BARC 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
BARC Placement Papers 2024
Overview
This page collects BARC 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 BARC patterns and recent shifts.
Download / jump links
BARC 2024 coding
DSA practice aligned to BARC online assessments
BARC interview experience
Round structure and tips from student reports
BARC prep guide
Study plan and weekly schedule
BARC Aptitude Mock Quiz
Timed placement-style MCQs with score and explanations after you submit. Use it to check speed and accuracy before the real test.
Questions15
Time10 min
Reasoning
If letter positions are summed (A=1…Z=26), TEAM equals:
Sum of positions = 39.
Quantitative
A is twice as efficient as B. Together they complete a work in 12 days. In how many days will A alone complete it?
Let B's efficiency = 1 unit/day A's efficiency = 2 units/day Together: 1 + 2 = 3 units/day Total work = 3 × 12 = 36 units A alone: 36 / 2 = 18 days
Verbal
The idiom "add fuel to the fire" means:
It means: make a situation worse.
Verbal
Choose correct: The news _____ good.
"News" is singular → is.
Quantitative
The LCM of 12 and 18 is:
LCM(12,18) = 36.
Reasoning
Find next number: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, ?
Pattern: Prime numbers in sequence 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13... Next: 13
Reasoning
Number Series - 37, 47, 58, ?, 79, 95
Correct answer: 70
Verbal
One who loves books is a:
Bibliophile = lover of books.
Reasoning
In a row of 40 students, A is 11th from left. Rank from right is:
From right = 40 − 11 + 1 = 30.
Verbal
"She was _____ by the beautiful sunset."
Past tense passive voice requires past participle "amazed".
Quantitative
Find x: 3x + 7 = 22
3x = 15 → x = 5.
Quantitative
The ratio of savings to current account deposits in a bank is 3:5. If the total deposits are ₹800,000, find the savings account deposits.
Correct answer: ₹300,000
Quantitative
The next term in AP 7, 10, 13, 16, … is:
Common difference = 3 → next = 19.
Quantitative
If "INFOSYS" is coded as "SYFOSNI", how is "SYSTEM" coded?
Pattern: Letters are reversed INFOSYS → SYFOSNI (reversed) SYSTEM → METSYS (reversed)
Reasoning
In a row of 40 students, A is 11th from left and B is 31st from right. How many between A and B?
B from left = 40−31+1 = 10th. A is 11th. They are adjacent → 0 between.
Your score
0/15(0%)
Review
BARC exam pattern 2024
| Section | What shows up | Prep focus |
|---|---|---|
| Technical / domain | Syllabus aligned to the notification | Topic checklist |
| Aptitude | Quant + reasoning | Speed with accuracy |
| Interview | Subject depth + projects | Clear fundamentals |
First round: BARC OCES/DGFS
Skills emphasized: GATE/exam technical depth
Languages: Scientific computing roles vary
Sample BARC questions with solutions
These are practice-style questions aligned to patterns students report for BARC drives around 2024. They are not leaked live papers. Work them timed, then read the solutions only after you have an answer.
Quantitative aptitude (2024)
Q1: SI three years
Problem: Find simple interest on ₹5000 at 8% per annum for 3 years.
Solution: SI = 5000 × 8 × 3 / 100 = ₹1200.
Answer: ₹1200
Q2: Boat upstream
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
Q3: Mixture milk
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
Q4: CI vs SI hint
Problem: Find compound interest on ₹10,000 at 10% per annum for 2 years, compounded annually.
Solution: Amount = 10000 × (1.1)² = 10000 × 1.21 = ₹12,100. CI = 12100 − 10000 = ₹2100. (SI for same period would be ₹2000; the extra ₹100 is interest on first-year interest.)
Answer: ₹2100
Q5: Clock angle
Problem: What is the angle between the hour and minute hands at 3:00?
Solution: At 3:00 the hands are exactly 90° apart (one quarter of the circle).
Answer: 90°
Q6: Permutation basic
Problem: In how many ways can 5 different books be arranged on a shelf?
Solution: Arrangements of 5 distinct items = 5! = 120.
Answer: 120
Q7: Consecutive integers
Problem: If the sum of three consecutive integers is 72, what is the smallest of these integers?
