CLASSIFICATION (Reasoning): Note for CUET | CLAT | IPMAT

 

                                        Classification Notes : Reasoning

Below is a complete, exam-oriented, typewise Classification (Odd-One-Out) Notes specially designed for CUET, CLAT, and IPMAT Reasoning.
It includes:
✔ Concept explanations
✔ Type-wise categorization
✔ Solved examples (easy–moderate–high level)
✔ Short-cuts and methods

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✅ TYPEWISE CLASSIFICATION NOTES

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🔵 TYPE 1: WORD-BASED CLASSIFICATION (MEANING / CATEGORY)

In this type, four words are given. Three belong to one category, and one is different.

Approach

• Check category: fruit, metal, profession, colour, etc.
• Check function/feature: all are tools, all are wild animals, all are vehicles.
• Check deeper meaning: emotions, abstract nouns, languages, etc.

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Examples

Example 1 (Easy)

Find the odd one out:
Apple – Mango – Banana – Spinach

Solution:
Apple, Mango, Banana = fruits
Spinach = leafy vegetable
Answer: Spinach

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Example 2 (Moderate)

Find the odd one out:
Justice – Honesty – Courage – Tiger

Solution:
Justice, Honesty, Courage = abstract nouns
Tiger = concrete noun / animal
Answer: Tiger

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Example 3 (Higher Difficulty – Good for CUET/CLAT)

Find the odd one out:
Nepal – Bhutan – Sri Lanka – Japan

Solution:
Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka = SAARC countries
Japan = Not a SAARC member
Answer: Japan

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🔵 TYPE 2: LETTER-BASED CLASSIFICATION (PATTERN / POSITION)

Questions are based on alphabet positions, reverse positions, or patterns.

Approach

Check:

• Alphabet position (A=1, Z=26)
• Vowel vs consonant
• Alphabetic sequence pattern (forward/backward jump)
• Order/arrangement of letters

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Examples

Example 1

Find the odd one out:
BD, FH, JM, NP

Check pattern:
BD → +2
FH → +2
JM → +2
NP → +1

Answer: NP

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Example 2

Find the odd one out:
BA, DC, FE, HG

Pairs are reversed consecutive letters:
BA → A-B
DC → C-D
FE → E-F
HG → G-H
All follow reverse alphabetical order.

All follow same rule → but if one pair is incorrectly reversed?

Try option: HG → correct
Every pair is valid, but sometimes in exams, one pair breaks symmetric pattern.

Here → BA starts with vowel, others with consonants.

Answer: BA

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Example 3 (Tricky)

Find the odd one out:
CF, EI, GK, JP

Position jumps:
C(3) → F(6): +3
E(5) → I(9): +4
G(7) → K(11): +4
J(10) → P(16): +6

Only first pair has +3.
Answer: CF

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🔵 TYPE 3: NUMBER-BASED CLASSIFICATION

Numbers follow a certain:

• arithmetic rule
• divisibility rule
• squares/cubes
• prime–composite pattern
• digital sum pattern

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Examples

Example 1

Find the odd one out:
16, 25, 36, 49, 50

Squares?
16 = 4²
25 = 5²
36 = 6²
49 = 7²
50 = not a perfect square

Answer: 50

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Example 2

Find the odd one out:
27, 64, 125, 216, 343

Cubes?
27 = 3³
64 = 4³
125 = 5³
216 = 6³
343 = 7³

All cubes → no odd one?
But check: only 64 is even, others are odd.

Answer: 64

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Example 3 (Tricky for IPMAT)

Find the odd one out:
18, 24, 30, 42, 49

Check divisibility:
18 divisible by 6
24 divisible by 6
30 divisible by 6
42 divisible by 6
49 not divisible by 6

Answer: 49

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🔵 TYPE 4: MIXED PAIR / RELATION-BASED CLASSIFICATION

Each option contains pair of related items.

Approach

Find relation:

• Country–Capital
• Object–Function
• Tool–User
• Worker–Place
• Material–Product
• Cause–Effect

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Examples

Example 1

Find the odd one out:
Doctor–Hospital
Teacher–School
Driver–Car
Chef–Kitchen

Relations:
Person → workplace
Driver–Car is not a workplace.

