SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 23 September 2024, Shift 3 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 7 of 100

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.

In a certain code language, 'WJSL' is coded as '25-12-21-14' and 'DUOH' is coded as '6- 23-17-10'. What is the code for 'PFKR' in the given language?

(a)19-9-12-19
(b)20-10-14-21
(c)20-9-12-20
(d)18-8-13-20

Answer

Why

Correct — D. Turn each letter into its alphabet position and set it against the code printed beside it.

WJSL = 23, 10, 19, 12 and is coded 25, 12, 21, 14.
DUOH = 4, 21, 15, 8 and is coded 6, 23, 17, 10.

Rule: code number = alphabet position + 2, letter by letter, with no reordering.

PFKR: P = 16 → 18, F = 6 → 8, K = 11 → 13, R = 18 → 20.

That is 18-8-13-20 — option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
19-9-12-19 — Adds +3, +3, +1, +1 across the four letters, but both worked words add +2 to every letter.
(b)
20-10-14-21 — Adds +4, +4, +3, +3 — a doubled step on the first pair and a different step on the second, so no single rule fits it.
(c)
20-9-12-20 — Adds +4, +3, +1, +2, a fresh shift for every letter, while both worked words hold the same shift throughout.

Concept

Letter-to-number codes work in two moves: convert to alphabet positions, then find the arithmetic that carries the positions to the printed numbers.

The offset can be positive, negative, or alternate between letters, so it has to be read off the examples rather than assumed. Here it is a flat +2 on every letter of both worked words.

The hyphens in the code are separators between four independent numbers, not subtraction signs.

Two worked words are given so the rule can be confirmed rather than guessed. A candidate who derives +2 from WJSL alone and never checks DUOH has no defence against the mixed-offset options.

Key facts

W = 23, J = 10, S = 19 and L = 12, and adding 2 to each gives the printed code 25-12-21-14.
D = 4, U = 21, O = 15 and H = 8, and adding 2 gives 6-23-17-10.
The EJOTY anchors E5, J10, O15, T20, Y25 put every letter within four counts of a known position.

Study next

Alphabet positions recalled through the EJOTY anchorsLetter-to-number codes with a constant offset, a negative offset, or an alternating oneCodes that also reorder the letters, which this one deliberately does not

Common traps

Working from A = 0 instead of A = 1, which pulls the whole answer down by one
Deriving the offset from the first word and skipping the check on the second
Reading the hyphens as minus signs rather than as separators

The stem supplies two worked words so the offset is verifiable, then asks for a third. Alphabet-position arithmetic also drives Reasoning Q.4 of this paper.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Coding & de-coding — all 77 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.