Solved Paper

2014

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 XAT Question Paper 2014
Part I

Instructions :

1. This question paper consists of two parts: Part I and Part II. Part I is main question paper and Part II is General
Knowledge. Part I has three section A, B and C with 28, 24 and 31 questions respectively, i.e. a total of 83
questions. The three section of Part I are followed by Part II that has twenty questions on General Knowledge. The
time available for completing the three sections and general knowledge is 150 minutes.

2. You are required to answer questions from all three sections and expected to maximize scores in each
section.

3. NEGATIVE MARKS (one fourth of the mark(s) allotted for each question) may be deducted for answering
incorrectly any particular question.

Section A: Verbal Ability

Direction for questions nos. 1–2: Read the definitions expectations from others, whom they always
below and select the best match between the numbered wanted to prove wrong (1). And what does it do (2)?
sentences and the definitions. What does that do to you, when you try to prove
Premise: A proposition from which another statement is someone wrong (3)? You increase your engagement
inferred or follows a conclusion. in something because you want to fight against
Assumption: Something, which is accepted as true. those expectations (4). So it seems like it actually
Fact: Something, which can be checked. can be a gift having what we label as a disability, or
Reason: A cause, explanation or justification for an action disorder, and cause people to overcompensate and
or event. engage in things in other ways (5). A research study
Conclusion: An end, finish or summarization of process shows that higher number of people with dyslexia
or argument. become social entrepreneurs because they over-
Proposition: A statement that expresses judgment or compensate their disability through nonverbal
opinion. communication, initiative and grit (6). And this
Question: A sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit overcompensation leads to greatness (7).
opinion.
Inductive inference: An end, finish or summarization The best match would be:
reached for “the whole”, based on “a particular” real A. 1–Assumption, 2–Question, 3–Reason, 4–Fact
incidence. B. 1–Assumption, 2–Question, 4–Reason,
Deductive Inference: An end, finish or summarization 7– Conclusion
reached based on the combining and recombining two or C. 1–Fact, 2-Question, 4–Reason, 6–Reason
more than two assumptions. D. 1-Fact, 3-Question, 4–Reason, 7–Inductive
Inference
1. When you look at the people who make E. 3–Question, 4–Reason, 5–Fact, 6-Proposition
fundamental, revolutionary breakthrough in any field,
you keep noticing over and over again a high 2. The fatal consequences of having a routine mid-
preponderance of them have some sort of disability day meal for at least twenty two children in Bihar’s
when they were younger, whether it was a physical Saran district expose the chronic neglect of school
disability or mental disability, which leads to lower
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 education in a large part of India (1). The people, animals, agricultural fields, irrigation canals,
governments cannot find a small piece of land for a domestic water sources, dams, roads, bridges, and
school and are unable to store food materials buildings – anything that stood in the way.
without the risk of contamination is a telling A week later, media attention remains riveted on
commentary on their commitment to universal the efforts to rescue tens of thousands of pilgrims
primary education (2). The Bihar horror clearly and tourist visiting the shrines in the uppermost
points to the absence of strong normative reaches of Uttarakhand’s sacred rivers. But the
procedures for the provision of infrastructure, even deluge spread far beyond the Char Dhams –
for a new school (3). Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath –
to cover the entire state. The catchments of many
The best match would be: smaller rivers also witnessed flash floods but the
A. 1–Fact, 2–Reason, 3–Deductive Inference media has yet to report on the destruction there.
B. 1–Reason, 2–Reason, 3–Inductive Inference Eyewitness accounts being gathered by official
C. 1–Inductive Inference, 2–Fact, 3–Inductive agencies and voluntary organizations have reported
Inference devastation from more than 200 villages so far and
D. 1–Inductive Inference, 2–Inductive Inference, more affected villages are being reported every day.
3–Inductive Inference,
E. 1–Reason, 2–Reason, 3– Reason Which of the following would the author agree the
most with?
3. The MBA (1) is hardly a prerequisite for success,
A. Char Dhams were most affected by Uttarakhand
but it (2) certainly helps (3), and it has been getting
disaster.
more important (4) in recent years. Most (5) MBA
B. Entire catchment of rivers flowing in Uttarakhand
programs equip their graduates to understand how
was affected.
(6) to deal with many of the important questions
C. Media attention was on Char Dham but the
that their organizations will need to tackle (7) over
entire catchment area of rivers flowing in
time, and (8) that they will face in their careers.
Uttarakhand was affected.
D. Media cannot be trusted as it focuses only on
The above italicized numbered words will be
important places and events.
correctly represented by the following parts of
E. Voluntary organizations are better than media
speech:
in reaching out to the affected people.

A. 1-Noun, 2-Pronoun, 3-Adverb, 4-Adjective, 5-

5. Which of the following is the correct form of
Adjective, 8-Conjunction
expression for the underlined part of the sentence
B. 1-Noun, 3-Adjective, 4-Adjective, 6-Adverb, 7-
below?
Adverb, 8-Article
Patna is not only the capital of Bihar, but it is also
C. 1-Noun, 2-Pronoun, 4-Adjective, 7-Adverb, 8-
one of the oldest cities in the world and the largest
Conjunction
city in the state.
D. 2-Pronoun, 3-Verb, 4-Adverb, 6-Adverb, 8- Article
E. 2-Pronoun, 3-Verb, 4-Adjective, 7-Verb, 8- A. capital of Bihar, but it is also one of the oldest
Conjunction B. capital of Bihar, nevertheless also one of the
oldest
4. Read the following paragraph carefully and C. Bihar’s capital city, and it is also one of the
answer the question that follows: older
It is one week since Uttarakhand’s worst disaster D. Bihar’s capital, but it is also one of the older
in living memory. Flash floods resulting from E. capital of Bihar, but it is also one of the older.
extremely intense rainfall swept away
mountainsides, villages and towns, thousands of

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Directions for questions nos. 6–7: Read the following D. 3, 5, 1, 2, 4
sentences and choose the option that best arranges them E. 1, 4, 5, 3, 2
in a logical order.
Directions for questions nos. 8–13: Fill in the blanks
6. Choose the best option:
with the most appropriate option that follows:
1. The mechanism of electroweak symmetry
breaking is one of the most important issues in
8. The defense proposes to show that the incident
the present Particle Physics.
that the prosecution so _____________ rejects as
2. They are required to give masses for all quarks
____________ did indeed take place.
and leptons and to guarantee the absence of
the gauge anomaly.
A. blithely, undesirable
3. In the standard electroweak model a
B. cavalierly, apocryphal
fundamental Higgs doublet is introduced to
C. vehemently, factual
cause the spontaneous symmetry breaking.
D. persuasively, pointless
4. Supersymmetry (SUSY), eliminating all
E. convincingly, inevitable
quadratic divergences, may provide a better
theoretical basis to describe a fundamental
9. Not just the absence of ____________ , but also
Higgs boson with a relatively small mass to a
the presence of ____________ and honesty is
high energy cutoff scale, say the Planck scale
required to bind up the nation’s wound.
for example.
5. In the minimal SUSY extension of the standard
A. retribution, camaraderie
electroweak model the Higgs sector consists
B. guilt, religion
of two chiral superfields of Higgs doublets (H1
C. crime, religion
and H2 with opposite hypercharges).
D. love, austerity
A. 1, 3, 4, 5, 2 E. recrimination, insight
B. 1, 4, 3, 5, 2
C. 3, 4, 2, 5, 1 10. In many cases in physics, one has to deal
D. 1, 5, 2, 3, 4 simultaneously with collective and single-particle
E. 5, 4, 2, 3, 1 excitations of the system. The collective excitations
are usually bosonic in nature while the single-
7. Choose the best option:
particle excitations are often fermionic. One is
1. Shakespeare did not personally prepare his
therefore led to consider a system which includes
plays for publication, and no official collection
bosons and fermions.
of them appeared until after his death.
Hence, __________________________________
2. Some were probably based on actors’ memories
of plays.
Which of the following options is most likely to follow
3. Many of these quartos are quite unreliable.
the paragraph given above?
4. A collection of his sonnets, considered by critics
A. in this book, we discuss application of bosonic
to be among the best ever written in English,
particles and their consequences on physics.
appeared in 1609.
B. in this book, we discuss application of general
5. Many individual plays were published during his
algebraic theory of mixed Bose- Fermi systems
lifetime in unauthorized editions known as
to atomic nuclei.
quartos.
C. in this book, we discuss excitations of collective
A. 1, 2, 3, 5, 4 and single particles separately.
B. 1, 2, 4, 5, 3 D. in this book, we prove how collective excitations
C. 3, 1, 4, 5, 2 are bosonic and singular excitation are
fermionic.