Answer: Driver–Car

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Example 2

Find the odd one out:
Iron–Metal
Cotton–Fibre
Plastic–Polymer
Rubber–Mineral

Rubber = not a mineral (it is natural latex/product)
Answer: Rubber–Mineral

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Example 3 (Higher Difficulty)

Find the odd one out:
Rome–Italy
Cairo–Egypt
Tokyo–Japan
Sydney–Australia

Sydney is not the capital of Australia (Canberra is).
Answer: Sydney–Australia

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🔵 TYPE 6: SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION (LOGICAL THEME)

This is popular in CLAT verbal reasoning.

Example

Find the odd one out:
Grief – Sorrow – Joy – Misery

Three are negative emotions.
Joy is positive.
Answer: Joy

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Another Example

Find the odd one out:
Table – Chair – Cupboard – Spoon

All are furniture except Spoon.
Answer: Spoon

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🔵 TYPE 7: ANALOGY-MIXED CLASSIFICATION

Identify one pair that does NOT show analogy relation similar to others.

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Example

Find the odd one out:
Lion : Cub
Cow : Calf
Horse : Foal
Goat : Pup

Goat’s baby is kid → not pup.
Answer: Goat : Pup

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🔵 TYPE 8: LETTER-NUMBER COMBINATION CLASSIFICATION

Common in IPMAT.

Example

Find the odd one out:
A1B, C3D, E5F, G8H

Observe number pattern:
1 (+2) 3 (+2) 5 (+3) 8

Only G8H has +3 jump.
Answer: G8H

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🔵 TYPE 9: CODING PATTERN CLASSIFICATION

3 follow same code, 1 breaks.

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Example

Find the odd one out:
CAT → 3120
DOG → 4157
PEN → 1654
RAT → 1819

Observe pattern laterally:
CAT → C(3) A(1) T(20)
DOG → D(4) O(15) G(7)
PEN → P(16) E(5) N(14)
RAT → R(18) A(1) T(20)

All follow alphabet numbers.
But order differs in one?
Check RAT: becomes 18120 (should be 18120, but given 1819).
Hence coding is incorrect.

Answer: RAT

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🔵 TYPE 10: GENERAL KNOWLEDGE CLASSIFICATION

Common in CUET.

Example

Find the odd one out:
Mercury – Venus – Earth – Pluto

Pluto = dwarf planet
Others = planets
Answer: Pluto

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Another example:
Bordered India:
Nepal – Bangladesh – Pakistan – Afghanistan

Only Afghanistan does NOT share border now after 2019 re-mapping.
Answer: Afghanistan

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✅ 50 MCQs on Classification (Odd-One-Out)

(CUET + CLAT + IPMAT Pattern)

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WORD-BASED (1–15)

1. Which is the odd one out?
a) Apple
b) Mango
c) Banana
d) Tomato

Answer: d

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2. Which is the odd one out?
a) Dog
b) Cat
c) Cow
d) Shark

Answer: d

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3. Which is the odd one out?
a) Wheat
b) Rice
c) Barley
d) Cotton

Answer: d

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4. Which is the odd one out?
a) Table
b) Chair
c) Sofa
d) Plate

Answer: d

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5. Which is the odd one out?
a) Anger
b) Fear
c) Joy
d) Chair

Answer: d

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6. Which is the odd one out?
a) Nile
b) Amazon
c) Yamuna
d) Sahara

Answer: d

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7. Which is the odd one out?
a) Physics
b) Chemistry
c) Biology
d) History

Answer: d

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8. Which is the odd one out?
a) Crow
b) Peacock
c) Pigeon
d) Bat

Answer: d

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9. Which is the odd one out?
a) Nepal
b) Bhutan
c) Sri Lanka
d) China

Answer: d

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10. Which is the odd one out?
a) Gold
b) Silver
c) Copper
d) Carbon

Answer: d

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11. Which is the odd one out?
a) Spoon
b) Fork
c) Knife
d) Plate

Answer: d

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12. Which is the odd one out?
a) Jupiter
b) Saturn
c) Uranus
d) Sun

Answer: d

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13. Which is the odd one out?
a) Bus
b) Train
c) Airplane
d) Road

Answer: d

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14. Which is the odd one out?
a) Guitar
b) Violin
c) Piano
d) Flute

Answer: d

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15. Which is the odd one out?
a) Teacher
b) Doctor
c) Engineer
d) Hospital

