SSC CGL 2025 PYQs

Concept: 'Only son of your father' spoken to a male listener means the listener himself.

1. Q's father's only son = Q.
2. P is the daughter of Q.
3. So Q is P's father.

Trick: When a phrase loops back to the listener ('your father's only son'), replace it with 'you'.

Answer: (B) Father

Concept: Convert signs in each option and check which side-values match.

1. A: $60+4÷8\times 2-1=60+1-1=60$ ✓.
2. B: $18+6-3÷2\times 2=21\ne 13$.
3. C: $14÷7+3\times 2-1=7\ne 16$; D: $12-4+2÷8\times 4=9\ne 11$.

Trick: Start with the option whose numbers divide neatly; A balances immediately.

Answer: (A) 60 − 4 + 8 / 2 × 1 = 60

Concept: Rewrite with real signs and do division before addition/subtraction.

1. Rewritten: $5+6-4÷2$.
2. $4÷2=2$.
3. $5+6-2=9$.

Trick: Only one division here – finish it first and the rest is mental.

Answer: (C) 9

Concept: Each term is 3 times the previous term (geometric series).

1. $\frac{6}{2}=\frac{18}{6}=\frac{54}{18}=3$.
2. Next = $54\times 3=162$.

Trick: Ratio check beats difference check when terms grow quickly.

Answer: (B) 162

Concept: The pattern alternates: add 3, then double.

1. 10 +3 = 13, ×2 = 26, +3 = 29, ×2 = 58 (not 59).
2. 58 +3 = 61, ×2 = 122 (not 121).
3. Wrong terms: 59 and 121.

Trick: A doubled number must be even – 59 and 121 are odd, so they are wrong.

Answer: (C) 59, 121

Concept: A conclusion follows only if it is a direct, reasonable inference; extreme words like 'completely' usually fail.

1. Solar rooftops = renewable energy, so the purpose of the scheme is to raise renewable use → I is a valid inference.
2. II says the scheme will completely replace traditional energy – nothing in the statement supports such a total claim.
3. So I follows, II does not.

Trick: Words like 'completely', 'only', 'always', 'all' in a conclusion are a red flag – such conclusions rarely follow.

Answer: (A) Only I follows

Concept: Find the hidden operation from the given examples, then apply it.

1. Check: $41=25+16$, i.e. square of 5 plus square of 4 ✓
2. Check: $25=16+9$, i.e. square of 4 plus square of 3 ✓
3. So for 3 and 2: $9+4=13$

Trick: 41 and 25 are both 'square + square' numbers (25+16, 16+9) – when the result is larger than the product, test $a^2+b^2$ first.

Answer: (A) 13

Concept: Swap the two signs given in each option and evaluate using BODMAS until LHS = RHS.

1. Swap − and ×: $60÷5+8\times 6-2$
2. Division/multiplication first: $60÷5=12$, $8\times 6=48$
3. $12+48-2=58$ = RHS ✓

Trick: RHS 58 is large, so 6 must be multiplied by something bigger than 2 – that hints the × must move next to 8 ($8\times 6=48$).

Answer: (D) − and ×

Concept: Count generations: two generations down through a son means grandchild.

1. N → son M (one generation below N).
2. M → daughter L (two generations below N).
3. Female, two generations below a man through his son = granddaughter.

Yaad rakhein: O is only extra information (N's other child); it does not affect L–N relation.

Answer: (C) Granddaughter

Concept: Break the sentence from the end: 'my mother's daughter' first, then 'husband of'.

1. My mother's daughter = Riya's sister.
2. Husband of the sister = sister's husband.
3. Sister's husband = brother-in-law (jija).

Trick: Read relations backwards from 'my': mother → daughter (sister) → husband (jija).

Answer: (B) Brother-in-law

Concept: Find the alphabet-position change from the first pair and apply it to the second.

1. G(7) → J(10): +3; I(9) → L(12): +3
2. A(1) + 3 = D(4)
3. C(3) + 3 = F(6) → DF

Trick: Gap inside each pair is 2 (G_I, J_L, A_C); only DF among options keeps a gap of 2 AND starts 3 after A.

Answer: (B) DF

Concept: Each term is formed from the previous by multiplying by 3 and adding 1.

