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

Concept: Lion : Forest is 'animal : its natural habitat'.

1. A lion lives in the forest; a shark lives in the ocean.
2. Bee : Honey is 'maker : product'; Flower : Honey and Sorrow : Love do not show habitat.

Trick: Frame the pair as a sentence — 'A ___ lives in the ___' — and test each option.

Answer: (B) Shark : Ocean

Concept: Replace the signs, then apply BODMAS.

1. Given: $32+36\times 4-21÷56$
2. After change: $32\times 36÷4+21-56$
3. $=32\times 9+21-56=288-35=253$

Trick: Do $36÷4=9$ first to keep the multiplication small.

Answer: (B) 253

Concept: Replace the letters by the signs and solve the bracket first (BODMAS).

1. $48÷12+(\sqrt{36}\times 3)-19+24$
2. $=4+(6\times 3)-19+24$
3. $=4+18-19+24=27$

Trick: Solve the bracket: $\sqrt{36}\times 3=18$, then go left to right.

Answer: (B) 27

Concept: The differences are squares with alternating signs.

1. $182-101=81=9^2$, $118-182=-64=-8^2$
2. $167-118=49=7^2$
3. Next: $167-6^2=167-36=131$

Trick: Big up-and-down jumps often mean alternating ± perfect squares.

Answer: (A) 131

Concept: Find the repeating block of 4 letters.

1. Fill P, A, J, A, S, P, J: P S J A | P S J A | P S J A | P S J A.
2. The block 'PSJA' repeats four times.

Trick: 16 letters → try a block of 4; the given letters S, J, P, A already hint at 'PSJA'.

Answer: (B) P A J A S P J

Concept: Each letter of the word is written as two letters: (letter − 2) and (letter + 2).

1. LIST: L → J N, I → G K, S → Q U, T → R V ⇒ JNGKQURV ✓
2. MOAN: M → K O, O → M Q, A → Y C, N → L P ⇒ KOMQYCLP ✓
3. PLUM: P → N R, L → J N, U → S W, M → K O ⇒ NRJNSWKO

Trick: Each pair surrounds the original letter (one before-before, one after-after) — the order of pairs follows the word.

Answer: (B) NRJNSWKO

Concept: Treat each letter position as a separate series.

1. 1st: R, N, ?, F, B → −4 → J
2. 2nd: S, P, ?, J, G → −3 → M
3. 3rd: B, E, ?, K, N → +3 → H
4. 4th: G, I, ?, M, O → +2 → K

Trick: When the blank is in the middle, take the average of the neighbours: between N and F is J.

Answer: (C) JMHK

Concept: Write positions: the 2nd letter is 6 places after the 1st, and the 3rd letter is the opposite (sum 27) of the 1st.

1. PVK: P(16) → V(22) = +6; K(11) is opposite of P ✓
2. OUL: O(15) → U(21) = +6; L(12) is opposite of O ✓
3. MSN: M(13) → S(19) = +6; N(14) is opposite of M ✓
4. QUK: Q(17) → U(21) = +4 only, and the opposite of Q is J, not K ✗

Trick: Opposite letters add up to 27: P–K, O–L, M–N.

Answer: (C) QUK

Concept: Each letter is replaced by its opposite letter (positions add up to 27).

1. TRUCKS: T↔G, R↔I, U↔F, C↔X, K↔P, S↔H → GIFXPH ✓
2. WASTE → DZHGV ✓
3. FANTASY: F↔U, A↔Z, N↔M, T↔G, A↔Z, S↔H, Y↔B → UZMGZHB

Trick: Pairs to remember: A–Z, F–U, G–T, H–S, M–N, B–Y.

Answer: (B) UZMGZHB

Concept: Replace the letters by the signs and apply BODMAS.

1. $456-236÷2+14\times 1$
2. $=456-118+14$
3. $=352$

Trick: Division and multiplication first, then addition/subtraction from left to right.

Answer: (A) 352

Concept: Replace each letter by its sign and then simplify using BODMAS (÷ and × first, then + and −).

1. Expression becomes $144-8\times 20+81÷3$.
2. Division and multiplication: $81÷3=27$, $8\times 20=160$.
3. Now $144-160+27=11$.