4 | XAT – 2014
 E. in this book, we prove that collective and Analyze the following passage and provide
singular excitation cannot exist together. appropriate answers for the questions 14 through 16
that follow.
11. Peter has suggested to me that the _____________
of highly systematic and _____________ planning Either explicitly or implicitly, our informants suggest that
techniques may have led to a substantial the objects that transfix them are hoped to be conduits
____________ in firms’ notions of what is likely to to, rather than surrogates for, love, respect, recognition,
happen in the future, and thus to a _____________ status, security, escape, or attractiveness. These are the
in the incidence of mistakes, especially on the part social relations we desire, consciously or subconsciously,
of the _____________modern corporations. beneath the objects that we find so compelling. The value
A. progressive development, exact, decline, of the objects that we focus our longing upon inheres less
decrease, tiny in the object or in a Lacanian search for childhood love
B. progress deterioration, exact, increase, than in the culture. The hope for hope that an altered state
decrease, tiny of being may result keeps the cycle of desire moving.
C. progressive development, precise, improvement, Desires are nurtured by self-embellished fantasies of a
reduction, large wholly different self, and they may be stimulated by
D. progressive development, precise, increase, external sources, including advertising, retail displays,
decrease, large films, television programs, stories told by other people,
E. gradual growth, exact, increase, decline, large and the consumption behavior of real or imaginary others.
But we find that the person who feels strong desire has
12. Clinical practitioners _____________ integrated almost always actively stimulated this desire by attending,
mindfulness _____________ treatment of seeking out, entertaining, and embellishing such images.
_____________ host of emotional and behavioural The desires that occupy us are vivid and riveting fantasies
disorders, _____________ borderline personality that we participate in nurturing, growing, and pursuing,
disorder, major depression, chronic pain, or eating through self-seduction.
disorders. Number of such practitioners
_____________ increased substantially. The social nature of desire implies that preferences of
A. have, in the, a, such as, has consumers are far from being independent. Yet, choice
B. have, in the, the, like, have models assume that preferences of consumers act as
C. were, for, a, like, has individuals. The mimetic aspect of desire creates difficulties
D. have, for, a, like, has for using individual attitude or intention measures to predict
E. could, in the, the, such as, have adoption of new products whose use will be visible. The
notion of desire we have derived suggests that the appeal
13. Ontologies are _______________ equated with of the desired object is not inherent in the object itself.
taxonomic hierarchies of classes, class definitions, Models that begin with preferences for product attributes
and _______________ subsumption relation, or benefits are therefore problematic. The consumer,
_______________ ontologies need not be limited individually and jointly, has a role in constructing the object
to _______________ forms. of desire, within a social context. What makes consumer
A. often, a, but, such desire attach to a particular object is not so much the
B. often, the, yet, such object’s particular characteristics as the consumer’s own
C. frequently, a, yet, such hopes for an altered state of being, involving an altered set
D. often, a, yet, these of social relationships.
E. often, the, but, these

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14. Consider the statement given below as true: A. Females in human society are creating
personalized fashion narratives.
“The failure of men to transition from being shoppers
B. It is socially desirable to resist all dominant
and consumers to producers and creators has
norms.
implications about their manliness.”
C. Feminists consider it socially desirable to resist
Which of the following statements would concur
dominant fashion norms that typify females in
with the above idea and the theme of the main
human society.
paragraph?
D. Consumers often resist dominant fashion
A. Manliness is no longer socially desirable. norms.
B. Boys will be boys and will always consume E. Attractiveness increases if one is unique.
more.
C. Men will be men and will always create and Analyze the following passage and provide
produce. appreciate answers for the questions 17 through 19
D. Products that fulfill the desire will sell more. that follow.
E. Consumers would like to buy more do-it-yourself
kits. Ideas involving the theory probability play a decisive part
in modern physics. Yet we will still lack a satisfactory,
15. Consider the statement given below as true: consistence definition of probability; or, what amounts to
“Men use the plasticity of consumer identity much the same, we still lack a satisfactory axiomatic
construction to forge atavistic masculine identities system for the calculus of probability. The relations between
based upon an imagined life of self-reliant, pre- probability and experience are also still in need of
modern men who lived outside the confines of cities, clarification. In investigating this problem we shall discover
families, and work bureaucracies.” what will at first seem an almost insuperable objection to
Which of the following statements would concur my methodological views. For although probability
with the above idea and the theme of the main statements play such a vitally important role in empirical
paragraph? science, they turn out to be in principle impervious to
strict falsification. Yet this very stumbling block will become
A. Pre-modern man was anti-social.
a touchstone upon which to test my theory, in order to
B. Products that fulfill the desire of anti-social
find out what it is worth. Thus, we are confronted with two
behaviour will sell more.
tasks. The first is to provide new foundations for the
C. Modern men are always anti-social.
calculus of probability. This I shall try to do by developing
D. Consumer will satisfy their desire of masculine
the theory of probability as a frequency theory, along the
identity through socially visible consumption.
lines followed by Richard von Mises, But without the use
E. Men will fulfill their desires for maintaining their
of what he calls the ‘axiom of convergence’ (or ‘limit axiom’)
identity.
and with a somewhat weakened ‘axiom of randomness’
The second task is to elucidate the relations between
16. Consider the statement given below as true:
probability and experience. This means solving what I call
“By appropriating fashion discourse, consumers
the problem of decidability statements. My hope is that
generate personalized fashion narratives and
the investigations will help to relieve the present
metaphoric and metonymic references that
unsatisfactory situation in which physicists make much
negotiate key existential tensions and that often
use of probabilities without being able to say, consistently,
express resistance to dominant fashion norms in
what they mean by ‘probability’.
their social milieu or consumer culture at large.”
Which of the following statements would concur
17. The statement, “The relations between probability
with the above idea and the theme of the main
and experience are still in need of clarification”
paragraph?
implies that:

6 | XAT – 2014
 A. Probability of an event can always be checked government are usually, and all governments are
with experience. sometimes, inexpedient. The objection which have been
B. Probability of an event can only be gauged brought against a standing army, and they are many and
historically. weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought
C. Probability is mathematical while experience against a standing government. The standing army is only
is real. an arm of the standing government. The government itself,
D. Probability statements can become difficult to which is only the mode which the people have chosen to
disprove without experience. execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and
E. Probability is futuristic. perverted before the people can act through it.

18. Author has talked about the two tasks in the above After all, the practical reason why, when the power is once
passage. Choose the best option from the following in the hands of the people, a majority are permitted, and
statements relevant to the tasks. for a long period continue, to rule is not because they are
most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems
A. The first task is sufficient to become the
fairest to the minority, but because they are physically
touchstone for the author to test his theory.
the strongest. But a government in which the majority
B. The second task is sufficient to become the
rules in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far
touchstone for the author to test his theory.
as men understand it. Can there not be a government in
C. Either of the tasks is sufficient for the author to
which the majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong,
test his theory.
but conscience? — in which majorities decide only those
D. None of the tasks is sufficient for the author to
questions to which the rule of expediency is applicable?
test his theory.
Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree,
E. Both the tasks would be important for the author
resign his conscience to legislator? Why has every man
to test his theory.
a conscience then? I think that we should be men first,
and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a
19. Which one of the following statements can be
respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only
inferred from the passage?
obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any
A. Physics is the only subject than borrows form time what I think right. It is truly enough said that a
the theory of probability. corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of
B. Physics is the only subject where the theory of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience.
probability is inaccurately applied. Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of
C. The theory of probability may be inaccurately their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made
applied in other subjects. the agents on injustice.
D. Physics is highly mathematical.
E. Experience relates to physical objects only.
20. According to the author of the paragraph, army is
Analyze the following passage and provide _____________ ?
appropriate answers for the questions 20 through 22
A. required
that follow.
B. fallible
C. must
I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which
D. necessary evil
governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more
E. not required
rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts
to this, which also I believe— “That government is best
which governs not at all”; and when men are prepared for
it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.
Government is at best but an expedient; but most

