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

Concept: Look at the differences between terms.

1. $19-15=4$, $21-19=2$, $25-21=4$, $27-25=2$.
2. The differences alternate $+4,+2$.
3. Next difference is $+4$: $27+4=31$.

Trick: Alternating differences – just continue the cycle.

Answer: (A) 31

Concept: Track each of the four positions separately.

1. 1st letters: M, O, ?, S, U → $+2$ → Q.
2. 2nd: M, K, ?, G, E → $-2$ → I.
3. 3rd: N, P, ?, T, V → $+2$ → R. 4th: O, M, ?, I, G → $-2$ → K.
4. Missing cluster: QIRK.

Trick: Use the clusters after the blank too – they confirm each step.

Answer: (C) QIRK

Concept: The code is the cube of the number of letters in the word.

1. OIL has 3 letters → $3^3=27$ ✔
2. CREAM has 5 letters → $5^3=125$ ✔
3. POWDER has 6 letters → $6^3=216$.

Trick: 27, 125 are perfect cubes – relate them to word length immediately.

Answer: (B) 216

Concept: Two 'Some' statements give no definite link between the end terms.

1. Some cakes are biscuits → its converse "Some biscuits are cakes" is always true → I follows.
2. Some biscuits are chocolates: the biscuits that are chocolates may be different from those that are cakes.
3. So cakes and chocolates may or may not overlap → II does not follow.

Trick: Some + Some = no conclusion; but a 'Some' statement can always be reversed.

Answer: (D) Only conclusion I follows

Concept: Substitute the signs and use BODMAS.

1. $(35÷5)\times 9-23+39-(3\times 8)$
2. $=7\times 9-23+39-24$
3. $=63-23+39-24=55$

Trick: Solve brackets first: 7 and 24.

Answer: (D) 55

Concept: The group of three triangles moves to the next side of the box clockwise each time: left → top → right → bottom → left.

1. So the 5th figure has the triangles on the left side again, arranged vertically.
2. Black triangle: middle (fig 1) → top-right corner (fig 2) → stays at that same corner (fig 3) → middle (fig 4).
3. Repeating this 3-step cycle, it now goes to the far corner in clockwise direction, i.e. the top-left corner → top of the left column.
4. Left column with the black triangle at the top: option (C).

Trick: Find the path of the group first (side), then the position of the odd element.

Answer: (C)

Concept: Decode the chain one link at a time.

1. Q @ M: Q is the husband of M. M & Y: M is the mother of Y.
2. Y @ J: Y (male) is the husband of J.
3. J # R: J is the daughter of R. R & Z: R is the mother of Z.
4. So J and Z are children of R – J is Z's sister – and Y is J's husband.

Trick: Y is the husband of Z's sister = Z's sister's husband (brother-in-law).

Answer: (C) Sister’s husband

Concept: The paper is folded bottom-to-top and then right-to-left, so the cuts in the top-left quarter repeat in all four quarters as mirror images.

1. Square at the outer corner → a square at each of the 4 corners.
2. Diamond touching the vertical fold → after unfolding, two diamonds side by side at top-centre, and likewise at bottom-centre.
3. Rectangle inside the quarter (not touching a fold) → four separate rectangles, one in each quarter.
4. Option (A) shows exactly this.

Trick: A cut touching a fold line becomes a joined pair at that line; a cut away from folds becomes separate copies.

Answer: (A)

Concept: The option figure must appear inside the big figure with the same size and orientation (no rotation).

1. Look for the slanted line of the right-angled triangle at the bottom-centre of the figure, the vertical line next to it and the horizontal line on top.
2. Option (D) – a slanted line, a vertical line and a stepped horizontal edge – fits there with every line in place.
3. In (A), (B) and (C) some arc or corner does not match the figure in the same position.

Trick: Start from the most distinctive part of the option (a slanted line or an arc) and locate it in the main figure.

Answer: (D)

Concept: Split into halves of three letters; reverse each half and change the middle letter to its opposite (A↔Z).

1. HIGHLY: HIG → G I H, I→R → GRH; HLY → Y L H, L→O → YOH → GRHYOH ✔
2. CLEVER: CLE → E L C → EOC; VER → R E V → RVV ✔
3. HORROR: HOR → R O H, O→L → RLH.
4. ROR → R O R → RLR. Code: RLHRLR

Trick: Same rule as COUNTY → ULCYGN; opposite letters have positions adding to 27.

Answer: (B) RLHRLR

Concept: The given figure (a quarter-circle arc on top of a straight edge, followed by a slanting arrow-head shape) must appear inside an option exactly as it is — same size and same orientation, with no rotation.

1. Locate the curved part first: every option has a central circle, so look for a quarter of that circle whose straight edge continues into a slanting V-shaped part.
2. In option (D) the upper-left quarter of the circle, together with the vertical grid line and the slanting lines of the triangle part, traces the given figure in the same orientation.
3. In (A), (B) and (C) the slanting part lies on the wrong side of the arc, so the figure would fit only after rotation or flipping.

