CAT Miscellaneous Questions & Solutions

A sample of real CAT Miscellaneous past-year questions, each with a worked solution and the correct answer highlighted. AthenaPrep has 86 Miscellaneous questions in all — sign up free to practise them timed.

1. Q1.CAT 2006

   Facts, which deal with pieces of information that one has heard, seen or read, and which are open to discovery or verification (the answer option indicates such a statement with an `F’).

   Inferences,which are conclusions drawn about the unknown, on the basis of the known (the answer option indicates such a statement with an `I’).

   Judgements which are opinions that imply approval or disapproval of persons, objects, situations and occurrences in the past, the present or the future (the answer option indicates such a statement with a J)

   Select the answer option that best describes the set of four statements.

   1.So much of our day-to-day focus seems to be on getting things done, trudging our way through the tasks of living - it can feel like a treadmill that gets you nowhere; where is the childlike joy?

   2.We are not doing the things that make us happy; that which brings us joy; the things that we cannot wait to do because we enjoy them so much.

   3.This is the stuff that joyful living is made of - identifying your calling and committing yourself wholeheartedly to it.

   4.When this happens, each moment becomes a celebration of you; there is a rush of energy that comes with feeling completely immersed in doing what you love most.

   • IIIJ

   • IFIJ

   • JFJJ

   • JJJJ

   • JFII

   Show solution

   The first statement says "It can feel like a treadmill that gets you nowhere". This is an opinion and hence the statement is a judgement.
   Statement 2 is also a personal opinion and hence a judgement.
   Similarly, statements 3 and 4 are also opinions and hence can be categorised as judgements.

2. Passage

   DIRECTIONS for questions: Each question has a set of four statements. Each statement has three segments. Choose the alternative where the third segment in the statement can be logically deduced using both the preceding two, but not just from one of them.

   Q2.CAT 1999

   A. Dinosaurs are pre-historic creatures. Water-buffaloes are not dinosaurs. Water-buffaloes are not pre- historic creatures.

   B. All politicians are frank. No frank people are crocodiles. No crocodiles are politicians.

   C. No diamond is quartz. No opal is quartz. Diamonds are opals.

   D. All monkeys like bananas. Some GI Joes like bananas. Some GI Joes are monkeys.

   • C only

   • B only

   • A and D

   • B and C

   Show solution

   Only B is the correct option. That can be explained from the Venn Diagram below:

   

3. Passage

   DIRECTIONS for questions: Each question has a main statement followed by four statements labelled A, B, C and D. Choose the ordered pair of statements where the first statement implies the second, and the two statements are logically consistent with the main statement.

   Q3.CAT 1999

   Either the orangutan is not angry, or he frowns upon the world.

   A. The orangutan frowns upon the world.

   B. The orangutan is not angry.

   C. The orangutan does not frown upon the world.

   D. The orangutan is angry.

   • CB only

   • DA only

   • AB only

   • CB and DA

   Show solution

   The sentence can be written as follows:

   Orangutan is angry => He frowns upon the world.

   Orangutan doesn't frown upon the world => He is not angry.

   So, CB and DA follow.

4. Passage

   DIRECTIONS for questions: Each question consists of five statements followed by options consisting of three statements put together in a specific order. Choose the option which indicates a valid argument, that is, where the third statement is a conclusion drawn from the preceding two statements. Example:

   A. All cigarettes are hazardous to health.

   B. Brand X is a cigarette.

   C. Brand X is hazardous to health.

   ABC is a valid option, where statement C can be concluded from statements A and B.

   Q4.CAT 1999

   A. Some towns in India are polluted.

   B. All polluted towns should be destroyed.

   C. Town Meghana should be destroyed.

   D. Town Meghana is polluted.

   E. Some towns in India should be destroyed.

   • BDE

   • BAE

   • ADE

   • CDB

   Show solution

   Option A: We do not know if town Meghana is in India. So, we cannot infer the statement E. Hence, option A is wrong.

   Option B: All polluted towns must be destroyed and some towns in India are polluted => Some towns in India must be destroyed. Option B is correct.

5. Q5.CAT 1998

   Select the pair of sentences that relates logically to the given statement. Either Sita is sick or she is careless.

