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RRB NTPC Reasoning Practice Test Online

RRB NTPC Reasoning is the one CBT 1 section every candidate can genuinely master in a short window, since analogy, series, coding and puzzle types here follow learnable patterns rather than needing subject knowledge. This page drills all of them at the moderate, consistent difficulty Railway papers actually use, not the puzzle-heavy style of bank exams.

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Reviewed by Anna Nagaraj · Assistant Audit Officer, DG Audit (Railways), Secunderabad · Cleared SSC CGL with All India Rank 442.Coding-decoding rules, blood-relation puzzles, and clock/calendar problems checked against real RRB NTPC CBT 1 difficulty and phrasing.

Last reviewed: September 2026

Exam strategy & syllabus overview

General Intelligence & Reasoning is tested in both RRB NTPC CBT 1 (30 marks) and CBT 2 (35 marks), spanning Analogy, Classification, Number/Letter Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction and Distance, Calendar and Clock, Syllogism and Venn Diagrams, and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Railway reasoning questions sit at a moderate, consistent difficulty rather than the puzzle-heavy style of bank exams, which makes steady practice across all question types more valuable than deep specialisation in any one chapter.

Unlike SSC or bank exams, RRB NTPC gives no separate timer per section — CBT 1 and CBT 2 each run as one composite paper, so this page's 30-question CBT 1 pattern (35 in CBT 2) is meant to build speed you allocate freely across Maths, Reasoning and General Awareness yourself, not speed timed against this section alone.

⚡ Quick quiz

Test yourself in under a minute: RRB NTPC Reasoning Practice Test

A second pass at puzzles, coding and clock problems, testing whether the pattern-spotting from the main set above has actually become automatic, not just familiar.

  1. 1. Pen is related to Write in the same way as Knife is related to which of the following?

  2. 2. Find the next number in the series: 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, ?

  3. 3. In a certain code, each letter is replaced by the letter two places after it in the alphabet (A becomes C, B becomes D). How is TRAIN coded in the same language?

  4. 4. Pointing to a photograph, Rakesh, who has no brothers, said, 'She is the daughter of my father's only son.' How is the woman in the photo related to Rakesh?

  5. 5. A man walks 9 km east, then turns south and walks 12 km. How far is he from his starting point?

  6. 6. What is the angle between the hour and minute hands of a clock at 4:30?

⏱ Cutoff & exam pattern

Target Score: 23-26+ out of 30 in CBT 1 (within 15-17 minutes)

A coding-decoding or blood-relation clue lands on the page — does your pencil start sketching it out immediately, or are you still holding every detail in your head?

CBT 1 pattern

30 Qs / 30 Marks (+1 / -0.33 penalty)

CBT 2 pattern

35 Qs / 35 Marks (+1 / -0.33 penalty)

Analogy, Classification & Series

8-10 Qs

Coding, Blood Relations & Direction

8-10 Qs

Clock, Syllogism & Non-Verbal

8-10 Qs

CBT 1 Overall Cut-off (UR/General)

68-78 out of 100

Target Sectional Score (Reasoning)

23+ in CBT 1, 27+ in CBT 2

Time yourself on this set the way you would in the actual exam — accuracy under a clock is the real skill being tested here.

Analogies, Classification, Series and Coding-Decoding

Builds pattern-recognition fluency through semantic, number, and letter analogies, odd-one-out classification, and number/letter series, closing with a coding-decoding question that bridges into the applied-logic band.

📋 Quick referenceAnalogy, Classification & Series Quick Reference▶
  • Analogy: name the relationship in words first, then apply it to the second pair.
  • Classification: find the shared rule among the majority, then check which item breaks it.
  • Series: test constant difference, then ratio/multiplication, then an alternating pattern, in that order.

Naming the Rule Before Scanning Options

For Aspirants

  • For analogies, state the relationship in one sentence (profession-to-tool, word-to-plural) before comparing options.
  • Classification: identify the one property every item except the odd one shares, rather than guessing from a 'feels different' hunch.
  • Number and letter series rarely need more than the first three terms to reveal the underlying rule; test a constant difference first.
  • The closing coding-decoding question in this group is usually a straightforward shift; confirm it against every letter given, not just the first.

