SSC CPO Paper I 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 PYQs

Concept: Find the gap pattern between consecutive letters of each cluster.

1. HMIL: $H+5=M,M-4=I,I+3=L$ → pattern $+5,-4,+3$.
2. KPLO: $+5,-4,+3$; SXTW: $+5,-4,+3$.
3. LOKP: $L+3=O,O-4=K,K+5=P$ → pattern $+3,-4,+5$ (order reversed).

Trick: Write the gaps under each cluster; the odd pattern stands out immediately.

Answer: (A) LOKP

Concept: In a straight row of four squares of a net, the 1st and 3rd faces are opposite, and so are the 2nd and 4th. Two opposite faces can never be seen together.

1. Row ⊕, b1, +, b2 gives ⊕ ↔ + and b1 ↔ b2 (b = blank).
2. The dot face and the blank face below ⊕ (b3) are the third pair.
3. Fig 2 shows ⊕ and + together, and Fig 4 shows + and ⊕ together, so both are impossible.
4. Fig 1 (dot, +, blank) and Fig 3 (⊕, blank, dot) contain no opposite pair, so both are possible.

Trick: First mark the three opposite pairs, then reject every cube that shows a pair together.

Answer: (C) Only 1 and 3

Concept: For a vertical mirror (line MN on the right), left and right are interchanged while top and bottom stay the same.

1. Each row is read in reverse order: top row ←, ↑, ↓ becomes ↓, ↑, →.
2. Horizontal arrows reverse direction (← becomes →); vertical arrows (↑, ↓) do not change.
3. Middle → becomes ←; bottom row ↑, ←, → becomes ←, →, ↑.
4. Only option (B) shows exactly this arrangement.

Trick: In a vertical mirror only horizontal arrows flip; check one corner arrow first to eliminate options quickly.

Answer: (B) the second figure

Concept: Replace each letter by its sign, then apply BODMAS (÷ and × before + and −).

1. $94-12\times 6+216÷9$
2. $=94-72+24$
3. $=46$

Trick: Solve × and ÷ parts first, then add/subtract from left to right.

Answer: (A) $46$

Concept: Look at the differences between consecutive terms; they form two alternating patterns.

1. Differences: $53-42=+11$, $46-53=-7$.
2. Take ? $=58$: $58-46=+12$, $53-58=-5$, $66-53=+13$.
3. Positive differences $+11,+12,+13$ rise by 1; negative differences $-7,-5$ rise by 2. Both patterns fit.

Trick: When a series goes up and down, write the differences and split them into alternate groups.

Answer: (A) $58$

Concept: In a vertical mirror the left and right parts interchange; the top and bottom parts remain in place.

1. Star (left) moves to the right; square (right) moves to the left.
2. Circle stays at the top and triangle stays at the bottom.
3. The rectangle with its diagonals looks the same after reflection.
4. Option (B) shows square left, star right, circle top, triangle bottom.

Trick: Check only the two elements touching the left and right sides — they must swap.

Answer: (B) the second figure

Concept: For people facing the centre, moving to their right means moving anticlockwise.

1. Fix Amit; Sumit is 2nd to his right and Dharam sits between them.
2. Tony is 3rd to the right of Amit (opposite Amit).
3. Karan is 2nd to the right of Sumit, i.e. next to Tony; Param takes the last seat, next to Karan and Amit.
4. From Param, counting 4 seats to the right: Amit, Dharam, Sumit, Tony.

Trick: In a circle of 6, 4th to the right = 2nd to the left: Param's 2nd left (Karan, Tony) is Tony.

Answer: (D) Tony

Concept: Second number $=2\times$(sum of the digits of the first number).

1. $32$: $(3+2)\times 2=10$
2. $24$: $(2+4)\times 2=12$
3. $98$: $(9+8)\times 2=17\times 2=34$

Trick: Small second numbers often come from digit sums; test that first.

Answer: (D) $34$

Concept: Second number $=(\text{first number}{)}^2+3$.

1. $7^2+3=49+3=52$ ✓; $9^2+3=81+3=84$ ✓
2. (A) ${13}^2+3=169+3=172$ ✓
3. (B) ${11}^2+3=124\ne 125$, (C) ${14}^2+3=199\ne 196$, (D) $8^2+3=67\ne 65$.

Trick: When the second number is a little more than a square, try square $+k$.

Answer: (A) $(13,172)$

Concept: A face is opposite to the only number that never appears next to it.

1. Die 1 shows 4 with 1 and 2; die 2 shows 4 with 5 and 3.
2. So 4 touches 1, 2, 3 and 5.
3. The only number left is 6, so 6 is opposite 4.

