Dice Questions for SSC CGL: What You Need to Know
A dice question shows a cube in one or more positions and asks which face lies opposite a given face, or which face is hidden. Dice and cube questions appear regularly in the reasoning sections of SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS, and almost all of them are solved with four rules: the standard die rule, the two common faces rule, the one common face (clockwise) rule and the open dice (net) rule.
Key takeaway: A die has 6 faces and 3 pairs of opposite faces. Two faces seen together in any one picture can never be opposite. On a standard die opposite faces add up to 7 (1-6, 2-5, 3-4). If two positions share two faces, the remaining faces are opposite. If they share one face, write both views in the same circular order starting from the common face; faces in the same place are opposite.
Every worked answer and practice answer on this page was checked by a Python program that tries all 720 ways of numbering a cube and keeps only the dice that fit every picture, so each answer below is the only possible one. If you are also revising other picture-free reasoning, see our mirror image clock formula and calendar odd days trick.
How We Describe a Dice Picture
Exam figures show three faces of a cube: the top, the front (lower left) and the right (lower right). In this note each position is written as Top / Front / Right. Always read every picture in the same order.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Opposite faces | Two faces that never touch, like top and bottom |
| Adjacent faces | Faces that share an edge; any two faces visible in one picture are adjacent |
| Common face | A face that appears in two different positions |
| Open dice / net | The cube unfolded flat into six squares |
Basic Dice Rules for SSC CGL (with Reason)
| Rule | Statement | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Six faces, three pairs | Every face has exactly 1 opposite and 4 adjacent faces | A cube has 3 axes |
| 2. Visible faces are never opposite | Faces shown together in one picture are adjacent | Two opposite faces cannot be seen at once |
| 3. Four adjacent faces rule | If a face is seen next to four different faces, the sixth face is its opposite | Only one face is left |
| 4. Standard die | Opposite faces add to 7: 1-6, 2-5, 3-4 | Convention for an ordinary playing die |
| 5. Two common faces | If two positions share two faces, the remaining (third) faces are opposite | The two common faces fix the axis |
| 6. One common face | Write both views clockwise from the common face; faces in the same place are opposite | Rotating about one face keeps the order |
| 7. Open dice | In a row of squares, alternate squares (1st and 3rd) are opposite | Folding puts them on parallel sides |
Do not assume a die is "standard" unless the question says so. Exam dice often carry numbers in a non-standard order, letters or symbols.
Standard Die: Opposite Faces of 1 to 6
| Face | Opposite face (standard die) | Adjacent faces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| 2 | 5 | 1, 3, 4, 6 |
| 3 | 4 | 1, 2, 5, 6 |
| 4 | 3 | 1, 2, 5, 6 |
| 5 | 2 | 1, 3, 4, 6 |
| 6 | 1 | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
Quick trick: opposite of n = 7 − n, so opposite of 2 is 5 and opposite of 3 is 4.
Two Common Faces Rule (Dice Trick 1)
If two positions show two faces in common, the faces that are left over are opposite.
Example 1. Position 1: Top 1 / Front 4 / Right 5. Position 2: Top 1 / Front 5 / Right 2. Which number is opposite 4?
- Common faces: 1 and 5.
- Left over: 4 (in position 1) and 2 (in position 2).
- Answer: 2 is opposite 4.
Example 2. Position 1: 1 / 4 / 5. Position 2: 6 / 4 / 1. Which number is opposite 5?
- Common faces: 1 and 4. Left over: 5 and 6.
- Answer: 6.
One Common Face Rule: Clockwise Method (Dice Trick 2)
When only one face is common, list each view in the circular order Top, Front, Right, starting from the common face, and match the positions.
Example 3. Position 1: Top 1 / Front 4 / Right 5. Position 2: Top 5 / Front 3 / Right 2.
- Common face = 5.
- Position 1 read circularly from 5: 5, 1, 4.
- Position 2 read circularly from 5: 5, 3, 2.
- Same places are opposite: 1 ↔ 3 and 4 ↔ 2.
- The two faces left over form the last pair: 5 ↔ 6.
So the full die is 1-3, 2-4, 5-6.
Example 4. Position 1: 1 / 4 / 5. Position 2: 3 / 4 / 6. Common face 4.
- From 4: position 1 gives 4, 5, 1; position 2 gives 4, 6, 3.
- Opposites: 5 ↔ 6 and 1 ↔ 3, so the last pair is 4 ↔ 2.
Four Positions Around One Face (Dice Trick 3)
Example 5. A die is shown in four positions: 1 / 4 / 5, 4 / 3 / 5, 3 / 2 / 5, 2 / 1 / 5. Which number is opposite 5?