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21. In general, when would government of majority be teaches a lot of only moderately bright physicists to use
good for minorities? X-ray diffraction to disprove the assumption that molecules
are little hard elastic balls. The point is, departures that
A. when it is fair.
Rutherford teaches us to find from the mechanism built
B. when it is right.
into statistical mechanics are small and hardly ever
C. when it abides by the law.
systematic at the level of gases. Ignorance and error about
D. when it is conscientious.
the quality of beer is also, unlikely to be systematic at the
E. such a government cannot exits.
level of the consumers’ beer market, though it would
become systematic if buyers imposed quality control
22. Which of the following statements would the author
procedures on sellers in contracts of sale (as corporations
agree the most with?
very often do in their contracts with suppliers). when we
A. Men are bigger than the governments. find beers that are apparently psychophysically identical
B. Business houses are best for the growth of a selling for prices that depend on their advertising budgets,
society. we have a dull alternative hypothesis and an interesting
C. Governments and armies are not required. one. The dull one is that advertising can make the
D. Concept of nations is redundant. ignorance and error systematic at the level of markets,
E. Democracy is best for citizens. just as lasers with wavelengths resonant with the internal
structures and sizes of molecules can make molecular
Analyze the following passage and provide motions in gases systematic. The interesting one is that
appropriate answers for the questions 23 through 25 virtually content-less advertising is nevertheless
that follow. information to a rational actor.

The assumption of rationality puts an economist in a 23. Which of the following statements would be the
position to “explain” some features of market behavior, closest to the arguments in the passage?
such as the dispersion of prices of psychophysically
A. Individuals are more rational than firms.
identical goods such as beer according to the amount
B. Firms are rational.
spent on advertising them (no doubt, the fact that most
C. Firms are more rational than individuals.
beer is bought by individuals rather than as raw material
D. Firms are, most of the times, more rational than
by firms, which could be expected to be more rational
individuals.
than individuals, is part of the explanation.) Clearly,
E. Market behavior of psychophysical goods would
something is wrong somewhere with the usual model of a
be the same as that of physical goods.
competitive market with perfect information, for the virtually
content-less advertising cannot be considered as
24. Why has the author referred to Rutherford in the
increasing the utility of beer in an obvious way. But if one
passage?
can keep the assumption of rational actors, one need not
get into the intellectual swamp of sentiment nor of A. To prove that molecules are elastic.
preferences that depend on price. If one agrees, for B. To highlight that we should not compare apples
example, that consumers use advertising as an index of and oranges.
the effort a producer will put into protecting its reputation C. To hint that only very good students understood
and so as a predictor of quality control efforts, one can Physics taught by Rutherford.
combine it with the standard mechanism and derive D. To equate beer with little hard elastic balls.
testable consequences from it E. To state that Mechanics is more amenable to
application of Statistics than gasses.
But why, logically speaking, does it not matter that any of
us, with a few years’ training, could disprove the
assumptions? It is for the same reason that the statistical
mechanics of gases is not undermined when Rutherford

8 | XAT – 2014
25. Which of the following, as per author, are would suppose that they were rarely disappointed. God
psychophysical goods? gave the righteous man a certificate entitling him to food
and raiment, but the unrighteous man found a facsimile of
1. Concrete
the same in God’s coffers, and appropriated it, and obtained
2. Car
3. Mobile Phone food and raiment like the former. It is one of the most
extensive systems of counterfeiting that the world has
A. 1 and 2 seen. I did not know that mankind was suffering for want
B. 2 and 3 of gold. I have seen a little of it. I know that it is very
C. 1 and 3 malleable, but not so malleable as wit. A grain of gold will
D. 1, 2 and 3 gild a great surface, but not so much as a grain of wisdom.
E. None of these

26. Which of the following would the author disagree

Analyze the following passage and provide
most with?
appropriate answers for the questions 26 through 28
that follow. A. Setting up a factory in a rural area
B. Advertising for tooth paste
The ways by which you may get money almost exception C. Studying in a business school
lead downwards. To have done anything by which you D. Betting in a casino
earned money merely is to have been truly idle or worse. E. Working for an investment bank
If the laborer gets no more than the wages which his
employer pays him, he is cheated, he cheats himself. If 27. Which of the following could be a good title for the
you would get money as a writer or lecturer, you must be above passage?
popular, which is to go down perpendicularly. Those
A. Money and Work
services which the community will most readily pay for, it
B. God Rush
is most disagreeable to render. You are paid for being
C. Work is Worship
something less than a man. The State does not commonly
D. In Search for God
reward a genius any more wisely. Even the poet laureate
E. God is Gold
would rather not have to celebrate the accidents of royalty.
He must be bribed with a pipe of wine; and perhaps another
28. The author of the passage went on to say: “We are
poet is called away from his muse to gauge that very
provincial, because we do not find at home our
pipe. The aim of the laborer should be, not to get his living,
standards; because we do not worship truth, but
to get “a good job,” but to perform well a certain work; and
the reflection of truth; because we are warped and
even in a pecuniary sense, it would be economy for a
narrowed by an exclusive devotion to trade and
town to pay its laborers so well that they would not feel
commerce and manufactures and agriculture and
that they were working for low ends, as for a livelihood
the like, which are but means, and not the end.”
merely, but for scientific, or even moral ends. Do not hire
a man who does your work for money, but him who does
Which of the following, as per author, could have
it for love of it.
been the end (last words in the lines above)?

The community has no bribe that will tempt a wise man. A. Economic growth of society
You may raise money enough to tunnel a mountain, but B. Realization of self
you cannot raise money enough to hire a man who is C. Happy family life
minding his own business. An efficient and valuable man D. Strong and powerful nation
does what he can, whether the community pays him for it E. Distribution of wealth
or not. The inefficient offer their inefficiency to the highest
bidder, and are forever expecting to be put into office. One

