Aptitude Book- Odd Man Out

937

1 year ago by Veena

                                           INTRODUCTION

Finding the odd man out from the given alternatives is a very common type of questions that one comes across in different competitive examinations. In the questions on odd man out, all the items—except one—follow a certain pattern (in their formation) or belong to a group. The item that does not follow the pattern or does not belong to the group has to be marked as the answer choice. The problems of this variety often fall under the category of

WHAT IS ODD ONE OUT
The “Odd-one-out” is a concept that gets students to think about a certain area or subject by giving them similar objects or texts in a way that is a bit confusing.
To find the odd one out, students need to develop their logical thinking by putting these objects (or options) into groups based on what they already know.
The following pattern can be used to find the odd one out:
● Look at the things closely
● Describe what you see
● Find the things that are the same
● Find the one that is different or not the same

SOME PATTERNS OF ODD ONE OUT

Odd number/Even number/Prime numbers
The series could be made up of odd numbers, even numbers, or prime numbers, but one number will be different. So, before solving numerical problems on this topic, you should review all of the basic ideas.
Perfect squares/Cubes
Squares: 9, 16, 49, 81 ….
Cubes: 27, 64, 125, 216 ….
Numbers that are repeated
There are numbers in the series that are multiples of other numbers.
Example: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20….

WORKED EXAMPLES
Example: Choose the Odd option.

Answer: (A) S
Explanation: The letter “S” is the “odd one out” because it has a curved line while the other three letters have straight lines.

Example: Mark the one that does not belong in the group.

Answer: (A) Gloves
Explanation: Gloves are the “odd one out” because they are worn on the hands. The last three pieces go in the legs.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ODD ONE OUT

Alphabets
Here students must find the odd one out from a group of options containing a single alphabet or groups of alphabets. While solving such questions there are certain things a candidate must keep in mind. Here is a list of some such important pointers,
● Might be useful if the candidates knew the place value of alphabets. It is even better if these place values are memorized, so the candidate does not waste precious time during the exam. So, A is 1 and Z is 26, and of course everything in between.
● Be clear about vowels and consonants
● Mirror images of the alphabets
● Water images of the alphabets
● Alphabetical order
● The gap between given alphabets

Example: Find the odd one among the following.
A) ZW B) TQ C) SP D) NL
Answer: D) NL
Explanation: Z-3W, T-3Q, S-3P, N-2L
Hence, NL is the odd one.

Example: Find the odd one out
A) ABC B) BCD C) CDE D) DEF
Answer: B) BCD
Explanation: Only group of alphabets without a vowel

Numbers
Here the candidate must find the odd man out from a series of numbers. These numbers can be single digit numbers, in which case the solution tends to be fairly easy. However, when the numbers are bigger, it does get increasingly more difficult to pick the odd one out. Some guidelines you can follow are,
● See if there is any obvious relation in those numbers
● Next check if one specific number is in some way related to all the other numbers.
● Check for squares and cubes of the numbers
● Try other mathematical possibilities like divisibility by the same number, or multiples of the same number etc.
● Sometimes, there is interrelation between the digits of the number rather than the number itself. Your last step should be to check for this.

Example: Find the odd one among the following.
A) 17 B) 27 C) 37 D) 47
Answer: B)27
Explanation: All the given numbers except 27 are prime numbers, whereas 27 is a composite number.

Example: Find the odd one among the following
A) 441 B) 289 C) 361 D) 343
Answer: D) 343
Explanation: The given numbers can be written as (21)2, (17)2, (19)2, (7)3. All except 343 are the squares, whereas 343 is a cube.

Words
Over here the logic is simple enough. Find the word that is the odd one out by applying basic reasoning skills. Here, different items are classified based on common properties like names, places, professions, and parts of speech. A few examples are illustrated further.

Example: Find the odd one among the following.
A) Mercury B) Moon C) Jupiter D) Saturn
Answer: B) Moon
Solution: All others except Moon are planets, whereas Moon is a satellite

Example: Find the odd one out
A) Cow B) Goat C) Horse D) Dog
Answer: D) Dog
Solution: All except dog are herbivorous animals.

                                        EASY – EXERCISE

Instructions:
Number of questions: 10
Time limit: 2 minutes per question
Difficult percentage: 50

Q1: Choose the odd option.

Q2: Mark the one that doesn’t belong in the list below.

Q3: Find the odd one among the following.
A) CFD B) GJH C) KNM D) JMK

Q4: Find the odd one among the following
A) 235 B) 352 C) 523 D) 253

Q5: Find the odd one among the following.
A) SORE B) SOTLU C) NORGAE D) MEJNIAS

Q6. Find the odd one out
A) Red B) Blue C) Yellow D) Green

Q7: Choose the odd-one out.
A) 29 B) 53 C) 85 D) 125

Q8: Choose the odd-one out.
A) Tomato B) Potato C) Brinjal D) Cucumber

Q9: 22, 33, 66, 99, 121, 279, 594
A) 33 B) 121 C) 279 D) 594

Q10: 56, 72, 90, 110, 132, 150
A) 72 B) 110 C) 132 D) 150

                                  MODERATE – EXERCISE

Instructions:
Number of questions: 10
Time limit: 2 minutes per question
Difficult percentage: 60%

Q1: Find the odd one among the following.
A) 10 B) 50 C) 120 D) 290

Q2: Find the odd one out
A) A B) E C) D D) H

Q3: Find the odd one out
A)121 B) 253 C) 286 D) 473

Q4: Choose the odd-one out.
A) Tuberculosis B) Small pox C) Cholera D) Typhoid

Q5: Choose the odd one out.
A) Epicenter B) Seismology C) Richter scale D) Crater

Q6: 3, 5, 11, 14, 17, 21
A) 21 B) 17 C) 14 D) 3

Q7: Find the odd one out
A) Dollar B) Peso C) Ounce D) Euro

Q8: 2, 5, 10, 17, 26, 37, 50, 64
A) 50 B) 26 C) 37 D) 64

Q9: Choose the word which is least like the other words in the group
A) Chicken B) Swan C) Frog D) Crocodile

Q10: In the following question, select the odd letter pair from the given alternatives
A) BN – P B) GI – R C) LM – Y D) TA – U