SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 18 September 2024, Shift 2 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 23 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 10 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.

Which of the following terms will replace the question mark (?) in the given series? MJPT, PGMW, SDJZ, ? , YXDF

(a)WAGD
(b)VZFC
(c)VAGC
(d)VAGD

Answer

Why

Correct — C. Treat the four letter positions as four separate series.

Rule: 1st letter +3, 2nd −3, 3rd −3, 4th +3, at every step.

1st: M(13) → P(16) → S(19) → V(22) → Y(25) ✓
2nd: J(10) → G(7) → D(4) → A(1) → X(24), since A − 3 wraps back to X ✓
3rd: P(16) → M(13) → J(10) → G(7) → D(4) ✓
4th: T(20) → W(23) → Z(26) → C(3) → F(6), since Z + 3 wraps round to C ✓

The missing fourth term is V, A, G, C = VAGC, which is option (c).

The given last term YXDF confirms every column at once, so no step is left on trust.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
WAGD — WAGD moves the 1st letter four places, S to W, and the 4th four places, Z to D. Both of those columns step by three, not four.
(b)
VZFC — VZFC takes the 2nd and 3rd letters a place too far: D to Z is −4 and J to F is −4, where the columns need −3.
(d)
VAGD — VAGD gets the first three letters right and then writes D in the fourth slot. Z + 3 is C, and D also fails the check forward, since D + 3 is G and the paper prints F.

Concept

Four-letter term series are solved column by column. Write the terms one under another, number the letters A = 1 to Z = 26, and each column turns into a plain arithmetic run.

The wrap is where the marks are lost. Position 1 follows position 26, so A − 3 is X and Z + 3 is C. Treat the alphabet as a ring, not a line with two ends.

A missing middle term is a gift, because the term after it audits your work. Here YXDF checks all four columns at once, which a forward-only solve never does.

Every column here steps by the same size, three places. Only the direction changes, so the wraps are the whole difficulty.

Key facts

The four columns move +3, −3, −3 and +3 at every step.
A − 3 wraps to X, which is why the 2nd column runs A then X.
Z + 3 wraps to C, which is why the 4th column runs Z, C, F.
The final term YXDF checks the answer: V+3 = Y, A−3 = X, G−3 = D and C+3 = F.

Study next

Letter series where each column steps by a different sizeAlphabet wrap-around arithmetic, forward past Z and backward past AThree-letter term series, where the middle letter often runs against the others

Common traps

Stopping at the end of the alphabet instead of wrapping, so A − 3 is left blank.
Solving forward from SDJZ and never checking the result against YXDF.
Mixing up which columns rise and which fall, since there are two of each.

The stem is fixed — which of the following terms will replace the question mark in the given series — and the gap is sometimes third rather than fourth. 17 Sep 2024, 12:30, Reasoning Q.9 runs EQBY, GPDX, ?, KNHV, MMJU, and 13 Sep 2024, 12:30, Reasoning Q.14 runs RLYV, PJWT, NHUR, ?, JDQN.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.