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Classification / Odd One Out

General Intelligence & Reasoning · Series, Analogy & Coding

Useful for: SSC CGL, Railway RRB, OSSC RHT — Regular High School Teacher, OSEPA Primary Teacher / JT Category-I, OSEPA Upper Primary — Arts, OSEPA Upper Primary — Science, OSSSC Govt Physical Education Teacher (PET), OSSSC Govt TGT Arts

and 2 more exams

OSSSC Govt TGT Science — CBZ, OSSSC Govt TGT Science — PCM

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Overview

Classification (odd one out) asks which item does not share the property common to the others.

Key points

Common properties: category (fruits, metals), function, shape, number rule, letter pattern.
Look for the most specific common property; a vague one may fit all four.
Living vs non-living, natural vs man-made, and plural vs singular are frequent splits.
In number sets: prime/composite, even/odd, squares, cubes, multiples.
Check all items before choosing — there should be exactly one misfit.

Explanation

If two items seem odd, the property you chose is too narrow; find another.
Scientific classification: whale and bat are mammals; spider is not an insect.
Capital vs city, river vs lake, instrument vs measured quantity are common sets.
Elimination: cross out every item that clearly belongs.

Step by step

Find the property shared by most items.
Test each item.
Confirm exactly one misfit.

Examples

Rose, Lily, Lotus, Mango → Mango (the others are flowers).
Mercury, Venus, Moon, Mars → Moon (not a planet).
Copper, Iron, Silver, Brass → Brass (an alloy; the others are metals).

Traps and advanced points

Trap: Choosing a property that more than one option breaks.
Trap: Forgetting that whales are mammals.
Trap: Picking the "unusual-looking" word instead of the rule breaker.

Quick revision

One rule, one misfit.
Most specific common property.
Alloy vs metal, mammal vs fish.

Practice MCQs

Choose the odd one out if three numbers follow a common difference of 10: 74, 64, 85, 54.
1. 54
2. 74
3. 64
4. 85
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Answer: (d) 85. 85 breaks the +10 pattern.
Choose the odd one out if three numbers follow a common difference of 11: 69, 58, 81, 47.
1. 81
2. 69
3. 58
4. 47
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Answer: (a) 81. 81 breaks the +11 pattern.
Choose the odd one out if three numbers follow a common difference of 3: 61, 68, 64, 58.
1. 68
2. 58
3. 64
4. 61
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Answer: (a) 68. 68 breaks the +3 pattern.
Choose the odd one out if three numbers follow a common difference of 4: 64, 73, 60, 68.
1. 64
2. 73
3. 68
4. 60
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Answer: (b) 73. 73 breaks the +4 pattern.
Choose the odd one out if three numbers follow a common difference of 5: 49, 44, 60, 54.
1. 60
2. 54
3. 44
4. 49
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Answer: (a) 60. 60 breaks the +5 pattern.
Find the odd one out: Rose, Lotus, Marigold, Mango
1. Lotus
2. Marigold
3. Mango
4. Rose
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Answer: (c) Mango. Rose, Lotus, Marigold — sab phool (flowers) hain.
Find the odd one out: Copper, Iron, Gold, Plastic
1. Plastic
2. Copper
3. Iron
4. Gold
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Answer: (a) Plastic. Copper, Iron, Gold — sab metals (dhaatu) hain.
Find the odd one out: Cricket, Hockey, Chess, Football
1. Chess
2. Cricket
3. Hockey
4. Football
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Answer: (a) Chess. Cricket, Hockey, Football — outdoor/physical field sports.
Find the odd one out: Triangle, Square, Circle, Rectangle
1. Square
2. Rectangle
3. Circle
4. Triangle
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Answer: (c) Circle. Triangle, Square, Rectangle — sab straight sides (bhujaon) waale figures hain.
Find the odd one out: Dog, Cat, Cow, Tiger
1. Dog
2. Cat
3. Cow
4. Tiger
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Answer: (d) Tiger. Dog, Cat, Cow — domestic/paaltu animals.
Find the odd one out: Eye, Ear, Nose, Hand
1. Eye
2. Ear
3. Nose
4. Hand
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Answer: (d) Hand. Eye, Ear, Nose — sensory organs on the face (chehre par sense organs).
Find the odd one out: January, March, June, July
1. January
2. March
3. July
4. June
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Answer: (d) June. January, March, July — sab me 31 din hote hain.
Find the odd one out: Apple, Banana, Carrot, Mango
1. Carrot
2. Apple
3. Banana
4. Mango
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Answer: (a) Carrot. Apple, Banana, Mango — fruits.
Find the odd one out: Sun, Moon, Star, Comet
1. Sun
2. Star
3. Comet
4. Moon
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Answer: (d) Moon. Sun, Star, Comet — apni roshni/light se juda ya self-luminous celestial bodies.
Find the odd one out: Guitar, Violin, Flute, Sitar
1. Guitar
2. Violin
3. Sitar
4. Flute
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Answer: (d) Flute. Guitar, Violin, Sitar — string instruments (taar waale).