  1. 1. Doctor is related to Hospital in the same way as Judge is related to which of the following? (A) Court (B) Jail (C) Police Station (D) Advocate

    ▶Reveal answer
    Court

    The relationship is between a professional and the place where that professional performs their duties. A doctor works and treats patients in a hospital, and in the same way a judge presides over cases and delivers verdicts in a court.

  2. 2. 6 is related to 42 in the same way as 8 is related to which of the following? (A) 56 (B) 64 (C) 72 (D) 81

    ▶Reveal answer
    72

    The pattern is n multiplied by (n+1): 6 x 7 = 42, so the same rule applied to 8 gives 8 x 9 = 72. Recognizing the multiplier relationship rather than a fixed difference is key to this analogy.

  3. 3. Using A=1, B=2 ... Z=26 and taking the sum of letter-positions, CAT is related to 24 in the same way as DOG is related to which of the following? (A) 24 (B) 25 (C) 26 (D) 28

    ▶Reveal answer
    26

    Assign each letter its alphabetical position (A=1 ... Z=26) and add them up: C(3)+A(1)+T(20) = 24. Applying the same rule to DOG gives D(4)+O(15)+G(7) = 26.

  4. 4. Which number does not belong with the others: 121, 144, 169, 200? (A) 121 (B) 144 (C) 169 (D) 200

    ▶Reveal answer
    200

    121, 144, and 169 are perfect squares of 11, 12, and 13 respectively, but 200 is not a perfect square of any whole number. Spotting the squaring pattern immediately isolates the number that breaks it.

  5. 5. Which of the following does not belong with the others: Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Mars? (A) Mercury (B) Venus (C) Pluto (D) Mars

    ▶Reveal answer
    Pluto

    Mercury, Venus, and Mars are classified as full-fledged planets of the solar system, while Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. The classification criterion here is planetary status, not size or distance from the sun.

  6. 6. Which number triad does not follow the same pattern as the others: (3,9,27), (4,16,64), (5,25,125), (6,36,108)? (A) (3,9,27) (B) (4,16,64) (C) (5,25,125) (D) (6,36,108)

    ▶Reveal answer
    (6,36,108)

    Each of the other triads follows the pattern n, n-squared, n-cubed, such as 4, 16, 64 (4 cubed = 64). In the odd triad, 6 squared correctly gives 36, but 6 cubed is 216, not 108, breaking the pattern.

  7. 7. Find the next number in the series: 2, 5, 10, 17, 26, ? (A) 35 (B) 36 (C) 37 (D) 39

    ▶Reveal answer
    37

    The differences between consecutive terms increase by 2 each time: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. Adding the next difference of 11 to 26 gives 37.

  8. 8. Find the next letter in the series: B, D, G, K, P, ? (A) T (B) U (C) V (D) W

    ▶Reveal answer
    V

    The gap between letters increases by one position each time: +2, +3, +4, +5, and next +6. Starting from B(2) and adding these gaps lands on P(16), then P+6 gives V(22).

  9. 9. Find the next number in the series: 5, 11, 23, 47, 95, ? (A) 189 (B) 190 (C) 191 (D) 192

    ▶Reveal answer
    191

    Each term is generated by doubling the previous term and adding 1: 5x2+1=11, 11x2+1=23, and so on. Continuing the rule, 95x2+1 gives 191.

  10. 10. In a certain code, each letter of a word is replaced by the next letter of the alphabet (A becomes B, B becomes C, and so on). If SUN is coded as TVO, how is MOON coded in the same language? (A) NPPO (B) NPPN (C) NQPO (D) OPQN

    ▶Reveal answer
    NPPO

    The code shifts every letter one place forward in the alphabet (S to T, U to V, N to O). Applying the same +1 shift to M, O, O, N gives N, P, P, O.

Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense and Clock

Shifts into applied logic: substitution-based coding rules, tracing family relationships through generations, plotting direction-and-distance paths, a leap-year calendar calculation, and a clock-angle problem that bridges into the final band.

