SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 24 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.

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 31 and 19 is multiplied by 9, what is the result?

(a)423
(b)432
(c)441
(d)450

Answer

Why

Correct — D.
Rule: add first, then multiply: (31 + 19) × 9.

Sum: 31 + 19 = 50
Product: 50 × 9 = 450 → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
423 — 423 is 47 × 9. It would need the sum to be 47, but 31 + 19 = 50.
(b)
432 — 432 is 48 × 9, a sum of 48. The units digits 1 and 9 make 10, so the sum ends in 0: 50.
(c)
441 — 441 is 49 × 9, one short of the true sum. 31 + 19 = 50, and 50 × 9 = 450.

Concept

The wording the sum of 31 and 19 is multiplied by 9 fixes the order: the sum is formed first, as if in brackets, and then multiplied.

Without the brackets, 31 + 19 × 9 would be 31 + 171 = 202, a different question. All four options are multiples of 9, so check the sum itself, not just divisibility by 9.

Check by distributing: 31 × 9 = 279 and 19 × 9 = 171, and 279 + 171 = 450.

Key facts

(a + b) × c = a × c + b × c.
31 + 19 = 50, and 50 × 9 = 450.
423, 432 and 441 are 47 × 9, 48 × 9 and 49 × 9.

Study next

Order of operations (BODMAS) in word-stated arithmeticQuick multiplication by 9 as ×10 − ×1Divisibility by 9 through the digit sum

Common traps

Multiplying only 19 by 9 and then adding 31, which gives 202
Stopping at divisibility by 9: all four options pass that test

12 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.25 is the same template: (28 + 22) × 8 = 400.

16 Sep 2025, 16:00, Reasoning Q.25 repeats it with (11 + 40) × 5 = 255.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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