Either C and D are of the same age or D is older than C 3. B is older than C Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the above statements ?
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  33. Q33 The monthly average salary paid to all the employees of a company was Rs. 5000. The monthly average salary paid to male and female employees was Rs. 5200 and Rs. 4200 respectively. Then the percentage of males employed in the company is :
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  34. Q34 Which one of the following boxes contains the golf ball ?
    Comprehension· medium
  35. Q35 Which of the following statements is/are correct ?
    Comprehension· medium
  36. Q36 The football is in the box of which colour ?
    Comprehension· easy
  37. Q37 Two numbers X and Y are respectively 20% and 28% less than a third number Z. By what percentage is the number Y less than the number X ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  38. Q38 A daily train is to be introduced between station A and station B starting from each end at 6 AM and the journey is to be completed in 42 hours. What is the number of trains needed in order to maintain the shuttle service ?
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  39. Q39 A piece of tin is in the form of a rectangle having length 12 cm and width 8 cm. This is used to construct a closed cube. The side of the cube is :
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  40. Q41 Which among the following is the most logical corollary to the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  41. Q42 What is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  42. Q43 Which among the following is the most critical inference that can be made from the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  43. Q44 Which one of the following is the message that is essentially implied in the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  44. Q45 With reference to the above passage, consider the following statements : 1. Urban sanitation problems can be fully solved by the abolition of manual scavenging only 2. There is a need to promote greater awareness on safe sanitation practices in urban areas…
    Comprehension· easy
  45. Q46 Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  46. Q47 The statement refers to :
    Comprehension· medium
  47. Q48 Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  48. Q49 A person climbs a hill in a straight path from point ‘O’ on the ground in the direction of north-east and reaches a point ‘A’ after travelling a distance of 5 km. Then, from the point ‘A’ he moves to point ‘B’ in the direction of north-west. Let the distance…
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  49. Q50 An agricultural field is in the form of a rectangle having length X₁ meters and breadth X₂ meters (X₁ and X₂ are variable). If X₁ + X₂ = 40 meters, then the area of the agricultural field will not exceed which one of the following values ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  50. Q51 The sum of the ages of 5 members comprising a family, 3 years ago was 80 years. The average age of the family today is the same as it was 3 years ago, because of an addition of a baby during the intervening period. How old is the baby ?
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  51. Q52 The total emoluments of two persons are the same, but one gets allowances to the extent of 65% of his basic pay and the other gets allowances to the extent of 80% of his basic pay. The ratio of the basic pay of the former to the basic pay of the latter is :
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  52. Q53 A person is standing on the first step from the bottom of a ladder. If he has to climb 4 more steps to reach exactly the middle step, how many steps does the ladder have ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  53. Q54 What is C's surname ?
    Comprehension· medium
  54. Q55 What is the colour of the tie ?
    Comprehension· easy
  55. Q56 Who wore the sweater ?
    Comprehension· easy
  56. Q57 AB is a vertical trunk of a huge tree with A being the point where the base of the trunk touches the ground. Due to a cyclone, the trunk has been broken at C which is at a height of 12 meters, broken part is partially attached to the vertical portion of the…
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  57. Q58 A person walks 12 km due north, then 15 km due east, after that 19 km due west and then 15 km due south. How far is he from the starting point ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  58. Q59 A cube has all its faces painted with different colours. It is cut into smaller cubes of equal sizes such that the side of the small cube is one-fourth the big cube. The number of small cubes with only one of the sides painted is :
    Mental Ability· medium
  59. Q60 Ram and Shyam work on a job together for four days and complete 60% of it. Ram takes leave then and Shyam works for eight more days to complete the job. How long would Ram take to complete the entire job alone ?
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  60. Q61 A military code writes SYSTEM as SYSMET and NEARER as AENRER. Using the same code, FRACTION can be written as :
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  61. Q62 If R and S are different integers both divisible by 5, then which of the following is not necessarily true ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  62. Q63 How many numbers are there between 100 and 300 which either begin with or end with 2 ?
    Mental Ability· easy
  63. Q64 What is the critical message conveyed by the above passage ?
    Comprehension· easy
  64. Q65 Which among the following is the most logical assumption that can be made from the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  65. Q66 In the above statement, the author implies that :
    Comprehension· medium
  66. Q67 Which among the following is the most logical corollary to the above passage ?
    Comprehension· medium
  67. Q68 According to the above passage, which of the following are the fundamental solutions for the world food security problem ? 1. Setting up more agro-based industries 2. Improving the price affordability by the poor 3. Regulating the conditions of marketing 4…
    Comprehension· medium
  68. Q69 According to the above passage, the biggest challenge to world agriculture is :
    Comprehension· easy
  69. Q70 According to the above passage, which of the following helps/help in reducing hunger and starvation in the developing economies ? 1. Balancing demand and supply of food 2. Increasing imports of food 3. Increasing purchasing power of the poor 4. Changing the…
    Comprehension· medium
  70. Q71 The issue of worldwide supply of food has gained importance mainly because of : 1. overgrowth of the population worldwide 2. sharp decline in the area of food production 3. limitation in the capabilities for sustained supply of food Select the correct answer…
    Comprehension· medium
  71. Q72 Four-digit numbers are to be formed using the digits 1, 2, 3 and 4; and none of these four digits are repeated in any manner. Further, 1. 2 and 3 are not to immediately follow each other 2. 1 is not to be immediately followed by 3 3. 4 is not to appear at the…
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  72. Q73 A cylindrical overhead tank of radius 2 m and height 7 m is to be filled from an underground tank of size 5.5 m × 4 m × 6 m. How much portion of the underground tank is still filled with water after filling the overhead tank completely ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  73. Q74 In a class of 60 students, where the number of girls is twice that of boys, Kamal, a boy, ranked seventeenth from the top. If there are 9 girls ahead of Kamal, the number of boys in rank after him is :
    Logical Reasoning· medium
  74. Q75 A and B walk around a circular park. They start at 8 a.m. from the same point in the opposite directions. A and B walk at a speed of 2 rounds per hour and 3 rounds per hour respectively. How many times shall they cross each other after 8.00 a.m. and before…
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  75. Q76 W can do 25% of a work in 30 days, X can do 1/4 of the work in 10 days, Y can do 40% of the work in 40 days and Z can do 1/3 of the work in 13 days. Who will complete the work first ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  76. Q77 The average monthly income of a person in a certain family of 5 is Rs. 10,000. What will be the average monthly income of a person in the same family if the income of one person increased by Rs. 1,20,000 per year ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  77. Q78 In a race, a competitor has to collect 6 apples which are kept in a straight line on a track and a bucket is placed at the beginning of the track which is a starting point. The condition is that the competitor can pick only one apple at a time, run back with…
    Basic Numeracy· medium
  78. Q79 A round archery target of diameter 1 m is marked with four scoring regions from the centre outwards as red, blue, yellow and white. The radius of the red band is 0.20 m. The width of all the remaining bands is equal. If archers throw arrows towards the…
    Basic Numeracy· easy
  79. Q80 A person allows a 10% discount for cash payment from the marked price of a toy and still he makes a 10% gain. What is the cost price of the toy which is marked Rs. 770 ?
    Basic Numeracy· easy

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