ReasoningTrivia Questions & Answers
61 reasoning trivia questions, each with the correct answer and a short explanation.
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Each question reveals the answer and a quick explanation below it.
1. A is taller than B. B is taller than C. Who is shortest?
Answer: C. Ordering them: A > B > C, so C is the shortest.
2. Painter is to Canvas as Sculptor is to __
Answer: Clay. A painter works on canvas; a sculptor works with clay as the primary medium.
3. SURGEON is to SCALPEL as SCULPTOR is to ___. Which analogy fits the relationship most precisely?
Answer: Chisel. A surgeon's defining cutting tool is a scalpel; a sculptor's defining shaping tool is a chisel — both are the primary instrument of precision craft.
4. CLOCK is to TIME as THERMOMETER is to ___. BAROMETER is to ___. Which pair correctly completes BOTH?
Answer: Temperature / Pressure. A thermometer measures temperature; a barometer measures atmospheric pressure — both analogies match instrument to measured quantity.
5. In a race, if you overtake the person in 3rd place, what place are you now in?
Answer: 3rd. You take over the position of the person you passed — you are now in 3rd place, and they drop to 4th.
6. A clock's minute hand moves 12× faster than the hour hand. How many times do they overlap between 12:00 noon and 12:00 midnight?
Answer: 11. The hands overlap every 720/11 minutes, so in 12 hours they overlap exactly 11 times (the first overlap after 12:00 is ~1:05, the last is ~10:55, and they meet again at exactly 12:00 midnight which is the endpoint, not counted as an interior overlap).
7. GLOVE is to HAND as THIMBLE is to ___
Answer: Finger. A glove covers the whole hand; a thimble covers a single finger — same protective-covering relationship.
8. A man walks 3 km north, turns and walks 4 km east. He then walks diagonally back to his start. What is total distance walked?
Answer: 12 km. The diagonal return distance is √(3²+4²)=5 km; total = 3+4+5 = 12 km.
9. ELBOW is to ARM as KNEE is to: FOOT, LEG, JOINT, ANKLE — pick the best analogy.
Answer: Leg. An elbow is a joint found on the arm; a knee is the corresponding joint found on the leg.
10. Some doctors are pilots. All pilots are athletes. Which conclusion is definitely valid?
Answer: Some doctors are athletes. Some doctors are pilots, and all pilots are athletes, so those doctors who are pilots must also be athletes.
11. ANALOGY: Composer : Symphony :: Architect : ___
Answer: Building. A composer creates a symphony (the final work); an architect creates a building (the final work), not just the blueprint.
12. Complete the analogy: Composer is to Symphony as Architect is to ___.
Answer: Building. A composer creates a symphony (their large-scale output); an architect creates a building — the closest parallel product of their craft.
13. Complete the analogy: PAINTER : CANVAS :: SCULPTOR : ___ :: COMPOSER : ___. Which pair correctly fills both blanks IN ORDER?
Answer: Marble, Score. A painter works on canvas; a sculptor works primarily in marble (material); a composer writes on a musical score (medium/surface).
14. FINGER : GLOVE :: FOOT : ? — but now apply the same logic one level deeper: HAND : ?
Answer: Mitten. A glove covers individual fingers; a mitten covers the hand as a whole without separating digits — paralleling how a sock covers a foot without separating toes.
15. A bat and ball cost $1.10. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
Answer: $0.05. If ball = x, bat = x + 1.00; x + x + 1.00 = 1.10, so 2x = 0.10, x = $0.05.
16. In a row of 10 people, Ava is 4th from the left and Ben is 6th from the right. How many people sit between them?
Answer: 1. Ava is position 4; Ben is position 10−6+1 = 5; they are adjacent, so exactly 1 person sits between positions 4 and 5... wait: positions 4 and 5 are adjacent with 0 between — re-check: Ben at position 5 means one person (position 4.5 doesn't exist); positions 4 and 5 are consecutive so 0 people are between them... actually correct answer is 0.
17. If you rearrange CARTHORSE, you get the name of an everyday object. What category is it?
Answer: Musical instrument. CARTHORSE is an anagram of ORCHESTRA — a musical ensemble, so the category is musical instrument/group.
18. FINGER is to HAND as CHAPTER is to ___?
Answer: Book. A finger is a named subdivision of a hand; a chapter is a named subdivision of a book — part-to-whole analogy.
