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

Concept: In each column, (top number${)}^2-$ (middle number${)}^2=$ bottom number.

1. Column 1: $9^2-6^2=81-36=45$ ✓.
2. Column 3: ${12}^2-8^2=144-64=80$ ✓.
3. Column 2: $8^2-3^2=64-9=55$.

Trick: $a^2-b^2=(a+b)(a-b)$: $(8+3)(8-3)=55$.

Answer: (C) 55

Concept: Each term $=2\times (\text{previous term})+3$.

1. $17\times 2+3=37$, $37\times 2+3=77$.
2. $77\times 2+3=157$, $157\times 2+3=317$.
3. Next $=317\times 2+3=637$.

Trick: Differences 20, 40, 80, 160 double each time, so next difference = 320: $317+320=637$.

Answer: (A) 637

Concept: Draw the path; turning left from North points West, from West points South, from South points East.

1. Home → 40 m North.
2. Left (West) 25 m, left (South) 15 m: now $40-15=25$ m north of the home line, 25 m west.
3. Left (East) 25 m: back on the vertical line through home.
4. Point X is 25 m directly North of home, so the shortest distance is 25 m.

Trick: Net North $=40-15=25$, net East–West $=25-25=0$.

Answer: (B) 25 m

Concept: In a straight strip of faces in a net, alternate faces (with one face between them) are opposite.

1. Vertical strip: %, @, #, + → % is opposite #, and @ is opposite +.
2. The remaining two faces, $ and &, are opposite each other.
3. So among the options, + and @ are opposite.

Yaad rakhein: Faces sharing an edge in the net can never be opposite.

Answer: (C) + and @

Concept: Arrange the levels of organisation of the human body from smallest to largest.

1. Cell (2) is the basic unit.
2. Cells form Tissue (1); tissues form an Organ (3).
3. Organs form an Organ System (5); systems make the Human Body (4).
4. Order: 2, 1, 3, 5, 4.

Yaad rakhein: Cell → Tissue → Organ → Organ system → Organism.

Answer: (A) 2, 1, 3, 5, 4

Concept: Code $=2\times$ (sum of alphabet positions of the letters).

1. CLARITY: $3+12+1+18+9+20+25=88$; $2\times 88=176$ ✓.
2. FROZEN: $6+18+15+26+5+14=84$.
3. Code $=2\times 84=168$.

Trick: If the code is close to twice the letter-sum, test ‘sum × 2’ first.

Answer: (D) 168

Concept: Unfold step by step; each unfolding gives a mirror image of the cuts about the fold line.

1. The sheet is folded twice vertically, so it has 4 layers → each cut appears 4 times in 4 vertical strips.
2. In every strip the order from top stays: small horizontal rectangle, vertical slot, small circle, then a triangle at the bottom.
3. Mirror images about each fold line make the triangles point alternately: ▷ ◁ ▷ ◁.
4. Option (B) shows exactly this; (C) puts the circle above the slot, (D) keeps all triangles the same way.

Trick: Order of holes from top to bottom never changes in a vertical fold; only left–right shapes flip.

Answer: (B) Option (B)

Concept: Find the region that lies inside the square and circle but outside the pentagon.

1. Square = diploma holders, circle = morning-walkers, pentagon = architects.
2. The common part of square and circle is split into 18 (inside the pentagon) and 40 (outside it).
3. Diploma holders who are morning-walkers but not architects = 40.

Trick: ‘but NOT’ means drop every region inside that figure.

Answer: (B) 40

Concept: Follow the three parts of the figure — the ellipse shading, the special box in the row, and the bottom shape.

1. The shaded quarter of the ellipse moves top-left → top-right → bottom-left, so next is bottom-right.
2. The ‘8’-type box moves one place right each time (1st, 2nd, 3rd), so next is the 4th box.
3. Bottom shape gains one side: triangle (3) → square (4) → pentagon (5) → hexagon (6).
4. Only option (A) has all three: bottom-right shading, 4th box, hexagon.

Trick: Count sides of the shape first — it removes (B) and (C) at once.

Answer: (A) Option (A)

Concept: Check the gaps between consecutive letters.

1. BFJM: B→F $+4$, F→J $+4$, J→M $+3$.
2. LPTW: $+4,+4,+3$; FJNQ: $+4,+4,+3$.
3. SVAD: S→V $+3$, V→A $+5$ (cyclic), A→D $+3$ — different.
4. So SVAD is the odd one.

Trick: Pattern $+4,+4,+3$ fits three clusters; find the one that breaks it.

Answer: (B) SVAD

Concept: Find the actual numbers from the ratio, then apply the changes.

