SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 15 September 2025, Shift 2 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 23 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 the given symbols mean: '+' means 'divided by' '−' means 'multiplied by' '×' means 'minus' '÷' means 'plus' Then, find the value of the following expressions: 48 × 8 ÷ 12 + 4 − 7=?

(a)16
(b)37
(c)51
(d)61

Answer

Why

Correct — D.
Rule: replace each symbol with the operation it names, then apply BODMAS.

48 × 8 ÷ 12 + 4 − 7
becomes 48 − 8 + 12 ÷ 4 × 7

Divide first: 12 ÷ 4 = 3
Then multiply: 3 × 7 = 21
Then left to right: 48 − 8 + 21 = 61 → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
16 — 16 is below 40. After conversion the one subtraction is 48 − 8 = 40, and everything after it is added, so the value must be above 40.
(b)
37 — 37 is below 40, which cannot happen: 48 − 8 = 40 is the one subtraction, and 12 ÷ 4 × 7 = 21 is added to it.
(c)
51 — 51 would need 12 ÷ 4 × 7 to be 11. It is 3 × 7 = 21, so the total is 40 + 21 = 61.

Concept

Symbol-substitution items give a key that renames the operators. Rewrite the whole expression with the real operators first, then solve it with BODMAS: division and multiplication before addition and subtraction, each pair left to right.

Order matters. Working 48 − 8 + 12 ÷ 4 × 7 strictly left to right gives 91, which is not among the options.

Key facts

Here + means ÷, − means ×, × means − and ÷ means +.
BODMAS: brackets, orders, division and multiplication, then addition and subtraction.
Division and multiplication rank equally and run left to right, as do addition and subtraction.

Study next

Which-equation-is-correct items after a symbol swapInterchanging two signs to balance an equationSymbol keys that produce a decimal result

Common traps

Converting correctly but then working left to right, which gives 91
Converting some symbols and leaving a printed × or ÷ in place

19 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.23 runs the same drill on another key: 20 + 5 × 4 − 2 becomes 20 − 5 ÷ 4 × 2, keyed 17.5.

15 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.24 uses a different key, where − means +, and asks which equation is correct.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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