SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 24 September 2024, Shift 3 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 11 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.

In the following number-pairs, the second number is obtained by applying certain mathematical operations to the first number. Select the set in which the numbers are related in the same way as are the numbers of the following sets. (NOTE : Operations should be performed on the whole numbers, without breaking down the numbers into its constituent digits. E.g. 13 – Operations on 13 such as adding /deleting /multiplying etc., to 13 can be performed. Breaking down 13 into 1 and 3 and then performing mathematical operations on 1 and 3 is not allowed.) (26, 114) (47, 198)

(a)(22, 88)
(b)(15, 70)
(c)(18, 74)
(d)(25, 105)

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Pin the rule down on both given pairs before touching the options.

Rule: second = 4 × first + 10
(26, 114): 4 × 26 = 104, then 104 + 10 = 114
(47, 198): 4 × 47 = 188, then 188 + 10 = 198

Now test the option: 4 × 15 = 60, then 60 + 10 = 70.

(15, 70) obeys the rule — option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
(22, 88) — 4 × 22 + 10 = 98, not 88. 88 is 4 × 22 exactly, so this pair keeps the multiplier and drops the constant.
(c)
(18, 74) — 4 × 18 + 10 = 82, not 74. 74 is what the rule returns for a first number of 16, not 18.
(d)
(25, 105) — 4 × 25 + 10 = 110, not 105. 105 is 4 × 25 + 5, so the multiplier is right and the constant is wrong.

Concept

A number-pair set gives two worked pairs precisely so that a rule with two unknowns can be recovered rather than guessed.

Assume the linear form second = a × first + b. The first numbers differ by 47 − 26 = 21 and the second numbers by 198 − 114 = 84, so a = 84 ÷ 21 = 4. Put that back: b = 114 − 104 = 10.

That is faster than trying multipliers one by one, and it settles the rule in a single step whenever the relation really is linear.

Every option's second number is close enough to four times its first that eyeballing the ratio will not separate them. Work out 4n + 10 for each first number and compare.

Key facts

The rule is second = 4 × first + 10, and both (26, 114) and (47, 198) satisfy it.
For a linear rule, the multiplier is the ratio of the differences: 84 divided by 21 gives 4.
4 × 15 + 10 = 70, which is why (15, 70) is the set that fits.
The NOTE forbids operating on separate digits, so 2 and 6 may not stand in for 26.

Study next

Number-pair sets where the rule is a square or a cube plus a constantOdd-pair-out questions, which use the same rule-fixing method in reverseRecovering a linear rule from two data points using differences

Common traps

Checking the multiplier and never the constant, which is how (22, 88) looks right
Fixing the rule on one worked pair only, so several rules survive
Splitting 114 into 1, 1 and 4 despite the NOTE

The matching-set form is used at 11 Sep 2024, 09:00, Reasoning Q.2, keyed (118, 59). A find-the-odd-pair variant of the same stem appears at 09 Sep 2024, 09:00, Reasoning Q.4, keyed 358 - 152.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

In the following number-pairs, the second number is obtained by applying certain mathematical operations to the first number. Select the set in which the numbers are related in the same way as are the numbers of the following sets. (NOTE : Operations should be performed on the whole numbers, without breaking down the numbers into its constituent digits. E.g. 13 – Operations on 13 such as adding /deleting /multiplying etc., to 13 can be performed. Breaking down 13 into 1 and 3 and then performing mathematical operations on 1 and 3 is not allowed.) (26, 114) (47, 198)

(a)(22, 88)
(b)(15, 70)
(c)(18, 74)
(d)(25, 105)