CAT 50 Day Streak – Day 17
30 questions across VARC, DILR & QA · +3 for a correct answer · −1 for a wrong MCQ · no negative marking for TITA
VARC · Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
The term “superfood,” originally coined in the 60s to describe foods capable of fighting malnutrition, has seen a significant change in meaning since the 2000s, becoming a target for marketing strategies. Nowadays, no specific scientific standards define what constitutes a superfood, but the term generally refers to a group of nutrient-dense foods and bioactive compounds with positive effects on human health. In various religious traditions, there are narratives of foods with “miraculous effects”. A well-known example is manna, described in the Old Testament as food provided by God to men during the exodus from Egypt. Manna is actually the sugary sap of plants of the genus Fraxinus, in particular Fraxinus ornus. Foods such as honey, almonds and olives are mentioned in the Bible and appreciated for their nutritional properties, while the Quran contains accounts of miracles linked to food performed by prophets, and Hindu scriptures recount divine food in times of need.
Aside from the metaphysical aspects of recalling symbolic episodes or imitating the Divine, there are certainly traditions of foods that lie outside of sacred texts. For instance, traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena has been administered by the spoonful to children, as well as cooked must, fruit compotes, and preserves are other examples of foods enjoyed on special festive occasions. The variety of foods considered superfoods varies globally. In some cultures, local berries and fruits are preferred, while in others, fatty fish or whole grains are valued. This diversity shows that the definition of superfood fits the dietary needs of each culture.
In the most current sense, from a compositional perspective, a superfood is characterized by its “high nutritional density,” in terms of vitamins and other essential nutrients, minerals, soluble fibers, amino acid analogues like L-theanine, as well as bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity. Superfoods consumption is often associated with a reduction in the risk of chronic diseases, non-communicable diseases, and support for the immune and cognitive systems. In addition, many superfoods are minimally processed, thus maintaining nutritional quality and facilitating their integration into the daily diet.
Garlic and ginger are widely regarded as superfoods due to their health properties. Garlic, rich in allicin, has antithrombotic, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects, contributing to reduced LDL cholesterol and blood pressure. Ginger, containing gingerol, relieves pain and inflammation, improving motor skills. Red yeast rice (or red fermented rice), rich in monacolin K, is another superfood known for its effect in controlling LDL cholesterol.
In recent times, the pandemic has increased interest in foods capable of boosting immunity and protecting against pathogens. This list includes foods such as ginseng, eleuthero (also known as Siberian ginseng or devil’s bush), echinacea, goji berries, aloe vera, turmeric, gingko, or individual molecules such as quercetin (a flavonoid found in many plants) and chloroquine (a synthetic derivative of quinine, a natural alkaloid originally extracted from the bark of the Andean plant Cinchona, known and used as a medication with antipyretic, antimalarial and analgesic properties). These foods are considered as potential panaceas in extreme situations. In this context, superfoods can represent not only a nutritional option but also a way to address public health challenges.
The passage moves in stages. It starts with the 1960s coinage and religious “miraculous” foods, then covers cultural food traditions and the modern compositional definition. It ends with examples and the pandemic-era public-health role. That is a trace of how the concept evolved.
A: marketing gets one passing mention, and the author never argues it misled anyone. C: the examples are illustrative, not a comprehensive verified list. D: the passage shows continuity across eras rather than setting them against each other.
The pandemic list includes chloroquine, which the author explicitly calls “a synthetic derivative of quinine”. The author then says “these foods are considered as potential panaceas in extreme situations.” So a synthetic compound is grouped with superfoods because it is seen as a panacea in a crisis.
A contradicts “no specific scientific standards” and the point that definitions vary by culture. B is never claimed. D: the author presents the benefits of garlic and ginger as real physiological effects.
Chloroquine is a synthetic medication, yet it appears on the same list as ginseng, goji berries and turmeric. Its presence shows how, in a crisis, the search for a cure-all erases the line between foods and drugs.
B: the passage doesn’t use chloroquine to challenge the nutrient-density definition. C may be literally true, but it isn’t why the inclusion is significant. D: there is no comparison of effectiveness.
Detailed solution coming soon.
- And with mostly tepid attempts to slash greenhouse gas emissions, researchers are scrambling for realistic ways to pull carbon out of the atmosphere.
- Now a growing number of scientists and entrepreneurs are trying a vastly simpler approach: collecting truckloads of logs, branches, wood chips and sawdust, and burying them.
