SSC CHSL Reasoning Questions with Answers: Quick Answer
This page gives 20 original SSC CHSL reasoning questions with answers and full explanations. Every question is written for the General Intelligence section of SSC CHSL Tier 1: 25 questions, 50 marks, 2 marks per question, 0.5 deducted for each wrong answer, with a 15-minute sectional timer inside a 60-minute paper of 100 questions and 200 marks. The topics are the ones the section actually tests: number and letter series, analogies, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking, syllogisms, statement and assumption, Venn diagrams, odd one out and seating arrangements. The level is 10+2, so the puzzles and syllogisms are a step harder than SSC GD.
These 20 questions are original practice questions written for this page. They are not previous-year questions and are not copied from any paper, book or website. They are modelled on the style and difficulty of the CHSL Tier 1 General Intelligence section, so they work as a timed drill: 20 questions in about 15 minutes matches the sectional timer. Every answer is derived from the information in the question, and the circular seating puzzle in question 7 was checked by brute force to confirm that exactly one arrangement fits the conditions. As of 2 November 2026, the pattern figures on this page follow the official SSC CHSL scheme described on the syllabus page linked below.
SSC CHSL Reasoning Method Box
Keep these ideas in front of you while you work through the questions. Almost every Tier 1 reasoning question is one of them in disguise.
- Series: check the difference between consecutive terms first, then the ratio, then the pattern of differences. The Fibonacci pattern (each term is the sum of the two before it) and the n² + n pattern (2, 6, 12, 20, 30) both recur in CHSL papers.
- Coding by position sum: when a code is the sum of alphabetical positions, MANGO = 13 + 1 + 14 + 7 + 15 = 50. A shift code adds a fixed number to each letter: WATER becomes XBUFS when every letter moves one step forward.
- Blood relations: draw the family tree from the oldest generation down. "A's mother is B's sister" makes A the nephew or niece of B, and B's daughter is A's cousin.
- Syllogisms: "All A are B" converts to "Some B are A". A conclusion that connects two terms through a middle term only follows when the middle term is distributed in at least one premise. "Some pens are erasers" does not follow from "All pens are pencils" and "Some pencils are erasers".
- Circular seating, facing the centre: a person's left hand points clockwise around the circle and their right hand points counter-clockwise. Fix one person first, then fill the rest around them, and check every condition against the finished circle.
- Ranking: position from the other end = total − position from this end + 1.
Shortcut habit: for seating questions, write the circle as six slots and fill them in the order the conditions force. For syllogisms, draw two overlapping circles for "some" and one circle inside another for "all". Both habits turn guessing into deduction.
Question 1 — Number Series
Q1. What comes next in the series 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
(A) 40 (B) 44 (C) 38 (D) 42
Answer: (D) 42. The differences are 4, 6, 8 and 10, increasing by 2 each time. The next difference is 12, so the next term is 30 + 12 = 42. Equivalently, the terms are 1 × 2, 2 × 3, 3 × 4, 4 × 5, 5 × 6, so the next is 6 × 7 = 42.
Question 2 — Letter Series
Q2. What comes next in the series B, E, H, K, N, ?
(A) Q (B) P (C) R (D) O
Answer: (A) Q. Each step moves 3 places forward in the alphabet: B to E is +3, E to H is +3, and so on. N + 3 = Q.
Question 3 — Analogy
Q3. Book : Pages :: Wall : ?
(A) Cement (B) Bricks (C) Paint (D) Roof
Answer: (B) Bricks. A book is made up of pages, and a wall is made up of bricks. The relationship is whole to its parts. Cement, paint and roof are associated with a wall but are not what it is made of.
Question 4 — Coding-Decoding
Q4. If MANGO is coded as 50, what is GRAPE coded as?
(A) 45 (B) 49 (C) 47 (D) 51
Answer: (C) 47. The code is the sum of alphabetical positions: M + A + N + G + O = 13 + 1 + 14 + 7 + 15 = 50. For GRAPE: 7 + 18 + 1 + 16 + 5 = 47. APPLE gives the same check: 1 + 16 + 16 + 12 + 5 = 50.
Question 5 — Blood Relation
Q5. A's mother is B's sister. B has a daughter C. How is A related to C?
