Bain 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
This page collects Bain placement papers from 2024 with practice questions, worked solutions, and the exam pattern students reported that cycle. Use it when you want drive history: what the first round looked like, which topics repeated, and how to approach solutions. Work the sets below under a timer, then compare with newer material so your prep matches both established Bain patterns and recent shifts.
Bain 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
Bain 2024 coding
DSA practice aligned to Bain online assessments
Bain interview experience
Round structure and tips from student reports
Bain prep guide
Study plan and weekly schedule
Timed placement-style MCQs with score and explanations after you submit. Use it to check speed and accuracy before the real test.
Quantitative
A can do a piece of work in 10 days and B in 15 days. Days to finish together:
1/10 + 1/15 = 1/6 → 6 days.
Verbal
Fill in: The news _____ shocking.
News is singular → is.
Quantitative
A and B can complete a work in 12 days, B and C in 15 days, C and A in 20 days. In how many days will A alone complete the work?
Let total work = LCM of 12, 15, 20 = 60 units A + B efficiency = 60/12 = 5 units/day B + C efficiency = 60/15 = 4 units/day C + A efficiency = 60/20 = 3 units/day Adding all: 2(A + B + C) = 5 + 4 + 3 = 12 units/day A + B + C = 6 units/day A's efficiency = (A +
Quantitative
Divide ₹720 in the ratio 2:3. The larger share is:
Larger = 3/5 × 720 = ₹432.
Reasoning
If every letter is shifted +2 in the alphabet, CODE becomes:
Each letter +2 → EQFG.
Quantitative
Find compound interest on ₹10,000 for 2 years at 10% per annum, compounded annually.
Amount = P(1 + R/100)^n Amount = 10000(1 + 10/100)^2 = 10000 × 1.1^2 = 10000 × 1.21 = ₹12,100 CI = Amount - Principal = 12100 - 10000 = ₹2,100
Verbal
Find antonym of "Temporary"
Correct answer: Permanent
Reasoning
Which comes next: 5, 10, 20, 40, ?
Each term doubles → 80.
Quantitative
A sum doubles in 5 years at simple interest. The rate of interest is:
For doubling, RT = 100 → R = 100/5 = 20%.
Verbal
Problem: Find the synonym of "ABUNDANT": a) Scarce b) Plentiful c) Limited d) Rare
Abundant means existing in large quantities, so "Plentiful" is the synonym.
Verbal
A shopkeeper sells an article at a profit of 20%. If he had bought it at 20% less and sold it for ₹5 less, he would have gained 25%. Find the cost price of the article.
Let CP = 100 SP = 120 (20% profit) New CP = 80 (20% less) New SP = 120 - 5 = 115 New Profit = 115 - 80 = 35 New Profit % = (35/80) × 100 = 43.75% But given new profit is 25%, so: Let actual CP = x Actual SP = 1.2x New CP = 0.8x New SP = 1.2x - 5 New Profit = (
Reasoning
Find the next number: 8, 6, 9, 7, 10, ?
−2,+3 alternating → 10-2=8 → 8.
Quantitative
Identify the error: "Neither of the students were present in the class."
Correct answer: "were" should be "was"
Reasoning
In each question a set of six statements is given. Identify the answer choice in which the statements are logically related. A: All green is blue B: All green is white C: All green is black D: All black is white E: All blue is yellow F: All blue is white
Correct answer: ABF
Reasoning
A walks 8 km north, then 15 km east. Distance from start is:
Right triangle → 17 km.
Your score
0/15(0%)
| Section | What shows up | Prep focus |
|---|---|---|
| Aptitude / logical | Quant, reasoning, sometimes verbal | Timed sectional accuracy |
| Coding / programming logic | Easy-medium DSA or output-style MCQs | Handle tricky inputs |
| Technical interview | OOPs, DBMS, OS, projects | Explain aloud |
| HR | Fit, location, intent | A few real examples ready |
First round: Bain Online Test / SOVA variants
Skills emphasized: Case interviews, experience interview
Languages: N/A for AC; tech affiliates differ
These are practice-style questions aligned to patterns students report for Bain drives around 2024. They are not leaked live papers. Work them timed, then read the solutions only after you have an answer.
Problem: An article is marked 40% above cost and sold after a 10% discount. Find the profit percent.
Solution: SP = CP × 1.4 × 0.9 = 1.26 CP. Profit = 26%.
Answer: 26%
Problem: An article sold at 10% loss would give 5% profit if sold for ₹60 more. Find the cost price.
Solution: 0.9P + 60 = 1.05P 60 = 0.15P P = 60 / 0.15 = ₹400.
