OU All In One

Previously asked TCS NQT questions

Problems candidates reported from recent TCS NQT tests, rewritten with worked solutions (memory-based).

1. A car has to cover 50 km in 2 hours. It covers 20 km in the first hour and then stops for 10 minutes. By what factor must it increase its first-hour speed to still arrive on time?

  1. 1.5
  2. 2
  3. 1.6
  4. 1.8
Answer

D. 1.8 After the stop, 30 km must be covered in 50 minutes, which is 36 km/h. The first-hour speed was 20 km/h, so the factor is 36 ÷ 20 = 1.8.

2. The six-digit number 1nn352 is divisible by 24. What is the sum of all possible values of the digit n?

  1. 9
  2. 12
  3. 15
  4. 18
Answer

C. 15 Divisible by 24 means divisible by 8 and 3. The last three digits, 352, are divisible by 8 for any n. For 3, the digit sum 11 + 2n must be a multiple of 3, so n = 2, 5 or 8. Sum = 15.

3. 0.025% of 240% of 1.5 is what percentage of 0.9?

  1. 1%
  2. 0.01%
  3. 0.1%
  4. 10%
Answer

C. 0.1% 0.00025 × 2.4 × 1.5 = 0.0009. As a percentage of 0.9: 0.0009 ÷ 0.9 × 100 = 0.1%.

4. A gas agency cuts the price of a cylinder by 15%, and the number of customers rises by 30%. What is the effect on its revenue?

  1. 10.5% increase
  2. 10.5% decrease
  3. 15% increase
  4. 5% increase
Answer

A. 10.5% increase Revenue = price × customers = 0.85 × 1.30 = 1.105 of the original, a 10.5% increase.

5. Two numbers are in the ratio 3:5. If 3 is added to the first and 9 to the second, the ratio becomes 4:7. What is the sum of the original numbers?

  1. 144
  2. 120
  3. 80
  4. 96
Answer

B. 120 Let them be 3k and 5k: (3k + 3)/(5k + 9) = 4/7 gives 21k + 21 = 20k + 36, so k = 15. Numbers 45 and 75, sum 120.

6. A seller buys (x + 2) apples at ₹12 each. One apple is rotten and he sells the rest for ₹300 in total, making a 25% profit. How many apples did he sell?

  1. 20
  2. 19
  3. 18
  4. 21
Answer

B. 19 Selling price = 1.25 × cost: 300 = 1.25 × 12(x + 2), so x + 2 = 20 apples bought. One was rotten, so 19 were sold.

7. An article is marked 36% above its cost. The shop gives a 10% discount and then a further ₹12.60 off, and still makes a 15.4% profit. What is the marked price?

  1. ₹216
  2. ₹244.80
  3. ₹230.40
  4. ₹252
Answer

B. ₹244.80 Let cost = C. Marked price 1.36C; after 10% off, 1.224C; minus 12.60 equals 1.154C. So 0.07C = 12.60, C = 180, and the marked price is 1.36 × 180 = ₹244.80.

8. A person saves an amount equal to 40% of his expenditure. If his income rises by 20% and his expenditure by 40%, by what percentage do his savings change?

  1. 20% decrease
  2. 30% increase
  3. 10% decrease
  4. 30% decrease
Answer

D. 30% decrease Let expenditure = 100, savings = 40, income = 140. New income 168, new expenditure 140, new savings 28. The fall from 40 to 28 is 30%.

9. Selling a set of chairs for ₹3,240 gives a 20% profit. What is the profit percentage if they are sold for ₹2,781?

  1. 4%
  2. 5%
  3. 3%
  4. 2%
Answer

C. 3% Cost = 3240 ÷ 1.2 = 2700. At ₹2,781 the profit is 81, which is 3% of 2700.

10. A fruit seller finds 20% of his apples rotten. He sells the rest at a 20% discount on the marked price and still makes a 92% profit overall. By what percentage above cost were the apples marked?

  1. 200%
  2. 150%
  3. 120%
  4. 180%
Answer

A. 200% Say 100 apples cost ₹1 each (₹100). 80 good apples sell at 0.8 × M each: 64M = 192 (92% profit), so M = ₹3, a 200% mark-up on the ₹1 cost.

11. In a class of 80, 45% passed Mathematics, 60% passed English and 35% failed both. How many passed both subjects?

  1. 28
  2. 32
  3. 36
  4. 40
Answer

B. 32 65% passed at least one subject (52 students). Passed both = 36 + 48 − 52 = 32.

12. 50 workers working 8 hours a day planned to finish a job in 40 days. After 30 days only half the work is done. How many more workers are needed to finish the rest in 10 days, working 10 hours a day?

  1. 70
  2. 60
  3. 80
  4. 50
Answer

A. 70 Half the job took 50 × 30 × 8 = 12,000 worker-hours. The other half needs 12,000 worker-hours in 10 × 10 = 100 hours, i.e. 120 workers, so 70 more.