19. CLOCK is to TIME as THERMOMETER is to ___?
Answer: Temperature. A clock measures time; a thermometer measures temperature — instrument-to-measured-quantity analogy.
20. Complete the analogy: Symphony is to Composer as Sculpture is to ___?
Answer: Sculptor. A composer creates a symphony; a sculptor creates a sculpture — same creator-to-creation relationship.
21. A man is 4 times as old as his son. In 20 years, he'll be twice as old. How old is the son now?
Answer: 10. Let son = x, father = 4x. 4x+20 = 2(x+20) → 4x+20 = 2x+40 → x = 10.
22. Lateral thinking: A woman shoots her husband, then dines with him. How?
Answer: She photographed him then cooked dinner. She is a photographer — she 'shot' him with a camera, then they had dinner together.
23. GLOVE is to HAND as HELMET is to:
Answer: Head. A glove covers the hand; a helmet covers the head — same protective-covering relationship.
24. PETAL is to FLOWER as CHAPTER is to:
Answer: Book. A petal is a component part of a flower; a chapter is a component part of a book.
25. A man walks 3 km north, 4 km east, then 3 km south. How far is he from his start?
Answer: 4 km. North and south cancel; he ends up exactly 4 km east of his starting point.
26. ARCHITECT is to BLUEPRINT as COMPOSER is to:
Answer: Score. A blueprint is the written plan an architect creates; a score is the written plan a composer creates — the analogy is creator to their written notation.
27. FINGER : RING :: WRIST : ? Choose the best completing analogy.
Answer: Bracelet. A ring is a piece of jewellery worn on a finger; a bracelet is the direct jewellery equivalent worn on a wrist — watch is functional, not jewellery.
28. Which shape, described in words, has the MOST lines of symmetry?
Answer: Regular hexagon. A regular hexagon has 6 lines of symmetry, more than the triangle (3), square (4), or pentagon (5).
29. PETAL : FLOWER :: CHAPTER : ___
Answer: BOOK. A petal is a component part of a flower; a chapter is a component part of a book — part-to-whole analogy.
30. SYMPHONY : MOVEMENTS :: NOVEL : ?
Answer: Chapters. Movements are the major named structural divisions of a symphony; chapters serve the same structural role in a novel.
31. PAINTER is to CANVAS as SCULPTOR is to ___. Which analogy fits best?
Answer: Marble. A painter works ON a canvas (the medium); a sculptor works ON marble — the direct material analogy.
32. Analogy — CONDUCTOR : ORCHESTRA :: ALGORITHM : ___
Answer: Computation. A conductor directs/coordinates an orchestra's output; an algorithm directs/coordinates computation's output — the process governed, not the builder or machine.
33. Some doctors are painters. All painters are left-handed. Which must be true?
Answer: Some doctors are left-handed. Since some doctors are painters and all painters are left-handed, those doctor-painters must be left-handed, so some doctors are left-handed.
34. Odd one out: Bat, Dolphin, Moth, Shrew — based on how they navigate in darkness.
Answer: Moth. Bats, dolphins, and shrews all use echolocation to navigate; moths navigate primarily using light sources and magnetic cues, not echolocation.
35. FINGER is to HAND as SPOKE is to what?
Answer: Wheel. A finger radiates from a hand just as a spoke radiates from the centre of a wheel.
36. Complete: Book is to Library as Painting is to ___?
Answer: Gallery. A book is stored and displayed in a library; a painting is stored and displayed in a gallery — the analogy is object to its public collection space.
37. VIOLIN is to ORCHESTRA as SOLDIER is to ?
Answer: Regiment. A violin is one member of an orchestra; a soldier is one member of a regiment.
38. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 die. How many are left? Now divide by the days in a fortnight. What is the result?
Answer: 0.643. 9 sheep survive; a fortnight=14 days; 9÷14≈0.643.
39. GLOVE is to HAND as SHEATH is to ?
Answer: Sword. A glove encases a hand; a sheath encases a sword — the relationship is protective casing to the object it covers.
40. Which is the odd one out? Sonnet, Haiku, Limerick, Ode, Villanelle
Answer: Ode. All others are fixed-form poems with strict structural rules; an ode has no mandatory fixed form or line count.
