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

Concept: Track the small corner triangle and the main star-and-circle figure separately.

1. The small black triangle moves one corner clockwise: top-left → top-right → bottom-right → next bottom-left.
2. The star with the circle turns ${90}^{\circ }$ clockwise each step: circle at top → right → bottom → next at left.
3. Rotating Fig 3 by ${90}^{\circ }$ clockwise puts the black part of the circle on its upper side. Option (C) matches; (A) has the shading on the wrong side.

Trick: Decide the corner element first – it removes options quickly; then check the shading.

Answer: (C) Option figure (C)

Concept: Find the repeating group of letters.

1. The series has 21 places; try the block ‘gbcppsc’ (7 letters) three times.
2. g b c p p s c | g b c p p s c | g b c p p s c fits every given letter.
3. Blanks in order: b, p, s, g, p, c, b, p.

Trick: 21 places → try blocks of 3 or 7.

Answer: (C) b p s g p c b p

Concept: Letters are shifted alternately −2 and +2.

1. GROUP → G−2=E, R+2=T, O−2=M, U+2=W, P−2=N → ETMWN ✓.
2. PACTED → NCAVCF ✓ with the same −2, +2 pattern.
3. LIONS → L−2=J, I+2=K, O−2=M, N+2=P, S−2=Q → JKMPQ.

Trick: Alternating ± shifts: write the shift under each letter.

Answer: (A) JKMPQ

Concept: Put each option's signs in order and check that both sides are equal.

1. Option (D): ÷, +, =, −, ×, +.
2. LHS: $\sqrt{729÷9}+67=\sqrt{81}+67=9+67=76$.
3. RHS: $81-(4\times 6)+19=81-24+19=76$. LHS = RHS ✓.

Trick: Look for the option whose ‘=’ can split the expression sensibly – here only the 3rd sign as ‘=’ gives 76 = 76.

Answer: (D) ÷, +, =, −, ×, +

Concept: Count odd days between the two dates; going back in time, move the day backwards.

1. From 2 March 2006 to 2 March 2022 = 16 years.
2. Leap days (29 Feb) in between: 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 = 4.
3. Odd days $=16+4=20$, and $20÷7$ leaves remainder 6.
4. Wednesday − 6 days = Thursday.

Trick: Going back 6 days = going forward 1 day: Wednesday + 1 = Thursday.

Answer: (C) Thursday

Concept: South-facing people have their left on the east; north-facing people have their left on the west.

1. V is at the left end of Row I (south-facing) → east end; T opposite V → east end of Row II.
2. E is next to V and opposite P.
3. Row II's left end is the west end; C sits next to it and opposite O. The west end of Row II is then I (and L faces him).

Trick: Draw both rows on one W–E line before placing anyone.

Answer: (C) I

Concept: Find a rule linking the first two numbers to the third.

1. $(3,11,92)$: $3^4+11=81+11=92$.
2. $(4,8,264)$: $4^4+8=256+8=264$.
3. Option (C): $5^4+35=625+35=660$ ✓. (D): $6^4+12=1308\ne 676$.

Trick: When the third number is close to a perfect power of the first (81, 256), test $a^4$.

Answer: (C) $(5,35,660)$

Concept: Mirror on the right (vertical): left ↔ right; top and bottom unchanged.

1. Object: triangle part on the left, square part on the right.
2. Image: squares come to the left, the pointed triangle part to the right.
3. Top square stays outlined, bottom square stays black; top small triangle stays black, bottom one outlined – option (A).

Trick: Check one shaded element (black square at bottom) – it stays at the bottom in a vertical mirror.

Answer: (A) Option figure (A)

Concept: Use conversion of statements and the minimum Venn diagram.

1. ‘No truck is a bus’ converts to ‘No bus is a truck’ → I follows.
2. ‘Some buses are cars’ converts to ‘Some cars are buses’ → III follows.
3. Nothing links cars to trucks, so ‘All cars are trucks’ (II) does not follow.

Trick: ‘No’ and ‘Some’ statements can always be reversed; ‘All’ cannot.

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

Concept: Find the rule from the first and third pairs.