XAT – 2014 | 9
Section B: Decision Making

Read the following case-let and answer the question All the students are studying in the school for last twelve
nos. (29-31) that follow years. She wanted to select the best team for all four
competitions (Ms. Banerjee had no other information to
Ms. Banerjee, class teacher for 12th standard, wants to select students).
send teams (based on past performance) of three students
each to district, state, national, and international 29. Which of three members should form the team for
competition in mathematics. Till now, every student of the the International competition?
class has appeared in 100 school level tests. The students
A. 4, 11, 14
had following distribution of marks in the tests, in terms of
B. 2, 8, 14
“average” and “number of times a student scored cent per
C. 1, 6, 12
cent marks”.
D. 13, 14, 15
E. 1, 3, 4
Student Average Number of times a
student scores cent
30. Which of the following members should constitute
per cent
the team for the district level competition?
1 70 7
A. 4, 11, 14
2 60 15
B. 1, 4, 11
3 65 8
C. 4, 5, 6
4 70 1 D. 4, 11, 13
5 65 6 E. Any team can win the competition
6 65 10
7 65 4 31. Ms. Banerjee has to select the team for national
8 60 12 competition after she has selected the team for
9 65 3 international competition. A student selected for
10 60 8 international competition cannot be a part of
11 70 1 national competition. Which is the best team for
the national competition?
12 65 6
13 70 2 A. 1, 7, 4
14 60 20 B. 8, 9, 10
15 65 5 C. 2, 8, 14
D. 3, 6, 1
Ms. Banerjee has carefully studied chances of her school E. Any of remaining students, as it would not
winning each of the competitions. Based on in-depth matter
calculations, she realized that her school is quite likely to
win district level competition but has low chances of winning Answer questions 32-35 based on information that is
the international competition. She listed down the following provided.
probabilities of wins for different competitions. Prize was
32. The main issues of interpretation arising from the
highest for international competition and lowest for district
work of professionally trained anthropologists are
level competition (in that order).
that they are late in colonial/post – colonial
trajectories, because professional training shapes
Competition Probability of win their interpretations. However, within field of interest
District 0.95 and training, their works are most thorough and
State 0.6 systematic
National 0.1
The best conclusion drawn from the above paragraph
International 0.05 is analogous to:
10 | XAT – 2014
 A. Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which states that “drinking several cups of coffee daily appears
that speed and position cannot be determined to reduce the risk of suicide”. Data pulled in from
simultaneously. three large studies in the US showed that the
B. Cultural relativism, which states that two or more suicide risk of those who drank two to four cups of
than two cultures cannot be compared. caffeinated coffee a day was about half of those
C. Personal relativism, which states that one who drank decaffeinated coffee or very little or no
should not study anthropological phenomenon coffee. In the studies, a respondent’s caffeine
for personal gains. consumption was assessed every four years
D. Conclusive relativism, which states that through a questionnaire. The respondents were all
anthropologists should not knowingly color their adults, and the study was published online. The
findings. authors, however, cautioned the public from
E. Communicative relativism, which states that increasing coffee intake as it could result in
anthropologists should not be selective in “unpleasant side effects”. “Overall, our results
communicating their findings. suggest that there is little further benefit for
consumption above two to three cups/day or 400
33. Consider merit pay for teachers. Schools face mg of caffeine/day,” wrote the researchers. The
constant pressure to change their management authors observed that there was no major difference
approaches to improve performance, which is in suicide risk for adults who drank two to three
usually assessed by standardized reading, math, cups a day from those who drank four cups or more.
and science scores. In most school teacher’s pay
is determined by seniority, years of total teaching Which of the following shaped graph would best
experience, and credentials. Pay is rarely based capture the above paragraph(x – axis represents
on performance, which is contrary to the belief “coffee intake” and Y–axis represents “suicidal
among parents and private sector. Parents and tendency”)?
business leaders lament that there are no carrots/ A. A straight line
sticks used to motivate teachers. Consequently, B. Saw tooth curve
there has been greater push to implement some C. S shaped curve
form of merit pay to improve the motivation D. U shaped curve
Which of the following statements will disprove the E. L shaped curve
claim of the parents and business leaders?
35. A group of nine runners will finish the 400 meters
A. A recent study suggested that teachers are self race in a certain order. The runners are: Ashok,
– motivated. Benjamin, Chetan, Divya, Eshant, Faneesh, Girish,
B. Teachers are largely motivated, by financial Himani, and Irravaty. They all finish at different
incentives; so pay for performance will induce times, and their finishing order is as follow:
greater and more effective effort.
C. Learning cannot be measured reliably and
• Faneesh finishes before Ashok
accurately by a test given once a year. • Divya finishes before Benjamin and Eshant
D. Teaching is a solo – activity, there is a little • Irravaty finishes after Chetan
interdependence with other co – curricular and • Girish finishes after Ashok
extra – curricular activities in the school.
E. To err is human. And hence stick should be Which is the best position Girish can finish?
used to reduce errors. A. First
B. Second
34. Read the following newspaper report: C. Third
D. Fourth
In a new study by Harvard School of Public Health E. Fifth
(HSPH), researchers explored how caffeine can
serve as a “mild anti – depressant”. They concluded

XAT – 2014 | 11
Read the following case–let and answer the question 38. What is the probability of product failure if Reddy
nos. (36-39) that follow and Rao decides to test market it?

A. 0.21
Krishna Reddy was the head of a pharmaceutical company
B. 0.35
that was trying to develop a new product. Reddy, along
C. 0.14
with his friend Prabhakar Rao, assessed that such products
D. 0.28
had mixed success. Reddy and Rao realized that if a new
E. Cannot be computed
product (a drug) was a success, it may result in sales of
100 crores but if it is unsuccessful, the sales may be only 39. If Rao and Reddy decides to launch the product
20 crores. They further assessed that a new drug was despite unfavourable test marketing, how much
likely to be successful 50% of times. Cost of launching profit can the company expect to earn?
the new drug was likely to be 50 crores.
A. –13.2 crores
36. How much profit can the company expect to earn if B. –36.8 crores
it launches the new drug (suppose there are no C. –46.8 crores
additional costs)? D. –16 crores
E. 10 crores
A. 12 crores
B. 10 crores Read the following case–let and answer the questions
C. 10.5 crores nos. (40-42) that follow
D. 11 crores
E. 11.5 crores Intercontinental Business Manufacturing (IBM) was doing
a roaring business. Demand of the products was high and
Now, Reddy and Rao were in a quandary whether supply of raw – material was abundant. IBM was
the company should go ahead and market the drug. manufacturing three different products. Some customers
They contacted Raj Adduri, a common friend for bought two types of products and some bought only one.
advice. Adduri was of the opinion that given the The three products were “quickie-quick”, “run-of-the-mill”,
risky nature of launch, it may be a better idea to and “maxi-max”. Customers were not complaining loudly.
test the market. Rao and Reddy realized test
Ram, the product manager, was confused! Demand for
marketing would cost 10 crores. Adduri told them
“quickie – quick “was increasing .Raw material suppliers
the previous test marketing results have been
wanted to supply lower quality at cheaper price. It was
favorable 70% of times and success rate of products
profitable for the company to increase production .Quality
favorably tested was 80%.Further, when test
department was not happy with the product. Ram met
marketing results were unfavorable; the products
Rahim, the CEO, who, as always, wanted higher profits.
have been successful 30% of the times.
He said that IBM will set up a committee for improving the
quality.
37. How much profit can the company expect to make
if the product is launched after favorable test 40. What must not be done by Ram?
marketing results.(assume there are no additional
A. Only produce “quickie-quick” as it gives highest
costs)?
profits.
A. 11.5 crores B. Increase the production for “quickie-quick” and
B. 10 crores ask the supplier for better quality raw material.
C. 8.5 crores C. Maintain the level of production for “quickie-
D. 13.8 crores quick” and ask the supplier for better quality
E. 6 crores raw material.
D. Reduce the production of “quickie-quick” till
committee submits its report.
E. Stop production of “quickie-quick” till committee
submits its report.
12 | XAT – 2014
41. Rahim set up a “brand” committee comprising of a Please read the three reports (newspaper articles)
few selected managers, headed by Robert. The on ranking of different players and products in smart
committee proposed that IBM should continue to phones industry and answer the questions nos. (43-
manufacture the three differently branded products. 46) that follow.
It also proposed to recruit a new brand manager for
improving brand image of the products. It agreed Report 1: (Feb, 2013):
with Rahim that the company should increase the
price. Rocket Singh, head of sales, was confused Apple nabs crown as current top US mobile phone
because he realized that customers were miffed vendor
with “run-of-the-mill” and “maxi-max”.
Apple’s reign may not be long, as Samsung is poised to
What should Rocket Singh do?
overtake Apple in April, 2013. For the first time since Apple
A. Launch one more product to increase sales. entered the mobile phone market in 2007, it has been
B. Stop production of quickie-quick. ranked the top mobile phone vendor in the US. For the
C. Launch a campaign on social media to increase latter quarter of 2012, sales of its iPhone accounted for 34
awareness about company’s products. percent of all mobile phone sales in the US - including
D. Send an anonymous email to all the employees feature phones – according to the latest data from Strategy
highlighting customer dissatisfaction. Analytics.
E. Conduct a research study to find out the reason
for customer’s dissatisfaction. While the iPhone has consistently been ranked the top
smartphone sold in the US, market research firm NPD
42. Some of the managers in production department noted that feature phone sales have fallen off a cliff recently,
were discussing the problems faced in shipping to the point where 8 out of every 10 mobile phones sold in
products in time. They complained that they had the US are now smartphones. That ratio is up considerably
to undertake responsibility of creating financial and from the end of 2011, when smartphones had just cracked
marketing plans in addition to responsibility of the 50 percent mark. Given this fact it’s no surprise that
production planning. At the same time, finance and Apple, which only sells smartphones, has been able to
marketing managers were to be involved in preparing reach the top of the overall mobile phone market
production plans. It was expected that this will domestically.
reduce customer complaints. It was rumored that
these changes were initiated by the managers For the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple ranked number one
educated in the U.S. with 34 percent of the US mobile market, up from 25.6
percent year over year. Samsung grew similarly, up to
Which of the following is the best possible course 32.3 percent from 26.9 percent – but not enough to keep
of action available to the affected managers? from slipping to second place. LG dropped to 9 percent
A. Create a union to safeguard their rights. from 13.7 percent, holding its third place spot. It should
B. File a law suit against the company. be noted that Samsung and LG both sell a variety of feature
C. Create a forum for discussion and resolution of phones in addition to smartphones.
issues.
D. Register a complaint with the human rights Looking only at smartphones, the ranking is a little different
body. according to NPD. Apple holds the top spot with 39 percent
E. Go for further education to the U.S. of the US smartphone market, while Samsung again sits
at number two with 30 percent. Motorola manages to rank
third with 7 percent, while HTC dropped to fourth with 6
percent. In the US smartphone market, LG is fifth with 6
percent. Note how the percentages aren’t all that different
from overall mobile phone market share – for all intents
and purposes, the smartphone market is the mobile phone
market in the US going forward.
XAT – 2014 | 13
Still, Samsung was the top mobile phone vendor overall Without accurate self-reporting of actual sales to the end
for 2012, and Strategy Analytics expects Samsung to be users, none of these market share charts are worth a
back on top soon. “Samsung had been the number one damn!
mobile phone vendor in the US since 2008, and it will
surely be keen to recapture that title in 2013 by launching Report 3: Contradictory survey (Feb, 2013)
improved new models such as the rumored Galaxy S4”. iPhone5 Ranks Fifth In U.S. Customer Satisfaction
Survey inShare
And while Apple is the top vendor overall among
smartphones, its iOS platform is still second to the Android The iPhone5 ranks fifth in customer satisfaction according
platform overall. Samsung is the largest vendor selling to the results of a recent survey from OnDevice Research,
Android-based smartphones, but Motorola, HTC, LG, and a mobile device research group. In the poll, they asked
others also sell Android devices, giving the platform a clear 320,000 smartphone and tablet users from six different
advantage over iOS both domestically and globally. countries, how satisfied they were with their devices.
According to 93,825 people from the US, Motorola Atrix
Report 2: Reader’s Response (2013, Feb) HD is the most satisfying and Motorola’s Droid Razr took
I don’t actually believe the numbers for Samsung. Ever second spot. HTC Corp (TPE : 2498)’s Rezound 4G and
since the debacle in early 2011, when Lenovo called into Samsung Galaxy Note 2 took third and fourth spots, while
question the numbers Samsung was touting for tablet Apple’s iPhone5 landed in fifth spot.
shipments, stating that Samsung had only sold 20,000 of
It appears that Apple may be lagging in consumer interest.
the 1.5 million tablets they shipped into the US the last
OnDevice Research, Sarah Quinn explained, “Although
quarter of 2010, Samsung (who had no response to Lenovo)
Apple created one of the most revolutionary devices of the
has refused to supply quarterly sales numbers for
past decade, other manufactures have caught up, with
smartphones or tablets. That’s an indication that their sales
some Android powered devices now commanding higher
aren’t what analysts are saying.
levels of user satisfaction.”

