CAT 2025 Slot 2 VARC Question & Solution
Question
Five jumbled sentences (labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5), related to a topic, are given below. Four of them can be put together to form a coherent paragraph. Identify the odd sentence out and key in the number of that sentence as your answer.
1. Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant.
2. New research suggests exposure to some common perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Pfas) cause changes to gene activity and that these changes are linked to health problems including multiple cancers, neurological disorders and autoimmune disease.
3. These Pfas compounds are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment.
4. The research may also point toward other diseases potentially caused by Pfas that have not yet been identified.
5. The findings are a major step toward determining the mechanism by which the chemicals cause disease and could help doctors identify, detect and treat health problems for those exposed to Pfas before the issues advance.
Solution
Identifying the Odd Sentence Out
The given sentences discuss new scientific research on PFAS. Overall, they focus on:
- What PFAS are
- What the new research reveals about their health effects
- Why these findings are important for medicine and disease detection
The central theme is the research itself, its implications, and how it may help identify diseases in the future.
Establishing the Logical Flow
The sentences that fit well together follow this sequence:
2 → 1 → 4 → 5
Let’s understand why this order works:
- Sentence 2 introduces the new research and its key claim linking gene activity to health problems.
- Sentence 1 provides necessary background, explaining what PFAS are and why they are commonly used.
- Sentence 4 builds on the research by suggesting that PFAS may be linked to additional, as-yet-unidentified diseases.
- Sentence 5 concludes by explaining why these findings are important, especially for understanding diseases and improving early detection and treatment.
Together, these sentences form a coherent discussion centered on research, health implications, and medical relevance.
Why Sentence 3 Is the Odd One Out
- Sentence 3 explains why PFAS are called “forever chemicals”, focusing on their persistence in the environment.
- While this information is factually correct:
- It does not connect to gene activity, disease discovery, or medical impact.
- None of the other sentences develops or refers to this idea.
As a result, sentence 3 feels like extra background information that does not support the main argument.