SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 14 September 2025, Shift 3 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 25 of 95

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 13 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 the sum of 42 and 42 is multiplied by 4, what is the result?

(a)332
(b)336
(c)340
(d)348

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The words fix the order: find the sum, then multiply it.

Rule: (42 + 42) × 4, sum first.

42 + 42 = 84
84 × 4 = 80 × 4 + 4 × 4 = 320 + 16 = 336

That is option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
332 — 332 = 83 × 4, the product for a sum of 83. The sum of 42 and 42 is 84, which gives 336.
(c)
340 — 340 = 85 × 4, the product for a sum of 85. The sum is 84, one less, so the product is 4 less.
(d)
348 — 348 = 87 × 4, the product for a sum of 87. It overshoots 84 × 4 = 336 by 12.

Concept

Word-form arithmetic states the order of operations in words. 'The sum of 42 and 42 is multiplied by 4' means (42 + 42) × 4: add first, then multiply.

A last-digit check saves the multiplication: 4 × 4 = 16, so the product must end in 6, and 336 is the option that does.

Without the bracket, BODMAS would read 42 + 42 × 4 as 42 + 168 = 210. The phrase 'the sum of ... is multiplied' is what puts the bracket in.

Key facts

'The sum of x and y multiplied by n' means (x + y) × n.
(42 + 42) × 4 = 84 × 4 = 336.
The last digit of 84 × 4 is the last digit of 4 × 4, which is 6.

Study next

BODMAS items where a bracket changes the resultEquations where symbols stand for +, −, × and ÷Splitting a product for speed: 84 × 4 = 80 × 4 + 4 × 4

Common traps

Multiplying before adding: 42 + 42 × 4 = 210, which is not offered.
Slipping by one in the sum, 83 or 85, and landing on 332 or 340.

The same one-line frame is at 12 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.25, where (28 + 22) × 8 = 400, and at 18 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.24, where (31 + 19) × 9 = 450.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Numerical Operations — all 148 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.