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

Concept: Each term is multiplied by successive multiples of 6.

1. $2\times 6=12$, $12\times 12=144$, $144\times 18=2592$.
2. Next multiplier $24$: $2592\times 24=62208$.

Trick: Divide each term by the previous one: 6, 12, 18 – the pattern appears.

Answer: (B) 62208

Concept: All words start with “Inter”; compare from the 6th letter onwards.

1. Interd- words come before Intere- and Inters-: Interdependent, Interdict, Interdisciplinary.
2. Interde- (e) comes before Interdi-; Interdic- (c) comes before Interdis- (s).
3. Then Interest (e) and finally Intersect (s).
4. Order: 4, 3, 2, 1, 5.

Trick: Strip the common prefix and sort what remains: dep, dic, dis, est, sec.

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

Concept: Two changes run together: the chevrons rotate and the dots move alternately.

1. Chevrons turn ${45}^{\circ }$ anticlockwise each step: up → up-left → left → down-left → so next pointing down. This removes (A) and (C).
2. Black dot appears in figures 1, 3, 5 …: top-left, bottom-right, so in figure 5 it returns to top-left.
3. White dot appears in figures 2 and 4 only, so figure 5 has a black dot, not a white one – this removes (B).
4. Option (D): chevrons pointing down with a black dot at top-left.

Trick: When two elements change, solve them separately and eliminate.

Answer: (D)

Concept: Check which classes are parts of which.

1. Lenses are a part of spectacles, so the Lens circle lies inside the Spectacles circle (taken as the class of things making up spectacles).
2. A mirror is a separate object; it is neither a lens nor spectacles.
3. So: one circle inside another, and a third circle completely apart.

Trick: Part-of relation → circle inside circle; unrelated item → separate circle.

Answer: (D)

Concept: The positions of the three symbols (star, dot, S) repeat after every four figures.

1. Fig 1: star top, dot left, S bottom; Fig 2: S left, star right, dot bottom.
2. Fig 3: S top, dot right, star bottom; Fig 4: star left, dot top, S right.
3. Fig 5 is identical to Fig 1, so Fig 6 must be identical to Fig 2.
4. Fig 2 = S left, star right, dot bottom → option (A).

Trick: If a figure repeats, the series is cyclic – just copy the figure that followed it.

Answer: (A)

Concept: A vertical mirror MN on the right swaps left and right but keeps top and bottom unchanged.

1. Given: two flag-shaped triangles pointing left; the upper one has the black (shaded) tip, the lower one has a plain tip with a small line.
2. In the image both triangles point right and the curved arcs move to the left side.
3. The upper triangle still has the black tip and the lower one the plain tip – this is option (A).
4. (D) swaps top and bottom (water image); (B) and (C) are not reversed.

Trick: Vertical mirror: what is on top stays on top.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Unfold step by step; each unfolding mirrors the cut across that fold line.

1. Folds: top half down onto the bottom, then the right half onto the left. The cut is in the bottom-left quarter.
2. Opening the second fold gives a left–right mirror in the bottom-right quarter.
3. Opening the first fold gives an up–down mirror in both top quarters (triangles flipped vertically).
4. Only option (A) shows mirror images in all four quarters.

Trick: Check one pair of neighbouring quarters at a time – they must be mirror images.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Find the gaps between the letters using alphabet positions.

1. XTZ: $24\to 20\to 26$ ($-4$, $+6$).
2. PLR: $16\to 12\to 18$ ($-4$, $+6$); GCI: $7\to 3\to 9$ ($-4$, $+6$).
3. IFK: $9\to 6\to 11$ ($-3$, $+5$) – different.

Trick: Write the position numbers below each letter; the odd gap stands out.

Answer: (B) IFK

Concept: The block “wellngk” repeats three times.

1. Block 1: w e l l n g k
2. Block 2: w e l l n g k
3. Block 3: w e l l n g k
4. Missing letters: e, n, k, l, g, w, l, n.

Trick: 21 letters = 3 blocks of 7; the letter “k” before each “w” marks the block end.

Answer: (B) e n k l g w l n

Concept: Each letter is replaced by its position in the alphabet.

