IOCL 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
IOCL Placement Papers 2024
Overview
This page collects IOCL 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 IOCL patterns and recent shifts.
Download / jump links
IOCL 2024 coding
DSA practice aligned to IOCL online assessments
IOCL interview experience
Round structure and tips from student reports
IOCL prep guide
Study plan and weekly schedule
IOCL 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
Quantitative
Reading Comprehension (2024 - Real Question)
According to the passage, a major consequence was a significant increase in urban populations due to migration for work opportunities.
Verbal
Problem: Choose the correct sentence: a) Neither the students nor the teacher were present b) Neither the students nor the teacher was present c) Neither the students or the teacher was present
With "neither...nor", the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. "Teacher" is singular, so "was" is correct.
Quantitative
Find the error: "Each of the students have completed their assignment."
"Each" is singular, so "has" should be used instead of "have", and "his or her" instead of "their".
Verbal
Choose correctly spelled word:
Correct spelling is Necessary.
Quantitative
A and B invest ₹5,000 and ₹7,000 respectively in a business. After 6 months, A withdraws ₹2,000. If the profit at the end of the year is ₹4,500, find B's share.
A's investment: 5000 × 6 + 3000 × 6 = 30,000 + 18,000 = 48,000 B's investment: 7000 × 12 = 84,000 Ratio = 48,000 : 84,000 = 4 : 7 B's share = 7/(4+7) × 4500 = 7/11 × 4500 = ₹2,863.64
Reasoning
Statements: 1) Some boxes are cars, 2) Some cars are roads Conclusions: I) Some roads are boxes, II) Some cars are boxes, III) No box is a road, IV) Some roads are cars.
Correct answer: Only II and IV follow
Reasoning
Find the next number: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, ?
Correct answer: 21
Verbal
A person who speaks many languages is a:
Polyglot speaks several languages.
Reasoning
A walks 10m North, turns right walks 5m, turns right walks 10m. Direction from start?
Correct answer: East (5m east of starting point)
Quantitative
A 120 m train crosses a pole in 8 s. Speed in km/h is:
Speed = 120/8 = 15 m/s = 54 km/h.
Reasoning
Number Series - 37, 47, 58, ?, 79, 95
Correct answer: 70
Verbal
He _____ to school every day.
Singular present.
Quantitative
A number is first increased by 25% and then decreased by 20%. Find the net percentage change.
Let number = 100 After 25% increase: 100 + 25 = 125 After 20% decrease: 125 - 20% of 125 = 125 - 25 = 100 Net change = 0%
Reasoning
Find the next number: 5, 10, 20, 40, ?
×2 each → 80.
Quantitative
The ratio of the ages of two persons is 4:3. After 6 years, the ratio becomes 9:7. What are their present ages?
Let present ages be 4x and 3x After 6 years: (4x + 6)/(3x + 6) = 9/7 7(4x + 6) = 9(3x + 6) 28x + 42 = 27x + 54 x = 12 Present ages: 4×12 = 48 years, 3×12 = 36 years
Your score
0/15(0%)
Review
IOCL 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: IOCL GATE-based Recruitment
Skills emphasized: GATE technical, GD/Interview
Languages: N/A for core
Sample IOCL questions with solutions
These are practice-style questions aligned to patterns students report for IOCL 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: Pipe fill
Problem: Pipe A fills a tank in 6 hours and pipe B in 8 hours. How long do they take together to fill it?
Solution: Combined rate = 1/6 + 1/8 = 4/24 + 3/24 = 7/24. Time = 24/7 hours ≈ 3 hours 26 minutes.
Answer: 24/7 hours
Q2: Simple interest
Problem: Find the simple interest on ₹8000 at 10% per annum for 2 years.
Solution: SI = (P × R × T) / 100 = (8000 × 10 × 2) / 100 = ₹1600.
Answer: ₹1600
Q3: Percentage recover
Problem: If 30% of a number is 150, what is the number?
Solution: 0.3x = 150 → x = 150 / 0.3 = 500.
Answer: 500
Q4: Average after replace
Problem: The average of five numbers is 20. One number 30 is replaced by 10. What is the new average?
Solution: Old sum = 5 × 20 = 100. New sum = 100 − 30 + 10 = 80. New average = 80 / 5 = 16.
Answer: 16
Q5: Series n(n+1)
Problem: Find the next term: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Solution: Pattern: 1×2, 2×3, 3×4, 4×5, 5×6, 6×7. Next = 6 × 7 = 42.
Answer: 42
Q6: Deck probability
Problem: What is the probability of drawing an ace from a standard 52-card deck?
Solution: There are 4 aces in 52 cards. Probability = 4/52 = 1/13.
Answer: 1/13
Q7: Net percent change
Problem: A number is increased by 20% and then decreased by 20%. What is the net percentage change?
Solution: Start with 100 → 120 → 96. Net change = 4% decrease. Formula: successive +a then −a gives −(a²/100)% = −4%.
Answer: 4% decrease
Q8: Consumption cut
Problem: If the price of an item rises by 25%, by what percent should consumption fall so that expenditure stays the same?
Solution: Required reduction = r/(100+r) × 100 with r = 25. = 25/125 × 100 = 20%.
Answer: 20%
Logical reasoning (2024)
Q1: Blood relation
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
Q2: Syllogism
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
Q3: 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
Q4: Series multiply
Problem: Find the next number: 3, 9, 27, 81, ?
Solution: Each term is multiplied by 3. Next = 81 × 3 = 243.
Answer: 243
Coding practice (2024)
Coding Q1: 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
IOCL 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: 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
IOCL 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: 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
IOCL 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: 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
IOCL 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: 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
IOCL 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: 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
IOCL 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: Coin change (min coins)
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)
IOCL 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 search
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
IOCL 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 IOCL
How the IOCL gate-based recruitment usually feels
Students usually say the first round is time-tight - easy marks vanish if you sit too long on one hard question. For IOCL, skim the paper in a couple of minutes, mark what you can finish cleanly, and protect accuracy. Languages people commonly use: N/A for core.
Topic weight hints
| Area | Why it matters at IOCL |
|---|---|
| GATE technical | What usually helps you clear the first round |
| Core CS (OOPs / DBMS / OS) | Technical interview depth |
| Oil Refining & Marketing PSU 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