Answer: d

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LETTER / ALPHABET-BASED (16–25)

16. Which is the odd one out?
a) AB
b) CD
c) EF
d) GHK

Answer: d

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17. Which is the odd one out?
a) PQ
b) RS
c) TU
d) VX

Answer: d

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18. Which is the odd one out?
a) BA
b) DC
c) FE
d) HJ

Answer: d

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19. Which is the odd one out?
a) CF
b) EI
c) GK
d) JQ

Answer: d

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20. Which is the odd one out?
a) ABE
b) CDF
c) EGH
d) IJK

Answer: d

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21. Which is the odd one out?
a) MN
b) OP
c) QR
d) TV

Answer: d

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22. Which is the odd one out?
a) BF
b) CH
c) DJ
d) EL

Answer: d

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23. Which is the odd one out?
a) A1B
b) C3D
c) E5F
d) G7J

Answer: d

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24. Which is the odd one out?
a) PQR
b) STU
c) VWX
d) XYZ

Answer: d

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25. Which is the odd one out?
a) AZ
b) BY
c) CX
d) DE

Answer: d

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NUMBER-BASED (26–35)

26. Which is the odd one out?
a) 16
b) 25
c) 36
d) 45

Answer: d

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27. Which is the odd one out?
a) 7
b) 11
c) 13
d) 21

Answer: d

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28. Which is the odd one out?
a) 28
b) 42
c) 56
d) 64

Answer: d

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29. Which is the odd one out?
a) 4
b) 9
c) 27
d) 81

Answer: c

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30. Which is the odd one out?
a) 3
b) 9
c) 27
d) 63

Answer: d

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31. Which is the odd one out?
a) 8
b) 27
c) 64
d) 50

Answer: d

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32. Which is the odd one out?
a) 18
b) 27
c) 45
d) 64

Answer: d

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33. Which is the odd one out?
a) 12
b) 18
c) 24
d) 40

Answer: d

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34. Which is the odd one out?
a) 2
b) 3
c) 5
d) 9

Answer: d

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35. Which is the odd one out?
a) 1
b) 8
c) 27
d) 32

Answer: d

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PAIR / RELATION-BASED (36–45)

36. Which is the odd one out?
a) Doctor–Hospital
b) Teacher–School
c) Lawyer–Court
d) Driver–Car

Answer: d

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37. Which is the odd one out?
a) India–Rupee
b) USA–Dollar
c) UK–Pound
d) Japan–Yuan

Answer: d

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38. Which is the odd one out?
a) Iron–Metal
b) Cotton–Fibre
c) Wood–Timber
d) Plastic–Mineral

Answer: d

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39. Which is the odd one out?
a) Rome–Italy
b) Tokyo–Japan
c) Beijing–China
d) Sydney–Australia

Answer: d

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40. Which is the odd one out?
a) Lion–Cub
b) Cow–Calf
c) Goat–Kid
d) Dog–Fawn

Answer: d

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41. Which is the odd one out?
a) Pen–Write
b) Knife–Cut
c) Brush–Paint
d) Book–Read

Answer: d

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42. Which is the odd one out?
a) Car–Road
b) Ship–Sea
c) Aeroplane–Sky
d) Train–Air

Answer: d

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43. Which is the odd one out?
a) Author–Book
b) Chef–Food
c) Carpenter–Furniture
d) Pilot–Train

Answer: d

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44. Which is the odd one out?
a) Mango–Fruit
b) Potato–Vegetable
c) Rose–Flower
d) Milk–Drink

Answer: d

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45. Which is the odd one out?
a) Earth–Planet
b) Sun–Star
c) Moon–Satellite
d) Mars–Star

Answer: d

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MIXED / HIGH-LEVEL (46–50)

46. Which is the odd one out?
a) Pyramid
b) Cube
c) Sphere
d) Circle

Answer: d

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47. Which is the odd one out?
a) Oxygen
b) Hydrogen
c) Nitrogen
d) Water

Answer: d

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48. Which is the odd one out?
a) Running
b) Walking
c) Swimming
d) Sleeping

Answer: d

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49. Which is the odd one out?
a) January
b) March
c) May
d) August

Answer: d

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50. Which is the odd one out?
a) Mercury
b) Copper
c) Aluminium
d) Coal

Answer: d

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