Trick: List all neighbours of the number seen most often; the missing one is its opposite.

Answer: (A) $4$

Concept: In a column of the net, alternate squares are opposite; squares attached on opposite sides of the column (one left, one right, two rows apart) are also opposite.

1. Column 2, 6, 1, 5 gives 2 ↔ 1 and 6 ↔ 5.
2. 3 (left of 1) and 4 (right of 5) fold to opposite sides, so 3 ↔ 4.
3. Fig 1 shows 2 and 1, Fig 2 shows 6 and 5, Fig 3 shows 5 and 4 → impossible.
4. Fig 4 shows 3, 1, 6 — no opposite pair, so it is possible.

Trick: Mark the three opposite pairs; any cube showing a pair is rejected.

Answer: (A) Only 4

Concept: When two words share one letter, the code digit common to both words belongs to that letter.

1. COLD → 6428 and TIDE → 9673.
2. The only letter common to both words is D.
3. The only digit common to both codes is 6.
4. So D = 6.

Yaad rakhein: Common letter ↔ common digit.

Answer: (B) $6$

Concept: If one class lies completely inside another, draw its circle inside the other circle.

1. London is a city in the United Kingdom → London ⊂ UK.
2. The United Kingdom is a country in Europe → UK ⊂ Europe.
3. So three circles lie one inside another (concentric).

Yaad rakhein: City ⊂ Country ⊂ Continent is always three nested circles.

Answer: (D) three circles one inside another

Concept: Decode each symbol from left to right and build a family tree.

1. A * S: A is the brother of S.
2. S = J: S is the mother of J; J @ M: J is the son of M → M is the father, S and M are a couple.
3. M × Y: M is the father of Y, so S is Y's mother.
4. A, the brother of S, is the brother of Y's mother (maternal uncle).

Trick: Two parents of the same child (J) are husband and wife; then Y is J's sibling.

Answer: (C) A is the brother of Y’s mother.

Concept: Track each letter position of the clusters separately.

1. 1st letters: Z, B, D, F, H ($+2$).
2. 2nd letters: F, C, Z, W, T ($-3$).
3. 3rd letters: K, M, O, Q, S ($+2$); 4th letters: Q, N, K, H, E ($-3$).
4. Missing cluster: D, Z, O, K.

Trick: Positions 1 and 3 move $+2$, positions 2 and 4 move $-3$.

Answer: (D) DZOK

Concept: Replace the signs as given (÷ → ×, – → +, × → –, + → ÷) and then use BODMAS.

1. $8÷5-5\times 10+2$ becomes $8\times 5+5-10÷2$.
2. $=40+5-5$
3. $=40$

Trick: Rewrite the whole equation with new signs before calculating.

Answer: (A) $40$

Concept: The same figure rotates by ${90}^{\circ }$ clockwise at every step.

1. The square with its lines points to the upper-left in Fig 1, upper-right in Fig 2 and lower-right in Fig 3.
2. Each step is a ${90}^{\circ }$ clockwise turn of the whole figure.
3. The next turn brings the long line and the two short lines to the lower-left side.
4. Option (B) shows exactly this position.

Trick: Follow one feature (the long line) and see which corner it points to in each figure.

Answer: (B) the second figure

Concept: A vertical mirror swaps left and right, and every letter is also laterally reversed.

1. O at the top stays at the top (it is symmetric).
2. K (right) moves to the left and appears reversed; L (left) moves to the right and appears reversed.
3. P stays at the bottom but is reversed (its loop faces left).
4. Only option (B) has all four changes; (C) and (D) get P or K wrong.

Trick: Check the asymmetric letters (K, L, P): each must face the opposite way.

Answer: (B) the second figure

Concept: Join the statements into one family tree.

1. D is the son of L; E is the sister of D, so E is also L's child.
2. J is the father of E, so J is D's father too (J and L are a couple).
3. F is the brother of J.
4. D is the son of F's brother → Brother's son.

Trick: Start from the person asked about (D) and climb to his parent, then to the sibling.

Answer: (B) Brother’s son

Concept: Letters are shifted alternately by $+1$ and $-1$.

1. EDUCATION: $E+1=F,D-1=C,U+1=V,C-1=B,\dots$ → FCVBBSJNO.
2. MICROSOFT follows the same $+1,-1$ rule → NHDQPRPEU.
3. SEMICIRCLE: S→T, E→D, M→N, I→H, C→D, I→H, R→S, C→B, L→M, E→D.

Trick: Check just the first two letters of each option: T, D — then compare the last few.

Answer: (A) TDNHDHSBMD