We can look to several things to help understand why. In Despite the lower rankings, things aren’t looking too bad
the lawsuit between Apple and Samsung here last year, for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) elsewhere. In the United
both were required to supply real sales numbers for devices Kingdom, they ranked second place, right after HTC One
under contention. The phones listed turned out to have X. Interesting enough, Apple did take top spot for overall
sales between one third and one half of what had been satisfaction of mobile device, whereas Google Inc.
guessed by IDC and others. Tablet sales were even worse. (NASDAQ:GOOG) ranked second. Motorola Mobility
Of the 1.5 million tablets supposedly shipped to the US Holdings Inc. (NYSE:MMI), HTC Corp (TPE:2498), and
during that time, only 38,000 were sold. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) took third, fourth, and fifth
Then we have the usage numbers. Samsung tablets have places respectively, while Sony Ericsson trailed behind at
only a 1.5% usage rate, where the iPad has over 90%. sixth place.
Not as much a difference with the phones but it’s still The survey sampled mobile device users in the following
overwhelmingly in favor of the iPhone. countries: United States, United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Japan, and Indonesia. Although OnDevice didn’t
The problem is that with Apple’s sales, we have actual
share the full list of devices mentioned in the survey, it
numbers to go by. The companies who estimate can
does show some insight to what customers want.
calibrate what they do after those numbers come out. But
Unfortunately, there were still many questions regarding
with Samsung and many others, they can’t ever calibrate
the survey that were left unanswered. Everyone wants to
their methods, as there are no confirming numbers
know why Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) was on the list
released from the firms. A few quarters ago, as a result,
when they are not an actual smartphone maker and why
we saw iSupply estimate Samsung’s smartphone sales
was Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) on the
for the quarter at 32 million, with estimates from others all
bottom of the satisfaction list when the brand is leading
over the place up to 50 million. Each time some other
elsewhere.
company reported a higher number for that same quarter,
the press dutifully used that higher number as THE ONE.
But none of them was the one.

14 | XAT – 2014
 US Smartphone Device Satisfaction Top 5
45. If report1 and report3 are both correct, which of the
Devices
following can be a reason for seemingly divergent
8.57 ranks reported for different companies and their
8.5 products?

A. OnDevice has been paid by Motorola to publish.

B. Customers in France, in report3, have voted
8.32 Samsung as the favorite company.
8.26 C. Customers in Japan, in report3, have voted
8.23 Samsung as the favorite company.
D. Sales and satisfaction may not be perfectly
related with each other.
E. None of the above.

