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

Concept: Male judges = numbers lying inside both the rectangle (judges) and the triangle (males).

1. Regions common to rectangle and triangle: 8 (also golf players) and 26.
2. Total $=8+26=34$
3. 17 is judges + golf players but outside the triangle, so it is not counted.

Trick: Shade the common region of the two named shapes, ignoring the third shape.

Answer: (D) $34$

Concept: Each position increases by +1, +2, +3, +4.

1. 1st: P→Q→S→V→Z (+1, +2, +3, +4).
2. 2nd: Z→A→C→F→J (+1, +2, +3, +4).
3. 3rd: X→Y→A→D→H (+1, +2, +3, +4). So ZJH.

Trick: Same increasing step in all three positions – find one, apply to all.

Answer: (B) ZJH

Concept: Differences increase by 4.

1. Differences: $11,15,19,23,27$
2. Next difference $=31$
3. $?=120+31=151$

Trick: Constant second difference → keep adding the same increase.

Answer: (B) $151$

Concept: Vowels move 3 steps back (−3) and consonants move 3 steps forward (+3).

1. EAGER: E−3=B, A−3=X, G+3=J, E−3=B, R+3=U → BXJBU. MARKS → PXUNV fits too.
2. LOCUST: L+3=O, O−3=L, C+3=F, U−3=R, S+3=V, T+3=W.
3. Code = OLFRVW.

Trick: When the same letter (E) gets the same code (B) everywhere, the rule is letter-wise, often vowel vs consonant.

Answer: (D) OLFRVW

Concept: Check the backward steps between letters.

1. KFBY: K→F (−5), F→B (−4), B→Y (−3).
2. TOKH and BWSP also follow −5, −4, −3.
3. ZUQO: Z→U (−5), U→Q (−4), Q→O (−2) → breaks the pattern.

Trick: Count backwards circularly: B − 3 = Y.

Answer: (C) ZUQO

Concept: Place the eight people at the eight compass points in anticlockwise order.

1. G is at South-east.
2. Moving anticlockwise (on a map, from SE upwards): H at East, A at North-east.
3. So A sits in the North-east.

Trick: Anticlockwise on a map: S → SE → E → NE → N → NW → W → SW.

Answer: (C) North-east

Concept: Figure (X) is a tilted square (diamond) with a vertical line from its top corner running down through it, and a slanted parallelogram hanging below its left half; find it in the same orientation.

1. In (C), the diamond with the central vertical line and the parallelogram below its left half appear exactly as in (X).
2. In (A), (B) and (D) the diamond and the vertical line exist, but the parallelogram below the left half does not match in position or direction.
3. Hence (X) is embedded in (C).

Trick: Look for the most unusual part of (X) (here the parallelogram below the diamond) first.

Answer: (C)

Concept: Number the five positions: 1 top-left, 2 top-right, 3 centre, 4 bottom-left, 5 bottom-right. Every shape moves two positions forward each step.

1. 4-point star: 1 → 3 → 5 → next 2 (top-right).
2. Oval: 2 → 4 → 1 → next 3 (centre); hexagram: 3 → 5 → 2 → next 4.
3. Square: 4 → 1 → 3 → next 5; triangle: 5 → 2 → 4 → next 1. This is option (C).

Trick: Follow one shape at a time; once the step size is found, it applies to all shapes.

Answer: (C)

Concept: Arrange the body parts from bottom to top.

1. Knee (lowest) → Waist → Navel → Chin → Eyebrows (highest).
2. This gives 1, 4, 2, 5, 3.

Trick: For body parts, check whether options start from the bottom (knee) or the top (eyebrows).

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

Concept: Differences are consecutive perfect squares.

1. $62\to 71\to 87\to 112\to 148$: differences $9,16,25,36$ $=3^2,4^2,5^2,6^2$
2. So the first two differences are $1^2=1$ and $2^2=4$
3. $57+1=58$, $58+4=62$ ✓

Trick: Differences 9, 16, 25… instantly signal squares.

Answer: (C) $58$

Concept: Third number = (first × second) ÷ 2.

1. $\frac{14\times 4}{2}=28$
2. $\frac{21\times 6}{2}=63$
3. $\frac{45\times 8}{2}=180$

Trick: Third = first × (second ÷ 2): 4 → ×2, 6 → ×3, 8 → ×4.

Answer: (B) $180$

Concept: The arrow and the small shapes follow separate rules.

1. Arrow turns 90° clockwise each step: up → right → down → left → up.
2. Each new shape appears at top-right, moves to bottom-right next time, then disappears: circle, triangle, rectangle…
3. Figure 5: arrow up, rectangle at bottom-right, a new shape (pentagon) at top-right → option (A).

Trick: Track 'entry → shift → exit' of shapes like a queue.

Answer: (A)

Concept: Interchange the numbers given in each option and evaluate using BODMAS.

1. Swap 7 and 21: $63÷7-42+8\times 21$
2. $=9-42+168=135$ ✓
3. Swap 7 and 63 (A): $7÷63$ is not even a whole number – rejected.

Trick: Prefer swaps that make the division exact.

Answer: (B) $7$ and $21$

Concept: Draw the path and cancel opposite movements.

1. South 40 m, then left → East 55 m, left → North 15 m, left → West 55 m.
2. East 55 and West 55 cancel.
3. Net south $=40-15=25\text{m}$ from home.

Trick: Facing south, a left turn means east.

Answer: (B) $25\text{m}$

Concept: Each number of row 3 is the average of the numbers above it in rows 1 and 2.

1. $\frac{557+447}{2}=502$
2. $\frac{835+753}{2}=794$
3. $\frac{504+612}{2}=558$

Trick: If row 3 lies between rows 1 and 2 in every column, test the average.

Answer: (C) $558$

Concept: A 'Some' statement can always be converted: 'Some A are B' ⇔ 'Some B are A'.

1. 'Some fish are frogs' → 'Some frogs are fish' → I follows.
2. 'Some octopuses are fish' → 'Some fish are octopuses' → II follows.
3. Both conclusions follow.

Trick: Conclusions that are simple conversions of the given statements always follow.

Answer: (D) Both conclusions follow

Concept: Every position moves back by 3, 4, 5, 6.

1. 1st: P→M→I→D→X (−3, −4, −5, −6).
2. 2nd: O→L→H→C→W; 3rd: U→R→N→I→C.
3. 4th: R→O→K→F→Z. Answer XWCZ.

Trick: D − 6 wraps round to X (count back past A to Z).

Answer: (B) XWCZ

Concept: Place P at the origin and locate every house.

1. Z is 45 m south of P; Q is 30 m west of Z.
2. M is 50 m north of P; H is 30 m west of M; J is 50 m south of H → J is exactly 30 m west of P.
3. Q and J are on the same vertical line, J being 45 m above Q → J is 45 m North of Q.

Trick: Two points with the same east–west shift lie on one north–south line.

Answer: (C) North, $45\text{m}$

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

1. $15\times (14-7)+25÷(18-13)-8\times (2+3)$
2. $=15\times 7+25÷5-8\times 5$
3. $=105+5-40=70$

Trick: Solve brackets first, then ÷ and ×, then + and −.

Answer: (C) $70$

Concept: A vertical mirror on the right reverses the order and flips each character left–right only.

1. Order becomes 4, 5, N, V, A.
2. A and V are symmetric, so they look the same; N, 5 and 4 appear laterally reversed.
3. Nothing turns upside down – (D) wrongly inverts V and A, (B) and (C) distort 4 or 5. So (A).

Trick: In a vertical mirror, symmetric letters (A, V, H, M…) remain unchanged.

Answer: (A)