Answer: ₹400
Problem: Eight workers finish a job in 10 days. How many days will 10 workers take for the same job (same pace)?
Solution: Total man-days = 8 × 10 = 80. Days for 10 workers = 80 / 10 = 8 days.
Answer: 8 days
Problem: A vehicle travels at 60 km/h for 2.5 hours. How far does it go?
Solution: Distance = speed × time = 60 × 2.5 = 150 km.
Answer: 150 km
Problem: If two ratios are 3:5 and 5:7, what is the compound ratio?
Solution: Compound ratio = (3/5) × (5/7) = 3/7, written as 3:7.
Answer: 3:7
Problem: Find simple interest on ₹5000 at 8% per annum for 3 years.
Solution: SI = 5000 × 8 × 3 / 100 = ₹1200.
Answer: ₹1200
Problem: A boat’s speed in still water is 15 km/h and the stream is 3 km/h. How long to cover 36 km upstream?
Solution: Upstream speed = 15 − 3 = 12 km/h. Time = 36 / 12 = 3 hours.
Answer: 3 hours
Problem: A mixture has milk and water in the ratio 4:1. If 5 litres of water are added to 20 litres of mixture, what is the new milk:water ratio?
Solution: In 20 L: milk = 16 L, water = 4 L. After adding 5 L water: milk 16, water 9. Ratio = 16:9.
Answer: 16:9
Problem: A person walks 5 km north, then 3 km east, then 5 km south. How far is he from the start, and in which direction?
Solution: North 5 and south 5 cancel. He is 3 km east of the start.
Answer: 3 km east
Problem: Find the next number: 3, 9, 27, 81, ?
Solution: Each term is multiplied by 3. Next = 81 × 3 = 243.
Answer: 243
Problem: Five friends sit in a row. A is to the left of B but right of C. D is to the right of B and left of E. Who is in the middle?
Solution: Order from left to right: C, A, B, D, E. The middle seat is B.
Answer: B
Problem: Book is to Reading as Fork is to ?
Solution: A book is used for reading; a fork is used for eating.
Answer: Eating
Problem: Given a sorted array of distinct integers and a target, return the index of target or -1 if missing.
Approach: Maintain lo/hi. Compare mid with target and shrink the half that cannot contain it. Careful with overflow-free mid and empty arrays.
Complexity: O(log n) time
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Move all zeros in an array to the end while keeping the relative order of non-zero elements.
Approach: Two pointers: write non-zeros toward the front, then fill the remainder with zeros. Or swap zeros as you scan.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Rotate an array to the right by k steps. Example: [1,2,3,4,5,6,7], k = 3 → [5,6,7,1,2,3,4].
Approach: Normalize k %= n. Reverse the whole array, reverse the first k elements, then reverse the rest. That yields the rotation in place.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Find the first non-repeating character in a string and return its index, or -1 if none exists.
Approach: Count frequencies in one pass (hash map or array of 26 for lowercase). Second pass returns the first index with count 1.
Complexity: O(n) time
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Design a stack that supports push, pop, top, and getMin in average O(1) time.
Approach: Keep a parallel min-stack (or store pairs). When pushing, also push the new minimum. When popping, pop both stacks.
Complexity: O(1) per operation amortized
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Given an integer array, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum and return that sum. Example: [-2,1,-3,4,-1,2,1,-5,4] → 6 (from [4,-1,2,1]).
Approach: Keep a running sum. If the running sum drops below 0, reset it to 0 before taking the next element (or track the best ending-here value). Track the global maximum as you scan once from left to right.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) extra space
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Given a mutable character array representing a string, reverse it in place without allocating another array of the same size.
Approach: Use two pointers at the start and end. Swap characters, then move inward until the pointers meet. Watch empty and single-character inputs.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) extra space
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Problem: Write a function that returns true if n is prime and false otherwise. Handle n < 2 correctly.
Approach: Return false for n < 2. Trial-divide from 2 to floor(sqrt(n)). If any divisor divides n evenly, it is composite; otherwise prime.
Complexity: O(√n) time
Bain tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Students usually say the first round is time-tight - easy marks vanish if you sit too long on one hard question. For Bain, skim the paper in a couple of minutes, mark what you can finish cleanly, and protect accuracy. Languages people commonly use: N/A for AC; tech affiliates differ.
| Area | Why it matters at Bain |
|---|---|
| Case interviews | What usually helps you clear the first round |
| Core CS (OOPs / DBMS / OS) | Technical interview depth |
| Management Consulting awareness | Helps in managerial / HR conversations |
| Communication | Explain your approach clearly; keep a few real examples ready for HR |
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