46. Which of the following is more likely to be a correct

Motorola Motorola HTC Samsung Apple conclusion about the respondent/reader in report2?
Atrix HD Droid Rezound Galaxy iPhone 5
Razr M 4G Note 2 A. The reader is an Apple user.
B. If the reader is an Apple user, his usage rate is
higher.
Source: 92.825 US mobile users, July 2012 – January 2013 C. The reader is a frequent user of HTC One.
D. The reader does not like Android platform.
Fortunately, those questions were answered by OnDevice E. The reader wants more objective data to be
Research’s representative. He explained that the survey released by the companies.
was conducted on mobile web where the survey software
could detect the taker’s device and since user’s rate their Read the following case-let and choose the best
satisfaction levels on a 1 to 10 scale, thanks to the Nexus alternative for the questions 47 through 49 that follow.
device, Google was included.
Ajay was thinking deeply about a problem that his
43. If you analyze the three reports above, which of the organization, a business consulting company, faced.
following statements would be the best inference? Globalization had affected his company like many other
companies. Despite the downturn, the current revenues
A. Newspapers publish completely wrong data. remained healthy. However, Ajay knew it was inevitable
B. All three reports have been bought by the that the company could not do business the same way.
companies. The complexity of managing the business had increased
C. Newspapers may report selectively. with time. Consultants were under pressure to deliver good
D. Apple is leading but its dominance in Korean and innovative solutions. The organization had consultants
market is definitely under threat. from different age groups having a good mix of domain
E. Customer’s response, in report 2, is neutral and and industry expertise. It was a flat organization with three
objective. levels. The biggest challenge for Ajay was to have
consultants with latest knowledge who would also earn
44. Assume report1 and report3 are both correct, which revenues. Getting additional business was a challenge as
of the following can be a reason for seemingly all the consultants were busy and it was very difficult to
divergent ranks of different companies and their hire new consultants.
products?
47. Some of the consultants were adept at applying
A. iPhone4, another product from Apple, could have
old solutions to new problems. Ajay was not very
been the best seller in the U.S.
sure if this would work for long. Some of the clients
B. HTC-One was the most preferred device in
had complained about the performance of old and
Japan.
reputed consultants. Ajay was mulling over the
C. OnDevice included Google in the list because
following five solutions to tackle this problem.
it is an important player in Android market.
D. Customer satisfaction never leads to higher 1. Decrease time spent on client interaction and
customer loyalty. increase time spent for generating solutions.
E. None of the above.
XAT – 2014 | 15
 2. Increase support staff to help consultants to 5. Infuse fresh thinking by hiring outsiders.
remain updated.
Choose the best option from the following
3. Decrease the number of simultaneous projects
sequences
handled by consultants.
4. Make it compulsory for consultants to work on A. 1, 2, 3, 4
inter-industry and inter-domain problems. B. 2, 3, 4, 5
5. Recruit more consultants. C. 3, 4, 2, 1
D. 2, 5, 3, 1
Which of the following would be the best sequence
E. 2, 5, 4, 3
of decisions taken by Ajay (starting from immediate
to distant)?
Read the following case-let and answer the question
A. 3, 2, 1, 5, 4 nos. (50-52) that follow
B. 4, 3, 2, 1, 5
C. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Rajinder Singh was 32 years old from the small town of
D. 2, 4, 5, 1, 3 Bhathinda, Punjab. Most of the families living there had
E. 1, 5, 4, 3, 2 middle class incomes, with about 10% of the population
living below the poverty level. The population consisted of
48. After Ajay implemented some of the steps 10 percent small traders, 30 percent farmers, besides
mentioned above, consultants wanted to renegotiate others. Rajinder liked growing up in Bhathinda, where
their contract with the organization. It seems that people knew and cared about each other.
the organization had never mentioned that
consultants have to work across industries and Even as a youngster it was clear that Rajinder was smart
domains. Some of the old consultants were reluctant and ambitious. Neighbors would often say, “Someday
to change their ways, while many of the younger you’re going to make us proud!” He always had a job
consultants were willing to follow Ajay’s advice. growing up at Singh’s General Store – Uncle Balwant’s
Which of the following decision can be taken by store. Balwant was a well-intentioned person. Rajinder
Ajay to handle this situation? loved being at the store and not just because Balwant
A. Retrench old consultants and recruit young paid him well. He liked helping customers, most of who
consultants. were known by the nicknames. Setting up displays and
B. Pressurize non-conformists by giving changing the merchandise for different seasons and
preferential treatment to the conformists. holidays was always exciting. Uncle Balwant had one child
C. Negotiate with the old consultants and and off late, his interest in business had declined. But he
communicate that the new rules would apply had taught Rajinder ‘the ins and outs of retailing’. He had
to the new consultants only. taught Rajinder everything, including ordering
D. Do nothing and wait for a right solution to merchandise, putting on a sale, customer relations, and
emerge, as with time resistance would die keeping the books.
down.
E. Discuss the issue in an open house and let The best part about working at the store was Balwant
solutions emerge democratically. himself. Balwant loved the store as much as Rajinder did.
Balwant had set up the store with a mission to make sure
49. Ajay was to retire in five years and he wanted to his neighbors got everything they needed at a fair price.
leave behind a legacy. Order the following activities, He carried a wide variety of goods, based on the needs of
from the most important to the least important, that the community. If you needed a snow shovel or piece of
Ajay should undertake in next five year: jewelry for your wife, it was no problem – Singh’s had it
all. Rajinder was impressed by Balwant’s way of handling
1. Do nothing. and caring for customers. If somebody was going through
2. Set a future direction for the organization in “hard times”, Balwant somehow knew it. When they came
these challenging times. into the store, Balwant would make them feel comfortable,
3. Benchmark performance with respect to the and say something like, “you know Jaswant, let’s put
best consulting company in industry. everything on credit today”. This kind of generosity made
4. Empower senior consultants and at the same it easy to understand why Balwant was loved and
time seek opinion of all others for handling future respected throughout the community.
challenges.
16 | XAT – 2014
Rajinder grew up and went to school and college in Rajinder didn’t know what to do – who might be helpful?
Bhathinda. Later on, he made it to an MBA program in Rajinder’s spouse, who was a housewife? Maybe talking
Delhi. Rajinder did well in the MBA course and was goal it through could lead to some positive course of action.
oriented. After first year of his MBA, the career advisor Rajinder’s boss? Would Bigmart understand? Could
and Balwant advised Rajinder for an internship at Bigmart. Rajinder really disclose the conflict without fear? Uncle
That summer, Rajinder was amazed by the breadth and Balwant? Should Rajinder really disclose the situation and
comprehensiveness of the internship experience. Rajinder ask for advise? He wanted a solution that would make all
got inspired by the life story of the founder of Bigmart, and satkeholders happy.
the values the founder held. Bigmart was one of the best
companies in the world. 50. Who is the best person for Rajinder to talk to?

The people that Rajinder worked for at Bigmart during the A. Wife
internship noticed Rajinder’s work ethic, knowledge, and B. Boss
enthusiasm for the business. Before the summer ended, C. Let time take its own course
Rajinder had been offered a job as a Management Trainee D. Balwant
by Bigmart, to start upon graduation. Balwant was happy E. His colleagues in the office
to see Rajinder succeed. Even for Rajinder, this was a
dream job – holding the opportunity to move up the ranks 51. After deliberation with many people and a lot of
in a big company. Rajinder did indeed move up the ranks research, Rajinder came across a study published
quickly, from management trainee, to assistant store in leading journal, which stated that most local
manager, to supervising manager of three stores, to the farmers benefited because Bigmart bought
present position – Real Estate Manager, North India. This agricultural produce directly from the farmers.
job involved locating new sites within targeted locations
Which of the following actions would you prefer
and community relations.
Rajinder to take, after he got this fresh information?
One day Rajinder was eagerly looking forward to the next A. Since farmers benefit from Bigmart’s presence,
assignment. When he received email for the same, his Rajinder should be happy with Bigmart’s
world came crashing down. He was asked to identify next presence in Bhatinda
site in Bhathinda. It was not that Rajinder didn’t believe in
B. Rajinder should undertake a new study to find
Bigmart’s expansion. What was printed in the popular
out influence of Bigmart on local farmers.
press, especially the business press, only reinforced
Rajinder’s belief in Bigmart. An executive viewed as one C. Rajinder should see this as an opportunity to
of the wisest business persons in the world was quoted take concerns of local traders to the top
as saying, “Bigmart had been a major force in improving management of Bigmart in India. It may help
the quality of life for the average consumer around the Bigmart to develop new solutions that can
world, offering great prices on goods, giving them one benefit Bigmart, retailers, farmers and
stop solution for almost everything.” Many big farmers also consumers.
benefitted as Bigmart’s supply chain facilities helped D. Quit job at Bigmart and start another big retail
reducing the waste. Consumers also benefitted through chain to compete with Bigmart
low prices, as middlemen were removed. At the same E. Request his boss to transfer him to new
time, Rajinder knew that opening a new Bigmart could location, which has a low percentage of mom
disrupt small businesses in Bhathinda. Some local stores and pop stores. This would reduce Rajinder’s
in small towns often went out of business within a year of discomfort.
the Bigmart’s opening.
52. Which is the right ascending order, in terms of
In Bhathinda, one of the local stores was Singh’s,now run proportion of population, benefitting from Bigmart,
by Balwant’s son, although Balwant still came in every in and around Bhathinda?
day to “straighten out the merchandise.” As Rajinder
thought about this assignment, depression set in, and A. Consumers, farmers, retailers
nightmares followed. Rajinder was frozen in time and space. B. Farmers, consumers, retailers
Rajinder’s nightmares involved Balwant screaming C. Retailers, farmers, consumers
something- although Rajinder could not make out what D. Farmers, retailers, consumers
Balwant was saying. This especially troubled Rajinder,
E. Consumers, retailers, farmers
since Balwant never raised his voice.
XAT – 2014 | 17
Section C: Quantitative Ability

53. x, 17, 3x – y2 – 2, and 3x + y2 – 30, are four 57. A polynomial “ax3 + bx2+ cx + d” intersects x-axis
consecutive terms of an increasing arithmetic at 1 and –1, and y-axis at 2. The value of b is:
sequence. The sum of the four numbers is divisible
A. –2
by:
B. 0
A. 2 C. 1
B. 3 D. 2
C. 5 E. Cannot be determined
D. 7
E. 11 58. The sum of the possible values of X in the equation
|X + 7| + |X – 8| = 16 is:
54. In quadrilateral PQRS, PQ = 5 units, QR = 17
units, RS = 5 units, and PS = 9 units. The length A. 0
of the diagonal QS can be: B. 1
C. 2
A. > 10 and < 12
D. 3
B. > 12 and < 14
E. None of the above
C. > 14 and < 16
D. > 16 and < 18
59. There are two windows on the wall of a building
E. cannot be determined
that need repairs. A ladder 30 m long is placed
against a wall such that it just reaches the first
α*ω , window which is 26 m high. The foot of the ladder
55. Consider the formula, S = where all the
τ+ρ*ω is at point A. After the first window is fixed, the foot
parameters are positive integers. If ω is increased of the ladder is pushed backwards to point B so
and α, τ and ρ are kept constant, then S: that the ladder can reach the second window. The
angle made by the ladder with the ground is reduced
A. increases by half, as a result of pushing the ladder. The
B. decreases distance between points A and B is
C. increases and then decreases
D. decreases and then increases A. <9m
E. cannot be determined B. ≥ 9 m and < 9.5 m
C. ≥ 9.5 m and < 10 m
56. Prof. Suman takes a number of quizzes for a D. ≥ 10 m and < 10.5 m
course. All the quizzes are out of 100. A student E. ≥ 10.5 m
can get an A grade in the course if the average of
her scores is more than or equal to 90. Grade B is 60. Amitabh picks a random integer between 1 and
awarded to a student if the average of her scores 999, doubles it and gives the result to Sashi. Each
is between 87 and 89 (both included). If the average time Sashi gets a number from Amitabh, he adds
is below 87, the student gets a C grade. Ramesh 50 to the number, and gives the result back to
is preparing for the last quiz and he realizes that Amitabh, who doubles the number again. The first
he must score a minimum of 97 to get an A grade. person, whose result is more than 1000, loses the
After the quiz, he realizes that he will score 70, game. Let ‘x’ be the smallest initial number that
and he will just manage a B. How many quizzes results in a win for Amitabh. The sum of the digits
did Prof. Suman take? of ‘x’ is:

