Blackrock 2026 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
This page collects BlackRock placement papers from 2026 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 BlackRock patterns and recent shifts.
Blackrock 2026 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
Blackrock 2026 coding
DSA practice aligned to BlackRock online assessments
Blackrock interview experience
Round structure and tips from student reports
Blackrock 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 sum of money amounts to ₹9800 after 5 years and ₹12005 after 8 years at the same rate of simple interest. Find the rate of interest per annum.
Let Principal = P, Rate = R% After 5 years: P + (P × R × 5)/100 = 9800 After 8 years: P + (P × R × 8)/100 = 12005 Subtracting: (P × R × 3)/100 = 12005 - 9800 = 2205 P × R = 73500 From first equation: P + (73500 × 5)/100 = 9800 P + 3675 = 9800 P = 6125 Rate R =
Reasoning
Which of the following is the next term in the series: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Pattern: Differences are 4, 6, 8, 10 (consecutive even numbers) Next difference = 12 Next term = 30 + 12 = 42 Alternative pattern: n(n+1) where n starts from 1 1×2=2, 2×3=6, 3×4=12, 4×5=20, 5×6=30, 6×7=42
Quantitative
What does "Break the ice" mean?
"Break the ice" means to initiate conversation in a social setting.
Quantitative
A student scored 60, 70, and 80 in three subjects. If the weights are 2, 3, and 5 respectively, find the weighted average.
Correct answer: 73
Quantitative
Simple interest on ₹5,000 at 8% p.a. for 3 years is:
SI = PRT/100 = 5000×8×3/100 = ₹1,200.
Verbal
Problem: "She is allergic _____ peanuts." a) to b) from c) with d) by
"Allergic to" is the correct prepositional phrase.
Verbal
Choose the correctly spelled word:
Correct spelling is Accommodation.
Verbal
Synonym of "Candid":
Candid means frank or straightforward.
Reasoning
If A is brother of B, B is sister of C, C is brother of D, how is D related to A?
A, B, C, D share the same generation → siblings (gender of D unknown but sibling).
Quantitative
A person walks 6 km East, then 8 km North. How far is he from the starting point?
Correct answer: 10 km
Reasoning
In how many ways can 5 people be arranged in a row?
Correct answer: 120 ways
Reasoning
Statements: 1) All cups are plates, 2) All plates are tables Conclusions: I) All cups are tables, II) All tables are cups, III) Some tables are cups, IV) Some tables are plates.
Correct answer: Only I, III, and IV follow
Reasoning
Odd one out: Cat, Dog, Tiger, Car
Others are animals.
Quantitative
A number is increased by 20% and then decreased by 20%. The net percentage change is:
100 → 120 → 96. Net change = 4% decrease.
Verbal
The company's profits have been _____ steadily over the past year.
Correct answer: declining
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: BlackRock Online Assessment
Skills emphasized: DSA, systems, finance/quant basics
Languages: Java, Python, C++
These are practice-style questions aligned to patterns students report for BlackRock drives around 2026. They are not leaked live papers. Work them timed, then read the solutions only after you have an answer.
Problem: In how many ways can 5 different books be arranged on a shelf?
Solution: Arrangements of 5 distinct items = 5! = 120.
Answer: 120
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
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
Problem: If the cost price of a pen is ₹40 and it is sold at a 25% profit, what is the selling price?
Solution: Profit = 25% of 40 = ₹10. Selling price = 40 + 10 = ₹50.
Or SP = CP × 1.25 = 40 × 1.25 = ₹50.
Answer: ₹50
Problem: A can finish a job in 10 days and B in 20 days. How long will they take working together?
Solution: A’s one-day work = 1/10. B’s one-day work = 1/20. Together = 1/10 + 1/20 = 3/20 per day. Time = 20/3 ≈ 6.67 days (6 days 16 hours).
Answer: 20/3 days
Problem: What is the sum of the first 50 natural numbers?
Solution: Sum of first n naturals = n(n+1)/2. For n = 50: 50 × 51 / 2 = 1275.
Answer: 1275
Problem: A person covers a distance at 60 km/h and returns at 40 km/h. What is the average speed for the whole trip?
Solution: For equal distances, average speed = 2ab/(a+b). = 2×60×40 / (60+40) = 4800/100 = 48 km/h.
Do not take the arithmetic mean (50); that would be wrong here.
Answer: 48 km/h
Problem: A shopkeeper marks goods 20% above cost and then gives a 10% discount. What is the profit percentage?
Solution: Let CP = ₹100. Marked price = ₹120. Discount = 10% of 120 = ₹12. SP = 120 − 12 = ₹108. Profit % = 8%.
Answer: 8%
Problem: Pointing to a photograph, Ravi says, ‘She is the daughter of my mother’s only son.’ How is the girl related to Ravi?
Solution: Ravi’s mother’s only son is Ravi himself (assuming one son). The girl is therefore Ravi’s daughter.
Answer: Daughter
Problem: Statements: All engineers are graduates. Some graduates are managers. Conclusion: Some engineers are managers. Does it follow?
Solution: The ‘some graduates’ who are managers need not overlap with the engineers. The conclusion does not follow necessarily.
Answer: Does not follow
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: 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
BlackRock 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 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
BlackRock 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 coin denominations and an amount, return the fewest coins needed to make that amount, or -1 if it is impossible.
Approach: Unbounded knapsack DP: let dp[x] be the minimum coins for amount x. For each coin, update dp[c..amount]. Initialize dp[0] = 0 and the rest to a large sentinel.
Complexity: O(amount × coins)
BlackRock 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 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
BlackRock 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
BlackRock 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
BlackRock 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
BlackRock 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
BlackRock 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 BlackRock, skim the paper in a couple of minutes, mark what you can finish cleanly, and protect accuracy. Languages people commonly use: Java, Python, C++.
| Area | Why it matters at BlackRock |
|---|---|
| DSA | What usually helps you clear the first round |
| Core CS (OOPs / DBMS / OS) | Technical interview depth |
| Asset Management, Aladdin Tech awareness | Helps in managerial / HR conversations |
| Communication | Explain your approach clearly; keep a few real examples ready for HR |
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