SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 12 September 2024, Shift 1 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 10 of 99

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 6 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

In a certain code language, 'FIVE' is written as '12184410' and FOUR is written as '12304236'. How will 'THREE' be written in that language?

(a)4016361310
(b)4016361010
(c)4016361110
(d)4016361212

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Rule: replace each letter by twice its alphabet position, then write the results end to end.

FIVE: F(6)→12, I(9)→18, V(22)→44, E(5)→10, giving 12184410 ✓
FOUR: F(6)→12, O(15)→30, U(21)→42, R(18)→36, giving 12304236 ✓

THREE, letter by letter: T(20)→40, H(8)→16, R(18)→36, E(5)→10, E(5)→10.

Strung together that is 4016361010 → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
4016361310 — The fourth block reads 13, which is no letter's double — every block in this code is even. E is the fifth letter, so its block is 10.
(c)
4016361110 — The fourth block reads 11, an odd number. Doubling an alphabet position can never give an odd block, so 11 cannot occur here.
(d)
4016361212 — The last two blocks read 12, which is the code for F. THREE ends in E and E, so both closing blocks have to be 10.

Concept

Number-coding items are read in blocks, not as one long number. Split the code by the word's letters first, then ask what each block does to its letter.

FIVE gives 12, 18, 44 and 10 against positions 6, 9, 22 and 5, so every block is double the alphabet position. FOUR confirms it, which is why SSC supplies two worked words.

Block lengths are not equal — V doubles to 44, a two-digit block, while a letter past M would give a two-digit block too and a letter before it a one- or two-digit one. Split by letter, never by digit count.

THREE has five letters where both given words have four, so its code has five blocks, and its repeated E means the last two blocks must be identical. That alone narrows the field to the options ending 1010 and 1212.

Key facts

F(6) codes as 12, I(9) as 18, V(22) as 44 and E(5) as 10.
Every block in this code is even, because each is twice an alphabet position.
THREE codes as 40, 16, 36, 10, 10.

Study next

Number codes built on position plus a constant, or on the square of the positionSplitting a run of digits into blocks when the blocks differ in lengthAlphabet positions and their doubles up to 52

Common traps

Reading 12184410 as a single number instead of four blocks.
Splitting the code into equal two-digit blocks when a block such as 44 breaks the pattern.
Forgetting that THREE has five letters while both given words have four.

Reasoning Q.8 of this shift codes letters into letters with an alternating +1 and −1 shift. In both, write the word above the code and match one position at a time.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.