Olympiad Logical Reasoning Practice | Master Mental Ability

Why start now

Everything else on the paper has a chapter. This part doesn't.

The maths on an olympiad paper is the student's own syllabus, met in class, practised at home, revised from the textbook. Then the paper begins with a section on patterns, figures and relationships that has no chapter in the class textbook.

That section is a skill, not a subject. It grows the way skills grow (a little each day, spread over months), and none of it is memorised, so there is no list of facts to lose the week after the exam.

It is also the same thinking the NMMS Mental Ability paper tests, and the same thinking the reasoning sections of later exams (SSC, banking, railways) ask for. Worth starting early, for reasons much larger than one olympiad.

Start free in your browserOr get the Android app

Google Play

Indus Appstore

What · the exam

Fifty questions. Fifteen of them are a skill.

Three sections of the IMO paper are the class syllabus in another form. One is a reasoning section with no chapter of its own.

The school half

Sections 2, 3 and 4 · the syllabus

35 questions · 45 marks

Mathematical Reasoning: 20 questions
Everyday Mathematics: 10 questions
Achievers Section: 5 questions, 3 marks each
All of it drawn from the class syllabus

Revised the ordinary way: class textbook, SOF's own sample papers.

The trained half

Section 1 · Logical Reasoning

15 questions · 15 marks · first on the paper

Patterns, analogy and classification
Direction sense, ranking and alphabet test
Mirror and water images, geometrical shapes
Coding-decoding, puzzles, clock and calendar

These are the topics SOF's Class 5 syllabus names. For Classes 6-10 it says only "Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning".

Concepts this exam tests

From the official syllabus, SOF's IMO syllabus, Section 1, Classes 3 to 5: “Coding-Decoding”, “Alphabet Test”, “Ranking Test”, “Clock and Calendar”, “Mirror and Water Images”.

Topics its syllabus names, in the app

From the official syllabus, SOF's IMO syllabus, Section 1, Classes 3 to 5: “Coding-Decoding”, “Ranking Test”, “Clock and Calendar”.

How · train the section

A section with no chapter is trained, not revised.

You can't read your way into Logical Reasoning. It's a thinking skill, built by practising the right questions, the right amount, over time, verbal and non-verbal both, which is exactly the pair SOF names in its own syllabus, and exactly what Master Mental Ability trains.

◎

Adapts to the student

Harder as they improve, easier when they slip. No time wasted on what they've already got.

↻

Back before you forget

Spaced repetition returns a question right as it's about to fade, so it's still there on exam day.

✎

Solve first, then see

They reason it out before the answer shows. That effort is where recognition gets built.

☁

Calm before the clock

A moment to settle before each session. The same calm an exam hall takes away.

What this doesn't cover: we train the Logical Reasoning section, and only that. Mathematical Reasoning, Everyday Mathematics, Science and the Achievers Section are school subjects and school work, best revised with the class textbook and SOF's own sample papers. And not every olympiad has this section: IMO carries 15 Logical Reasoning questions for Classes 5 to 10, ISO and ICSO carry 10 each, and IEO, IGKO, ISSO, ICO and IHO have none at all. In NSTSE, the comparable Critical Thinking section is 5 questions of 60.

Works offline on Android

Practice anywhere. On Android, practice itself needs no internet.

On Android, all the questions live on your phone, so after install, daily practice costs zero data. The app needs the internet once to start, then at least once a week. In the web app, on a phone or computer, you practise in the browser while you are online.

Android works offline Full-screen web practice Progress saved online Zero data during practice

Try without an account

In the browser: no account, no card, no install. Solve one full session, then decide.

Start free in your browserOr get the Android app

Google Play

Indus Appstore

Built by

In 2007, in his second year at IIT Delhi, Vineesh wrote a book: Master Mental Ability in 30 Days. It has sold year after year ever since, without the publisher ever marketing it.

In the years since, he built other learning products and spent a decade working with children of every background in a holistic learning centre.

This app goes far beyond that book: everything he's learned about how people actually learn, built into something you practise, not just read.

More about us →

No risk to you

Don't trust us. See it work.

Try free

Solve a full session, no registration. Decide nothing yet.

Register

Like it? Sign up and get 15 days free. No payment, no auto-debit.

Practise daily

Fifteen minutes a day on patterns, analogies, coding and mirror images: Section 1's 15 questions, a quarter of the marks on the paper.

Share to keep learning free

Invite a friend preparing for the SOF Olympiads: you both earn more free days.

Your questions

Common questions

Is it really free? Will money get taken from my account?

Free to try: no signup to start, no card, no auto-debit, nothing taken silently. When you want the full library there are three plans, by length: ₹499 for three months, ₹699 for six, ₹999 for a year. Each is a single payment for that period, not a subscription. When it ends we ask you, and nothing is ever taken automatically. You can also keep learning free by sharing the app, and you can always try before paying anything.

Is this app enough to prepare for the Olympiad?

No, and it isn't meant to be. We train the Logical Reasoning section. The maths, science and Achievers questions are school subjects, best revised from the class textbook and SOF's own sample papers. The same honesty applies to NSTSE: its Critical Thinking section is 5 questions of 60, the same kind of thinking, but a small part of that paper, and we'd rather say so than sell you something.

Which SOF olympiads have a Logical Reasoning section?

IMO carries the most: 15 questions for Classes 5 to 10, and 10 for Classes 1 to 4. ISO and ICSO carry 10 for Classes 5 to 10. IEO, IGKO, ISSO, ICO and IHO have no Logical Reasoning section at all, so this app won't help with those papers.

There's very little time before the exam. Is this any use?

Some. A little practice is still more than none. But be honest about what an hour for fifty questions means: recognition is built over months, not in a week. Start anyway. This section returns every session, and the reasoning papers after school (SSC, banking, railways) ask for the same thing.

Is the app in Hindi?

Yes, fully. Choose Hindi and the whole app is Hindi: the questions themselves, the options, and the explanation after each one, not an English app with Hindi labels around it. Worth knowing either way: SOF publishes its own syllabus and sample papers in English.

How much internet does it need?

On the Android app, very little. The questions are on your phone, so you can practise on a train, in a village with no signal, on a phone with no data pack. It needs the internet once to start, then at least once a week to keep your access active; that is also when your progress is saved online. If it goes longer than a week without connecting, practice pauses until it does, and nothing is lost. The web app needs a connection while you practise.

When are the SOF olympiads, and how do we register?

Through the school, and only on SOF's own website, sofworld.org. Never through an agent and never through us. SOF publishes an exam schedule each session with the Level 1 dates, and schools register their students. NSTSE is separate and registers through unifiedcouncil.com.

Still have a question about the Olympiads or the app? Message us on WhatsApp →

Olympiad Logical Reasoning: the section that opens the paper

Logical Reasoning in IMO, Classes 5-10