📋 Quick referenceCoding, Blood Relations & Direction Quick Reference▶
  • Coding-decoding: confirm the shift rule on every given example, not just one, before decoding the target.
  • Blood relations: work from the innermost, most certain relationship outward; sketch, don't track mentally.
  • Direction sense: each 'turn left/right' is a fixed 90-degree change; mark every stop as a coordinate.
  • Calendar: 1 ordinary year = 1 odd day, 1 leap year = 2 odd days; count odd days between the two dates to find the weekday shift.

Turning Family and Direction Clues Into a Diagram

For Aspirants

  • For coding, verify the shift or substitution rule against every given example before decoding the target word.
  • For blood relations, work from the most certain relationship outward and sketch the family tree rather than tracking it mentally.
  • For direction sense, plot the start point at the origin and mark each stop as a coordinate after every turn.
  • Calendar questions reduce to counting 'odd days' from a known reference date; a leap year adds one extra odd day.

  1. 1. In a code language, each letter is replaced by the letter symmetrically opposite to it in the alphabet (A with Z, B with Y, C with X, and so on). If COLD is coded as XLOW, what is the code for WARM? (A) DZIN (B) DZNI (C) EZIN (D) DYIN

    ▶Reveal answer
    DZIN

    Each letter is replaced with its mirror-position partner in the alphabet, where position x maps to (27-x), so A pairs with Z, B with Y, and so on. Applying this to W, A, R, M gives D, Z, I, N.

  2. 2. In a certain code, each letter is shifted 3 places forward in the alphabet (A becomes D, B becomes E, and so on). If ROSE is coded as URVH and CHAIR is coded as FKDLU, what is the code for FLOOR? (A) IORRU (B) IOQRU (C) HORRU (D) IPRRU

    ▶Reveal answer
    IORRU

    Every letter is shifted exactly 3 places forward in the alphabet, which is confirmed by both given examples (R to U, O to R, and so on). Applying the same +3 shift to F, L, O, O, R gives I, O, R, R, U.

  3. 3. Pointing to a man, a woman says, 'His mother is the only daughter of my mother.' How is the woman related to the man? (A) Sister (B) Mother (C) Aunt (D) Grandmother

    ▶Reveal answer
    Mother

    The 'only daughter of my mother' can only be the woman herself, since she has no sisters. This means the man's mother is the woman speaking, making her his mother.

  4. 4. A is B's sister. C is B's mother. D is C's father. E is D's mother. How is A related to D? (A) Granddaughter (B) Daughter (C) Niece (D) Sister

    ▶Reveal answer
    Granddaughter

    Since A is B's sister, A shares the same mother C as B, making A the daughter of C. As D is C's father, D is A's grandfather, so A is D's granddaughter.

  5. 5. Introducing a boy, a girl says, 'He is the son of the only son of my grandfather.' How is the boy related to the girl? (A) Cousin (B) Brother (C) Uncle (D) Nephew

    ▶Reveal answer
    Brother

    Since the grandfather has only one son, that son must be the girl's own father (as she is his descendant). The boy, being the son of the girl's father, is therefore her brother.

  6. 6. A man walks 5 km towards north, then turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 5 km. How far is he from his starting point, and in which direction? (A) 3 km, East (B) 5 km, South (C) 8 km, East (D) 3 km, West

    ▶Reveal answer
    3 km, East

    Plotting on a grid from the start point: 5 km north reaches (0,5), turning right (facing east) for 3 km reaches (3,5), and turning right again (facing south) for 5 km reaches (3,0). This final point is 3 km due east of the starting point.

  7. 7. Ravi walks 8 km towards south from his house, then turns left and walks 6 km, then turns left again and walks 8 km. How far and in which direction is he from his starting point? (A) 6 km, East (B) 6 km, West (C) 14 km, East (D) 2 km, North

    ▶Reveal answer
    6 km, East

    Starting at (0,0), 8 km south gives (0,-8); turning left while facing south means now facing east, so 6 km east gives (6,-8); turning left again means now facing north, so 8 km north gives (6,0). This point lies 6 km due east of the start.