1. Boys $=\frac{2}{3}\times 60=40$, girls $=20$.
2. 1st stop: boys $40-15=25$, girls $20+5=25$.
3. 2nd stop: boys $25+5=30$, girls $25-10=15$.
4. Ratio $=30:15=2:1$.

Trick: Net change: boys $-10$, girls $-5$ → $30:15$.

Answer: (B) 2 : 1

Concept: Each letter position follows its own backward step.

1. 1st letters: Z, W, ?, Q, N — each $-3$ → T.
2. 2nd letters: B, X, ?, P, L — each $-4$ → T.
3. 3rd letters: Q, L, ?, B, W — each $-5$ → G.
4. 4th letters: S, M, ?, A, U — each $-6$ → G. Answer TTGG.

Trick: Steps $-3,-4,-5,-6$ for the four positions.

Answer: (C) TTGG

Concept: Third number = sum of all digits of the first two numbers in the row.

1. Row 1: $(4+5+0+7)+(7+0+7+7)=16+21=37$ ✓.
2. Row 2: $(2+5+0+3)+(3+0+6+7)=10+16=26$ ✓.
3. Row 3: $(3+3+0+7)+(4+0+6+1)=13+11=24$.

Trick: Large 4-digit numbers giving a 2-digit result usually means digit sums.

Answer: (B) 24

Concept: A vertical mirror on the right swaps left and right; top and bottom stay the same.

1. The upward black arrow on the left moves to the right side and still points up with its black head.
2. The arrow pointing left now points right.
3. The black shaded block and the thick bar at the bottom flip left–right, staying at the bottom.
4. Option (B) shows all this; (C) has the arrow pointing down, (D) has the colours of the arrow swapped, (A) keeps the arrow pointing left.

Trick: Vertical mirror: ‘up/down’ never changes, only ‘left/right’.

Answer: (B) Option (B)

Concept: For a vertical mirror on the right, the order of characters reverses and every character is laterally inverted; nothing turns upside down.

1. 4632KR read in the mirror gives R, K, 2, 3, 6, 4 from left to right.
2. Each is flipped left–right: reversed R, reversed K, reversed 2, reversed 3, reversed 6, reversed 4.
3. In (A) and (B) some digits (the 2, 6 or 4) are not laterally inverted correctly, and in (D) the ‘R’ is wrong. Only option (C) shows every character correctly mirrored.

Trick: Check the asymmetric digits 2 and 4 first.

Answer: (C) Option (C)

Concept: Count odd days between the two dates (ordinary year = 1 odd day, leap year = 2).

1. 5 Dec 2011 → 5 Dec 2018: 7 years with leap days of 2012 and 2016 → $7+2=9$ odd days.
2. 5 Dec 2018 → 5 Nov 2019: $365-30=335$ days, $335=47\times 7+6$ → 6 odd days.
3. Total $=9+6=15$, $15÷7$ leaves 1 odd day.
4. So 5 Nov 2019 is 1 day ahead of 5 Dec 2011: Tuesday − 1 = Monday.

Trick: Going back in time, subtract the odd days from the known weekday.

Answer: (C) Monday

Concept: Differences are cubes with alternating signs.

1. $59-58=+1=1^3$, $51-59=-8=-2^3$.
2. $78-51=+27=3^3$, $14-78=-64=-4^3$.
3. Next difference $=+5^3=+125$.
4. $14+125=139$.

Trick: 1, 8, 27, 64 → cubes; signs alternate $+,-$.

Answer: (B) 139

Concept: Five elements occupy five places (four corners and centre); each element moves along the same fixed cycle of places.

1. Tracking the circle: BL → C → TL; the triangle: C → TL → BR; the box: BR → TR → BL.
2. So the cycle of places is BL → C → TL → BR → TR → BL.
3. Next step: triangle → TR, circle → BR, box → C, shield → BL, Z-shape → TL.
4. Option (D) shows exactly this arrangement.

Trick: Follow just two elements to fix the cycle, then check the option.

Answer: (D) Option (D)

Concept: A word common to two sentences has the digit common to their codes.

1. ‘was’ in sentences 1 and 2: common digit 2.
2. ‘curious’ in sentences 2 and 3: common digit 7.
3. ‘she’ in sentences 1 and 3: codes 592 and 987 share 9.
4. So she = 9.

Trick: Intersect the two codes containing the word directly.

Answer: (A) 9

Concept: Decode each symbol and build the family tree.

1. P ! H: P is brother of H. H + Q: H is father of Q.
2. Q % M: Q is sister of M. M + T: M is father of T.
3. T % K: T is sister of K. K ! J: K is brother of J — so J is also M’s child.
4. Q is the sister of J’s father M → Q is J’s paternal aunt.

Yaad rakhein: Father’s sister = paternal aunt (bua); mother’s sister = maternal aunt (mausi).

Answer: (D) Paternal aunt