- If carbon dioxide is buried under just a few yards of dirt—where bacteria no longer have the oxygen they need to break down woody tissues—however, none or very little of it is released.
- Humanity has only so much time to limit global warming and minimize the severity of future climate disasters.
- Flashy, high-tech proposals that promise to vacuum pollutants out of the sky, or to scrub them from smokestacks before they hit the atmosphere, have attracted attention and investment—but are falling far short of expectations.
The coherent paragraph is 4 → 1 → 5 → 2:
- 4: Time to limit warming is short.
- 1: “And” with tepid emission cuts, researchers seek ways to pull carbon out.
- 5: Flashy high-tech proposals are falling short.
- 2: “Now” a vastly simpler approach: burying wood.
Sentence 3 begins with “however” but has nothing to contrast with, and it talks about burying “carbon dioxide”. It also explains a mechanism (bacteria lacking oxygen) that the others don’t set up.
D covers the cause (falling fossil-fuel demand), the shift (to plastics), the consequence (serious climate risk) and the example (Formosa in “Cancer Alley”).
A contradicts the claim that plastics emissions will outpace coal. B reverses the passage: plastics production is rising, not falling. C: the passage says stopping Formosa is “just part” of the problem, so it isn’t the sole contributor.
“Less is known, however, about … adolescence and beyond” needs an earlier statement about what is well known. The sentence about early childhood provides exactly that contrast, so it opens the paragraph.
At blanks 2–4 the paragraph has already moved on to the author’s adolescent research, where a remark about early childhood would be out of place.
- The CCA made collapsible shipping boxes, and it transformed packaging into a science and an art.
- Cardboard’s ubiquity rests on simple claims: I can hold that, and I can go there.
- It advanced market research, shaped mid-century taste, and altered the chromatic universe through color standards.
- The Container Corporation of America was founded in 1926, and upon those claims, it built an empire with surprising reach.
The order runs like this:
- 2: Cardboard rests on simple claims.
- 4: The Container Corporation of America (full name introduced) built an empire “upon those claims”.
- 1: “The CCA” (abbreviation, so after 4) made collapsible boxes.
- 3: “It” also advanced market research, taste and colour standards, showing the “surprising reach”.
- There is in development a technology much like Pandora’s jar.
- The original Greek story describes it as a terracotta jar.
- The Gods have bestowed upon her a bounty of blessings to the point where her very name means “the one who bears all gifts”.
- Pandora herself is, according to the Greek myth, the first woman on Earth.
- Pandora’s box, a term we now use to describe an object that brings great and unexpected consequences, was not a box at all.
The coherent paragraph is 5 → 2 → 4 → 3:
- 5: Pandora’s box was not a box at all.
- 2: The original story describes “it” as a terracotta jar.
- 4: Pandora “herself” was the first woman.
- 3: The Gods gave “her” many blessings; her name means “all gifts”.
Sentence 1 jumps to a modern technology. The paragraph stays within the myth and never makes that comparison.
- The central bank has already made an unprecedented half-point rate cut in September, lowering the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%.
- There is some debate, however, about how quickly the Fed should continue lowering rates.
- This aggressive move was unusual for an economy in expansion, signaling the Fed’s commitment to managing inflation while balancing economic growth.
- While a quarter-point rate cut in both the November and December meetings seems likely, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic has expressed openness to pausing rate cuts altogether at the next meeting.
The order runs like this:
- 1: The Fed made a half-point cut in September.
- 3: “This aggressive move” was unusual in an expanding economy.
- 2: “However”, there is debate about how fast to keep cutting.
- 4: The two sides of that debate: likely quarter-point cuts vs Bostic’s openness to a pause.
DILR · Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning
Eight teams - DC, GT, KKR, LSG, PBKS, RCB, RR and SRH participated in a cricket tournament. The teams were divided into two groups - Group A and Group B. In league matches, each team in a group played two matches against every other team in the group. The top two teams from each group reached the semifinals. In case of a tie in points, the team having the better run-rate was ranked higher. In the semi-finals, the team ranked first in a group played against the team ranked second in the other group. The final was played between the winners of the two semi-finals.
- None of the matches ended in a tie.
- No team won all the league matches while exactly two teams lost all the league matches.
- DC, GT, KKR and PBKS qualified for semifinals.
- In Group A, teams that qualified for the semi finals won equal number of matches, which was higher than the number of matches won by other teams in the group.
- In Group B, all the teams won different number of matches. In this group, the team ranked first at the end of league matches did not lose to the team ranked second.
- Out of GT, LSG and DC, two teams were in one group while the third team was in the other group.