Trick: Always finish ÷ and × before touching + and −.

Answer: (B) 11

Concept: Look for a short block of letters that keeps repeating.

1. Fill option (A) V, W, V, V, V in order: VWV V W V VW V V WV.
2. The series reads VWV | VWV | VWV | VWV.
3. The block “VWV” repeats four times, so the series is complete.

Trick: Count the total length (12 letters) and try a repeating block of 3 or 4 letters.

Answer: (A) VWVVV

Concept: The given figure (a diamond at the top, a vertical line going down, then a short turn to the right ending in a small circle) must appear exactly as it is, without rotation.

1. In option (B) the diamond sits at the top centre with a vertical line running down from it.
2. From this vertical line a horizontal branch turns right and ends in a circle – the same shape and orientation as the given figure.
3. In the other options the diamond-line-circle path is either missing, turned or attached on the wrong side.

Trick: First locate the most distinctive part (the diamond), then trace the line from it.

Answer: (B)

Concept: Quantity : its SI unit.

1. The SI unit of force is the newton (N).
2. The SI unit of electric current is the ampere (A).
3. Volt is the unit of potential difference and coulomb is the unit of charge; “charge” itself is a quantity, not a unit.

Yaad rakhein: Current – ampere, charge – coulomb, potential difference – volt, resistance – ohm.

Answer: (B) Ampere

Concept: Arrange the planets by their distance from the Sun.

1. Order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn …
2. Given planets in that order: Venus (2), Earth (1), Mars (3), Jupiter (5), Saturn (4).
3. Sequence = 2, 1, 3, 5, 4.

Yaad rakhein: “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos” – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

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

Concept: Decode each symbol one link at a time and draw the family tree.

1. W # Q: W is brother of Q; Q @ T: Q is son of T; T & Y: T is father of Y.
2. Y @ M: Y is son of M, so M (mother) is T’s wife.
3. M % K: M is mother of K; K % L: K is mother of L, so K is female.
4. K is a female child of T, i.e. T’s daughter.

Trick: Whenever a person is shown as “mother of” someone, mark her female immediately.

Answer: (A) Daughter

Concept: Find the rule linking the three numbers: third = (first)${}^3$ + second.

1. $(6,12,228)$: $6^3+12=216+12=228$.
2. $(8,3,515)$: $8^3+3=512+3=515$.
3. Option (C): $4^3+18=64+18=82$ ✓.
4. Check others: $3^3+28=55\ne 56$, ${13}^3+11\ne 172$, $9^3+23\ne 119$.

Trick: When the third number is just above a cube (216, 512), think of cube + something.

Answer: (C) (4, 18, 82)

Concept: The series is the block “AACDEF” written four times.

1. Block 1: AACDEF
2. Block 2: AACDEF
3. Block 3: AACDEF
4. Block 4: AACDEF → missing letters C, E, A, D, F, A, C, E, A, E.

Trick: Total length 24 = 4 blocks of 6; write the known letters under each other and fill the gaps.

Answer: (B) CEADFACEAE

Concept: Second = first + 12 and third = first + second.

1. $(17,29,46)$: $17+12=29$, $17+29=46$.
2. $(24,36,60)$: $24+12=36$, $24+36=60$.
3. Option (C): $21+12=33$, $21+33=54$ ✓.
4. Others fail: $36+46=82\ne 81$, $29+41=70\ne 64$, $48+52=100\ne 98$.

Trick: Test the simplest rule first – the sum of the first two numbers.

Answer: (C) (21, 33, 54)

Concept: The house faces west, so Diogo first walks west. Track the net east–west and north–south movement.

1. 22 m west, left → 20 m south, left → 25 m east, left → 24 m north.
2. East–west: $25-22=3$ m east; north–south: $24-20=4$ m north.
3. Distance $=\sqrt{3^2+4^2}=\sqrt{25}=5$ m.
4. 3 m east and 4 m north ⇒ the school is to the north-east.

Trick: 3–4–5 is the most common Pythagorean triplet in direction questions.

Answer: (A) 5 m due north-east