SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 18 September 2025, Shift 2 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 8 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.

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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.

Which two signs should be swapped to correct the following? 28 ÷ 4 × 3 − 5 + 7 = 19

(a)÷ and ×
(b)× and −
(c)÷ and +
(d)+ and −

Answer

Why

Correct — D.
Rule: work out the left side as printed, see how far off it is, then test swaps with BODMAS.

As printed: 28 ÷ 4 × 3 − 5 + 7
= 7 × 3 − 5 + 7
= 21 − 5 + 7 = 23, not 19

Swap + and −: 28 ÷ 4 × 3 + 5 − 7
= 21 + 5 − 7
= 19 ✓ → option (d)

Why the others are wrong

(a)
÷ and × — ÷ and × gives 28 × 4 ÷ 3 − 5 + 7 = 37⅓ − 5 + 7 = 39⅓, not even a whole number.
(b)
× and − — × and − gives 28 ÷ 4 − 3 × 5 + 7 = 7 − 15 + 7 = −1, not 19.
(c)
÷ and + — ÷ and + gives 28 + 4 × 3 − 5 ÷ 7 = 28 + 12 − 5⁄7 = 39 2⁄7, not 19.

Concept

Sign-swap items print an equation that does not balance and ask which pair of signs to exchange. First evaluate the left side as printed with BODMAS; the gap to the target tells you what the swap has to do.

Here the left side is 23 and the target 19, a gap of 4. Swapping + and − turns − 5 + 7 (net +2) into + 5 − 7 (net −2), a change of exactly 4.

Options (a) and (c) put a division where it no longer comes out even (112 ÷ 3 and 5 ÷ 7), so they cannot give the whole number 19. That leaves (b) and (d) to test.

Key facts

Turning − 5 + 7 into + 5 − 7 lowers the total by 2 × (7 − 5) = 4.
BODMAS: ÷ and × left to right before + and −.
28 ÷ 4 × 3 = 21, since ÷ and × are taken left to right.

Study next

Which two numbers (not digits) to interchange to balance an equationEvaluating an expression after a stated interchange of + with − and × with ÷Filling blanks with signs to balance an equation

Common traps

Doing 4 × 3 first and getting 28 ÷ 12, instead of taking ÷ and × left to right
Testing swaps without first finding the printed value and the gap to the target

19 Sep 2025, 09:00, Reasoning Q.8 asks the same: 97 × 23 − 18 + 9 ÷ 3 = 66, keyed × and +, since 97 + 23 − 18 × 9 ÷ 3 = 120 − 54 = 66.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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