1. GOA: G = 7, O = 15, A = 1 → 7151 ✓; DOG → 4 15 7 → 4157 ✓.
2. MAN: M = 13, A = 1, N = 14 → 13114.

Trick: Positions written side by side – no addition.

Answer: (A) 13114

Concept: Find subset and overlap relations.

1. Every father is a man, so Fathers lies inside Men.
2. Some men are doctors and some fathers are doctors, but there are also women doctors, so Doctors partly overlaps both Men and Fathers.
3. This is a small circle inside a big circle, with a third circle cutting both.

Trick: Professions (doctor, teacher) usually overlap gender/relation classes.

Answer: (D)

Concept: Decode the expression link by link.

1. A @ L: A is father of L; L # F: L is sister of F; F * E: F is brother of E.
2. So L, F, E are siblings and A is the father of all three.
3. E × G: G is the husband of E; G $ C: G is son-in-law of C, so E is C’s daughter.
4. E’s parents are A (father) and C, so C is the mother and A is C’s husband.

Trick: Son-in-law of C ⇒ his wife is C’s child – connect the two families through her.

Answer: (A) Husband

Concept: Compare the gaps between consecutive letters.

1. LNSV: $12,14,19,22$ → $+2,+5,+3$.
2. FHMP: $6,8,13,16$ → $+2,+5,+3$; BDIL: $2,4,9,12$ → $+2,+5,+3$.
3. JLPT: $10,12,16,20$ → $+2,+4,+4$ – different.

Trick: Only the middle gap differs; check the second and third letters first.

Answer: (D) JLPT

Concept: Code = number of letters in the word + 2.

1. CAKE has 4 letters: $4+2=6$ ✓.
2. JUICE has 5 letters: $5+2=7$ ✓.
3. JUG has 3 letters: $3+2=5$.

Trick: Small one-digit codes usually come from letter count.

Answer: (B) 5

Concept: Substitute the signs and apply BODMAS.

1. $200-12\times 15+26÷13$.
2. $12\times 15=180$, $26÷13=2$.
3. $200-180+2=22$.

Trick: Never do $200-12$ first – multiplication comes before subtraction.

Answer: (A) 22

Concept: For a south-facing row, right = west and left = east.

1. 4 and 2 are not at the corners, so 1 and 3 occupy the two ends of the north-facing row.
2. 7 is at the right end of the south-facing row (west end) and 1 sits opposite 7.
3. So 3 is at the east end of the north row, and 8 (opposite 3) is at the east end of the south row.
4. The east end is the left end for people facing south ⇒ 8.

Trick: Mark West and East first; then “right/left” for each row follows automatically.

Answer: (B) 8

Concept: Substitute the signs; solve the bracket first, then BODMAS.

1. $34+15\times 3-11\times 2+(51÷17)$.
2. Bracket: $51÷17=3$; products: $45$ and $22$.
3. $34+45-22+3=60$.

Trick: B of BODMAS: the bracket is always solved first.

Answer: (A) 60

Concept: Draw the minimum-overlap diagram: Gowns ⊂ Shirts, Coats overlap Shirts, Coats ⊂ Clothes.

1. I: Gowns and Clothes are connected only through Shirts with “some”, so gowns may lie outside clothes – I does not follow.
2. II: The shirts that are coats are also clothes ⇒ “Some clothes are shirts” definitely follows.

Trick: Two “some”-links in a chain never give a definite conclusion.

Answer: (C) Only conclusion II follows.

Concept: Split the word into two halves, reverse each half, and move every letter 2 places forward.

1. FRIDAY: FRI → IRF → +2 → KTH; DAY → YAD → +2 → ACF ⇒ KTHACF ✓.
2. MOSTLY: MOS → SOM → UQO; TLY → YLT → ANV ⇒ UQOANV ✓.
3. GINGER: GIN → NIG → PKI; GER → REG → TGI.
4. Code = PKITGI.

Trick: Y + 2 = A (wrap around from Z to A).

Answer: (C) PKITGI

Concept: Interchange the signs, then BODMAS.

1. $24-20\times 12+18÷5$ becomes $24\times 20÷12-18+5$.
2. $24\times 20=480$, $480÷12=40$.
3. $40-18+5=27$.

Trick: $24\times 20÷12=2\times 20=40$ – divide first to save time.

Answer: (B) 27