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Dear UPSC aspirants,
With UPSC Prelims 2025 just a few months away, cracking CSAT is a must—no matter how well you ace GS Paper 1. To help you practice systematically, we’re bringing you CSAT Practice Sets every Sunday, right when you need them before the exam. These sets will sharpen your aptitude, reasoning, and comprehension skills.
Here’s your first practice set as part of UPSC Essentials: CSAT Simplified, curated by our expert Mudit Gupta. Stay tuned—new sets drop every Sunday. Your need, our initiative—Practice CSAT, Unlock Prelims!
—Mudit Gupta
Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer should be based on the passage only.
The concept of sustainable development has gained prominence in recent decades as a response to the environmental degradation caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization. Sustainable development emphasizes the need to balance economic growth with environmental protection and social equity. It advocates for the efficient use of resources, reduction of waste, and promotion of renewable energy sources. However, implementing sustainable development practices often faces challenges due to conflicting interests between stakeholders, lack of awareness, and insufficient policy frameworks. In developing countries, these challenges are further exacerbated by poverty, population growth, and limited access to technology. Moreover, the global nature of environmental issues necessitates international cooperation, which is often hindered by geopolitical tensions and unequal distribution of resources.
Which one of the following statements best reflects the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?
A) Sustainable development is a theoretical concept with limited practical applicability due to geopolitical tensions.
B) The success of sustainable development depends on addressing economic, environmental, and social dimensions simultaneously.
C) Developing countries are solely responsible for the failure of global sustainable development efforts.
D) Technological advancement is the only solution to achieving sustainable development in the face of population growth.
The passage talks about how sustainable development requires balancing economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity. It also highlights challenges like conflicting stakeholder interests, lack of awareness, and insufficient policy frameworks, which further reinforce the need for a holistic approach addressing all three dimensions. Option (b) captures this essence by stating that sustainable development depends on addressing economic, environmental, and social dimensions simultaneously, making it the most logical and rational inference.
Other options don’t meet the requirement of the question. For example: Option C and D have considered only singular factors and blamed the developing countries alone, which is not true. And Option A has called Sustainable Development a theoretical concept, which again, is not true.
Therefore, B is the correct answer.
1500 students were arranged in such a way that the number of students in a line was equal to the number of lines. After arranging all the students, 56 were left in the end who couldn’t be adjusted. The number of lines in this arrangement are:
A) 44
B) 36
C) 38
D) 42
Let us say if we arrange 10 students in a row and have 10 rows, then the total number of students will be 10×10 i.e. 10^2 i.e. 100.
It means that, if the number of students in one row and the total number of rows are the same, we will have the total number of students that is usually a square of a number.
We are given 1500 students and out of these 1500 students, 56 couldn’t be adjusted in the arrangement. It means that 1500-56 = 1444 students could be arranged in such a way that the number of students in each row and the number of rows is the same.
Let the number of rows = x
Number students in each row = x (because the number of students in each row and number of rows is the same)
It means that there are 38 rows and in each row, there are 38 students.
Therefore, C is the correct answer.
The average weight of A, B, C is 40 kg, the average weight of B, D, E is 42 kg and the weight of F is equal to that of B. What is the average weight of A, B, C, D, E and F?
A. 40.5 Kg
B. 40.8 Kg
C. 41 Kg
D. Cannot be determined as data is inadequate
Average weight= (Sum of weight of people/Total number of people)
The average weight of A, B, and C is 40 KG. Putting that into an equation we get:
40= (A+B+C)/3
Sum of weight of A, B, and C=120…. Eq 1
We are also given that the average weight of B, D, and E is 42 KG and that of B is equal to that of F. Using this information we can form another equation:
42=(D+E+F)/3
Sum of weight of D, E, and F=126……Eq 2
Using equation 1 and equation 2:
A+B+C+D+E+F=246
Dividing both the sides by 6 to find the average.
Average weight of A, B, C, D, E, and F=(246/6)=41
Therefore, C is the correct answer.
A certain amount of money is distributed among X, Y, and Z in the ratio m: n: o. Consider the following statements:
1. If 𝑚 is greater than ( 𝑛 + 𝑜 ), then X’s share is more than the combined share of Y and Z.
2. If 𝑜 < ( 𝑚 − 𝑛 ), then Z receives the smallest share.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Let us say we need to divide Rupees 100 among X, Y, and Z. To determine whether the above two statements are correct, let us test them one by one.
To test the validity of the first statement, let us assume that money is being divided in the ratio 6:3:1 such that m > (n + o). If m > (n + o), we can solve and say that X will get Rs. 60, Y will get Rs. 30 and Z will get Rs. 10. Hence, the first statement is correct that if m > (n + o), then X will get the maximum share. Also, the share of X i.e. Rs. 60 is more than the combined share of Y and Z, i.e. Rs. 40.
To test the validity of the second statement, let us assume that the money is being divided among X, Y, and Z in the ratio of 6:1:3. According to the condition of the second statement, o < (m – n), i.e. 3 < (6 – 1). As per the given ratio, X, Y, and Z will receive Rs. 60, Rs. 10 and Rs. 30 respectively. Even though o < (m – n), but then too the share of Z i.e Rs. 30 is not the smallest one. Hence, the second statement stands violated.
Therefore, A is the correct answer.
Consider the sequence A_BCD_BBCDABC_DABC_D that follows a certain pattern. Which one of the following completes the sequence?
A) B, A, D, C
B) B, A, C, D
C) A, A, C, D
D) A, A, D, C
To solve such questions, it is always better to write the sequence four times, fill out all the options, and look for a potential pattern.
1. ABBCDABBCDABCDDABCCD – creating groups of different alphabets, we can see no potential pattern in the making.
2. ABBCDABBCDABCCDABCDD – in this option, we can see no pattern being created.
3. AABCDABBCDABCCDABCDD – Here, we can see a potential pattern. If we make groups of 5 alphabets, we can see the following pattern: AABCD, ABBCD, ABCCD, and ABCDD.
AABCDABBCDABCDDABCCD – No potential pattern being created.
Therefore, C is the correct answer.
(About our Expert: Mudit Gupta has been a mentor and faculty for the UPSC Civil Services exam for 8 years with expertise in CSAT, Polity, International Relations, and Current Affairs. He is known to break complex concepts into simpler ones that allow UPSC aspirants to develop a grip over the subject matter.)
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