A. 6 A. 3
B. 7 B. 5
C. 8 C. 7
D. 9 D. 9
E. None of these E. None of these

18 | XAT – 2014
61. Consider four natural numbers: x, y, x + y, and D. 23
x – y. Two statements are provided below: E. 45

I. All four numbers are prime numbers. 65. Circle C1 has a radius of 3 units. The line segment
II. The arithmetic mean of the numbers is greater PQ is the only diameter of the circle which is
than 4. parallel to the X axis. P and Q are points on curves
given by the equations y = a x and y = 2a x
Which of the following statements would be
respectively, where a < 1. The value of a is:
sufficient to determine the sum of the four
numbers?
1
A. Statement I. A. 6
2
B. Statement II.
C. Statement I and Statement II. 1
D. Neither Statement I nor Statement II. B. 6
3
E. Either Statement I or Statement II.
1
62. Triangle ABC is a right angled triangle. D and E C. 3
6
are mid points of AB and BC respectively. Read
the following statements. 1
D.
I. AE = 19 6
II. CD = 22 E. None of the above
III. Angle B is a right angle.
66. There are two squares S1 and S2 with areas 8 and
Which of the following statements would be 9 units, respectively. S1 is inscribed within S2, with
sufficient to determine the length of AC? one corner of S1 on each side of S2. The corners of
the smaller square divides the sides of the bigger
A. Statement I and Statement II.
square into two segments, one of length ‘a’ and
B. Statement I and Statement III.
the other of length ‘b’, where, b > a. A possible
C. Statement II and III.
value of ‘b/a’, is:
D. Statement III alone.
E. All three statements. A. ≥ 5 and < 8
B. ≥ 8 and < 11
63. There are two circles C1 and C2 of radii 3 and C. ≥ 11 and < 14
8 units respectively. The common internal tangent, D. ≥ 14 and < 17
T, touches the circles at points P 1 and P 2 E. > 17
respectively. The line joining the centers of the
circles intersects T at X. The distance of X from 67. Diameter of the base of a water – filled inverted
the center of the smaller circle is 5 units. What is right circular cone is 26 cm. A cylindrical pipe, 5
the length of the line segment P1P2? mm in radius, is attached to the surface of the
cone at a point. The perpendicular distance
A. ≤ 13
between the point and the base (the top) is 15 cm.
B. > 13 and ≤ 14
The distance from the edge of the base to the point
C. > 14 and ≤ 15
is 17 cm, along the surface. If water flows at the
D. > 15 and ≤ 16
rate of 10 meters per minute through the pipe, how
E. > 16
much time would elapse before water stops coming
64. The probability that a randomly chosen positive out of the pipe?
divisor of 1029 is an integer multiple of 1023 is: A. < 4.5 minutes
a2/b2, then ‘b – a’ would be: B. ≥ 4.5 minutes but < 4.8 minutes
A. 8 C. ≥ 4.8 minutes but < 5 minutes
B. 15 D. ≥ 5 minutes but < 5.2 minutes
C. 21 E. ≥ 5.2 minutes
XAT – 2014 | 19
68. Aditya has a total of 18 red and blue marbles in A. 50
two bags (each bag has marbles of both colors). A B. 51
marble is randomly drawn from the first bag followed C. 53
by another randomly drawn from the second bag, D. 56
the probability of both being red is 5/16. What is E. 57
the probability of both marbles being blue?
72. Read the following instruction carefully and answer
1 the question that follows:
A.
16 13
1 x
2
Expression ∑n can also be written as
13!
B. n=1
16
What would be the remainder if x is divided by 11?
3 A. 2
C.
16 B. 4
C. 7
4
D. D. 9
16
E. None of the above
E. None of the above
73. A rectangular swimming pool is 48 m long and 20
69. Consider a rectangle ABCD of area 90 units. The m wide. The shallow edge of the pool is 1 m deep.
points P and Q trisect AB, and R bisects CD. The For every 2.6 m that one walks up the inclined
diagonal AC intersects the line segments PR and base of the swimming pool, one gains an elevation
QR at M and N respectively. What is the area of of 1 m. What is the volume of water (in cubic
the quadrilateral PQMN? meters), in the swimming pool? Assume that the
A. > 9.5 and ≤ 10 pool is filled up to the brim.
B. > 10 and ≤ 10.5 A. 528
C. > 10.5 and ≤ 11 B. 960
D. > 11 and ≤ 11.5 C. 6790
E. > 11.5 D. 10560
E. 12960
70. Two numbers, 297B and 792B, belong to base B
number system. If the first number is a factor of 74. The value of the expression:
the second number then the value of B is:
100
1
A. 11 ∑ logi 100! is:
B. 12 i= 2
C. 15
D. 17 A. 0.01
E. 19 B. 0.1
C. 1
71. A teacher noticed a strange distribution of marks D. 10
in the exam. There were only three distinct scores: E. 100
6, 8 and 20. The mode of the distribution was 8.
The sum of the scores of all the students was 504.
The number of students in the in most populated
category was equal to the sum of the number of
students with lowest score and twice the number
of students with the highest score. The total number
of students in the class was:

20 | XAT – 2014
Answer the question nos. 75-77 based on the trends lines from the following graphs.

Note: Left side of X axis represents countries that are “poor” and right side of X axis represents countries that are
“rich”, for each region. GDP is based on purchasing power parity (PPP).
These are World Bank (WB) estimates.

75. Which of the following could be the correct ascending order of democratic regions for poor?

A. North America, C and E Europe, South America, Middle East, Asia Pacific
B. Scandinavia, Western Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, Middle East
C. Scandinavia, Western Europe, North America, C and E Europe, Middle East
D. C and E Europe, Africa, South America, Western Europe, Scandinavia
E. Africa, South America, Western Europe, North America, Scandinavia

XAT – 2014 | 21
76. Which region has the highest disparity, of 77. The maximum GDP of African region is higher than
democratic participation, between rich and poor? the maximum GDP of South American region by
factor of:
A. North America
B. C and E Europe A. 10
C. Africa B. 100
D. South America C. 2
E. Western Europe D. 4
E. None of these
Answer the question nos. 78-80 based on the given data on the tourism sector in India.
Years Foreign Tourist Foreign Foreign Exchange Number of Indian Number of
Arrivals in India Exchange Earnings from Nationals Domestic Tourist
(in million) Earnings from Tourism in India Departures from Visits to all States/
Tourism in India (in Rs. Crore) India (in million) UTs (in millions)
(in US $ million)
1997 2.37 2889 10511 3.73 159.88
1998 2.36 2948 12150 3.81 168.2
1999 2.48 3009 12951 4.11 190.67
2000 2.65 3460 15626 4.42 220.11
2001 2.54 3198 15083 4.56 236.47
2002 2.38 3103 15064 4.94 269.6
2003 2.73 4463 20729 5.35 309.04
2004 3.46 6170 27944 6.21 366.27
2005 3.92 7493 33123 7.18 392.01
2006 4.45 8634 39025 8.34 462.32
2007 5.08 10729 44360 9.78 526.56
2008 5.28 11832 51294 10.87 563.03
2009 5.17 11136 53700 11.07 668.8
2010 5.78 14193 64889 12.99 747.7
2011 6.29 16564 77591 14.21 850.86

78. In which of the following years the percentage D. 2010

increase in the number of Indians going abroad E. 2011
was greater than the percentage increase in the
number of domestic tourists? 80. Let ‘R’ be the ratio of Foreign Exchange Earnings
from Tourism in India (in US $ million) to Foreign
A. 2004 and 2005
Tourist Arrivals in India (in million). Assume that R
B. 2005 and 2006
increases linearly over the years. If we draw a pie
C. 2005 and 2007
chart of R for all the years, the angle subtended by
D. 2006 and 2008
the biggest sector in the pie chart would be
E. 2004, 2005 and 2006
approximately:
79. In which of the following years was the rupee A. 24
cheapest with respect to the dollar? B. 30
A. 2001 C. 36
B. 2002 D. 42
C. 2007 E. 48

22 | XAT – 2014
Answer the question nos. 81-83 based on the following information given below.

