IBPS Clerk 2021 Previous Year Question Paper

Passage

Elephants are famous for their trumpeting, but much of their conversation is never noticed by people. A large part of it takes place through deep rumbles, many of them too low in pitch for the human ear to detect. These sounds can travel several kilometres, allowing members of a scattered family to keep track of one another across the forest.

Researchers who record these calls have found that they are not random. A mother separated from her calf makes a different rumble from an elephant warning others of danger, and the herd responds differently to each. Some scientists believe that elephants may also sense such vibrations through the ground, picking them up through the sensitive soles of their feet.

Understanding these calls has practical value. In areas where elephants raid crops, forest officials are testing systems that listen for rumbles near villages and send an early warning to farmers. Such tools cannot end conflict between people and elephants, but they may give both a little more time to avoid each other.

1. Why does much of elephant communication go unnoticed by people?

   1. Elephants communicate only at night
   2. Many of their rumbles are too low in pitch for humans to hear
   3. Elephants rarely make any sound
   4. Their calls travel only a few metres
   5. People confuse rumbles with trumpeting
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (Many of their rumbles are too low in pitch for humans to hear)

   The passage says many rumbles are 'too low in pitch for the human ear to detect'.

2. What have researchers found about elephant calls?

   1. All rumbles carry the same message
   2. Calves cannot produce rumbles
   3. Different situations produce different rumbles, and the herd responds differently to each
   4. Elephants respond only to trumpeting
   5. Rumbles are used only to warn of danger
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: C (Different situations produce different rumbles, and the herd responds differently to each)

   A mother separated from her calf makes a different rumble from a warning call, 'and the herd responds differently to each'.

3. Which of the following is supported by the passage about the early-warning systems?

   1. They have ended crop raids completely
   2. They are being tested to warn farmers but cannot end conflict on their own
   3. They are used to drive elephants away with loud sounds
   4. They track elephants using satellites
   5. They were designed by farmers
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B (They are being tested to warn farmers but cannot end conflict on their own)

   Officials are 'testing systems' that warn farmers; the passage adds that 'such tools cannot end conflict' but may give both sides more time.

Grammar and vocabulary

4. Choose the word that fits the blank: The new branch will remain ______ on Sundays to serve customers who work during the week.

   1. open
   2. opened
   3. opening
   4. opens
   5. opener
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: A (open)

   'Remain' is followed by an adjective describing a state: 'remain open'.

5. Find the part with an error: One of my friends / have opened / a bakery / near the station.

   1. (A) One of my friends
   2. (B) have opened
   3. (C) a bakery
   4. (D) near the station.
   5. (E) No error
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: B ((B) have opened)

   The subject is 'One' (singular), so the verb should be 'has opened'.

6. In which sentence is the word 'light' used incorrectly?

   1. Please light the lamp before it gets dark.
   2. This bag is very light.
   3. The light in the room was dim.
   4. She made light of the problem.
   5. All are correct
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: E (All are correct)

   'Light' is used correctly as a verb (to set burning), an adjective (not heavy), a noun (illumination) and in the idiom 'make light of' (treat as unimportant).

7. Arrange the sentences in a logical order. P. The village school had no library. Q. So the students collected old books from their families. R. Soon the shelf held more than three hundred books. S. They placed the books on a shelf in the school corridor.

   1. PQSR
   2. PSQR
   3. QPSR
   4. PQRS
   5. SPQR
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: A (PQSR)

   P states the problem, Q the response ('So ...'), S where the books were kept, and R the result on that shelf.

8. Rearrange the parts to form a meaningful sentence: (A) saves (B) a stitch (C) in time (D) nine

   1. BCAD
   2. BACD
   3. CBAD
   4. BCDA
   5. DBCA
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: A (BCAD)

   The proverb is 'A stitch in time saves nine' = B, C, A, D.

Simplification

What will come in place of the question mark (?)

9. 25% of 30% of 4800 = ?

   1. 300
   2. 320
   3. 340
   4. 360
   5. 380
   Answer and explanation

   Answer: D (360)

   30% of 4800 = 1440; 25% of 1440 = 360.

10. 18² − 14² = ? × 8

    1. 12
    2. 14
    3. 16
    4. 18
    5. 20
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (16)

    324 − 196 = 128; 128 ÷ 8 = 16.

11. 5/6 of 144 + 3/8 of 256 = ?

    1. 196
    2. 206
    3. 216
    4. 226
    5. 236
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (216)

    5/6 of 144 = 120; 3/8 of 256 = 96; 120 + 96 = 216.

Quadratic equation and series

12. I. 2x² − 11x + 15 = 0 II. 2y² − 3y − 2 = 0 Choose the correct relationship.

    1. x > y
    2. x < y
    3. x ≥ y
    4. x ≤ y
    5. x = y or the relationship cannot be established
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (x > y)

    I: x = 3 or 2.5. II: y = 2 or −0.5. Every x is greater than every y, so x > y.

13. 4, 6, 15, 49, 201, ?

