INPUT OUTPUT Tricks

In the reasoning section, another important Topic is Input Output problems. In such types of problems, questions are asked in the form of alphabetical management, machine arrangement or arrangement of numbers. You are asked to imagine that there is some kind of computer or word processing machine and this machine performs some operation on given input. These operations are performed repeatedly as per a pre-fixed pattern and subsequently we have different output at different steps.

Machine Input/Output Solving Steps –

1. First off – don’t look at an I/O question and skip it! It maybe an easy one.
2. Look at the Input – see what you are up against. Only words/alphabets or only numbers or alpha-numeric combination.
3. Then ignore every step and go straight to the last step – now concentrate how they’ve finally arranged the input.
4. Usually the kind of arrangements we’d find are:
   (i) if only numbers – then in ascending or descending.
   (ii) words – A-Z or Z-A and as per dictionary! (pop – pope – popped!)
   (iii) alpha-numeric – is jumbled in that case you may have all the numbers together in the beginning or at the end, in ascending or descending;
   the words in the beginning or at the end, in A-Z or Z-A;
   or,
   you may have a number and a word in alternating pattern, where – the numbers will ascend or descend – and the words will have their own A-Z/Z-A pattern!
5. Whatever the pattern is – look at the last step and form an idea in your mind – ‘okay, so numbers first and then the alphabets all in descending/Z-A – fine! Got it!’
6. Then look at the first step – and identify – how they have started out with the arrangement.Are they taking a number first? If so highest or lowest number?Is the number introduced in the step from the front of the sequence or from the last?

   Same thing will apply to words too.

7. You will usually require taking note of 3-4 steps to fully identify the pattern and then you can begin with your own solving. (Don’t waste time copying the steps of the question from the screen! Does anyone do that?)
8. Note! When you have words arrangement – don’t waste time writing the entire words in your rough sheet – use only the first alphabets, and where there is more than one same first letter, then use the word’s second/third letter to differentiate.Example:Input : Risk Crab Apple Zombie Home Sailor Rikshaw
   Step 1: Risk Crab Apple Home Sailor Rickshaw Zombie
   Step 2: Risk Crab Apple Home Rickshaw Sailor Zombie
   and so on …

   you can write it as:
   Step 1: Ris C A H S Ric Z
   Step 2: Ris C A H Ric S Z

9. For question where they give a separate set of Input for every sub-question and asks you to identify if it is ‘Step III’? – Or, asks you to give the number of steps required to solve a particular input sequence – my sincerest and honest advice is – quickly solve it!There will be 100% chance of you being correct!

1. Shifting– In this type of problems, we usually shift the given words (or numbers) of the given input as per fixed pattern. Generally letters and numbers are placed in ascending or descending order, one at each step. The following example shows how this is done:

For e.g. –

Input: Ram person is a great

Step I: a Ram person is great
Step II: a great Ram person is
Step III: a great is Ram person
Step IV: a great is person Ram
Step IV is the last step.

In the above arrangement, in each step one word is arranged one step at a time from left to right in ascending alphabetical order.

2. Arrangement– In this type of questions, the words or the numbers are arranged as per a fixed order. The pattern of ordering could be:
   1. Alphabetical in case of words.
   2. Increasing or decreasing in case of numbers.
   3. According to number of consonants or vowels in each word.
   4. According to the words beginning with consonants or vowels.
   5. According to even numbers or odd numbers.

The arrangement types of questions also consist of various types of categories such as; Single shifting arrangement, Double Shifting arrangement.

(I). Single shifting arrangement – In single shifting arrangement, one word or numbers are arranged either in a left or right side in each step. The process continues till the last steps. For e.g:

Input: 22 care 59 never 87 sold 15 land house 43

Step I: care 22 59 never 87 sold 15 land house 43
Step II: care 15 22 59 never 87 sold land house 43
Step III: care 15 house 22 59 never 87 sold land 43
Step IV: care 15 house 22 land 59 never 87 sold 43
Step V: care 15 house 22 land 43 59 never 87 sold
Step VI: care 15 house 22 land 43 never 59 87 sold
Step V: care 15 house 22 land 43 never 59 sold 87
Step V is the last step of the given input.

After observing the arrangement, we can conclude that in first step; word is arranged in left side in ascending order and in second step number is arranged in left side in increasing order. The process continues till the last step.

Special Note: After arranging word “house” in step III our next arrangement will be “22”, but is already come in its place without arranging, so we will not count 22 in our next step and move to word “land” which will be arrange step IV.

The same case is repeated in step VI, after arranging the word “never” our next arrangement will be “59”, but is already come in its place without arranging, so we will not count 59 in our next step and move to word “sold” which will be arrange step V.

3. Double shifting arrangement– In double shifting arrangement, two words (or numbers) are arranged either in a left side or right side in each step. The process continues till the last steps. For e.g:

Input: more 40 great and 60 74 will

Step I: 74 more 40 great 60 will and
Step II: 74 60 more 40 will and great
Step III: 74 60 40 will and great more
Step IV: 74 60 40 and great more will
Step IV: is the last step of the arrangement of the above input as the intended rearrangement is obtained.

After observing the arrangement, we can conclude that in each steps; the numbers are arranging in decreasing order on the left end and words are arranging in alphabetic order on the right end. The process continues till the last steps.

Special note: In arrangement problems, we cannot find previous step. If Step IV or Step V is given and in question and it was asked to find the previous step, we cannot find it. So, our answer will becannot determined.

Points to Remember

For arranging the logic of arrangement you are advised to follow a certain things.

Have a glance at the first and the last step. This will give you a rough idea of what really happened in between the steps.

1. Have a quick glance at every step to know how this is being carried out.
2. Rearrange the given input step by step or if required move from final step to the input.