SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 24 September 2025, Shift 2 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 5 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 4 # 3 = 7, 6 # 2 = 8, then 5 # 7 = ?

(a)12
(b)9
(c)2
(d)10

Answer

Why

Correct — A.
Rule: a # b = a + b.

4 # 3 = 4 + 3 = 7 ✓
6 # 2 = 6 + 2 = 8 ✓

5 # 7 = 5 + 7 = 12 → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

(b)
9 — 9 is 3 below 5 + 7. Neither example falls below its sum: 4 + 3 is exactly 7 and 6 + 2 exactly 8.
(c)
2 — 2 is 7 − 5, a difference. Subtraction fails the first example: 4 − 3 = 1, not the 7 printed.
(d)
10 — 10 fits a doubling rule, 2 × 5. Test it on the first example: 2 × 4 = 8, not the 7 printed.

Concept

A symbol operation defines a new sign through worked examples. Try the plain operations first, +, − and ×, on every example, and keep the one that fits all of them.

Here addition fits both lines. Subtraction gives 1 and 4, and multiplication gives 12 and 12, so both fail.

The # sign means whatever its worked lines say. In Reasoning Q.6 of this paper it stands for (a + 1) × b, so decode it afresh in each question.

Key facts

4 # 3 = 7 and 6 # 2 = 8 are plain sums.
5 # 7 = 5 + 7 = 12.
A rule counts only if it fits every worked example.

Study next

Symbol rules combining two operations, such as (a + 1) × bReplacing symbols with signs to balance an equation

Common traps

Accepting a rule that fits one example without testing the other
Carrying the meaning of # over from another question

Here SSC defines # through two worked lines.

Reasoning Q.6 of this paper uses # for (a + 1) × b, and 17 Sep 2025, 16:00, Reasoning Q.21 uses it for a rule that fits a² + b² − 3 (8 # 2 = 64 + 4 − 3 = 65), keyed 58.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

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