SSC GD Reasoning Questions with Answers: Quick Answer
This page gives 20 original SSC GD reasoning questions with answers and full explanations. Every question is written for the General Intelligence and Reasoning section of the SSC GD Constable computer-based examination: 20 questions, 40 marks, 2 marks per question, 0.25 deducted for each wrong answer, inside a 60-minute paper of 80 questions and 160 marks. The topics are the ones the section actually tests: analogies, odd one out, number and letter series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking, syllogisms, classification, word formation and seating arrangements.
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 SSC GD reasoning section, so they work as a timed drill: 20 questions in about 15 minutes. Every answer is derived from the information in the question, and the seating puzzle in question 10 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 GD scheme described on the syllabus page linked below.
SSC GD Reasoning Method Box
Keep these ideas in front of you while you work through the questions. Almost every reasoning question is one of them in disguise.
- Series: check the difference between consecutive terms first, then the ratio, then the pattern of differences. Letter series use alphabetical positions: A = 1, B = 2, and so on. A jump of +1, +2, +3, +4 is the most common letter pattern.
- Coding by position sum: when a code is the sum of alphabetical positions, CAT = 3 + 1 + 20 = 24. Test the rule on every given example before applying it to the question word.
- Blood relations: draw the family tree from the oldest generation down. "Brother's son" is a nephew; "sister's son" is also a nephew. The gender of a person is only known when the question states it.
- Direction sense: facing north, a right turn faces east and a left turn faces west. Distances in perpendicular directions combine by Pythagoras: 3 km one way and 4 km the other way put you 5 km from the start.
- Ranking: total = position from the top + position from the bottom − 1. Position from the other end = total − position from this end + 1.
- Syllogisms: "All A are B" converts to "Some B are A", never to "All B are A". A conclusion that uses a term not distributed in the premises does not follow.
Shortcut habit: for seating and arrangement questions, fix one person first and fill the rest around them. For series questions, write the differences between terms in the margin before looking at the options. Both habits turn guessing into deduction.
Question 1 — Analogy
Q1. Doctor : Hospital :: Teacher : ?
(A) School (B) Student (C) Book (D) Classroom
Answer: (A) School. A doctor works in a hospital, and a teacher works in a school. The relationship is worker to workplace. A student is the person taught, not the workplace.
Question 2 — Odd One Out
Q2. Which one is different from the others?
(A) Apple (B) Mango (C) Banana (D) Potato
Answer: (D) Potato. Apple, mango and banana are fruits. Potato is a vegetable, grown underground as a tuber.
Question 3 — Number Series
Q3. What comes next in the series 3, 6, 11, 18, 27, ?
(A) 36 (B) 38 (C) 40 (D) 34
Answer: (B) 38. The differences are 3, 5, 7 and 9, increasing by 2 each time. The next difference is 11, so the next term is 27 + 11 = 38.
Question 4 — Letter Series
Q4. What comes next in the series A, C, F, J, O, ?
(A) S (B) T (C) U (D) V
Answer: (C) U. The jumps in alphabetical position are +1, +2, +3 and +4: A to C is 1 step, C to F is 2, F to J is 3, J to O is 4. The next jump is +5, and O + 5 = U.
Question 5 — Coding-Decoding
Q5. If CAT is coded as 24, what is BAT coded as?
(A) 21 (B) 22 (C) 23 (D) 24
Answer: (C) 23. The code is the sum of alphabetical positions: C + A + T = 3 + 1 + 20 = 24. For BAT: 2 + 1 + 20 = 23.
Question 6 — Blood Relation
Q6. A is B's brother. B is C's mother. How is A related to C?
(A) Uncle (B) Brother (C) Father (D) Nephew
Answer: (A) Uncle. B is C's mother, and A is B's brother, so A is the brother of C's mother: C's maternal uncle.
Question 7 — Direction Sense
Q7. A man walks 4 km east and then 3 km north. How far is he from his starting point?
(A) 5 km (B) 3 km (C) 4 km (D) 7 km
Answer: (A) 5 km. The two legs are perpendicular, so the straight-line distance is √(4² + 3²) = √25 = 5 km. The 3-4-5 triple is worth memorising.
Question 8 — Ranking
Q8. Ravi is 7th from the top and 12th from the bottom in a class. How many students are in the class?
(A) 17 (B) 18 (C) 19 (D) 20
Answer: (B) 18. Total = position from the top + position from the bottom − 1 = 7 + 12 − 1 = 18. Ravi himself is counted in both positions, so 1 is subtracted.
Question 9 — Syllogism
Q9. Statements: All cats are animals. All animals are living things. Which conclusion follows?
(A) Some animals are not cats (B) All cats are living things (C) Some living things are not animals (D) None of these
Answer: (B) All cats are living things. If every cat is an animal and every animal is a living thing, then every cat is a living thing. The chain of "all" statements transmits the property through.
Question 10 — Seating Arrangement
Q10. Five people, A, B, C, D and E, sit in a row facing north. B sits second from the left. A sits immediately to the right of B. D sits at one of the ends. C sits between A and E. Who sits in the middle of the row?
(A) B (B) C (C) A (D) E
Answer: (C) A. B is second from the left, so B is in position 2. A sits immediately to the right of B, so A is in position 3, the middle. C sits between A and E, so C is in position 4 and E in position 5, and D takes the remaining end, position 1. The arrangement is D, B, A, C, E, and it is the only arrangement that fits all four conditions.