    1. 804
    2. 1005
    3. 1011
    4. 1206
    5. 1212
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (1011)

    ×1+2, ×2+3, ×3+4, ×4+5, ×5+6: 201 × 5 + 6 = 1011.

Caselet

A school has 1,200 students, of whom 40% are girls. 60% of the girls and 50% of the boys use the school bus. One-fourth of all bus users also attend the evening coaching class.

14. How many boys use the school bus?

    1. 300
    2. 330
    3. 360
    4. 390
    5. 420
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (360)

    Boys = 60% of 1200 = 720; 50% of 720 = 360.

15. How many bus users attend the evening coaching class?

    1. 150
    2. 156
    3. 162
    4. 168
    5. 174
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (162)

    Girls on the bus = 60% of 480 = 288; boys = 360; total 648; one-fourth = 162.

Arithmetic

16. What is the difference between the compound interest and the simple interest on ₹8,000 for 2 years at 10% per annum?

    1. ₹40
    2. ₹60
    3. ₹80
    4. ₹100
    5. ₹160
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (₹80)

    For 2 years, CI − SI = P × (r/100)² = 8000 × 0.01 = ₹80.

17. Pipe A can fill a tank in 20 minutes and pipe B in 30 minutes, while pipe C can empty it in 15 minutes. If all three are opened together, how long will the empty tank take to fill?

    1. 30 minutes
    2. 45 minutes
    3. 60 minutes
    4. 75 minutes
    5. 90 minutes
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (60 minutes)

    Net rate = 1/20 + 1/30 − 1/15 = (3 + 2 − 4)/60 = 1/60 per minute, so 60 minutes.

18. A trader buys 12 pens for ₹100 and sells 10 pens for ₹100. What is his profit percentage?

    1. 10%
    2. 16⅔%
    3. 20%
    4. 22%
    5. 25%
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (20%)

    Cost per pen = 100/12 = ₹25/3; selling price = ₹10. Profit = (10 − 25/3) ÷ (25/3) × 100 = 20%.

Puzzle

Six students P, Q, R, S, T and U scored different marks in a test.

Q scored more than only two students. R scored more than P but less than T. S scored less than U. P scored more than Q.

19. Who scored the highest marks?

    1. P
    2. Q
    3. R
    4. T
    5. U
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (T)

    Order from highest: T > R > P > Q > U > S. Q has exactly two below it, and P, R, T are all above Q (T > R > P > Q), so S and U are the two below Q, with U above S.

20. Who scored the second lowest marks?

    1. P
    2. Q
    3. S
    4. T
    5. U
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: E (U)

    Order from highest: T > R > P > Q > U > S; the second lowest is U.

21. If R scored 78 and U scored 52, which of the following could be Q's score?

    1. 45
    2. 50
    3. 64
    4. 79
    5. 81
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (64)

    Order: T > R > P > Q > U > S. Q lies between U (52) and P, and P is below R (78), so Q is strictly between 52 and 78. Only 64 fits.

Syllogism and inequality

Decide which conclusion(s) definitely follow.

22. Statements: No chair is a table. All tables are desks. Conclusions: I. Some desks are not chairs. II. No desk is a chair.

    1. Only conclusion I follows
    2. Only conclusion II follows
    3. Either I or II follows
    4. Neither I nor II follows
    5. Both I and II follow
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: A (Only conclusion I follows)

    The desks that are tables cannot be chairs, so some desks are not chairs (I). Other desks may be chairs, so II does not follow.

23. Statement: F ≥ G > H, H = I ≤ J, K > J Conclusions: I. F > I II. K > H

    1. Only conclusion I follows
    2. Only conclusion II follows
    3. Either I or II follows
    4. Neither I nor II follows
    5. Both I and II follow
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: E (Both I and II follow)

    F ≥ G > H = I gives F > I. K > J ≥ I = H gives K > H. Both follow.

Miscellaneous

24. In a code language, 'sun rises early' is 'la mo ti', 'early bird sings' is 'ti ka ro' and 'bird flies high' is 'ro nu pe'. What is the code for 'sings'?

    1. ti
    2. ka
    3. ro
    4. nu
    5. la
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (ka)

    'early' is common to the first two sentences (ti) and 'bird' to the last two (ro). The remaining word of the second sentence, 'sings', is 'ka'.

25. How many meaningful English words can be formed with the letters O, W and N, using each letter exactly once?

    1. None
    2. One
    3. Two
    4. Three
    5. More than three
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: D (Three)

    NOW, OWN and WON: three words.

26. How many vowels in the word EDUCATION are immediately followed by a consonant?

    1. Two
    2. Three
    3. Four
    4. Five
    5. One
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: C (Four)

    E–D, U–C, A–T and O–N qualify; I is followed by the vowel O. Total four.

27. M is the son of N. N is the sister of O. O is the father of P. How is M related to P?

    1. Brother
    2. Cousin
    3. Nephew
    4. Uncle
    5. Son
    Answer and explanation

    Answer: B (Cousin)

    N and O are siblings; M is N's son and P is O's child, so M and P are cousins.