SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 17 September 2024, Shift 1 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 4 of 98

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, ‘FLBS’ is coded as ‘156’ and ‘MXT’ is coded as ‘228’. How will ‘VDZN’ be coded in the same language?

(a)220
(b)160
(c)264
(d)180

Answer

Why

Correct — C. Turn each letter into its alphabet position, add, then scale.

FLBS = 6 + 12 + 2 + 19 = 39, and 39 x 4 = 156.
MXT = 13 + 24 + 20 = 57, and 57 x 4 = 228.

Rule: (sum of alphabet positions) x 4.

VDZN = 22 + 4 + 26 + 14 = 66
66 x 4 = 264, which is option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
220 — 220 needs a letter total of 55. V + D + Z + N = 22 + 4 + 26 + 14 = 66, so the code is 264.
(b)
160 — 160 needs a total of 40. That is nowhere near 66 — it is close to FLBS's own total of 39, which belongs to a different word.
(d)
180 — 180 needs a total of 45. The multiplier stays 4 across both worked codes, so a sum of 66 can only give 264.

Concept

A numeric code item gives you two worked pairs and expects one arithmetic bridge that fits both. The reliable first move is to write each word as alphabet positions, A = 1 up to Z = 26, and add them.

Then compare each total with its code. Here 39 gives 156 and 57 gives 228, and both ratios are exactly 4, so the bridge is a multiplier.

Do not let the differing word lengths distract you. FLBS has four letters and MXT has three, and the multiplier is 4 for both — it is not the letter count.

FLBS has four letters and its multiplier is also 4, so the two coincide by accident.

MXT settles it: three letters, still multiplied by 4.

Key facts

F = 6, L = 12, B = 2 and S = 19 total 39, and 39 x 4 = 156.
M = 13, X = 24 and T = 20 total 57, and 57 x 4 = 228.
V = 22, D = 4, Z = 26 and N = 14 total 66.

Study next

Alphabet positions A = 1 to Z = 26 and their reverse values Z = 1 to A = 26Numeric codes built as a sum of positions times a constantCodes that write positions side by side instead of adding them

Common traps

Multiplying by the number of letters, which works for FLBS and fails for MXT.
Reading positions backwards, which gives VDZN a total of 42 instead of 66.
Stopping at the sum, 66, and looking for it among the options.

Letters converted to alphabet positions and summed into one number is also set at 13 Sep 2024, 16:00, Reasoning Q.3, where VAT is coded as 43 — the plain sum, with no multiplier.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.