SSC Reasoning Extras: Matching, Orientation, Word Building and Situation Judgement
Address, Date and City Matching
In a matching item a master record is given and you must find the entry that is identical, or that differs in a stated number of places. Break every address into fields in a fixed order (house or plot, road, city, PIN) and compare field by field, never by overall look. Two entries that look alike usually differ by a swapped digit (440012 against 440021) or one changed letter (47/C against 47/G). Count differing fields, not differing characters, unless the stem says characters.
Dates are matched by converting both to one format. A DD-MM-YYYY register reads 07-11-2019 as 7 November 2019, but a month-first reading would give 11 July 2019: the stem always states the format, so read it first. Use the month numbers below.
| Months | Numbers |
|---|---|
| January, February, March, April | 01, 02, 03, 04 |
| May, June, July, August | 05, 06, 07, 08 |
| September, October, November, December | 09, 10, 11, 12 |
City matching pairs a city with its state, river or another attribute. It is a recall check dressed as matching: mark every pair you are sure is right or wrong, then pick the option that agrees with all your marks. One firm wrong pair removes every option containing it.
Centre Codes and Roll Numbers: Classify by the Named Fields
A roll number is a string with a fixed structure, and the stem tells you the structure. Take PN021375 under the rule “2-letter centre code, 2-digit shift number, 4-digit serial”. It splits into centre PN, shift 02 and serial 1375. A classification question asks which entry breaks the group on the fields the rule names.
| Roll number | Centre | Shift | Serial |
|---|---|---|---|
| PN021375 | PN | 02 | 1375 |
| PN023950 | PN | 02 | 3950 |
| LK021375 | LK | 02 | 1375 |
Small and Capital Letter and Number Coding
In two-case coding the case rule and the shift rule are separate steps. Apply them in the order the stem gives and treat the alphabet as a circle (A follows Z) when the stem says so. Write the answer letter by letter in a row beneath the word, keeping each letter's case.
Example. Rule: a capital letter becomes the small letter one place ahead; a small letter becomes the capital letter one place before. Then Bad gives B → c, a → Z (one before A wraps to Z), d → C, so Bad is coded cZC.
Classification with letters and numbers asks for the pair that breaks a relation. Find the relation in the pairs that agree, then test every pair against it. Example: C9, E25, G49, J64. The numbers are the squares of the letter positions (3, 5, 7), but J is 10 and 10² = 100, so J64 is the odd one.
Word Building: Letter Counts and Arrangements
Word building asks whether a word can be made from the letters of a given word, each letter used no more often than it occurs there. Write the source word's letter count once, then test every candidate against it. A candidate fails for one of two reasons only: it contains a letter the source lacks, or it needs a letter more times than the source has.
| Letter | P | A | S | E | N | G | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Tests on PASSENGER: SENSE needs S twice and E twice, so it can be built. ASSESS needs four S, so it fails. SPENDS needs D, so it fails.
Arrangements. With n different letters there are n! orderings. If a condition fixes the first letter, count the allowed choices for it and multiply by the orderings of the rest. For the letters of FAIR (four different letters) starting with a vowel: 2 vowels × 3! = 12.
Trends: The Direction and Speed of Change
A trend item gives a short series of figures (sales, footfall, output) and asks about the direction (rising, falling, steady), the number of reversals, the rate or the next value. First compute the differences between consecutive terms. Positive differences mean rising, negative mean falling. If the differences themselves grow, the series rises at an increasing rate.
Example. Series 3, 5, 9, 15. Differences 2, 4, 6 rise by 2 each time, so the next difference is 8 and the next term is 15 + 8 = 23. An overall rise can hide dips: 40, 46, 44, 52 is rising overall, yet 46 to 44 is a fall.
Two trends compared. To find when one series first exceeds another, list both term by term and compare in each period; do not assume they cross at the period where the faster one has caught up in rate.
Space Orientation: Turn, Face and Move
Treat the eight compass directions as angles measured clockwise from north. A clockwise turn adds, an anticlockwise turn subtracts, and the result is reduced to the range 0 to 360. This turns every turning question into one line of arithmetic.
| Direction | Angle |
|---|---|
| North | 0° |
| North-east | 45° |
| East | 90° |
| South-east | 135° |
| South | 180° |
| South-west | 225° |
| West | 270° |
| North-west | 315° |
Example. A person facing east (90°) turns 180°: 90 + 180 = 270°, so she faces west. She then turns 45° anticlockwise: 270 − 45 = 225°, so she faces south-west.