The exhibit given below compares the countries (first column) on different economic indicators (first row), from 2000-
2010. A bar represents data for one year and a missing bar indicates missing data. Within an indicator, all countries
have same scale.

Table given below contains data of GDP in constant 2000 US Dollar (in billions).
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Brazil 645 653 671 678 717 740 769 816 858 855 919
China 1,198 1,298 1,416 1,558 1,715 1,909 2,151 2,457 2,693 2,940 3,246
India 475 498 518 559 603 659 720 790 821 888 973
Malaysia 94 94 99 105 112 118 125 133 140 137 147
Philippines 81 83 86 91 97 101 107 114 119 120 129
Thailand 123 125 132 141 150 157 165 174 178 174 187
United
9,899 10,007 10,190 10,450 10,814 11,146 11,443 11,661 11,619 11,209 11,548
States
Vietnam 31 33 36 38 41 45 48 53 56 59 63

81. Which of the following countries, after United A. United States in 2002-3
States, has the highest spending on military as % B. Brazil in 2006-7
of GDP, in the period 2000-2010? C. India in 2009-10
D. Malaysia in 2008-9
A. Vietnam
E. China in 2008-9
B. China
C. India
83. Which of the following countries has shown
D. Brazil
maximum increase in the “services, value added
E. Thailand
as % of GDP” from year 2000 to year 2010?

82. Which country (and which year) has witnessed A. Brazil

maximum year-to-year decline in “industry as B. India
percentage of GDP”? Given that the maximum value C. United States
of industry as percentage of GDP is 49.7% and D. Philippines
the minimum value of industry as percentage of E. None of the above
GDP is 20.02%, in the chart above.

XAT – 2014 | 23
 Part II
84. The factor that least influences exchange rate 89. 'Long Walk To Freedom' is the autobiography of the
fluctuations: following Bharat Ratna recipient:
A. Industrial Production A. Jawaharlal Nehru
B. Investor sentiments B. S. Radhakrishnan
C. Interest Rates C. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
D. Consumer Price Index D. Nelson Mandela
E. Goods and Services Tax E. C. Rajgopalachari

85. The sequence that contains a wrong match between

90. Which seventh century Indian mathematician was
car manufacturers and their country of origin:
the first in the world to treat 'zero' as a number and
A. Bugatti-France, Opel-Germany, Ferrari-Italy, show its mathematical operations?
Jaguar-England
A. Aryabhatta
B. Cherry Automobile-U.K, Rolls-Royce-U.K,
B. Medhatithi
Austin-U.K, Kia-Korea
C. Brahmagupta
C. First Automobile Works-China, The First Cars-
D. Bhaskaracharya
Japan, Lancia-Italy, Saab-Sweden
E. Panini
D. Volvo-Sweden, Audi-Germany, Skoda-Czech
Republic, Tatra-Austria
91. Which city houses the headquarters of International
E. Volkswagen-Germany, Audi-Germany, Opel-
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Germany, Mercedes Benz-Germany
A. Tokyo (Japan)
86. As per the Constitution, which among the following
B. Vienna (Austria)
is not a fundamental right granted to the citizens of
C. Geneva (Switzerland)
India?
D. New York (USA)
A. Right to Equality E. Brussels (Belgium)
B. Right to Freedom
C. Right Against Exploitation 92. Which Indian region is the only place in the world
D. Right to Property where the Asiatic Wild Ass is found?
E. Right to Freedom of Religion
A. Sunderban
B. Leh and Ladakh
87. Jawaharlal Nehru declared 'Poorna Swaraj' at:
C. Coromandel
A. Surat (1907)
D. Rann of Kutch
B. Belgaum (1924)
D. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
C. Lahore (1929)
D. Tripuri (1939)
93. The number of officially recognized languages
E. Calcutta (1938)
according to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian
Constitution is
88. Who among the following was known as the 'Saint
of the Gutters'? A. 22
B. 15
A. Baba Amte
C. 19
B. Mother Teresa
D. 25
C. C.F. Andrews
E. 12
D. Jyotirao Phule
E. Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak

24 | XAT – 2014
94. The ancient civilization of Sumer flourished in a D. the finance ministers of US, UK, France,
region, which is a part of the following country in the Germany, Russia, Canada and Japan
modern world: E. the heads of the states of US, UK, France,
Germany, Russia, Italy and Japan
A. Iraq
B. Syria 100. The correct match between countries and their
C. Sumeria official languages is:
D. Egypt
A. Brazil-Spanish, Barbados-English, Haiti-
E. None of the above
Portuguese, Chile-French
95. The following women have been honored with The B. Brazil-Spanish, Barbados-Portuguese, Haiti-
Nobel Peace Prize, except: French, Chile-Spanish
C. Brazil-Portuguese, Barbados-English, Haiti-
A. Mother Teresa
French, Chile-Spanish
B. Wangari Muta Maathai
D. Brazil-Portuguese, Barbados-French, Haiti-
C. Aung San Suu Kyi
Spanish, Chile-French
D. Doris Lessing
E. Brazil-Spanish, Barbados-French, Haiti-
E. Shirin Ebadi
Portuguese, Chile-Spanish
96. The correct ascending order of countries based on 101. The correct match between the following mountain
the latest Gross Domestic Product data (Purchasing ranges and their highest peaks is:
Power Parity) from IMF is:
A. Alps: Mont Blanc, Rockies-Mount Albert, Andes-
A. Brazil, Japan, India, China, USA Mount Aconcagua, Karakoram-K2
B. Germany, Japan, India, China, USA B. Alps: Mount Albert, Rockies-Aconcagua, Andes-
C. Brazil, India, Japan, China, USA Mont Blanc, Karakoram-K2
D. Germany, Russia, Japan, China, USA C. Alps: Mount Albert, Rockies-Aconcagua, Andes-
E. Russia, India, Japan, China, USA K2, Karakoram-Mont Blanc
D. Alps: Mont Blanc, Rockies-Aconcagua, Andes-
97. The distance covered in half marathon is
Mount Albert, Karakoram-K2
approximately:
E. Alps: Aconcagua, Rockies-Mount Albert, Andes-
A. 21 km Mont Blanc, Karakoram-K2
B. 42 km
C. 11 km 102. The acronym "YAHOO" stands for:
D. 7.5 km A. A song sung by Shammi Kapoor
E. 5 km B. Yet Another Hierarchical Object Orientation
C. Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle
98. The newest country in the world is:
D. Young American Hi-tech Organization in Ohio
A. Palau E. None of these
B. Kosovo
C. Eritrea 103. The list of persons not containing an RBI governor
D. East Timor is:
E. South Sudan A. Raghuram Rajan, D. Subbarao, I.G Patel, R.N
Malhotra
99. The G-7 is a group consisting of:
B. Y.V Reddy, Bimal Jalan, C. Rangarjan, S.
A. the heads of the states of US, UK, France, Venkitaraman
Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan C. Manamohan Singh, A. Ghosh, D. Subbarao, K.R
B. the finance ministers of US, UK, France, Puri
Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan D. Raghuram Rajan, D. Subbarao, Y.V Reddy,
C. the heads of the states of US, UK, France, James Taylor
Germany, Russia, Canada and Japan E. None of the above
XAT – 2014 | 25