Skip to content
ExamTrack Prep
Exams, mocks, study material, current affairs and more

Banking | IBPS PO

Reasoning Ability for IBPS PO

IBPS PO sets 80 Reasoning Ability questions for 95 marks across 2 stages, so it is worth planning your preparation around the topics below.

80 questions95 marks11 topics

How to approach Reasoning Ability in IBPS PO

The puzzles and seating arrangements carry the most marks and take the most time, so the skill is choosing which set to attempt and which to leave. Clear the quick scoring topics — inequality, syllogism, coding-decoding, blood relations — first, then spend the remaining time on one or two puzzles you can actually finish.

Weightage in the paper

How much Reasoning Ability is worth in each IBPS PO stage, from the official pattern.

StageQuestionsMarksTimeShare
Preliminary Examination353520 min35%
Main Examination (objective)45601 hr29%

Reasoning Ability syllabus for IBPS PO

Every topic in the official syllabus. The linked ones open a set of solved questions you can practise straight away.

  • Puzzles: floor, box, day, month and category based
  • Seating arrangement: linear, circular and rectangular
  • Syllogism and reverse syllogism
  • Inequality, coded and direct
  • Blood relations and direction sense
  • Order, ranking and comparison
  • Coding and decoding
  • Alphanumeric and symbol series
  • Input and output
  • Data sufficiency
  • Statement, assumption, argument and course of action

Sample Reasoning Ability questions with solutions

Written to the IBPS PO pattern, with the answer key and the method behind it — a look at how the section is actually set before you drill the full topic sets.

Seating arrangement · solved example

7 people — P, Q, R, S, T, U, V — sit around a circular table facing the centre. "To the right" means the next seat in the clockwise direction. T sits 5th to the right of P (clockwise). T sits 4th to the right of Q (clockwise). U sits 3rd to the right of P (clockwise). S sits 5th to the right of Q (clockwise). R sits immediately to the right of U (clockwise).

Who sits 5th to the right (clockwise) of U?

  • S
  • QCorrect
  • P
  • T
  • W

Solution

The clockwise order is Q, V, U, R, T, S, P (and repeating), so the person 5th to the right of U is Q.

Analogy · solved example

3 : 9 :: 5 : ?

  • 9
  • 37
  • 41
  • 25Correct
  • 13

Solution

The rule is: each is the square of the first. Applying it to 5 gives 25.

Analogy · solved example

4 : 16 :: 11 : ?

  • 111
  • 106
  • 136
  • 121Correct
  • 131

Solution

The rule is: each is the square of the first. Applying it to 11 gives 121.

Syllogism · solved example

Statements: All books are papers. Some papers are files. Conclusions: I. Some books are files. II. Some files are books. Which conclusion(s) follow?

  • Only I follows
  • Only II follows
  • Both I and II follow
  • Neither I nor II followsCorrect
  • Either I or II follows

Solution

The papers that are files need not overlap with books, so neither conclusion is guaranteed.

Advertisement

Practise Reasoning Ability

Untimed drills with the method shown after every question — the step between learning a topic and sitting it under a clock.

Reasoning Ability study material

Sit Reasoning Ability under a real clock

Reasoning Ability shows up in every IBPS PO mock test, in the same interface, with sectional locking and negative marking.

  • Banking & General Awareness sprint (12 questions)

    12 questions | 8 min

    Start

  • Hard-only sprint: Reasoning Ability (25 questions)

    25 questions | 30 min

    Start

  • IBPS PO Main: full-length mock test 1

    155 questions | 3 hr

    Start

  • IBPS PO Prelims: English Language sprint (11 questions)

    10 questions | 11 min

    Start

  • IBPS PO Prelims: full-length mock test 1

    100 questions | 1 hr

    Start

  • IBPS PO Prelims: Reasoning Ability sprint (16 questions)

    16 questions | 16 min

    Start

  • IBPS PO Prelims: sectional timing practice set 1

    20 questions | 12 min

    Start

Frequently asked questions

How many Reasoning Ability questions are asked in IBPS PO?

IBPS PO 2026-27 cycle (CRP PO/MT-XVI) sets 80 Reasoning Ability questions for 95 marks, split across 35 in the Preliminary Examination and 45 in the Main Examination (objective).

Is there negative marking for Reasoning Ability in IBPS PO?

Yes. IBPS PO deducts one fourth of a mark for each wrong answer, Reasoning Ability included, so unsure guesses cost you. One fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer. Questions left blank carry no penalty.

Which Reasoning Ability topics matter most for IBPS PO?

The IBPS PO syllabus lists Puzzles: floor, box, day, month and category based, Seating arrangement: linear, circular and rectangular, Syllogism and reverse syllogism, Inequality, coded and direct, Blood relations and direction sense, Order, ranking and comparison and more. Weight your revision towards the ones you are weakest on and confirm the emphasis against the paper analysis for recent cycles.

How can I practise Reasoning Ability for IBPS PO free?

Every Reasoning Ability question on this site is free and written to the exam pattern. Use the topic drills for instant-feedback practice, the daily quiz to keep the section warm, and the IBPS PO mock tests to sit it under a real clock with negative marking.