Question 11 — Number Analogy
Q11. 4 : 16 :: 5 : ?
(A) 25 (B) 20 (C) 30 (D) 125
Answer: (A) 25. The second number is the square of the first: 4² = 16, so 5² = 25.
Question 12 — Odd One Out (Numbers)
Q12. Which one is different from the others?
(A) 8 (B) 27 (C) 64 (D) 100
Answer: (D) 100. 8 = 2³, 27 = 3³ and 64 = 4³ are all perfect cubes. 100 is a perfect square, not a perfect cube.
Question 13 — Coding-Decoding
Q13. If BOOK is coded as 43, what is COPY coded as?
(A) 57 (B) 58 (C) 59 (D) 60
Answer: (C) 59. The code is the sum of alphabetical positions: B + O + O + K = 2 + 15 + 15 + 11 = 43. For COPY: 3 + 15 + 16 + 25 = 59.
Question 14 — Blood Relation
Q14. Pointing to a photograph, R says: "She is the daughter of my grandfather's only son." Who is the woman in the photograph to R?
(A) Sister (B) Mother (C) Aunt (D) Cousin
Answer: (A) Sister. The grandfather's only son is R's father. The daughter of R's father is R's sister.
Question 15 — Letter Series
Q15. What comes next in the series Z, X, V, T, ?
(A) Q (B) R (C) S (D) P
Answer: (B) R. Each step moves 2 places back in the alphabet: Z to X is −2, X to V is −2, V to T is −2, so T − 2 = R.
Question 16 — Direction Sense
Q16. A man is facing south. He turns to his left. Which direction is he facing now?
(A) West (B) East (C) North (D) South
Answer: (B) East. Facing south, the left hand points east. A left turn from south faces east, and a right turn from south would face west.
Question 17 — Classification
Q17. Which one is different from the others?
(A) Chair (B) Table (C) Bed (D) Fan
Answer: (D) Fan. Chair, table and bed are items of furniture. A fan is an electrical appliance, not furniture.
Question 18 — Syllogism
Q18. Statements: Some pens are books. All books are red. Which conclusion follows?
(A) Some pens are red (B) All pens are red (C) Some books are pens (D) None follows
Answer: (A) Some pens are red. The pens that are books are red, because all books are red, so some pens are red. "All pens are red" does not follow, because only some pens are books.
Question 19 — Word Formation
Q19. Which word CANNOT be formed from the letters of "EXAMINATION"?
(A) NATION (B) MINT (C) TONE (D) EXAMINE
Answer: (D) EXAMINE. The word EXAMINATION contains only one E, but EXAMINE needs two. NATION, MINT and TONE can all be formed from the available letters.
Question 20 — Statement and Conclusion
Q20. Statements: All students are hardworking. Some hardworking people are toppers. Which conclusion follows?
(A) Some students are toppers (B) All toppers are students (C) No student is a topper (D) None follows
Answer: (D) None follows. The statements connect students to hardworking people and hardworking people to toppers, but the two groups of hardworking people need not overlap. No conclusion about students and toppers is forced, so none follows.
How to Use These Questions
More solved sets: SSC GD English Questions with Answers: Solved Practice Set.
Attempt all 20 questions in 15 minutes, then check the explanations for every question you missed or guessed. For each miss, note the rule that was missed: a series difference, a coding rule, a blood-relation step or a syllogism conversion. Re-attempt the missed questions after a day without looking at the answers. The reasoning section is the most improvable section in the GD paper because every question type repeats, and the same rules appear in every cycle.
- Check the full scheme: SSC GD syllabus 2026 — 80 questions, 160 marks, 60 minutes, 0.25 negative marking.
- Practise maths next: SSC GD maths questions — 20 original maths questions for the same paper.
- Practise time and distance: SSC GD time and distance questions — 2 official 2025 questions solved step by step.
- Check the cut-off picture: SSC GD cut off — the 2026 cut-off page for the examination.
- Attempt a full mock: SSC GD full mock test 11 — the complete 80-question paper under exam conditions.
SSC GD Reasoning Questions FAQs
How many reasoning questions are there in the SSC GD exam?
20 questions in Part A, General Intelligence and Reasoning, worth 40 marks out of the paper's 160. The full paper has 80 questions in 60 minutes, with 20 questions each in Reasoning, General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics and English/Hindi.
What is the marking scheme for SSC GD reasoning questions?
Each question carries 2 marks, and 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer. A blank answer loses nothing. With 20 questions, the section is worth 40 marks before negative marking.
Which reasoning topics matter most for SSC GD?
Analogies, odd one out, number and letter series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking, syllogisms, classification and seating arrangements. These topics appear every cycle, and the questions stay at a level where method matters more than speed.
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 General Intelligence and Reasoning section. The seating puzzle was checked by brute force to confirm 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 20 reasoning questions, leaving 45 minutes for the other 60 questions. 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 paper is done.
Sources
- SSC GD Constable Examination scheme: 80 questions, 160 marks, 60 minutes, +2/−0.25 marking, as described on this site's SSC GD 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 seating arrangement in question 10 was verified by exhaustive enumeration of all 120 possible orders, confirming exactly one arrangement satisfies all four conditions.
Last checked: 2 November 2026.