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

Concept: Two faces seen together are adjacent. When two views share the same two faces, the faces next to them at the two ends of their common edge are opposite.

1. Both views show 2 and 4 side by side.
2. In view 1 the third face is 1; in view 2 the 2 and 4 swap sides and the third face is 5.
3. Swapped order means we are looking at the other end of the 2–4 edge, so 1 and 5 lie opposite each other.

Trick: Same two faces with swapped left–right ⇒ the remaining visible faces are opposite.

Answer: (D) $1$

Concept: Draw the Venn diagram: Ornaments inside Plants, Trees completely separate from Plants.

1. No plant is a tree and all ornaments are plants ⇒ no ornament can be a tree. I follows ✔.
2. All ornaments are plants ⇒ some plants are ornaments (conversion). II follows ✔.

Trick: "All A are B" always gives "Some B are A".

Answer: (D) Both conclusions follow

Concept: Work column-wise: bottom number $=(\text{top}+1)\times (\text{middle}+1)$.

1. Column 2: $(8+1)\times (6+1)=9\times 7=63$ ✔.
2. Column 3: $(11+1)\times (5+1)=12\times 6=72$ ✔.
3. Column 1: $(x+1)\times (7+1)=48\Rightarrow x+1=6\Rightarrow x=5$.

Trick: Divide: $48÷8=6$, then subtract $1$.

Answer: (B) $5$

Concept: In a net, two faces separated by exactly one face in the same straight row are opposite.

1. Bottom row @, $, %: @ and % are opposite.
2. Top row #, &, >: # and > are opposite.
3. The remaining pair $ and & are opposite.
4. $ and # share an edge, so they are NOT opposite.

Trick: Skip-one rule in a straight row; the last two left over are the third pair.

Answer: (A) $ and #

Concept: Count odd days between the same date in two years: $1$ per ordinary year, $2$ if a 29 February falls in between.

1. From 18 Oct 2000 to 18 Oct 2006 = 6 years containing one 29 Feb (2004).
2. Odd days $=6+1=7\equiv 0$, so 18 Oct 2000 was also Wednesday.
3. 17 Oct 2000 is one day earlier: Tuesday.

Trick: $7$ odd days = same weekday; then just step one day back.

Answer: (A) Tuesday

Concept: The four symbols sit on the diagonal in four positions (1 = top-left … 4 = bottom-right).

1. Figure 1: square, diamond, circle, plus.
2. Figure 2: diamond, circle, plus, square — every symbol moves up one place and the top one goes to the bottom.
3. Figure 3: circle, plus, square, diamond ✔.
4. Figure 4: plus, square, diamond, circle — this is option (C).

Trick: It is a cyclic shift: the top symbol drops to the bottom each time.

Answer: (C)

Concept: Find the common word in two sentences and the common code in their codes.

1. "are" in sentences 1 and 3 → der; "there" in 1 and 4 → jer; so "you" = ter.
2. "stay" in 2 and 4 → yer; "we" in 2 and 3 → ner.
3. Sentence 3: we = ner, are = der, so "late" = ser.
4. "you stay late" = ter yer ser.

Trick: Pair up sentences that share exactly one word.

Answer: (C) ter yer ser

Concept: Facing the centre: left = next seat clockwise, right = next seat anticlockwise.

1. S is immediate right of P → clockwise S, P.
2. P is between S and R → S, P, R.
3. T is immediate left of Q → Q, T; the order clockwise is S, P, R, Q, T.
4. Second to the left of T: T → S → P.

Trick: Write the whole clockwise order once, then just count steps.

Answer: (C) P

Concept: On unfolding, every cut gets a mirror copy on the other side of the fold line.

1. The triangle is folded along its vertical axis, left half onto the right half.
2. Cuts on the right half: an upward triangle, a left-pointing triangle and a circle near the right corner.
3. Their mirror images on the left: upward triangle, right-pointing triangle and a circle near the left corner.
4. Option (D) shows exactly this.

Trick: A mirror across a vertical line flips left ↔ right; up–down stays the same.

Answer: (D)

Concept: Compare letter by letter from the left.

1. All start with FL; third letters: e (Flexible) before o.
2. Flo-: Floa(ter) < Floo(d/ring) < Flow(er).
3. Flood vs Flooring: the 5th letters are d and r; d < r, so Flood comes before Flooring.
4. Order: Flexible, Floater, Flood, Flooring, Flower = 1, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Trick: Go to the first letter where words differ.