   A. Sita is not sick.

   B. Sita is not careless.

   C. Sita is sick.

   D. Sita is careless.

   • AB

   • AD

   • BA

   • DA

   Show solution

   Either Sita is sick or she is careless => Sita is sick or she is careless.

   Consider the pair AD. A says "Sita is not sick". So, it implies that she is careless, which is what is mentioned in statement D. So, AD relate to the original sentence.

6. Q6.CAT 1998

   Choose the set in which the third statement is a logical conclusion of the first two.

   A. No sun is not white. All moon is sun. All moon is white.

   B. All windows are open. No open space is allocated. All window is closed space.

   C. No German can fire. All Americans bombard. Both, Germans and Americans can fight.

   D. No X is Z. No Z is Y. No X is Y.

   • A only

   • B only

   • C only

   • D only

   Show solution

   Statement A: No sun is not white => All Sun is white. So, Sun is a subset of white. All moon is sun => Moon is a subset of Sun. So moon is a subset of white.

   In none of the other three statements do the third sentences follow from the respective first two statements.

   Option a) is the correct answer.

7. Q7.CAT 1997

   Select a pair of sentences that relate logically to the given statement. Whenever Ram hears of a tragedy, he loses sleep.
   A. Ram heard of a tragedy.
   B. Ram did not hear of a tragedy.
   C. Ram lost sleep.
   D. Ram did not lose sleep.
   

   • CA

   • BD

   • DB

   • AD

   Show solution

   Whenever Ram hears of a tragedy he loses sleep.

   Ram heard a tragedy => He lost sleep

   Ram did not lose sleep => He did not hear a tragedy.

   So, AC and DB are both answers.

   Among the options, only DB is present.

   Hence, option C is the answer.

8. Passage

   Direction for questions:Given below are six statements followed by sets of three. You are to mark the option in which the statements are most logically related.

   Q8.CAT 1996

   1. All bricks are tricks
   2. Some tricks are shrieks
   3. Some that are shrieks are bricks
   4. Some tricks are not bricks
   5. All tricks are shrieks
   6. No tricks are shrieks
   

   • 513

   • 234

   • 123

   • 543

   Show solution

   Option A: 513

   All bricks are tricks and all tricks are shrieks => All bricks are shrieks.

   => Some shrieks are bricks.

   Hence, the third statement can be deduced from the first two.

   Hence, option A is the answer.

9. Passage

   Directions: In each of the following questions a pair of capitalised words is followed by four pair of words. You are required to mark as the answer the pair of words which have a relationship between them most similar to the relationship between the capitalised pair.

   Q9.CAT 1996

   Fission : Fusion

   • Implosion : Explosion

   • Separation : Combination

   • Intrusion : Extrusion

   • Enemy : Friend

   Show solution

   Fission means division of particles and fusion means joining of particles.

   Separation and combination share a similar relationship.

   Hence, option B is the answer.

10. Passage

    Direction: In each of the following questions, a part of a sentence is left blank. Choose from among the four options given below each question, the one which would best fill the blanks.

    Q10.CAT 1996

    When we call others dogmatic, what we really object to is ___.

    • their giving the dog a bad name

    • their holding dogmas that are different from our own

    • the extremism that goes along with it

    • the subversion of whatever they actually believe in concomitantly

    Show solution

    Dogma is a set of principles that are held to be irrefutably true. It's not in any way related to dogs or extremism.

11. Q11.CAT 1991

    Select the set in which the statements are logically related.
    A. Mary is John's wife.
    B. Mary and John danced together.
    C. Mary wears John's ring.
    D. Husband and wives danced the last waltz.
    E. John loves Mary.
    F. John danced last with Mary.
    

    • ADF

    • ABD

    • ACE

    • AEF

    Show solution

    AD will give the following figure which will have F as the conclusion.

    

12. Q12.CAT 1991

    Select the set in which the statements are logically related.
    A. All leaves are green.
    B. All leaves have chlorophyll.
    C. Chlorophyll is green.
    D. All plants have leaves.
    E. All plants have chlorophyll.
    F. Only leaves have chlorophyll.
    

    • BDE

    • BEF

    • BDF

    • AEF

    Show solution

    BDE will give the following Venn diagram which will give E as the conclusion for the premise BD.

    

    From statements B and D we can infer E.

    BEF is contradictory pair.

    F is a false assumption in the pair BDF.

CAT Miscellaneous previous year questions with solutions — AthenaPrep