SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 12 September 2025, Shift 3 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 24 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

If + = ×, − = +, × = ÷; then 10 + 2 − 4 × 2 = ?

(a)10
(b)19
(c)22
(d)24

Answer

Why

Correct — C. Rule: replace each sign as told, then apply BODMAS.

Printed: 10 + 2 − 4 × 2
Substituted: 10 × 2 + 4 ÷ 2

Division and multiplication first: 4 ÷ 2 = 2, 10 × 2 = 20
Then addition: 20 + 2 = 22 → option (c)

Why the others are wrong

(a)
10 — 10 is not the value of 10 × 2 + 4 ÷ 2 under BODMAS, which gives 22, or under strict left-to-right working, which gives 12.
(b)
19 — 19 matches no order of working: BODMAS gives 22 and left to right gives 12. After substitution the expression has no − sign at all, since − became +.
(d)
24 — 24 is 10 × 2 + 4 with the ÷ 2 dropped. The printed × became ÷, so 4 ÷ 2 = 2 is added, not 4.

Concept

A sign-substitution item has two stages: swap every sign by the table, then evaluate the new expression under BODMAS.

Write the substituted line out in full before calculating. Here + becomes ×, − becomes + and × becomes ÷, so all three printed signs change.

Division and multiplication share a rank and come before addition, so 4 ÷ 2 is worked before it is added to 20.

Working strictly left to right gives (10 × 2 + 4) ÷ 2 = 12, which is not an option. BODMAS, not reading order, decides the value.

Key facts

Here + stands for ×, − for + and × for ÷.
10 × 2 + 4 ÷ 2 = 20 + 2 = 22.
× and ÷ are worked before + and −.

Study next

Sign-interchange items where two pairs of signs swapFinding which two signs must be interchanged to balance an equation

Common traps

Leaving × unconverted, which gives 10 × 2 + 4 × 2 = 28.
Working left to right, which gives (20 + 4) ÷ 2 = 12.

The same three substitutions are set at 14 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.25, where 6 + 3 − 2 × 1 becomes 6 × 3 + 2 ÷ 1 = 20.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Numerical Operations — all 92 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.