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

Concept: Replace the letters (A = +, B = ×, C = −, D = ÷) and apply BODMAS.

1. Expression: $35\times 2+5\times (40-37)+(8\times 4)÷16-14$.
2. Brackets: $40-37=3$, $8\times 4=32$.
3. $=70+15+32÷16-14=70+15+2-14$.
4. $=73$.

Trick: Solve brackets first, then $÷$ and $\times$, then $+$ and $-$.

Answer: (C) $73$

Concept: Arrange the steps of a recruitment process in the order they happen.

1. First candidates send Applications (2).
2. The applications are checked — Scrutiny (1).
3. Shortlisted candidates face the Interview (3).
4. Selected ones get a Job offer (4) and then Joining (5).

Trick: Think of the real-life timeline: apply → screen → interview → offer → join.

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

Concept: The required region must lie inside the circle and the triangle but outside the rectangle.

1. Inside circle (journalists) and triangle (females): regions 18 and 13.
2. 13 also lies inside the rectangle (urban residents), so it is excluded.
3. Only 18 is journalist + female + not urban.

Trick: Shade "inside" shapes first, then remove anything inside the "NOT" shape.

Answer: (D) $18$

Concept: Along each row, next number $=2\times \text{previous}+2$.

1. Row 1: $28\times 2+2=58$, $58\times 2+2=118$ ✔.
2. Row 2: $21\times 2+2=44$, $44\times 2+2=90$ ✔.
3. Row 3: $47\times 2+2=96$, $96\times 2+2=194$.

Trick: Check the rule on both steps of a row before applying it.

Answer: (A) $194$

Concept: Compare each letter with its code letter.

1. PLACARD → TPEYEVH: P $+4$ = T, L $+4$ = P, A $+4$ = E, middle C $-4$ = Y, A $+4$ = E, R $+4$ = V, D $+4$ = H.
2. So: every letter $+4$ except the middle letter, which is $-4$.
3. MONSTER: M → Q, O → S, N → R, middle S → O, T → X, E → I, R → V.

Trick: In a 7-letter word watch the 4th (middle) letter separately.

Answer: (C) QSROXIV

Concept: Treat each position of the clusters as its own series.

1. 1st letters: H, G, F, E, D ($-1$).
2. 2nd letters: B, D, F, H, J ($+2$).
3. 3rd letters: S, P, M, J, G ($-3$).
4. Missing cluster = EHJ.

Trick: Check the last given cluster DJG to confirm all three rules.

Answer: (A) EHJ

Concept: Unfold step by step; each fold doubles the cuts as mirror images across the fold line.

1. The sheet is folded bottom-to-top, then right-to-left, then in half again (vertical fold) — 8 layers, 4 columns × 2 rows.
2. The cut is a flat rectangle above a standing rectangle; both shapes are symmetric left–right, so all 4 copies in the top half look the same.
3. The bottom half is a mirror across the horizontal fold: standing rectangle above, flat rectangle below.
4. This matches option (B).

Trick: A horizontal fold flips top ↔ bottom; vertical folds flip only left ↔ right.

Answer: (B)

Concept: A vertical mirror on the right reverses the left–right order and flips each character sideways; nothing turns upside down.

1. 965421 is seen in reverse order: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 — each one laterally inverted.
2. (B) has characters turned upside down (water image), so it is wrong.
3. (C) shows the 2 un-flipped and (D) shows 6 and 4 incorrectly.
4. Only (A) has every digit correctly side-flipped in the right order.

Trick: Mirror = left ↔ right only; up–down flips belong to water images.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Two operations alternate: multiply (by $3,2,1$) and add $7$.

1. $17\times 3=51$, $51+7=58$.
2. $58\times 2=116$, $116+7=123$.
3. $123\times 1=123$, $123+7=130$.

Trick: Multipliers fall $3,2,1$ while $+7$ stays fixed.

Answer: (B) $130$

Concept: Players sitting side by side are in the same team; players facing each other are in different teams.

1. N is to the immediate right of L, so L and N are in the same row (team).
2. K faces L and M faces N, so K and M are in the other team.
3. O is in a different team from N, so O joins K and M.
4. Remaining P sits with L and N (at a corner). Teams: {K, M, O} and {L, N, P}.

Trick: "Facing" ⇒ opposite teams; "immediate right/left" ⇒ same team.

Answer: (C) L, N and P