SSC CGL 2025 PYQs

Concept: A composite number has more than two factors; among digits 0–9 only 4, 6, 8, 9 are composite.

1. 123: 1 is neither prime nor composite; 2, 3 are prime ✗
2. 257: all prime ✗; 309: 3 prime, 0 neither ✗
3. 468: 4, 6, 8 are all composite ✓

Trick: Any number containing 0, 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 is out at once — only 4, 6, 8, 9 can appear.

Answer: (B) 468

Concept: Group the words by biological class.

1. Cow, lion, sheep – mammals (give birth, feed young on milk).
2. Pigeon – a bird (lays eggs, has feathers).

Trick: Three of them have four legs; the pigeon has two legs and wings.

Answer: (B) Pigeon

Concept: Letters common to two words share the digits common to their codes (order may be jumbled).

1. BAKE (4523) & BORE (5927): common B, E ↔ 5, 2. RICE (1298) & BORE: common R, E ↔ 9, 2 ⇒ E = 2, B = 5, R = 9, O = 7.
2. CALB (8465) & BAKE: common A, B ↔ 4, 5 ⇒ A = 4, so K = 3.
3. RICE leaves I, C ↔ 1, 8; CALB leaves C, L ↔ 8, 6 ⇒ C = 8, L = 6.
4. LKO = 6, 3, 7.

Trick: You only need L, K, O: K = 3 alone rules out options A and C; O = 7 then picks 637.

Answer: (B) 637

Concept: Find the shift from the first pair and repeat it on the second.

1. G → I and H → J: each letter moves 2 places ahead.
2. M + 2 = O, N + 2 = P ⇒ OP.

Trick: Both pairs are consecutive letters, so the answer must also be a consecutive pair — only OP and PQ qualify; M+2 = O picks OP.

Answer: (A) OP

Concept: Spot that the numbers are perfect cubes of consecutive integers.

1. $27=3^3$, $64=4^3$ → $n^3:(n+1{)}^3$.
2. $125=5^3$ → next is $6^3=216$.

Trick: Learn cubes 1–20; 125 → 216 is the well-known $5^3\to 6^3$ pair.

Answer: (D) 216

Concept: Compare the second number with powers of the first.

1. ${16}^3=4096$; $4112-4096=16$ ⇒ rule: $n^3+n$.
2. ${14}^3=2744$; $2744+14=2758$.

Trick: Unit digit check: ${14}^3$ ends in 4, adding 14 makes it end in 8 — only 2758 ends in 8.

Answer: (A) 2758

Concept: A valid course of action is practical, reasonable and actually reduces the problem.

1. 1: Incentives for public transport reduce private vehicles and emissions — practical ✓
2. 2: Moving ALL industries and vehicles out of cities is impossible and would cripple city life ✗

Trick: Words like 'all', 'ban', 'shut down completely' usually signal an extreme, non-following action.

Answer: (A) Only 1 follows

Concept: Start with the clue that fixes a floor directly, then fill the rest.

1. Wipro: floor neither even nor prime → among 1–8 only 1 (1 is not prime). So Wipro = 1.
2. HCL = 7, Vodafone even and not on 6 or 8 → 2 or 4. Flipkart = Jio + 2 with ≥ 2 floors above ⇒ Flipkart ≤ 6.
3. Jio 4, Flipkart 6, Vodafone 2; Whatsapp/Chrome on 3 & 5; Amazon 8.

Trick: Odd non-prime numbers up to 8 are only 1 — the 'neither even nor prime' clue answers this question instantly.

Answer: (C) Wipro

Concept: A conclusion follows only if it is true in every possible diagram.

1. Cats lie fully inside animals; mammals overlap animals only partly — the mammal part can avoid cats, so I is not definite.
2. Some animals are mammals ⇒ only 'some mammals are animals'; 'All mammals are animals' cannot be derived. II fails.

Trick: Draw one counter-diagram: mammals touching animals but outside cats, and partly outside animals — both conclusions break.