- SRH lost to LSG in both league matches. LSG lost to DC in both league matches.
- RCB lost to RR in both league matches. RR won at least one match against two other teams.
- Toppers in both groups lost in the semifinals.
- Groups. SRH played LSG, and LSG played DC, so DC, LSG and SRH share a group, and GT is in the other. RCB and RR played each other, so they are with GT. Each group has 2 qualifiers, so one of KKR/PBKS (call it X) joins DC, and the other (Y) joins GT.
- Zero-win teams. Two teams that lost everything can’t share a group (they play each other), so there is one per group. In DC’s group it must be SRH (LSG beat SRH; DC and X qualified). In GT’s group it must be RCB. Each team in a group then gets 2 wins against its zero-win team, and the other 6 matches decide the rest. Each group has 12 matches.
- GT’s group can’t be Group A. RR beat RCB twice and won at least once more, so RR ≥ 3. GT + Y + RR = 12 with GT = Y > RR has no solution (RR = 4 makes all equal). So DC’s group is Group A.
- Group A. DC = 2 + 2 (beat LSG twice) + d, LSG = 2 + l, X = 2 + (2 − d) + (2 − l), where d and l are wins against X. DC = X gives 2d + l = 2. With LSG lower: d = 1, l = 0. So DC 5, X 5, LSG 2, SRH 0.
- Group B. All different, RR ≥ 3, and GT and Y above RR, summing to 12: RR = 3 and GT, Y are 4 and 5.
| Group A | Wins | Group B | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC | 5 | GT / Y (KKR or PBKS) | 5 and 4 |
| X (KKR or PBKS) | 5 | RR | 3 |
| LSG | 2 | RCB | 0 |
| SRH | 0 |
LSG won only its 2 matches against SRH: 2.
From Q11, PBKS could be X in Group A (5 wins) or Y in Group B (4 or 5 wins). So PBKS won either 4 or 5.
Group A is definitely DC, LSG, SRH plus one of KKR/PBKS. Since KKR’s and PBKS’s groups are undecided, only DC and SRH are certain.
Both group toppers lost their semis, so finalist GT must be second in Group B with 4 wins, and Y is first with 5.
The topper Y did not lose to GT, so Y won both matches against GT. GT’s 4 wins are then 2 against RCB + 2 against RR. So GT won both matches against RR (RR’s third win came against Y).
- A: PBKS may be in Group A and never play GT ✗
- B: The second-ranked team in Group B has 4 wins ✗
- C: KKR and PBKS are in different groups and never meet ✗
- D: RR has exactly 3 wins in every case ✓
In a dance competition, there were four participants, P1, P2, P3 and P4, and three judges, J1, J2 and J3. Each performer performed two dances – D1 and D2.
Table 1 gives the average points given to the four participants by the three judges:
| P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J1 | 6 | 6.5 | 9 | 9.5 |
| J2 | 5.5 | 6 | 6.5 | 9 |
| J3 | 7 | 5 | 4.5 | 6.5 |
Table 2 shows the lowest and the highest points received by the participants from the judges on their two dances:
| P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | (3,7) | (4,9) | (2,9) | (6,10) |
| D2 | (4,9) | (1,8) | (7,9) | (7,10) |
Table 3 shows the minimum, the maximum and the average points given by the judges to the two dances of the four participants:
| J1 | J2 | J3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | (3,9), 6.5 | (4,10), 6.25 | (2,9), 5.75 |
| D2 | (8,10), 9 | (4,9), 7.25 | (1,8), 5.75 |
- Totals. Table 1 × 2 gives each judge’s D1 + D2 total per participant. Table 3 × 4 gives each judge’s total per dance: J1 26/36, J2 25/29, J3 23/23.
- J1. All D2 scores are 8–10. For P3, the total is 18 and D2 ≤ 9, so D1 = D2 = 9. For P4, the total is 19 and D1 ≤ 9, so D1 = 9, D2 = 10. For P2, D2 ≤ 8, so D2 = 8 and D1 = 5. The D2 total of 36 gives P1 D2 = 9, so P1 D1 = 3.
- P1. J3’s total is 14 with D2 ≤ 8, so J3’s D1 ≥ 6. With D1 ≤ 7 (P1’s max), J3’s D2 ≥ 7. P1’s D2 minimum of 4 must then come from J2, so J2 gives 4 (D2) and 7 (D1).
- P3. J3’s total is 9 with D2 ≥ 7 and D1 ≥ 2, so J3 gives 2 (D1) and 7 (D2).
