Publicis Sapient 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
This page collects Publicis Sapient 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 Publicis Sapient patterns and recent shifts.
Publicis Sapient 2024 aptitude
Quantitative, reasoning, and verbal drills with solutions
Publicis Sapient 2024 coding
DSA practice aligned to Publicis Sapient online assessments
Publicis Sapient interview experience
Round structure and tips from student reports
Publicis Sapient 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.
Reasoning
How many 9s are there between 1 and 100?
9,19,29,39,49,59,69,79,89,90-99 → 20 nines.
Reasoning
Find the next number: 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, ?
Prime numbers → 29.
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
Reasoning
Statements: 1. Some cats are dogs, 2. All dogs are animals, 3. No animal is a bird
From statements 1 and 2: Some cats are animals (I follows) From statements 2 and 3: No dog is a bird (II follows) From I: Some animals are cats (III follows)
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
If South-East becomes North, North-East becomes West, then what does West become?
Directions rotate 135° anticlockwise; West → South-East.
Verbal
If the cost price of 20 articles is equal to the selling price of 15 articles, find the profit percentage.
Let CP of 1 article = ₹1 CP of 20 articles = ₹20 SP of 15 articles = ₹20 (given) SP of 1 article = ₹20/15 = ₹4/3 Profit = ₹4/3 - ₹1 = ₹1/3 Profit % = (1/3)/1 × 100 = 33.33%
Verbal
Fill in the blank: She _____ to the office every day by metro.
Third-person singular present tense takes "goes".
Verbal
Synonym of "Candid":
Candid means frank or straightforward.
Quantitative
In what ratio should water be mixed with milk costing ₹20 per liter to get a mixture worth ₹15 per liter?
Correct answer: 1:3
Quantitative
Identify the error: "Each of the students have submitted their assignments."
Correct answer: Subject-verb agreement error
Quantitative
The following table shows the sales of a company over 5 years. Find the average annual growth rate. | Year | Sales (in crores) | |------|-------------------| | 2020 | 100 | | 2021 | 120 | | 2022 | 150 | | 2023 | 180 | | 2024 | 200 |
Correct answer: 19.03%
Verbal
Problem: Find the antonym of "BRILLIANT": a) Bright b) Dull c) Shining d) Smart
Brilliant means very bright or intelligent, so "Dull" is the antonym.
Reasoning
Complete the series: AZ, BY, CX, ?
First letter +1, second −1 → DW.
Quantitative
The average of 5 numbers is 42. If one number 32 is removed, the new average is:
Sum = 210. New sum = 178. Average = 178/4 = 44.5.
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: Publicis Sapient Assessment
Skills emphasized: Coding, case thinking, communication
Languages: Java, JavaScript, Python
These are practice-style questions aligned to patterns students report for Publicis Sapient drives around 2024. They are not leaked live papers. Work them timed, then read the solutions only after you have an answer.
Problem: A finishes work in 12 days, B in 15 days, and C in 20 days. Working together, how many days do they need?
Solution: Take total work = LCM(12,15,20) = 60 units. A = 5/day, B = 4/day, C = 3/day. Combined = 12 units/day. Time = 60/12 = 5 days.
Answer: 5 days
Problem: The ratio of ages of A and B is 3:5. After 8 years the ratio becomes 5:7. Find A’s present age.
Solution: Let ages be 3x and 5x. (3x+8)/(5x+8) = 5/7 7(3x+8) = 5(5x+8) 21x + 56 = 25x + 40 4x = 16 → x = 4 A’s age = 12 years.
Answer: 12 years
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
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
Problem: If 30% of a number is 150, what is the number?
Solution: 0.3x = 150 → x = 150 / 0.3 = 500.
Answer: 500
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
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
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
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: Find the odd one out: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11
Solution: 3, 5, 7, and 11 are prime. 9 = 3×3 is composite, so it is the odd one out.
Answer: 9
Problem: If CAT is coded as DBU, how is DOG coded in the same way?
Solution: Each letter moves +1 in the alphabet: C→D, A→B, T→U. D→E, O→P, G→H → EPH.
Answer: EPH
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
Publicis Sapient 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 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
Publicis Sapient 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 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
Publicis Sapient 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
Publicis Sapient 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)
Publicis Sapient 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
Publicis Sapient 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
Publicis Sapient 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
Publicis Sapient 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 Publicis Sapient, skim the paper in a couple of minutes, mark what you can finish cleanly, and protect accuracy. Languages people commonly use: Java, JavaScript, Python.
| Area | Why it matters at Publicis Sapient |
|---|---|
| Coding | What usually helps you clear the first round |
| Core CS (OOPs / DBMS / OS) | Technical interview depth |
| Digital Business Transformation awareness | Helps in managerial / HR conversations |
| Communication | Explain your approach clearly; keep a few real examples ready for HR |
Thoughtworks · EPAM · Accenture · Deloitte · Globant