- 5 appears with 1, 4, 3 and 2: four adjacent faces.
- The only number never seen with 5 is 6.
- Answer: 6. (The same pictures also give 1 ↔ 3 and 4 ↔ 2.)
Open Dice (Cube Net) Questions for SSC CGL
An open dice question shows the cube unfolded into six squares.
Rule A (row rule): in a straight row of three or four squares, the 1st and 3rd squares are opposite, and the 2nd and 4th are opposite.
Rule B (side squares): when four squares form a row, the one square attached above the row and the one square attached below it are opposite, whichever columns they sit in.
Rule C: two squares that share an edge in the net are always adjacent, never opposite.
Example 6 (cross net).
[5]
[1] [2] [3] [4]
[6]
- Row 1-2-3-4: 1 ↔ 3 and 2 ↔ 4.
- One square above the row and one below: 5 ↔ 6.
Example 7 (staircase net).
[A] [B]
[C] [D]
[E] [F]
There is no straight row of three here, so use the staircase rule: in a staircase net of six squares, squares three steps apart are opposite. A ↔ D, B ↔ E and C ↔ F.
We checked all three examples by folding the nets in a program, so you can trust these patterns.
Common Mistakes in Dice Questions
- Treating every die as standard and using the "sum is 7" rule without being told.
- Reading the two pictures in different orders (for example, top-right-front in one and top-front-right in the other).
- Calling two faces opposite when they appear together in any picture.
- In nets, calling squares that share an edge opposite.
- Forgetting the last pair: once two pairs are found, the remaining two faces must be opposite.
Dice Questions with Answers for SSC CGL (Practice Set)
Positions are written as Top / Front / Right.
- On a standard die, which face is opposite 3? Answer: 4 (sum of opposite faces is 7).
- Position 1: 1 / 4 / 5; Position 2: 1 / 5 / 2. Which face is opposite 4? Answer: 2. Two common faces (1, 5); left over 4 and 2.
- Position 1: 1 / 4 / 5; Position 2: 6 / 4 / 1. Which face is opposite 5? Answer: 6. Common faces 1 and 4.
- Position 1: 1 / 4 / 5; Position 2: 5 / 3 / 2. Which face is opposite 1? Answer: 3. One common face 5; from 5 the orders are 5-1-4 and 5-3-2.
- In question 4, which face is opposite 4? Answer: 2.
- In question 4, which face is opposite 6? Answer: 5. It is the only pair left.
- Four positions 1 / 4 / 5, 4 / 3 / 5, 3 / 2 / 5, 2 / 1 / 5. Which face is opposite 5? Answer: 6.
- Position 1: 1 / 4 / 5; Position 2: 3 / 4 / 6. Which face is opposite 1? Answer: 3. Common face 4; orders 4-5-1 and 4-6-3.
- In the cross net of Example 6, which face is opposite 2? Answer: 4 (row rule, 2nd and 4th squares).
- In a pure staircase net with squares P, Q, R, S, T, U in order, which face is opposite Q? Answer: T (three steps apart).
Practise dice and other non-verbal reasoning in the SSC CGL General Intelligence and Reasoning Sectional Mock Test 01 and SSC CHSL General Intelligence Sectional Mock Test 01.
Dice Questions FAQs
What are the opposite faces of a standard die?
1 and 6, 2 and 5, 3 and 4. Each pair adds up to 7.
How do you find the opposite face of a dice quickly?
First remove every face seen together with it. If four faces are seen next to it, the sixth is opposite. Otherwise use the two common faces rule or the one common face clockwise rule.
Can two faces shown in the same dice picture be opposite?
No. Any two faces visible in one picture share an edge, so they are adjacent.
What is the two common face rule in dice?
If two pictures of the same die share two faces, the remaining face in each picture is opposite to the other.
How many dice questions come in SSC CGL?
There is no fixed number, but a dice or cube question appears in many shifts of the General Intelligence and Reasoning section, usually as an open dice (cube net) or a two-position question. Treat it as a likely one-mark question.
What is an open dice question?
It shows the cube unfolded into six squares. In a straight row, alternate squares are opposite, and squares that share an edge are adjacent.
Practice Next
- Mock tests: SSC CGL General Intelligence and Reasoning Sectional Mock Test 02 and SSC CHSL General Intelligence Sectional Mock Test 02.
- Related notes: blood relation questions for SSC CGL, mirror image clock formula, calendar odd days trick and syllogism possibility rules.
- Exam details: SSC CGL 2026 and SSC CHSL 2026.
- Browse all study notes.