(A) Nephew (B) Uncle (C) Cousin (D) Brother
Answer: (C) Cousin. A's mother and B are siblings, so A is B's nephew or niece. C is B's daughter, so A and C are children of siblings: cousins.
Question 6 — Direction Sense
Q6. A man walks 6 km west, turns left and walks 8 km. How far is he from his starting point?
(A) 8 km (B) 10 km (C) 12 km (D) 14 km
Answer: (B) 10 km. Facing west, a left turn faces south, so the two legs are perpendicular. The straight-line distance is √(6² + 8²) = √100 = 10 km. The 6-8-10 triple is worth memorising.
Question 7 — Circular Seating Arrangement
Q7. Six people, P, Q, R, S, T and U, sit around a circle facing the centre. P sits opposite Q. R sits immediately to the left of P. S sits between Q and T. Who sits second to the right of R?
(A) P (B) Q (C) S (D) T
Answer: (D) T. Fix P first. Going clockwise, R sits immediately to P's left, and Q sits opposite P. S sits between Q and T, which forces S next to Q on the side away from R, T next to S, and U in the remaining seat. The clockwise order is P, R, U, Q, S, T. Facing the centre, "right" runs counter-clockwise, so the first seat to the right of R is P and the second is T. The arrangement is the only one that fits all three conditions.
Question 8 — Syllogism
Q8. Statements: All pens are pencils. Some pencils are erasers. Which conclusion follows?
(A) Some pens are erasers (B) Some pencils are pens (C) All erasers are pens (D) None follows
Answer: (B) Some pencils are pens. "All pens are pencils" converts to "Some pencils are pens". "Some pens are erasers" does not follow, because the pencils that are erasers need not be the pencils that are pens. The middle term, pencils, is not distributed in the "some" statement.
Question 9 — Odd One Out (Numbers)
Q9. Which one is different from the others?
(A) 121 (B) 144 (C) 190 (D) 169
Answer: (C) 190. 121 = 11², 144 = 12² and 169 = 13² are all perfect squares. 190 is not a perfect square.
Question 10 — Number Analogy
Q10. 7 : 49 :: 9 : ?
(A) 81 (B) 18 (C) 27 (D) 63
Answer: (A) 81. The second number is the square of the first: 7² = 49, so 9² = 81.
Question 11 — Coding-Decoding
Q11. If CAT is coded as 24 and DOG is coded as 26, what is RAT coded as?
(A) 37 (B) 41 (C) 36 (D) 39
Answer: (D) 39. The code is the sum of alphabetical positions: C + A + T = 3 + 1 + 20 = 24, and D + O + G = 4 + 15 + 7 = 26. For RAT: 18 + 1 + 20 = 39.
Question 12 — Statement and Assumption
Q12. Statement: "The railway has decided to run extra trains during the festival season." Which assumptions are implicit? I. Many people travel during festivals. II. Extra trains will reduce crowding.
(A) Only I (B) Only II (C) Both I and II (D) Neither
Answer: (C) Both I and II. The decision to run extra trains only makes sense if many people travel during festivals, so assumption I is implicit. The purpose of extra trains is to carry the extra passengers, which reduces crowding, so assumption II is implicit as well.
Question 13 — Venn Diagram
Q13. Doctors and lawyers are both professionals, and no doctor is a lawyer. Which statement is true?
(A) All doctors are lawyers (B) Some professionals are doctors (C) No lawyer is a professional (D) All professionals are doctors
Answer: (B) Some professionals are doctors. Doctors form one group inside the larger group of professionals, and lawyers form a separate group inside it. Since doctors exist and are professionals, some professionals are doctors. The two groups do not overlap.
Question 14 — Number Series
Q14. What comes next in the series 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ?
(A) 11 (B) 12 (C) 13 (D) 14
Answer: (C) 13. Each term is the sum of the two before it: 1 + 1 = 2, 1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 5 = 8. The next term is 5 + 8 = 13. This is the Fibonacci pattern.
Question 15 — Direction Sense
Q15. A person is facing north-west. She turns 90° clockwise. Which direction is she facing now?
(A) North-east (B) South-east (C) South-west (D) North-west
Answer: (A) North-east. The eight directions run north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-west, west, north-west. A 90° clockwise turn moves two steps in that order: north-west to north to north-east.
Question 16 — Blood Relation
Q16. X is the brother of Y. Y is the daughter of Z. Z is the husband of W. How is X related to W?