1. Term 2: thrice 1, plus one → 4; term 3: thrice 4, plus one → 13
2. Term 4: thrice 13 = 39, plus one → 40 ✓
3. Next: thrice 40 = 120, plus one → 121

Trick: Differences 3, 9, 27 are powers of 3 → next difference 81 → 40 + 81 = 121.

Answer: (A) 121

Concept: A valid course of action must be practical and solve the stated problem without causing a bigger one.

1. Problem: students struggle with time management in exams.
2. I – workshops on time management attack the root cause → practical, follows.
3. II – cancelling all exams is extreme and impractical → does not follow.

Trick: Reject any action that 'cancels', 'bans' or 'stops' the whole system – it is almost never the right course.

Answer: (A) Only 1 follows

Concept: Here '%' stands for division; find the equation that is not true.

1. $12÷3=4$ ✓, $18÷3=6$ ✓, $21÷7=3$ ✓
2. $9÷2=4.5$, not 4 ✗
3. So '9 % 2 = 4' is the odd one.

Trick: Only 9 is not divisible by its divisor (2) – an odd dividend with divisor 2 can never give a whole number.

Answer: (C) 9 % 2 = 4

Concept: Fix the most restrictive clues first (Charu even, F–C gap, B just below F), then place the rest.

1. 3 people between F and C → floors differ by 4. With C even and B just below F: (C 2, F 6, B 5) or (C 6, F 2, B 1).
2. Dinu is midway between F and C → floor 4 in both cases.
3. More than four between E and G → they take floors 1 and 7. Case (C 6, F 2, B 1) fails since floor 1 is B. So C 2, D 4, B 5, F 6.
4. B below G → G = 7, E = 1. Arun not on top → Arun = 3.
5. Two floors below Arun (3) = floor 1 = Elena.

Trick: 'More than four between' in a 7-floor building can only mean floors 1 and 7 – lock this first.

Answer: (C) Elena

Concept: All A are B + All B are C ⇒ All A are C; but 'All' cannot be reversed.

1. All apples are fruits, all fruits are healthy ⇒ all apples are healthy → I follows.
2. 'All fruits are healthy' does not mean 'all healthy things are fruits' (vegetables, milk etc. can also be healthy) → II fails.

Trick: Draw circles: apple ⊂ fruit ⊂ healthy. Inner circle → outer circle is always true; outer → inner is never certain.

Answer: (A) Only I follows

Concept: Group the words by a common property – here, flat (plane) figures vs solids.

1. Triangle, rectangle, pentagon, square → flat 2-D polygons with only length and breadth.
2. Cylinder → a solid with height/volume (3-D).
3. So the cylinder is the odd one.

Yaad rakhein: Polygons (tri-, penta-, rect-, square) have straight sides; a cylinder has curved surface and circular faces – not a polygon at all.

Answer: (D) Cylinder

Concept: Match letters position-wise to build a code table, then apply it.

1. xyyzzy → cbbaab gives x → c, y → b, z → a.
2. These are opposite letters: x(24) ↔ c(3), y(25) ↔ b(2), z(26) ↔ a(1) (sum 27).
3. xxyzyy → c c b a b b = ccbabb

Trick: The word starts with xx → answer must start with cc; only option (D) does.

Answer: (D) ccbabb

Concept: Letters are not changed, only reshuffled; find the position order from TICKET.

1. TICKET = T1 I2 C3 K4 E5 T6; TTECIK = positions 1, 6, 5, 3, 2, 4.
2. OFFICE = O1 F2 F3 I4 C5 E6.
3. Order 1,6,5,3,2,4 → O, E, C, F, F, I = OECFFI

Trick: 1st letter stays and the last letter comes 2nd → answer must be O E _ _ _ _ ; only (D) fits.

Answer: (D) OECFFI

Concept: Classify the abbreviations by what they stand for.

1. SBI – State Bank of India; PNB – Punjab National Bank; BOI – Bank of India → all public sector banks.
2. GDP – Gross Domestic Product → an economic indicator, not a bank.

Yaad rakhein: GDP measures the total value of final goods and services produced within a country in a year.

Answer: (D) GDP