SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 9 September 2024, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 6 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 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.

Select the word which means the same as the group of words given. Unit of weight for precious stones

(a)Pure
(b)Accurate
(c)Reliable
(d)Carat

Answer

Why

Correct — D. The prompt asks for a unit of weight, so the answer has to be a noun that names a unit.

Carat is that unit: the metric carat weighs 200 milligrams, one-fifth of a gram, and gemstones are traded by it.

Pure, accurate and reliable are adjectives about quality. None of them names a measure, so part of speech settles the item before meaning has to → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Pure — Pure is an adjective meaning unmixed or unadulterated. It describes what a stone is made of, never how much it weighs.
(b)
Accurate — Accurate means free from error. It describes a measurement, which is not the same thing as being a unit of measurement.
(c)
Reliable — Reliable means dependable, able to be trusted. It belongs to the same quality cluster as pure and accurate and names no unit.

Concept

One-word substitution items reward a check that costs no time: what part of speech must the answer be?

'Unit of weight for precious stones' demands a countable noun naming a measure. Three options here are adjectives, so they are out before you weigh their meanings.

Carat is also worth knowing for its homophone. Carat measures the weight of a gemstone; karat, spelt with a k in American usage, measures the purity of gold in twenty-fourths.

British usage often writes 'carat' for both weight and gold purity, so the spelling distinction is a convention rather than a hard rule.

Key facts

One metric carat is 200 milligrams, one-fifth of a gram.
Carat measures gemstone weight, while karat measures gold purity in twenty-fourths.
Pure gold is 24 karat.
Three of the four options here are adjectives, so only carat can name a unit.

Study next

One-word substitutes that name units and measuresHomophone pairs SSC uses, such as stationary and stationeryScreening one-word options by part of speech before meaning

Common traps

Reading 'precious stones' as a question about quality and choosing pure
Mixing up carat, the weight, with karat, the gold-purity scale

SSC pads a one-word item with options from a single quality cluster so that only one answer is even the right kind of word.

Also asked 9 Sep 2024, 9:00, English Q.7, English Q.9 and English Q.16.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.