(A) Son (B) Nephew (C) Brother (D) Grandson
Answer: (A) Son. Y is Z's daughter, and X is Y's brother, so X is also Z's child. Z is W's husband, so X is W's son.
Question 17 — Analogy
Q17. Doctor : Stethoscope :: Painter : ?
(A) Canvas (B) Colour (C) Frame (D) Brush
Answer: (D) Brush. A stethoscope is the main tool of a doctor, and a brush is the main tool of a painter. Canvas and colour are materials, not the tool.
Question 18 — Coding-Decoding
Q18. If WATER is written as XBUFS, how is MILK written?
(A) NJML (B) MJKN (C) NKML (D) NJKM
Answer: (A) NJML. Each letter moves one step forward: W to X, A to B, T to U, E to F, R to S. Applying the same shift to MILK: M to N, I to J, L to M, K to L, giving NJML.
Question 19 — Odd One Out (Words)
Q19. Which one is different from the others?
(A) Rose (B) Lotus (C) Marigold (D) Mango
Answer: (D) Mango. Rose, lotus and marigold are flowers. Mango is a fruit.
Question 20 — Ranking
Q20. In a row of 40 students, Ramesh is 15th from the left. What is his position from the right?
(A) 25 (B) 26 (C) 27 (D) 24
Answer: (B) 26. Position from the right = total − position from the left + 1 = 40 − 15 + 1 = 26.
How to Use These Questions
More solved sets: SSC CHSL English Questions with Answers: Solved Practice Set.
Attempt all 20 questions in 15 minutes, matching the Tier 1 sectional timer, then check the explanations for every question you missed or guessed. For each miss, note the rule that was missed: a series pattern, a coding rule, a blood-relation step, a syllogism conversion or a seating condition. The reasoning section is the most improvable section in the CHSL paper because every question type repeats, and the same rules appear in every cycle.
- Check the full scheme: SSC CHSL syllabus 2026 — Tier 1 and Tier 2 pattern, 15-minute sectional timers, skill test details.
- Practise maths next: SSC CHSL maths questions — 20 original quant questions for the same paper.
- Practise profit and loss: SSC CHSL profit and loss questions — 9 official 2025 questions solved step by step.
- Check the cut-off picture: SSC CHSL cut off — the cut-off page for the examination.
- Attempt a Tier 2 mock: SSC CHSL Tier 2 mock test 02 — the 120-question merit paper under exam conditions.
SSC CHSL Reasoning Questions FAQs
How many reasoning questions are there in SSC CHSL Tier 1?
25 questions in the General Intelligence section, worth 50 marks out of the paper's 200. The full Tier 1 paper has 100 questions in 60 minutes, with 25 questions each in English, General Intelligence, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness, and a 15-minute timer for each section.
What is the marking scheme for CHSL reasoning questions?
Each question carries 2 marks, and 0.5 marks are deducted for each wrong answer. A blank answer loses nothing. With 25 questions, the section is worth 50 marks before negative marking.
Which reasoning topics matter most for CHSL?
Number and letter series, analogies, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking, syllogisms, statement and assumption, Venn diagrams, odd one out and seating arrangements. The level is 10+2, so puzzles and syllogisms are harder than in SSC GD and carry more weight.
Are these 20 questions from previous-year papers?
No. They are original practice questions written for this page and modelled on the style and level of the Tier 1 General Intelligence section. The circular seating puzzle was checked by exhaustive enumeration of all 720 possible orders, confirming that exactly one arrangement fits the conditions.
How should I time the reasoning section in the real exam?
Aim for about 15 minutes for the 25 reasoning questions, matching the sectional timer. Attempt the questions you can solve in under a minute first, mark the seating and syllogism questions, and return to them only after the rest of the section is done.
Sources
- SSC CHSL Examination scheme: Tier 1 with 100 questions, 200 marks, 60 minutes, 15-minute sectional timers, +2/−0.5 marking, as described on this site's SSC CHSL syllabus 2026 page, which follows the official SSC notice.
- All 20 questions, options and solutions on this page are original and were written for this page. The circular seating arrangement in question 7 was verified by exhaustive enumeration of all 720 possible orders, confirming exactly one arrangement satisfies all three conditions.
Last checked: 2 November 2026.