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

Concept: In each row, (first number)² ÷ (middle number) = third number.

1. Row 1: ${12}^2÷9=144÷9=16$ ✓
2. Row 2: $9^2÷3=81÷3=27$ ✓
3. Row 3: ${14}^2÷?=28\Rightarrow ?=\frac{196}{28}=7$

Trick: Check squares first when the third column is much larger than the middle one.

Answer: (A) $7$

Concept: Decode the relation step by step from the end of the sentence.

1. Kanika's son's grandfather's only son = Kanika's husband (father of her son).
2. Wife of that only son = Kanika herself.
3. So Kanika is the daughter-in-law of the lady in the portrait.
4. Hence the lady is Kanika's mother-in-law.

Trick: "Wife of my son's grandfather's only son" (said by a woman) always means the speaker herself.

Answer: (A) Mother-in-law

Concept: All words begin with "Boat"; compare the letters after it.

1. Boater (e), Boathouse (h), Boating (i), Boatman (m), Boatyard (y).
2. Alphabetical order of 5th letters: e, h, i, m, y.
3. Order: Boater (3), Boathouse (2), Boating (5), Boatman (4), Boatyard (1).

Trick: Strike out the common prefix and sort only the next letter.

Answer: (C) 3-2-5-4-1

Concept: Each letter position moves +2 every term.

1. 1st letters: T, V, X, Z (+2)
2. 2nd letters: W, Y, A, C (+2, wrapping Y → A)
3. 3rd letters: Z, B, D, F (+2, wrapping Z → B)
4. Next term: ZCF

Trick: Write letter positions (T = 20, V = 22 …) and look column-wise.

Answer: (D) ZCF

Concept: Replace each sign as given, then apply BODMAS.

1. × → +, ÷ → ×, + → −, − → ÷
2. $16-4\times 12÷3+18$ becomes $16÷4+12\times 3-18$
3. $=4+36-18=22$

Trick: Rewrite the whole expression with new signs first; only then calculate.

Answer: (D) $22$

Concept: Find which pairs of classes can share members.

1. Some teachers play the guitar, and some students play the guitar.
2. Teachers and students are taken as two different groups in a class-room sense.
3. So Guitarists overlap both, while Teachers and Students are drawn apart: a chain of three circles.

Trick: Draw the common class (Guitarists) in the middle and test each pair.

Answer: (B) Chain of three circles (middle one overlapping both)

Concept: Try each option; interchange the two digits wherever they occur and the two signs.

1. Option C: 5 ↔ 7 and − ↔ ÷.
2. $25-9+42÷6\times 7=17$ becomes $27÷9+42-6\times 5=15$
3. LHS $=3+42-30=15$ = RHS, so the equation balances.
4. Other options give 4, 52.85 … etc., not balancing.

Trick: When digits are swapped, change every place where that digit appears.

Answer: (C) 5 and 7; – and ÷

Concept: Second number = first number + sum of its digits.

1. $48+(4+8)=48+12=60$ ✓
2. $86+(8+6)=86+14=100$ ✓
3. Check others: $64+10=74\ne 72$, $98+17=115\ne 114$, $78+15=93\ne 94$.

Trick: If the difference is small, compare it with the digit-sum of the first number.

Answer: (D) 86 : 100

Concept: Column-wise: (top × middle) − third = bottom.

1. Column 1: $9\times 6-4=50$ ✓
2. Column 3: $7\times 8-3=53$ ✓
3. Column 2: $8\times 7-5=56-5=51$

Trick: When the last row is large, try product of the first two.

Answer: (A) $51$

Concept: Unfold step by step; every cut is reflected across each fold line.

1. The circle is folded twice, giving a quarter (folds meet at the centre).
2. The arrow-shaped cut lies along the diagonal of the quarter, pointing from the centre to the rim.
3. Unfolding twice gives four identical arrows along the two diagonals, meeting at the centre in an X.
4. Only option D shows this.

Trick: Two folds ⇒ 4 copies of each cut, symmetric about both fold lines.

