Olympiad Notes: Odd One Out | Science Olympiad Class 6 PDF Download

Introduction

• Picking the “Odd one out” is an activity designed to develop a learner’s observation, application, and analytical skills.
• A puzzle (generally images) for the students to find out, with four answer options and in that any three of the options would be similar and the remaining option would be different.
• The answer options would vary on the basis of color, shape, size, quantity, category (vegetables, fruits, various types of things, vehicles, animals, and it goes on...)

What is 'Odd one out'?

• The 'Odd-one-out' is a concept that activates children’s thinking ability around a certain area or subject that is given in a bit of a confusing manner with similar objects or texts.
• To correctly identify the odd one out, children need to develop their logical thinking in classifying those objects (or set of options) based on known concepts.
• Children need to differentiate the objects and circle the odd one from each set.

This activity has the following pattern:

• Observe the objects
• Identify the common features
• recognize the one with the least common features
• spot that as the odd one out!

The objects can belong to many categories with varying difficulty levels.

To identify the odd one out follows the following pattern:

• Observe the objects carefully
• Describe the objects
• Identify the similarities
• Identify the one which is different or dissimilar

This will help the child develop vocabulary and develop keen observation to identify, classify and analyze.

To begin with, let's start with a simple example -

Finally, let each child conclude by locating the odd one out and explain their reason behind their solution.
For example, find the odd one out in the following things.

Carrot is the ‘odd one out’ as it belongs to the vegetable family. All other options belong to the fruit family.

Let’s see some practical examples to understand better. 

1. Birthday

Take an example of a classroom of 20 students both boys and girls. One of the students, Vedanth, celebrates his birthday on Aug 7th and so he is not wearing his uniform. Hence he is an ‘Odd One Out’ in that classroom.

Likewise, any birthday boy or birthday girl becomes an ‘odd one out’ on their birthday. If more than one student celebrates a birthday then they all become the odd ones out.

2. Ring Finger

• Look at this girl”s hands. Which finger is the odd one? 
• The finger wearing a ring is the ‘odd one out’ among her five right-hand fingers.

Examples

Example: Select the odd one out in the group 

Ans:

• 1st row - Juice is the odd one out as it is a liquid drink. Other items are snacks and solid ones.
• 2nd row - Carrot is the odd one out as it belongs to the vegetable family. Other items belong to the fruit family.
• 3rd row - Umbrella is the odd one out. All other items are hats that are worn on the head. Umbrella is not worn but is held in the hand during extremely sunny or rainy days.
• 4th row - Helmet is the odd one out. The remaining 3 options are vehicles that are used to drive. Helmets are worn over the head for safety while driving.
• 5th row - Crab is the odd one out. The other 3 options belong to the fish family.

Example 1: Pick the odd ones out on the basis of shape, nature, color, size, difference, quantity etc

Ans: Book is the ‘odd one out’ as it is made up of paper. The other 3 options are electronic means of communication.

Example 2: Choose the odd number.
(A) 4
(B) 6 
(C) 9
(D) 10Ans: 9 is the ‘odd one out’ as it is an odd number and 4, 6, and 10 are even numbers.

Example 3: Choose the odd option.
(A) 9 – 4
(B) 6 – 1
(C) 8 – 3
(D) 7 – 1

Ans: 7-1 is the ‘odd one out’ as the result of subtraction fact 7 - 1 is 6. All the other 3 subtraction facts give a result as number 5.

Example 4: Choose the odd option.

Ans: ‘S’ is the ‘odd one out’ as it is written using a curved line and the other three letters are written using straight lines.

Example 5: Select the odd one out in the group 

Ans: Gloves set is the ‘odd one out’ as it is worn on hands. The remaining 3 items are worn in the legs.

Example 6: Choose the odd option.

Ans: Hammer is the ‘odd one out’ as it is a tool that is used for mending. Other options are cutlery items used in the kitchen.

Example 7: Select the odd one out in the following 

Ans: Option C is the ‘odd one out’. In the other 3 images, the number of sides of the image is equal to the number of equal parts drawn inside the circle of the same image. Only in option C, the bigger image [Pentagon] has 5 sides but the circle inside the Pentagon has 4 equal parts.

Odd Words – Type I

Here we will try and get acquainted with the several types of problems that a candidate is expected to come across while appearing for many graduate levels banking exams like IBPS PO, SBI PO, and other relevant exams. There are several rules or methods that can be used to group words together and thus there are several types of questions that can be asked in the Odd Words category. Here we will mainly focus on those types of categories that are relevant with respect to the reasoning ability tests. Let us see our first example:

Example 1: Classify the following words:
(a) Arrow
(b) Axe
(c) Knife
(d) Dagger
(e) Sword
Ans: (a)
They are all weapons. Try and think of a difference that they have. What can be done with an axe or a dagger that can’t be done with the others? Well, an arrow can be used from a distance. The rest of the weapons are short range. They must be used very close to the target. Thus the arrow has a remarkable difference from the others and hence is the odd word out.

Odd Words – Type II

In the above section, we saw words could be arranged on the basis of certain properties. But what if the words don’t mean anything? What if they are just a collection of letters? That is actually easier as it takes a lot of rules off the table. You no longer have to worry about the meaning or the use or even the way the words are pronounced, rather you can just focus on the patterns. Let us see this with the help of an example:

Example 2: Try to find the odd one out:
(A) ZXUQ
(B) GEBX
(C) QOLH
(D) ACFJ
Ans: (d) 
The rule here is that the first two letters have a gap of one letter between them e.g. Z and X have one letter between them and so does A and C and Q and O and so on. Now let us check the second and the third letters of the same rule. We find that the second and the third letter in all the words have two letter gap in between them. Similarly the third and the fourth letter have a three letter gap in between. This is true for all the options! But the first three options follow the rule in reverse order. The last option follows the natural flow of the English alphabet. Therefore, the odd word out here is ACFJ.

Be very careful with the group and classify objects. Don’t create a rule. For example consider the following words: Gold, ornaments, and silver. What is the relation? Well, you might argue that ornaments are made up of gold and silver and thus the three are related. But that is not true. Ornaments may be made from any material which is different than gold and silver. The relation here is that gold and silver are metals and ornaments may or may not be metallic. So if you have to pick an odd word from the three, you should pick ornaments.

Odd Words – Type III

Example 3: Select the odd word from the following:
A) Apple Tree
B) Flowers
C) Pine tree
D) Fruits
Ans: (c)
This example clearly highlights the defects of overthinking or making a relationship where there is none. What have you guessed? Is it flower or fruits? It is none of these two. In fact, the answer to this is C) Pine tree. An apple tree grows flowers which then turn to fruits (apples). However, a pine tree is a gymnosperm and doesn’t bear flowers. Hence the odd one out here is C) Pine tree.