13. The speeds of a bus and a car are in the ratio 2:5. In the time the car covers 280 km, how far does the bus travel?

  1. 100 km
  2. 112 km
  3. 140 km
  4. 168 km
Answer

B. 112 km In equal time, distance is proportional to speed: 280 × 2/5 = 112 km.

14. The average weight of a class is 62 kg. When 8 students averaging 55 kg leave and 13 students averaging 65 kg join, the average becomes 63.9 kg. How many students were in the class originally?

  1. 45
  2. 50
  3. 40
  4. 36
Answer

A. 45 62n − 440 + 845 = 63.9(n + 5). So 405 − 319.5 = 1.9n, giving n = 45.

15. Ramesh can finish a job alone in 20 days, and Mohan is two-thirds as efficient. They start together; Ramesh leaves after some days and Mohan finishes the rest alone in 10 days. How many days did Ramesh work?

  1. 12
  2. 6
  3. 10
  4. 8
Answer

D. 8 Mohan alone takes 30 days. Together they do 1/20 + 1/30 = 1/12 per day. If Ramesh worked x days: x/12 + 10/30 = 1, so x = 8.

16. A car covers 150 km in 3 hours. A bus is 40% slower and stops for 10 minutes after every 10 km. How long does the bus take for the same 150 km?

  1. 5 h 20 min
  2. 6 h 50 min
  3. 7 h 30 min
  4. 7 h 20 min
Answer

D. 7 h 20 min Car speed 50 km/h, so the bus runs at 30 km/h: 5 hours of driving. It stops after every 10 km except at the end: 14 stops × 10 min = 2 h 20 min. Total 7 h 20 min.

17. The marked price of an item is ₹2,400 above its cost, and its selling price is ₹900 above its cost. The discount percentage equals the profit percentage, x%. What is 4x?

  1. 100
  2. 80
  3. 60
  4. 120
Answer

A. 100 Discount = 1500 = x% of (C + 2400); profit = 900 = x% of C. So 1500/(C + 2400) = 900/C, giving C = 3600 and x = 25. 4x = 100.

18. The average of five consecutive odd numbers is 27. What is the sum of the largest number and the average?

  1. 56
  2. 58
  3. 60
  4. 54
Answer

B. 58 The numbers are 23, 25, 27, 29 and 31. 31 + 27 = 58.

19. A car takes 45 minutes for a journey at its usual speed. If its speed is 5 km/h less, it takes 48 minutes. What is the distance?

  1. 48 km
  2. 72 km
  3. 50 km
  4. 60 km
Answer

D. 60 km d = 0.75v = 0.8(v − 5), so v = 80 km/h and d = 60 km.

20. A sum becomes ₹1,331 in one year at 20% per annum compounded half-yearly. What is the principal?

  1. ₹1,100
  2. ₹1,210
  3. ₹1,150
  4. ₹1,000
Answer

A. ₹1,100 Half-yearly rate 10% for 2 periods: P × 1.21 = 1331, so P = ₹1,100.

21. A lamp costs ₹1,200 and its cost and marked price are in the ratio 3:5. It is sold after successive discounts of 30% and 18%. What is the profit or loss percentage?

  1. 5% loss
  2. 2% profit
  3. 4⅓% profit
  4. 4⅓% loss
Answer

D. 4⅓% loss Marked price 2000. After 30% and 18% off: 2000 × 0.7 × 0.82 = 1148. Loss 52 on 1200 = 4⅓%.

22. Five teachers P, Q, R, S and T take one-hour classes between 9 am and 2 pm. Q teaches first. R teaches before both P and T, and S teaches after T. Who teaches from 10 to 11 am?

  1. S
  2. P
  3. R
  4. T
Answer

C. R Q takes 9–10. R must come before P, T and (through T) S, so R takes the next slot, 10–11.

23. Among five people P, Q, R, S and T, Q is the second tallest, S is just taller than the shortest, and R is neither the tallest nor the shortest. Who is exactly in the middle?

  1. R
  2. S
  3. Q
  4. P
Answer

A. R Positions from tallest: 1 ?, 2 Q, 3 ?, 4 S, 5 ?. R cannot be 1 or 5, so R is 3rd, the middle.

24. Five friends A, B, C, D and E bought different numbers of books. A bought more than C and E but not the most. B bought more than only one person. Who bought the most?

  1. A
  2. D
  3. E
  4. B
Answer

B. D A is not the most, C and E are below A, and B beats only one person, so D bought the most.

25. Find the term that does not fit the series: CMQ, FPT, JTX, OYC, UFI

  1. UFI
  2. OYC
  3. FPT
  4. JTX
Answer

A. UFI Each letter position grows by +3, +4, +5, +6. The middle letters go M, P, T, Y and should then reach E (Y + 6), so the last term should be UEI, not UFI.

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