- P4. J2’s D2 ≤ 9, so J2’s D1 ≥ 9. D1 needs both a 6 and a 10, so J2 gives 10 and J3 gives 6. That leaves J2 D2 = 8 and J3 D2 = 7.
- J2 rest. The D2 total gives P2 + P3 = 17, and someone must score 9, but P2’s D2 ≤ 8. So P3 gets 9 and P2 gets 8. Their D1 scores are then 4 and 4.
- J3 rest. The D1 total gives P1 + P2 = 15. P2’s D1 needs a 9, so J3 gives P2 9 and P1 6. Then D2: P1 = 8 and P2 = 1.
| Judge · Dance | P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J1 · D1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 9 |
| J1 · D2 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| J2 · D1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| J2 · D2 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| J3 · D1 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 6 |
| J3 · D2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
J3 gave P1 8 points for D2.
J1’s total for P2 is 13. P2’s D2 is capped at 8, and J1’s D2 scores are at least 8, so D2 = 8 and D1 = 5.
J2’s D2 maximum of 9 must go to P3 (P2 is capped at 8). J2’s total for P3 is 13, so D1 = 13 − 9 = 4.
J3 gave P4 a 6 for D1 (P4’s D1 minimum), and J3’s total for P4 is 13. So D2 = 13 − 6 = 7.
J1’s eight scores are 3, 5, 9, 9 (D1) and 9, 8, 9, 10 (D2). The score 9 appears four times, so the mode is 9.
QA · Quantitative Ability
First wrong equation (b wrong, so a and c are correct): equal roots r, r, so the true product αβ = c/a = r2.
Second wrong equation (c wrong, so a and b are correct): roots r and 2r, so the true sum α + β = −b/a = 3r.
(α − β)2 = (α + β)2 − 4αβ = 9r2 − 4r2 = 5r2 = 5αβ.
Lime in the first solution = 50x3 + x. For x = 4 to 9, this is a whole number only when x = 7 (350/10 = 35). So soda = 15 L.
Total soda = 40% of 150 = 60 L, so the second solution has 60 − 15 = 45 L of soda in 100 L. y = 45.
Let t = 21/3, so x − 2 = t + t2.
(x − 2)3 = t3 + t6 + 3t3(t + t2) = 2 + 4 + 6(x − 2) = 6x − 6.
So x3 − 6x2 + 12x − 8 = 6x − 6, which gives x3 − 6x2 + 6x = 2.
n4 − 1 = (n − 1)(n + 1)(n2 + 1). For an odd prime n, this is divisible by 16. It is also divisible by 3 (one of n − 1, n + 1 is a multiple of 3) and by 5 (Fermat: n4 ≡ 1 mod 5). So 240 always divides it.
Check: 74 − 1 = 2400 and 114 − 1 = 14640, and HCF(2400, 14640) = 240. So the HCF is 240.
With m main courses and 2m starters, the number of dinners = 3 × 2m × m = 6m2 ≥ 365.
m = 7 gives 294 (too few). m = 8 gives 384 ✓. Least m = 8.
an = log2002 n. So b = log2002(2·3·4·5) = log2002 120, and c = log2002(10·11·12·13·14) = log2002 240240.
c − b = log2002(240240/120) = log2002 2002 = 1.
Let A and B take p and q seconds per metre.
Race 1: 540q = 600p + 10. Race 2: 600p = 450q + 5.
Adding the two: 90q = 15, so q = 1/6. Then 600p = 75 + 5 = 80, so p = 2/15.
A’s speed = 7.5 m/s.
Line 1: y = x/2 + 1 meets x + y = 10 at (6, 4). Line 2: y = 2x − 2 meets it at (4, 6).
The vertices are (2, 2), (6, 4), (4, 6). Area = ½ |4 × 4 − 2 × 2| = ½ × 12 = 6.
CSA : TSA = 2πRh : 2πR(h + R) = h : (h + R) = 2 : 5, so h = 2R3.
Volumes are equal: πR2 × 2R3 = 23π × 213, so R = 21 cm.
Third-year interest = 21840 − 13200 = 8640. This is r × (P + 13200).
Also P[(1 + r)2 − 1] = 13200. Trying r = 20%: P × 0.44 = 13200 gives P = 30000. Check: 0.2 × 43200 = 8640 ✓.
Principal = Rs 30000.
Correct: 0 · Wrong: 0 · Accuracy: 0%
Keep the streak alive. See you tomorrow for Day 18.