  8. 8. Point P is 6 km to the east of Point Q. Point R is 8 km to the north of Point P. What is the straight-line distance between Q and R? (A) 8 km (B) 9 km (C) 10 km (D) 14 km

    ▶Reveal answer
    10 km

    Placing Q at the origin, P is 6 km east at (6,0), and R is 8 km north of P at (6,8). The straight-line distance QR forms a right triangle with legs 6 and 8, giving a hypotenuse of 10 km by the Pythagorean theorem.

  9. 9. If 1st January 2024 was a Monday, what day of the week was 1st January 2025? (2024 is a leap year) (A) Tuesday (B) Wednesday (C) Thursday (D) Friday

    ▶Reveal answer
    Wednesday

    Because 2024 is a leap year, exactly 366 days separate the two dates, and 366 divided by 7 leaves a remainder of 2. Advancing Monday by 2 days gives Wednesday.

  10. 10. What is the angle between the hour and minute hands of a clock at 7:20? (A) 90 degrees (B) 95 degrees (C) 100 degrees (D) 110 degrees

    ▶Reveal answer
    100 degrees

    Using the formula |30H - 5.5M|, at 7:20 this becomes |30x7 - 5.5x20| = |210-110| = 100. This measures the smaller angle swept between the hour and minute hands.

Clock, Syllogism, Venn and Puzzle Applications

Covers clock-angle and hand-coincidence problems, syllogism and Venn-diagram deduction, text-based mirror-image and paper-folding puzzles, and symbol-substitution or pattern-based mathematical operations.

📋 Quick referenceClock, Syllogism & Venn Quick Reference▶
  • Clock angle = |30H - 5.5M|, where H is the hour and M is the minutes.
  • Hands of a clock coincide 22 times in 24 hours (11 times every 12 hours, not 12).
  • Syllogism: a conclusion must hold in every possible case; one counterexample is enough to reject it.
  • Neither group = Total - (|Group A| + |Group B| - |Both|).

Formula First for Clock and Set Questions, Diagram First for Syllogism

For Aspirants

  • Clock-angle questions have one direct formula; use it instead of visualizing the hands each time.
  • For syllogism, a conclusion is valid only if it holds in every possible arrangement, not just the likely one. Test it against a counterexample.
  • For Venn/set questions, one formula (total minus the union of the groups) answers every 'neither' question without a diagram.
  • Mirror-image and paper-folding questions reward physically tracing the fold or reflection on paper during practice, until the pattern becomes automatic.

  1. 1. How many times do the hour and minute hands of a clock coincide (overlap) in a 24-hour day? (A) 20 (B) 22 (C) 24 (D) 44

    ▶Reveal answer
    22 times

    In every 12-hour period the hands coincide 11 times, not 12, because one overlap gets 'used up' catching up to the starting position. Over a full 24-hour day this doubles to 22 coincidences.

  2. 2. Statements: All pens are pencils. All pencils are erasers. Conclusions: I. All pens are erasers. II. Some erasers are pens. Which conclusion(s) logically follow? (A) Only I (B) Only II (C) Both I and II (D) Neither I nor II

    ▶Reveal answer
    Both I and II follow

    Since all pens are pencils and all pencils are erasers, every pen is necessarily an eraser, confirming conclusion I. Because at least some erasers are pens (the ones that were originally pens), conclusion II also follows.

  3. 3. Statements: Some books are pens. No pen is a table. Conclusions: I. No book is a table. II. Some books are not tables. Which conclusion(s) logically follow? (A) Only I (B) Only II (C) Both I and II (D) Neither I nor II

    ▶Reveal answer
    Only conclusion II follows

    Since some books are pens, and no pen is a table, those particular books (the ones that are pens) definitely cannot be tables, which confirms conclusion II. However, nothing is said about the books that are not pens, so we cannot conclude that no book at all is a table.

  4. 4. In a class of 60 students, 35 play Cricket, 28 play Badminton, and 15 play both games. How many students play neither sport? (A) 10 (B) 12 (C) 13 (D) 15

    ▶Reveal answer
    12

    Using the union formula, students playing at least one sport = 35 + 28 - 15 = 48. Subtracting this from the total class size of 60 gives 12 students who play neither sport.