Left and right hand. The right hand points 90° clockwise from the direction a person faces, the left hand 90° anticlockwise. A person facing east has the right hand to the south and the left hand to the north. Face to face: if A faces B, they face opposite directions, so A's right hand and B's right hand point in opposite directions.
Visual Memory Described in Words
A visual-memory item shows a card, studies it, then asks what was where. Here the card is described in words, so you do the same thing the exam asks of you: fix a position label for every object (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right, centre), note the count of each shape and any touching or enclosing relation, and only then answer.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Top-left | Top-right |
| Top-right | Bottom-right |
| Bottom-right | Bottom-left |
| Bottom-left | Top-left |
Situation Judgement: Critical Thinking, Social and Emotional Intelligence
These items give a short situation and ask for the best response or the sound inference. Four checks fix one answer: the response must (1) deal with the actual problem, (2) show respect to the other person, (3) stay within your role and (4) be calm and proportionate. Aggressive, avoiding, passing-the-blame and over-escalating replies fail at least one check.
| Response type | Example | Fails |
|---|---|---|
| Aggressive | Answer back sharply | Respect, calm |
| Avoiding | Ignore the matter | Actual problem |
| Over-escalating | Report to a senior at once | Proportion, role |
Critical thinking has its own habits. Separate a fact (can be checked: “the 8:15 shuttle ran 12 minutes late on Monday”) from an opinion (cannot be checked: “the timetable is confusing”). When a conclusion is drawn from two figures, ask whether a third factor could explain both; the fact that most weakens the conclusion supplies that third factor.
Key takeaways
- An indexing item is solved by reading the table's rule first, writing the values beside the items and then applying the stated formula in order; watch “from the end” positions.
- Address and date matching is field-by-field comparison in a fixed order; count differing fields and read the date format the stem states.
- Classify centre codes and roll numbers only on the fields the rule names; look-alike serials are decoys.
- In case-and-shift coding apply the two rules as separate steps; for word building compare letter counts, not mere presence of letters.
- For trends compute differences first; overall direction and month-to-month changes are different comparisons. For orientation use angles from north: clockwise adds, anticlockwise subtracts.
- Situation items have one answer that deals with the real problem, shows respect, stays in role and stays calm; separate fact from opinion and look for a third factor that weakens an inference.
Practice questions (20)
Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
A library index gives each shelf a letter and each book a code made of the shelf letter and a row number. The code value is 10 × (position of the shelf letter in the English alphabet, A = 1) + row number. What is the code value of the book coded M7?
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Answer: B — 137
M is the 13th letter, so the value is 10 × 13 + 7 = 137. The value 147 comes from using 14, the position of M from the end of the alphabet, which the stem does not ask for. The value 91 multiplies 13 by 7 and 20 adds them, but the stated formula is 10 times the position plus the row.In a certain code, every capital letter is replaced by the small letter two places ahead of it in the alphabet, and every small letter is replaced by the capital letter two places before it. The alphabet is treated as a circle, so A follows Z. How is Cab written in this code?
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Answer: D — eYZ
C (3) becomes the small letter two ahead, e. Small a (1) goes two back to the capital Y, because the circle wraps below A, and b (2) goes to Z. So the code is eYZ. The code eCD moves the small letters forward instead of back, which reverses the second rule, and CYZ leaves the first letter unchanged instead of making it small.Four letter-number pairs are given: B4, D16, F36 and H70. Three of them follow one relation between the number and the position of the letter in the alphabet. Which pair does not follow it?
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Answer: A — H70
The positions are B = 2, D = 4, F = 6 and H = 8, and the numbers 4, 16 and 36 are their squares. H would then pair with 64, not 70, so H70 is the odd one. The other pairs are tempting only if you see that the numbers merely increase; the exact relation is the square of the position.The master record reads: Plot 47/C, Gandhi Marg, Nagpur 440012. It has four fields: plot, road, city and PIN. Which one of the entries below differs from the master record in exactly one field?
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Answer: C — Plot 47/C, Gandhi Marg, Nagpur 440021
Only the entry ending 440021 changes a single field: the PIN has two digits swapped. The entry that is identical to the master differs in no field. The entry with 47/G and Gandhi Path changes the plot and the road, and the entry with 74/C and 440021 changes the plot and the PIN, so both differ in two fields.A register stores dates as DD-MM-YYYY, where DD is the day and MM is the month number. The entry 07-11-2019 is checked against four cards. Which card shows the same date written in words?