Trick: Fix the most distinctive part (the arc) first, then check only the direction of the remaining lines.

Answer: (D) Option (D)

Concept: Track each of the four letter positions separately.

1. 1st letters: E, F, G, ?, I → $+1$ each, so H.
2. 2nd letters: L, J, H, ?, D → $-2$ each, so F.
3. 3rd letters: S, V, Y, ?, E → $+3$ each (Y $+3$ wraps to B), so B.
4. 4th letters: V, R, N, ?, F → $-4$ each, so J.

Trick: Write position values (E = 5, L = 12 …) column-wise; constant gaps appear at once.

Answer: (C) HFBJ

Concept: Check the gaps between the first three letters and the relation of the last letter with the first.

1. WVTD: W $\to$ V ($-1$), V $\to$ T ($-2$); W and D are opposite letters ($23+4=27$).
2. JIGQ: $-1$, $-2$; J and Q opposite ($10+17=27$). SRPH: $-1$, $-2$; S and H opposite ($19+8=27$).
3. KLNP: K $\to$ L is $+1$, L $\to$ N is $+2$ — the gaps move forward, not backward. So KLNP is different.

Trick: Opposite-letter pairs add up to 27 (A–Z, D–W, H–S, J–Q).

Answer: (D) KLNP

Concept: Fix the definite positions first (D, then F), then try the cases for the pairs.

1. Only 1 person to the left of D → D is 2nd from left. A is a neighbour of D → A is 1st or 3rd.
2. 2 people between F and D → F is 5th. 3 people between C and G → they take 3rd and 7th (1st/5th is not possible with F at 5th).
3. So A is 1st, and 2 people between E and A → E is 4th; B is 6th.
4. B is not a neighbour of G → G is not 7th, so G = 3rd and C = 7th. Row: A D G E F B C.

Trick: In a north-facing row, your left = row's left; place the 'only 1 to the left' person first.

Answer: (C) C

Concept: A letter common to two words gets the digit common to their codes.

1. GAME = 8426 and MUST = 7853.
2. The only common letter is M; the only common digit is 8.
3. So M = 8.

Trick: Common letter ↔ common digit — no need to decode anything else.

Answer: (A) 8

Concept: Draw the minimal Venn diagram: 'All X are Y' puts circle X fully inside circle Y.

1. All leaves are flowers and all flowers are trees → Leaves ⊂ Flowers ⊂ Trees.
2. Conclusion II: All leaves are trees — leaves lie inside trees, so it follows.
3. Conclusion I: All trees are flowers — trees may be bigger than flowers, so it does not follow.

Trick: 'All A are B' + 'All B are C' ⇒ 'All A are C'; the reverse 'All C are B' never follows.

Answer: (C) Only Conclusion II follows.

Concept: Numbers seen together with a face are adjacent to it; the one never seen with it is opposite.

1. Face 1 appears in all three positions.
2. Faces shown with 1: 6, 5 (fig 1), 2, 6 (fig 2), 4, 2 (fig 3) → adjacent faces 2, 4, 5, 6.
3. The only number never seen with 1 is 3, so 3 is opposite 1.

Trick: A cube face has exactly 4 neighbours; the 5th number left over is its opposite.

Answer: (A) 3

Concept: With a vertical mirror (MN) on the right, left and right are interchanged while top and bottom stay the same; every letter/number is also laterally inverted.

1. Elements on the right (P, the half-shaded circle, V) shift to the left side, and D, 7, S shift to the right; 2 stays on top and 6 stays at the bottom.
2. The horizontal hand that pointed right (towards P) now points left, ending with its small arc; the arrow still points down.
3. Each character must be mirrored: (D) shows an unmirrored 6, (A) shows an unmirrored P, and in (B) the hand still points right. Only (C) satisfies all.

Trick: Vertical mirror: swap left ↔ right only; check one asymmetric character (like 6 or P) to eliminate options fast.

Answer: (C) Option (C)

Concept: Replace the symbols as directed, then apply BODMAS.

1. ÷ → +, × → ÷, – → ×, + → –.
2. $137÷56\times 7-6+31\to 137+56÷7\times 6-31$
3. $=137+8\times 6-31=137+48-31$
4. $=154$

Trick: Rewrite the whole expression with new symbols first; never mix substitution and calculation.

Answer: (D) $154$

Concept: Compare words letter by letter; the first differing letter decides the order.

1. All start with 'Lo'. Third letters: Logician (g), Loincloth (i), Lollipop (l), Lonely (n), Longways (n).
2. Lonely vs Longways: 'lone' vs 'long' → e comes before g, so Lonely first.
3. Order: Logician, Loincloth, Lollipop, Lonely, Longways = 4, 2, 1, 5, 3.

Trick: Ignore the common prefix and compare the first differing letter.

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