1. $21\to 40$: $21\times 2-2=40$.
2. $26\to 50$: $26\times 2-2=50$.
3. $16\times 2-2=30$.

Trick: Second term is just under double the first → try $2n-2$.

Answer: (C) $30$

Concept: Differences are multiples of 17.

1. $100-83=17$, $134-100=34$.
2. Differences: $17\times 1,17\times 2,17\times 3,17\times 4$.
3. $134+51=185$ and check $185+68=253$ ✓.

Trick: Always verify the blank using the term after it.

Answer: (A) $185$

Concept: Unfold in reverse order; each unfolding gives a mirror copy across the fold line.

1. Fold 1: left half onto right. Fold 2: top onto bottom. The cut is made on the bottom-right quarter: circle above square on the left, pentagon (pointing up) on the right.
2. Undo fold 2: the top-right quarter gets the up-down mirror – square above circle, pentagon pointing down.
3. Undo fold 1: the left half is the left-right mirror of the right half. This is option (C).

Trick: Across a horizontal fold, shapes flip up–down; across a vertical fold, they flip left–right.

Answer: (C) Option figure (C)

Concept: Decide which pairs can overlap and which are separate.

1. School and College are different institutions – separate circles.
2. Some schools have a playground and some colleges have a playground; not every playground belongs to one of them.
3. So Playground overlaps both, while School and College do not overlap – three circles in a chain with Playground in the middle (option C).

Trick: Two separate classes + one class partly common to both → chain of three circles.

Answer: (C) Option figure (C)

Concept: Replace letters with signs and follow BODMAS.

1. A = +, B = ×, C = −, D = ÷.
2. $72÷12+16-4\times 2$.
3. $=6+16-8=14$.

Trick: Do $72÷12=6$ and $4\times 2=8$ first.

Answer: (A) $14$

Concept: Substitute the signs and apply BODMAS.

1. A = +, B = ×, C = −, D = ÷.
2. $45+15÷15-14\times 2$.
3. $=45+1-28=18$.

Trick: ÷ and × first: 1 and 28.

Answer: (A) $18$

Concept: Interchange the signs as given and then use BODMAS.

1. × → +, ÷ → ×, + → −, − → ÷.
2. $13+6\times 18-98÷7$.
3. $=13+108-14=107$.

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

Answer: (A) $107$

Concept: Combine the statements through the common term.

1. Some tongs are ladles + all ladles are spoons → those tongs are spoons: I follows.
2. Forks are related only to spoons (some); ladles may lie outside forks, so ‘Some forks are ladles’ (II) is not certain.
3. ‘All ladles are forks’ (III) is also not certain.

Trick: Some A are B + All B are C ⇒ Some A are C; ‘Some + Some’ gives no conclusion.

Answer: (D) Only Conclusion I follows.

Concept: Mirror on the right side: every element changes left ↔ right and letters/symbols are laterally inverted; top–bottom stays.

1. Symbols at the left (!, G) go to the right; those at the right (%, Y) go to the left, at the same height.
2. Letters are reversed (G appears as a back-to-front G), the black and white arrow-like shapes point the opposite way.
3. Option (C) shows all elements correctly inverted at the same heights; (A) and (D) differ in the positions/orientations of the middle symbols.

Trick: Check one corner symbol and one asymmetric letter (G) – they quickly eliminate options.

Answer: (C) Option figure (C)

Concept: Check the gap between the 2nd and 3rd letters.

1. PKN: K(11) → N(14) = +3; DWZ: W(23) → Z(26) = +3; JQT: Q(17) → T(20) = +3.
2. EUY: U(21) → Y(25) = +4.
3. So EUY is the odd one.

Trick: When the first gaps look random, check the last gap alone.

Answer: (B) EUY

Concept: Letters are rearranged by position.

1. ROBOT (1 2 3 4 5) → BOTOR = positions 3, 4, 5, 2, 1.
2. BRING → I N G R B = 3, 4, 5, 2, 1 ✓.
3. PANTS → N, T, S, A, P = NTSAP.

Trick: Write position numbers under the word and read the code as 3-4-5-2-1.

Answer: (C) NTSAP