SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 19 September 2024, Shift 3 · Quantitative Aptitude · Question 2 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.

The value of [15 ÷ 3 × 7 − 8 of 2 + 6] is:

Answer

Why

Correct — A. The expression printed in the question image is [15 ÷ 3 × 7 − 8 of 2 + 6], and option (a) is the number 25.

Under BODMAS, "of" outranks ÷ and ×, so it is settled first:
8 of 2 = 8 × 2 = 16

Now division and multiplication, left to right:
15 ÷ 3 = 5
5 × 7 = 35

Then addition and subtraction, left to right:
35 − 16 = 19
19 + 6 = 25 → option (a), the picture showing 25.

Why the others are wrong

(b)
Option (b) shows −29. That is 35 − 64, which comes from adding inside the "of" term first — 2 + 6 = 8, then 8 of 8 = 64. Nothing brackets 2 + 6 together.
(c)
Option (c) shows 39.5. This expression cannot end in a half: its only true division, 15 ÷ 3, is exact, so a decimal means a division was invented at "of".
(d)
Option (d) shows 13, which is 35 − 16 − 6. The final +6 has been turned into −6; the minus sign in the expression belongs to the 16 alone.

Concept

BODMAS fixes the order: brackets, of, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction. Division and multiplication rank equally and are settled left to right, and so are addition and subtraction.

"Of" is the step most candidates lose. It means multiplication, but it is resolved before the ÷ and × of the same bracket — so 8 of 2 becomes 16 while 15 ÷ 3 × 7 is still waiting its turn.

The expression and all four options are pictures in this paper rather than typed text, so read the sign in option (b) carefully: at a glance −29 and 29 look alike.

Key facts

In BODMAS, "of" is resolved before division and multiplication, so 8 of 2 = 16 comes first.
Division and multiplication have equal rank and run left to right, so 15 ÷ 3 × 7 = 35, not 15 ÷ 21.
Addition and subtraction also run left to right, so 35 − 16 + 6 = 25.
"Of" is only multiplication in value, never in priority.

Study next

Nested-bracket simplification, where braces and square brackets are cleared from the inside outExpressions carrying a vinculum (bar), which is cleared before the bracketsFraction simplification in which "of" appears twice inside one bracket

Common traps

Reading 8 of 2 + 6 as 8 of (2 + 6), which lands on option (b)
Flipping the sign of the final +6, which lands on option (d)
Working strictly left to right and multiplying by 2 only after subtracting the 8

SSC sets simplification as one long line with several "of" terms buried in it: 13 Sep 2024, 09:00, Quant Q.15 carries four of them inside nested brackets, and 26 Sep 2024, 12:30, Quant Q.19 does the same with braces.

In both, the value turns on giving "of" priority over the ÷ beside it — 60 ÷ 2 of 6 is 5, and 64 ÷ 4 of 4 is 4.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.