Analogy- Concept, Tips, Examples & Questions for Practice- Download Free PDF

Answering questions on Analogy

One of the types of questions that a candidate can be asked in the reasoning section is on Analogy. Analogy helps to compare two different things, thereby aiming to explain the ideas or any other things by doing a comparison. It can be various types, such as Opposite Analogy, Classification Analogy, Related Object Analogy, Cause and Effect Analogy, Group Analogy, Effort and Result Analogy, Numerical and so on and so forth.

Although, the question in the exam will vary depending on the type of analogy the examiner ask, the process to solve them will more or less remain the same. For instance, let’s look at the following question:

Aeroplane : Air:: Motorcycle : (Car, Engine, Atmosphere, Land)

The answer will look something like this: “Aeroplane : Air:: Motorcycle : Land”, meaning, Aeroplane is related to Air in the same way as Motorcycle is related to Land. Further, you will notice that Aeroplane is related to Motorcycle, as they are a mode of transport, but Air is not related to Land. This means that the first term is related to the second term or the first term is related to the third term, but the first term is never related to the fourth term. Further, in these types of questions, generally, there is one term that is missing, which the candidate is required to solve. So the question arises how do we solve these kinds of questions quickly and correctly.

Well, the solution to the analogy requires that the candidate select the option that forms a second pair of terms that are in a similar relationship to one other as the terms in the complete pair. Hence, in the above example, when we look at the first pair completely, we will see understand that “Aeroplane travels in Air”, and so the second pair will mean that Motorcycle travels on Land. It is important to note that the missing term can be in any position. For instance, it can be:

1. (Aeroplane, Bird, Car, Engine) : Air :: Motorcycle : Land 
2. Aeroplane: (Air, Engine, Land, Atmosphere) :: Motorcycle : Land
3. Aeroplane : Air :: (Motorcycle, Bird, Engine, Ship) : Land
4. Aeroplane : Air:: Motorcycle : (Car, Engine, Atmosphere, Land)

The best way to approach questions on analogies is by following the below mentioned steps:

1. Read and understand the given terms in the analogy carefully. 
2. Understand the relationship between the two possible pairs among the three terms that has been given
3. Once you have determined the relationship, you should think of the fourth term that will complete the analogy with the given pair. At this point, do not look at the answer, as you might develop biasness there. It is absolutely fine even if you find more than one possible analogy that can complete the three given term.
4. Now look at the options given and choose the one that closely resemble to what you have thought of in Step 3. 
5. However, if you don’t find the options that you have thought of in Step 3, then it means that the relationship you thought is not right and so you should go back to Step 2 and rethink about the relationship. 
6. In case even this does not work, then you can follow the process of trial and error, wherein, you take one option at a time and then check for the relationship in the both the pairs.

Examples on analogy:

Example A: 3 : 27 :: 27 : ________ (Options: 19, 196, 1968, 19683)

Example B: Atom : Matter :: Gram : Kilogram : _________ (Options: Kilobyte, Ounce, Dram, Pond)

Example C: Moon : Satellite :: Earth: _______ (Sun, Planet, Solar System, Asteroid)

Answer:

Example A: 19683 is the correct answer, as 3*3*3 = 27; in the same way 27*27*27 = 19683

Example B: Kilobyte is the right answer, as a Kilogram is made of Gram in the same way as kilobyte is made of byte

Example C: Planet is the correct answer, as Moon is a Satellite, while Earth is a Planet.

Other things that you should remember while solving questions on analogies are:

1. Do not spend much time on analogy while answering them. If you are not able to solve it quickly or is having difficulty in determining the relationship, then simply move to the next question and come back if you have time at the end.
2. You should work on improving your vocabulary as some questions asked in analogy can be related to common and rarely used words. The best way to improve on vocabulary is by reading books, magazines, newspaper or any other things that you may be interested in.
3. As already stated, do not hesitate to use the trial and error approach if you think that you can solve the question quickly and with more certainty. However, it is mostly seen that trial and error takes more time but can be solved with higher accuracy.
4. Finally, practice as much as you can. Enroll for mock tests, and solve as many questions on analogies as possible. The more you practice, better will be your chances of doing well in this topic. You can take a free mock on SSC CGL exam and get a hang of the type of questions can that is generally asked.

Questions for Practice

1.) Select the option that is related to the third word in the same way as the second word is related to the first word:

Iliad: Homer :: Shahnameh: ?

a.) Ferdowsi

b.) Shakespeare

c.) Faiz Ahmed Faiz

d.) Abdul Rahim Khan

Answer: For Detailed Solution, Download the Free PDF

2.) Select the option that is related to the fourth term in the same way as the first term is related to the second term:

DFNEQHKLR: ENFDJRLKH :: ‘?’ : SUMAVTNEM

a.) ANTAGONIST

b.) AMUSEMENT

c.) ANULMENTS

d.) REFERENCE

Answer: For Detailed Solution, Download the Free PDF

3.) Select the option in which the numbers are related in the same way as are the numbers in the given set.

(35, 936, 17)

a.) (46, 1675, 21)

b.) (28, 662, 11)

c.) (54, 2346, 23)

d.) (41, 842, 29)

Answer: For Detailed Solution, Download the Free PDF

4.) Select the option that is related to the third number in the same way as the second number is related to the first number.

27: 648:: 46: ‘?’.

a.) 1765

b.) 1665

c.) 1978

d.) 1921

Answer: For Detailed Solution, Download the Free PDF

5.) Select the option that is related to the fifth number in the same way as the second number is related to the first number and fourth number is related to third number.

32 : 6 : : 74 : 28 : : 57 : ?

a.) 42

b.) 12

c.) 35

d.) 40

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6.) Select the option that is related to the fourth word in the same way as the first word is related to the second word:

IGNIOUS: HFRLRTR :: ? : VIFGXRK

a.) PACEMAN

b.) WEBPAGE

c.) PICTURE

d.) VACANCE

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7.) Select the option that is related to the fourth number in the same way as the first number

is related to the second number.

42:1512 :: ? : 2107

a.) 56

b.) 61

c.) 43

d.) 39

Answer: For Detailed Solution, Download the Free PDF

8.) Select the option that is related to the third number in the same way as the second number is related to the first number?
8: 128:: 9: ?
a.) 162
b.) 171
c.) 154
d.) 146
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9.) ‘Cairo’ is related to ‘Egypt’ in the same way as ‘Dublin’ is related to?
a.) Columbia
b.) Ireland
c.) Norway
d.) Germany
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10.) Select the option in which the numbers are related in the same way as are the numbers of the following set.

(31, 25, 299)

a.) (22, 23, 203)

b.) (21, 22, 171)

c.) (23, 32, 338)

d.) (29, 18, 485)

Answer: For Detailed Solution, Download the Free PDF

We hope this article was helpful to you and wish you luck with your exam.

Happy Learning!

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