41. COMPOSER : SYMPHONY :: ARCHITECT : ?
Answer: Edifice. A composer creates a symphony (a completed artistic work); an architect creates an edifice — the finished constructed work, not the plan.
42. Lawyer is to Client as Doctor is to __?
Answer: Patient. A lawyer serves a client; a doctor serves a patient — both are the direct recipients of the professional's services.
43. Clock : Time :: Thermometer : __?
Answer: Temperature. A clock measures time; a thermometer measures temperature — both are instruments measuring a specific physical quantity.
44. A man walks 3 km north, 4 km east, 3 km south. How far is he from his start point, in km?
Answer: 4. North and south cancel; he is left only 4 km east of start, so displacement is exactly 4 km.
45. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 die. How many sheep remain?
Answer: 9. 'All but 9' means 9 survive; the phrasing is a classic misdirection encouraging subtraction instead of reading carefully.
46. A clock's minute hand moves 360° in 60 min. At 3:27, what is the ACUTE angle between the hands (in degrees)?
Answer: 58.5°. Minute hand at 3:27 = 27×6=162°. Hour hand at 3:27 = 90+27×0.5=90+13.5=103.5°. Difference=162−103.5=58.5°.
47. Lateral thinking: A man lives on the 30th floor. On rainy days he takes the lift all the way up. On sunny days he takes it to the 15th and walks. Why?
Answer: He is too short to reach button 30 but an umbrella helps. He is too short to reach the button for floor 30; on rainy days he uses his umbrella as an extension to press it.
48. Surgeon is to Scalpel as Sculptor is to ___?
Answer: Chisel. A surgeon's primary precision tool is a scalpel; a sculptor's equivalent precision tool is a chisel.
49. A man walks 3 km north, 4 km east, 3 km south. How far is he from the start?
Answer: 4 km. North and south cancel; he is displaced only 4 km east of his starting point.
50. VIOLIN : ORCHESTRA :: SOLDIER : ___? Choose the best analogy.
Answer: Army. A violin is one unit within an orchestra; a soldier is one unit within an army — the structural relationship is part-to-collective.
51. PETAL is to FLOWER as CHAPTER is to what? BOOK, SENTENCE, LIBRARY, PARAGRAPH
Answer: Book. A petal is a component part of a flower; a chapter is a component part of a book — the relationship is component-to-whole.
52. Pen is to poet as brush is to ___; scalpel is to surgeon as gavel is to ___. Which pair completes both blanks?
Answer: painter / judge. A brush is the defining tool of a painter; a gavel is the defining tool of a judge — both instrument-to-practitioner analogies.
53. Which word logically completes the analogy? Archipelago : Islands :: Constellation : ___
Answer: Stars. An archipelago is a group of islands; a constellation is a named group of stars.
54. Complete the matrix analogy: Hot:Cold :: Slow:Fast :: Loud:Quiet :: Deep:___
Answer: Shallow. Each pair is a direct antonym; the precise opposite of 'deep' (as in depth) is 'shallow'.
55. A man walks 3 km north, 4 km east, 3 km south. How far is he from his start?
Answer: 4 km. North and south cancel; he is left 4 km due east of his starting point.
56. PAINT is to CANVAS as CHISEL is to:
Answer: Marble. Paint is applied to canvas; a chisel works upon marble — both are tool-to-medium relationships.
57. PAINTING : CANVAS :: SCULPTURE : ___?
Answer: Marble. A painting is created on canvas; a sculpture is created from/in marble — both are the primary medium.
58. DOCTOR is to PATIENT as LAWYER is to ___. Which analogy best completes the professional-service relationship?
Answer: Client. A doctor serves a patient; a lawyer professionally serves a client — the parallel service-recipient relationship.
59. FINGER : RING :: WRIST : ?
Answer: Bracelet. A ring is jewellery worn on a finger; a bracelet is the equivalent jewellery worn on a wrist — same ornament-to-body-part relationship.
60. LIBRARY is to BOOKS as GALLERY is to ___; but what is CONSERVATORY is to ___?
Answer: Plants. A conservatory is a glass structure primarily used to grow and house plants, making PLANTS the correct analogy partner.
61. Which completes the analogy? COMPOSER : SCORE :: ARCHITECT : ___
Answer: Blueprint. A composer produces a score (the written plan for music); an architect produces a blueprint (the written plan for a building).
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