  5. 5. A clock shows the time as 3:45. What time will its mirror image show, if the mirror is placed vertically along the 12-6 line of the clock face? (A) 8:15 (B) 9:15 (C) 8:20 (D) 7:15

    ▶Reveal answer
    8:15

    The mirror image of a clock time is found by subtracting the given time from 12:00 (written as 11:60 for easy subtraction). So 11:60 minus 3:45 gives 8:15.

  6. 6. What will be the mirror image of the word 'STATION' when reflected in a vertical mirror placed to its right, in terms of the order in which the letters appear? (A) NOITATS (B) SNOITAT (C) NOTATIS (D) STATOIN

    ▶Reveal answer
    NOITATS

    A vertical mirror placed to the right of a word reverses the left-right order of its letters. Reading STATION from right to left gives N-O-I-T-A-T-S.

  7. 7. A square sheet of paper is folded exactly in half along a vertical line. A hole is then punched through both layers near one corner of the folded rectangle, away from the fold line. When the paper is unfolded completely, how many holes will it have, and how will they be arranged? (A) 1 hole, at the center (B) 2 holes, symmetric about the fold line (C) 4 holes, one in each corner (D) 2 holes, one on each edge

    ▶Reveal answer
    2 holes, symmetric about the fold line

    Folding the square in half brings the two halves into exact overlap, so punching through both layers punches the same relative spot on each half. Unfolding reveals two holes that are mirror images of each other across the fold line, equidistant from it.

  8. 8. If '+' means division, '-' means multiplication, '×' means addition, and '÷' means subtraction, find the value of: 6 + 2 - 4 × 3 ÷ 1 (A) 12 (B) 14 (C) 15 (D) 17

    ▶Reveal answer
    14

    Replacing each symbol with its assigned meaning turns 6 + 2 - 4 x 3 / 1 into 6 / 2 x 4 + 3 - 1. Solving left to right using order of operations: 6/2=3, 3x4=12, 12+3=15, 15-1=14.

  9. 9. The sum of the present ages of a father and his son is 60 years. Six years ago, the father's age was 5 times the age of his son at that time. What is the father's present age? (A) 40 (B) 44 (C) 46 (D) 48

    ▶Reveal answer
    46 years

    Let the son's present age be s and the father's be f, giving f+s=60 and f-6=5(s-6). Solving these two equations together yields s=14 and f=46, which checks out since 6 years ago the father was 40 and the son was 8, and 40 is indeed 5 times 8.

  10. 10. If 5 × 3 = 28, 7 × 2 = 51, and 9 × 4 = 85 (based on a certain pattern), what is the value of 8 × 5? (A) 64 (B) 67 (C) 69 (D) 72

    ▶Reveal answer
    69

    The hidden pattern is (first number squared) plus the second number: 5-squared+3=28, 7-squared+2=51, and 9-squared+4=85, all matching the given values. Applying the same rule to 8 and 5 gives 8-squared+5 = 64+5 = 69.

Time-traps & syllabus quirks

  • RRB NTPC Reasoning sits at a moderate, consistent difficulty rather than the multi-clue puzzle style of bank exams. Over-preparing for bank-style seating arrangements wastes time better spent on breadth across all NTPC question types.
  • A wrong answer here costs a third of a mark, so an unattempted question is genuinely free; treat any guess on a question you haven't worked through at all as a bet you're likely to lose.

Frequently asked questions

How many questions does RRB NTPC Reasoning have?

30 questions in CBT 1 (35 in CBT 2), each worth 1 mark, with 1/3 mark deducted for every wrong answer.

What's a realistic target score for RRB NTPC Reasoning?

23-26 out of 30 is a strong target, since every question type here follows a learnable pattern rather than testing prior knowledge.

Explore more for RRB NTPC

RRB NTPC Math practice testRRB NTPC General Awareness practice test

Move between subjects in the same exam to build a balanced RRB NTPC revision routine.

Reasoning practice tests for other exams

Continue the same reasoning thread across other government exams.

SSC CGL Reasoning practice testIBPS PO Reasoning practice test

Sorting conflicting clues into a clean diagram is exactly the methodical habit a railway workforce runs on day to day.

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