SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 19 September 2025, Shift 2 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 2 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 3 + 2 = 13, 4 + 3 = 25, then 5 + 4 = ?

(a)41
(b)29
(c)45
(d)37

Answer

Why

Correct — A.
Rule: a + b means a² + b².

Check line 1: 3² + 2² = 9 + 4 = 13 ✓
Check line 2: 4² + 3² = 16 + 9 = 25 ✓

Apply: 5² + 4² = 25 + 16 = 41 → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

(b)
29 — 29 = 5² + 4, squaring only the first number. That rule gives 3² + 2 = 11 for the first line, not 13, so it fails the check.
(c)
45 — 45 = 5 × (5 + 4), the first number times the sum. Tested on the first line it gives 3 × 5 = 15, not 13.
(d)
37 — 37 extends the answers 13, 25 by a steady +12. The rule works on the two numbers, not on the previous answer: 5² + 4² = 41.

Concept

These items redefine a familiar sign. The printed + does not add; it stands for a hidden formula you recover from the given lines.

Try squares, products and sums in turn. 13 = 9 + 4 and 25 = 16 + 9 show the squares.

Test a candidate rule on every given line before applying it. A rule that fits one line but not the other is wrong, however neatly it hits an option.

Each pair differs by 1, so a² + b² also equals 2ab + 1 here: 2 × 3 × 2 + 1 = 13 and 2 × 4 × 3 + 1 = 25. Both readings give 5 + 4 = 41, so the answer does not depend on which rule you found.

Key facts

3² + 2² = 13 and 4² + 3² = 25 fix the rule as a² + b².
5² + 4² = 25 + 16 = 41.
For two numbers that differ by 1, a² + b² = 2ab + 1.

Study next

Symbol-substitution equations (+ stands for ×, − for ÷)Number-pair rules such as a × (a + b) or a² − b²Missing-number grids built on squares

Common traps

Checking a rule on the first line only: 5² + 4 = 29 looks tidy but gives 11, not 13, for 3 + 2
Extending the answers 13, 25 as a series (+12) instead of applying the rule to 5 and 4

15 Sep 2025, 12:30, Reasoning Q.21 hides a different formula in the same frame: 5 * 2 = 35 and 4 * 3 = 28 fit a × (a + b), so 6 * 4 = 60.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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