SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 1 · 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 13 September 2026.

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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 '×' means '−', '−' means '+', '+' means '÷', then 12 + 6 × 2 − 4 = ?

(a)4
(b)8
(c)6
(d)10

Answer

Why

Correct — A.
Rule: swap the symbols first, then apply BODMAS.

'×' → '−', '−' → '+', '+' → '÷'
12 + 6 × 2 − 4 becomes 12 ÷ 6 − 2 + 4

Division first: 12 ÷ 6 = 2
Then left to right: 2 − 2 + 4 = 4 → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

(b)
8 — 8 is 2 + 2 + 4, treating the × as +. The rule turns × into −, so the middle step is 2 − 2.
(c)
6 — 6 is 2 + 4, leaving out the − 2 that the × becomes. Every symbol must be swapped before you calculate.
(d)
10 — 10 does not come out of 12 ÷ 6 − 2 + 4 in any order of working. Division first gives 2, and 2 − 2 + 4 = 4.

Concept

A symbol-substitution item gives the operations new signs. Rewrite the whole expression with the real operations before doing any arithmetic, then follow the usual order: division and multiplication before addition and subtraction.

Here the rewrite is 12 ÷ 6 − 2 + 4. Calculating while still swapping symbols mixes old and new signs.

The mapping is one-way. '−' means '+', but that does not make '+' mean '−': the question says '+' means '÷'.

Key facts

After substitution: 12 ÷ 6 − 2 + 4.
Division comes before addition and subtraction: 12 ÷ 6 = 2.
Addition and subtraction then run left to right: 2 − 2 + 4 = 4.

Study next

Symbol swaps where the options are whole equations to checkSwaps that exchange + and − in both directionsLetter-coded operations (X means +, Y means −)

Common traps

Reading the mapping both ways: − means +, but + means ÷
Working the original expression before swapping, which leaves the old signs in play

13 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.25 swaps + and − and turns × into ÷: 50 − 10 + 5 ÷ 5 = 41.

19 Sep 2025, 16:00, Reasoning Q.23 uses × for +, + for − and − for ÷: 8 + 4 − 2 ÷ 2 = 11.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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