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SSC CGL · Cheatsheet

Reasoning Quick Revision

Speed patterns, coding, blood relations, series, direction, syllogism.

Letter positions (memorise cold)

  • A=1, E=5, I=9, M=13, N=14, O=15, S=19, T=20, X=24, Z=26.
  • Opposite: A↔Z, B↔Y, C↔X … (27 − position).
  • EJOTY trick: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 letters.
  • For coding always write positions above letters; look for +1/+2/reverse/shift patterns.

Coding–decoding

  • Letter shift: identify constant shift (Caesar).
  • Word coding: swap letters, reverse groups, positional shifts.
  • Number coding: A=1 (or a related mapping), find rule via 2 codes.
  • Symbol coding: map each element to its symbol.
  • Substitution: numbers stand for words (interpret sentence).

Blood relations

  • Draw family tree; △ male, ○ female, ═ marriage, | descent.
  • 'Only son of X's father' = X (if male) or brother.
  • Work from pointer person outward.
  • In pointing puzzles: 'That man is son of my father's only son' → speaker's son.

Direction & distance

  • N/S/E/W; NE=45°, use Pythagoras for net displacement.
  • Left turn from N → W → S → E → N.
  • Clock direction shifts: L 90° = anticlockwise.
  • Draw grid; final position via vector sum.

Series & analogy

  • Number: check +, ×, squares, cubes, differences of differences.
  • Alphabet series: convert to numbers, spot rule.
  • Alphanumeric: separate letter & number rules.
  • Analogy: same operation on second pair; ratio, opposite, function.

Syllogism

  • Only 'All + All' → All.
  • 'All + No' → No; 'Some + All' → Some.
  • 'Some + No' → Some not.
  • 'No + No' → No conclusion.
  • Two particulars → no conclusion.
  • Draw Venn diagrams to verify.

Seating arrangement

  • Note: circular facing centre (right=anticlockwise) vs facing outward (reversed).
  • Start from definite clue; build outward.
  • Rectangle/parallel row: fix one, mirror-face the other.

Cubes & dice

  • Cube painted & cut in n³ smaller: 3-face painted 8 corners; 2-face 12(n−2); 1-face 6(n−2)²; 0-face (n−2)³.
  • Standard dice: opposite faces sum to 7 (1↔6, 2↔5, 3↔4).
  • Two dice compared: find common face, then rotate to align.

Ranking & order

  • Total = top rank + bottom rank − 1.
  • If A is 5th from left, 6th from right in a row of n: n = 5 + 6 − 1 = 10.
  • Age puzzles: assign variables, form eqns.

Non-verbal (mirror & water)

  • Mirror image: left/right invert; letters like A,H,I,M,O,T,U,V,W,X,Y look same.
  • Water image: top/bottom invert; letters H,I,O,X same.
  • Paper folding & cutting: reverse the process step-by-step.

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