Answer: (D)

Concept: Differences decrease by 2.

1. $52-42=10$, $42-34=8$, $34-28=6$
2. Next difference $=4$
3. $28-4=24$

Trick: Always write the differences first.

Answer: (A) $24$

Concept: Facing the centre: a person's left = clockwise neighbour, right = anticlockwise neighbour.

1. Fix P at the bottom; U is opposite (top).
2. P is immediate left of R ⇒ R sits to P's right side.
3. S is immediate right of U; T is between P and S.
4. The remaining seat (between R and U) is Q, which is opposite T.

Trick: In hexagon seating, opposite = 3 seats away.

Answer: (B) Opposite to T

Concept: A mirror on the right flips left ↔ right; top and bottom stay the same.

1. In the figure the pole is on the right and the flag waves to the left.
2. In the image the pole must be on the left with the flag waving to the right.
3. The steps of the base also flip: the longer step extends to the right.
4. Option A matches all these details.

Trick: Vertical mirror: check the side of each detail, not just the outline.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Every letter is shifted 2 places backward.

1. T→R, R→P, A→Y, I→G, L→J, E→C, R→P (each −2).
2. PEACOCK: P→N, E→C, A→Y, C→A, O→M, C→A, K→I
3. Code: NCYAMAI

Trick: Remember A − 2 = Y and C − 2 = A (wrap around).

Answer: (C) NCYAMAI

Concept: Two alternate series are mixed.

1. Odd places: 124, 128, 132 (+4)
2. Even places: 140, 136, ? (−4)
3. Next term $=136-4=132$

Trick: If terms go up and down, split into alternate series.

Answer: (A) $132$

Concept: Track each letter position separately.

1. 1st: K, M, I, O, G, ? → +2, −4, +6, −8, +10 ⇒ G + 10 = Q
2. 2nd: A, I, U, E, O, ? → vowels taken alternately (A, I, U, E, O, A) ⇒ A
3. 3rd: P, N, R, L, T, ? → −2, +4, −6, +8, −10 ⇒ T − 10 = J
4. Answer: QAJ

Trick: Alternating ± with growing steps is a common SSC pattern.

Answer: (B) QAJ

Concept: Net work per hour = sum of filling rates − emptying rate.

1. Rates: $\frac{1}{4}+\frac{1}{8}-\frac{1}{6}$
2. LCM 24: $\frac{6+3-4}{24}=\frac{5}{24}$ tank per hour
3. Time $=\frac{24}{5}=4.8$ hours (capacity 1250 L is not needed)

Trick: Take LCM of times as total work: 24 units; rates 6 + 3 − 4 = 5 units/h.

Answer: (D) $4.8$ hours

Concept: Unfold in reverse order; every cut is mirrored across each fold line.

1. The sheet is folded right-to-left and then top-to-bottom, so the final piece is one quarter.
2. Cuts on the quarter: notches on the edges, one triangle and two circles.
3. Unfolding the 2nd fold mirrors them top–bottom; unfolding the 1st mirrors them left–right, giving 4 copies arranged symmetrically.
4. The notch on the folded edge becomes a full circle; option D shows the correct number and positions of circles and triangles.

Trick: Cuts on a fold line open into one whole shape; cuts elsewhere double with each unfold.

Answer: (D)

Concept: A right turn rotates the direction 90° clockwise; a left turn 90° anticlockwise.

1. Start: East, 4 km.
2. Right turn → South, 3 km.
3. Right turn → West, 4 km.
4. Left turn from West → South. He finally moves South.

Trick: Facing West, your left hand points South.

Answer: (D) South

Concept: All A are B + No B is C ⇒ No A is C (and its converse No C is A).

1. All bats are inside sticks; no stick touches balls.
2. So no bat can be a ball ⇒ I follows.
3. "No ball is bat" is the converse of I, also true ⇒ II follows.

Trick: A "No" statement can always be reversed: No A is C ⇔ No C is A.

Answer: (D) Both conclusions I and II follow.