Solution: Let the integers be x, x+1, and x+2.
x + (x+1) + (x+2) = 72 3x + 3 = 72 3x = 69 x = 23
So the integers are 23, 24, and 25.
Answer: 23
Q8: Train and pole
Problem: A train 150 meters long passes a pole in 15 seconds. What is its speed in km/h?
Solution: Distance = 150 m = 0.15 km. Time = 15 s = 15/3600 h = 1/240 h. Speed = 0.15 ÷ (1/240) = 0.15 × 240 = 36 km/h.
Faster check: 150/15 = 10 m/s → 10 × 18/5 = 36 km/h.
Answer: 36 km/h
Logical reasoning (2024)
Q1: Direction turn
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
Q2: Series multiply
Problem: Find the next number: 3, 9, 27, 81, ?
Solution: Each term is multiplied by 3. Next = 81 × 3 = 243.
Answer: 243
Q3: Seating hint
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
Q4: Analogy
Problem: Book is to Reading as Fork is to ?
Solution: A book is used for reading; a fork is used for eating.
Answer: Eating
Coding practice (2024)
Coding Q1: Check prime
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
BARC 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.
Coding Q2: Valid parentheses
Problem: Given a string containing only ‘()[]’, decide whether the brackets are balanced and correctly nested.
Approach: Scan left to right with a stack. Push opening brackets. On a closing bracket, the stack top must be the matching opener. At the end the stack must be empty.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space
BARC 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.
Coding Q3: Two Sum
Problem: Given an array of integers and a target, return indices of two numbers that add up to the target. Assume exactly one solution and you may not use the same element twice.
Approach: Walk the array once. For each value x, check whether target − x was seen earlier in a hash map of value → index. If yes, return both indices; else store x.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space
BARC 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.
Coding Q4: Longest substring without repeating characters
Problem: Given a string s, find the length of the longest substring without repeating characters. Example: ‘abcabcbb’ → 3 (‘abc’).
Approach: Sliding window with a map (or last-seen index) of characters. Expand the right pointer; when a duplicate appears inside the window, move the left pointer past the previous occurrence.
Complexity: O(n) time
BARC 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.
Coding Q5: Merge overlapping intervals
Problem: Given a list of intervals [start, end], merge all overlapping intervals and return the non-overlapping set that covers the same ranges.
Approach: Sort by start time. Walk once, merging into the last interval in the result when the next start is ≤ current end; otherwise append a new interval.
Complexity: O(n log n) time from the sort
BARC 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.
Coding Q6: Top K frequent elements
Problem: Given an integer array and an integer k, return the k most frequent elements. Order among equals can be arbitrary unless the problem says otherwise.
Approach: Count frequencies with a hash map, then use a heap of size k (or bucket sort by frequency) to extract the top k keys.
Complexity: O(n log k) with a heap
BARC 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.
Coding Q7: Linked list cycle
Problem: Given the head of a linked list, return true if there is a cycle and false otherwise.
Approach: Floyd’s tortoise and hare: move one pointer one step and another two steps. If they meet, a cycle exists. If the fast pointer hits null, there is no cycle.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space
BARC 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.
Coding Q8: Binary tree level order
Problem: Given the root of a binary tree, return the level-order traversal (breadth-first) as a list of levels.
Approach: Use a queue. For each level, drain the current queue size, collect values, and enqueue children for the next level.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space
BARC 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.
Deep prep notes for BARC
How the BARC oces/dgfs usually feels
Students usually say the first round is time-tight - easy marks vanish if you sit too long on one hard question. For BARC, skim the paper in a couple of minutes, mark what you can finish cleanly, and protect accuracy. Languages people commonly use: Scientific computing roles vary.
Topic weight hints
| Area | Why it matters at BARC |
|---|---|
| GATE/exam technical depth | What usually helps you clear the first round |
| Core CS (OOPs / DBMS / OS) | Technical interview depth |
| Nuclear Research awareness | Helps in managerial / HR conversations |
| Communication | Explain your approach clearly; keep a few real examples ready for HR |
14-Day sprint
- Days 1-3: Learn the 2024 pattern and take two sectional mocks
- Days 4-7: Closed practice on weak topics from your error log
- Days 8-10: Full mocks every other day; review the same day
- Days 11-14: Practice explaining projects out loud, light revision, sleep and IDs ready