Answer: (D) Neither I nor II follows

Concept: Some + All gives Some; All + No gives No.

1. Some A are B + All B are C ⇒ Some A are C. I ✓
2. All B are C + No C is D ⇒ No B is D, hence some B are surely not D. II ✓

Trick: Rule table: Some + All = Some; All + No = No. 'No B is D' always implies 'Some B are not D'.

Answer: (C) Both I and II follow

Concept: Find the common category shared by three of the landmarks.

1. Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China are in the New Seven Wonders list (2007); the Leaning Tower of Pisa appears in the traditional 'Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages'.
2. The Eiffel Tower (Paris, 1889) is in no such wonders list.

Yaad rakhein: Taj Mahal is India's only entry in the New 7 Wonders (2007).

Answer: (A) Eiffel Tower

Concept: nth term of an AP: $a_n=a+(n-1)d$.

1. $a=10$, $d=5$.
2. $a_{11}=10+(11-1)\times 5=10+50=60$.

Trick: Every term here is $5\times (n+1)$, so the 11th term $=5\times 12=60$.

Answer: (A) 60

Concept: Track the first and second letters of each pair separately.

1. First letters D, G, J, M (+3) → P.
2. Second letters E, H, K, N (+3) → Q. Answer: PQ.

Trick: Each pair is two consecutive letters, so only PQ (consecutive) can fit among the options.

Answer: (C) PQ

Concept: Two operations repeat alternately.

1. 18 ×2 = 36, −2 = 34, ×2 = 68, −2 = 66, ×2 = 132.
2. Next step is −2: $132-2=130$.

Trick: Even positions are doubles; after a doubled term the series always drops by 2.

Answer: (A) 130

Concept: Each letter of the word is replaced by the next letter of the alphabet.

1. C→D, A→B, T→U (+1 each).
2. MAT: M→N, A→B, T→U ⇒ NBU.

Trick: CAT and MAT share 'AT', so the code must end in 'BU' like DBU — only NBU fits.

Answer: (A) NBU

Concept: Both letters of each pair advance by one place.

1. First letters N, O, P, Q → R.
2. Second letters R, S, T, U → V ⇒ RV.

Trick: Gap inside each pair stays 4 (N→R, O→S…). R + 4 = V.

Answer: (C) RV

Concept: A word appearing in two sentences takes the code common to both.

1. Sentences 2 & 3 share only 'fish' and only 'yz' ⇒ fish = yz.
2. Sentences 1 & 3 share 'banana' and 'stu' ⇒ banana = stu.
3. Sentences 1 & 2 share apple, bird ↔ pqr, vwx; option codes show apple = pqr.
4. apple fish banana = pqr, yz, stu.

Trick: Options B, C, D contain codes (xc, zu, ub…) that never appear in the data — eliminate them at once.

Answer: (A) pqr, yz, stu

Concept: An administrator's decision must be rule-based, evidence-based and equal for everyone.

1. Rules and evidence give an objective basis for action.
2. Fear of influence (A) or emotion (B) would mean special treatment; mere consultation (D) is not a basis for the decision.

Trick: In ethics questions, pick the option that treats everyone equally under the rules.

Answer: (C) School rules, evidence and ensuring fairness for all students

Concept: $1+3+5+\dots$ (n terms) $=n^2$.

1. $n=25\Rightarrow$ sum $={25}^2=625$.
2. His answer matches, so he is correct.

Trick: Check small cases: $1=1^2$, $1+3=2^2$, $1+3+5=3^2$ — the pattern always holds.

Answer: (A) Yes

Concept: Each letter is replaced by the letter just before it.

1. J→I, U→T, N→M, G→F, L→K, E→D (−1 each).
2. FISH: F→E, I→H, S→R, H→G ⇒ EHRG.

Trick: First letter alone decides it: F − 1 = E, and only option A starts with E.

Answer: (A) EHRG