SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 16 September 2025, Shift 3 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 18 of 75

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 8 # 2 = 64, 7 # 3 = 343, then 6 # 2 = ?

(a)216
(b)144
(c)100
(d)36

Answer

Why

Correct — D.
Rule: a # b = a raised to the power b (aᵇ).

8 # 2 = 8² = 64 ✓
7 # 3 = 7³ = 343 ✓
6 # 2 = 6² = 36 → option (d).

The second example is what fixes the rule: squaring alone would give 7² = 49, not 343.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
216 — 216 is 6³. It borrows the power 3 from 7 # 3, but in 6 # 2 the second number is 2, so the power is 2.
(b)
144 — 144 is (6 × 2)² = 12². Test that rule on 8 # 2: (8 × 2)² = 256, not 64, so it fails the first example.
(c)
100 — 100 is 10², and no power of 6 equals it: 6² = 36 and 6³ = 216. It does not come from 6 # 2 under aᵇ.

Concept

In a symbol-operation question, # has no meaning of its own. The rule is read from the worked examples, and it must fit every example, not just one.

8 # 2 = 64 alone fits several rules, such as a² or a × b × 4. 7 # 3 = 343 settles it: 7² = 49 and 7 × 3 × 4 = 84, but 7³ = 343, so the second number is the power.

Squaring the first number also gives 36 here, because the power in 6 # 2 happens to be 2. That rule fails 7 # 3, so it is not the rule, and on 6 # 3 it would give 36 where aᵇ gives 216.

Key facts

a # b = aᵇ fits both examples: 8² = 64 and 7³ = 343.
6² = 36 and 6³ = 216.
A rule must be tested on every example given, not just the first.

Study next

Symbol operations built from squares and sums, such as a² + b² − 3Number analogies based on powers, such as 4 : 64 :: 5 : 125Odd-one-out among number pairs linked by one operation

Common traps

Carrying the power 3 from 7 # 3 into 6 # 2 and choosing 216
Stopping after the first example: squaring fits 8 # 2 = 64 but fails 7 # 3 = 343

17 Sep 2025, 16:00, Reasoning Q.21 prints the same 8 # 2 with a different result, 65, where the rule is a² + b² − 3 and 6 # 5 is keyed 58.

15 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.16 gives 4 # 2 = 10 and 6 # 3 = 21, and keys 8 # 4 as 36.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Symbolic/Number Analogy — all 210 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.