SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 17 September 2025, Shift 2 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 18 of 99

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.

In a code language, ‘FLOW’ is written as ‘G#3X’, and ‘WOLF’ is written as ‘X3#G’. How is ‘FOWL’ written?

(a)G#X3
(b)XG3#
(c)G3X#
(d)X#G3

Answer

Why

Correct — C.
Rule: each letter has a fixed code, and the code keeps the letter order.

FLOW = G#3X → F=G, L=#, O=3, W=X.
WOLF = X3#G confirms it: W=X, O=3, L=#, F=G.

FOWL → G, 3, X, # = G3X# → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
G#X3 — G#X3 decodes to F, L, W, O. Its second symbol is L's #, but the second letter of FOWL is O, which codes as 3.
(b)
XG3# — XG3# starts with X, the code for W. FOWL starts with F, so its code must start with G.
(d)
X#G3 — X#G3 decodes to W, L, F, O. It starts with W's X, while the first letter of FOWL, F, codes as G.

Concept

FLOW and WOLF use the same four letters in reverse order, and their codes are the same four symbols reversed. So the code works letter by letter: F is always G, L is always #, O is always 3, W is always X.

FOWL is a third arrangement of the same letters. Write its letters in order and swap each for its symbol.

F and W happen to become the next letter of the alphabet (G and X), but L and O become # and 3. No single shift rule explains the code, so read the key off the given words.

Key facts

In this code F = G, L = #, O = 3 and W = X.
WOLF is FLOW reversed, and X3#G is G#3X reversed.
FOWL = G3X#.

Study next

Letter-to-digit codes such as MOUSE = 45291Codes that shuffle the order, where letters shared by two words are matchedLetter-shift codes where every letter moves a fixed number of places

Common traps

Keeping FLOW's first two symbols (G#) because both words start with F, which gives G#X3
Starting from X because WOLF begins with W, as in XG3# and X#G3

17 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.16 applies the same letter-by-letter reading with digits: MOUSE = 45291 and RAT = 786 give STORE = 96571.

23 Sep 2024, 12:30, Reasoning Q.8 shuffles the order: FLAKE = &2348 and LAKES = 23@84, so S, the letter only LAKES has, is keyed @.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Coding & de-coding — all 138 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.