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Answer: B — 7 November 2019
Under DD-MM-YYYY, 07 is the day and 11 the month, which is November, so the date is 7 November 2019. The card 11 July 2019 comes from reading the month first, which the stem rules out. The cards with 2018 and with the 17th change the year and the day.A sheet pairs each city with the state it lies in. P: Jaipur, Rajasthan. Q: Guwahati, Assam. R: Bhopal, Maharashtra. S: Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Which of the pairs are correctly matched?
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Answer: D — P, Q and S
Jaipur is in Rajasthan, Guwahati in Assam and Raipur in Chhattisgarh, so P, Q and S are right. Bhopal is in Madhya Pradesh, not Maharashtra, so R is wrong and every option that contains R fails. The option with P and S only is tempting but drops Q, which is also correct.A roll number has a 2-letter centre code, then a 2-digit shift number, then a 4-digit serial. Three of the four roll numbers below are from the same centre and the same shift. Which one is the odd one?
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Answer: A — PN012208
All four have centre PN, but PN012208 has shift 01 while the other three have shift 02, so it is the odd one. The serials are supposed to differ, so the different endings of the other three do not matter. The roll number PN023950 may look unlike the rest, but its centre and shift match.Each letter of PLATFORM may be used no more often than it occurs in PLATFORM. Which one of the following words cannot be built from its letters?
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Answer: C — MOTOR
PLATFORM has the letters P, L, A, T, F, O, R, M, each once. MOTOR needs O twice, so it cannot be built even though M, O, T and R are all present. FLOAT, PORTAL and TRAMP each use only different letters from the set, so they can be built.All four letters of CODE are used exactly once in each arrangement, whether or not the arrangement is a meaningful word. How many different arrangements begin with a vowel?
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Answer: B — 12
The vowels in CODE are O and E, so the first letter can be chosen in 2 ways. The remaining three letters can then be ordered in 3! = 6 ways, giving 2 × 6 = 12. The total of 24 counts every arrangement of the four letters, including those that start with C or D.The word EXAMINATION has A twice, I twice and N twice, and its other letters once each. No letter may be used more often than it occurs in EXAMINATION. Which one of the following words can be built?
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Answer: D — ANIMATION
ANIMATION uses A twice, N twice, I twice and M, T, O once each, all within the counts. ANNOTATION needs N three times and T twice, TOMATO needs T twice and O twice, and EXAMINER needs R, which EXAMINATION lacks. So ANIMATION is the only word that fits the counts.Monthly ticket sales (in thousands) from January to June were 40, 46, 44, 52, 50 and 58. Which statement describes the trend correctly?
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Answer: A — Rising overall, with two months showing a fall on the month before
Sales go from 40 to 58, so the overall trend is rising. The dips are February to March (46 to 44) and April to May (52 to 50), which is two falls. A count of three falls is wrong, and the series is not steady because the monthly changes reach 8.Daily footfall at a counter (in hundreds) over five days was 5, 8, 12, 17 and 23. The daily rise has itself been growing by 1 each day. If this trend continues, what will the footfall (in hundreds) be on the sixth day?
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Answer: C — 30
The rises are 3, 4, 5 and 6, so the next rise is 7 and the sixth-day figure is 23 + 7 = 30. The value 29 repeats the last rise of 6 and would mean the rise had stopped growing. The value 31 adds 8, skipping a step.Over six months, the output of unit X was 20, 24, 28, 32, 36 and 40, and the output of unit Y was 10, 14, 20, 28, 38 and 50. In which month does Y first exceed X?
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Answer: B — Month 5
Compare month by month: Y is 10, 14, 20 and 28 against X at 20, 24, 28 and 32 in months 1 to 4, so Y is behind. In month 5 it is 38 against 36, so Y first exceeds X in month 5. Month 4 is tempting because Y's rise of 8 matches X's rise of 4 doubled, but 28 is still below 32.A person faces north-west. She turns 135 degrees clockwise and then 225 degrees anticlockwise. In which direction does she face now?
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Answer: D — South-west
North-west is 315 degrees from north. Adding 135 clockwise gives 450, which is 90 degrees, east. Subtracting 225 gives 90 − 225 = −135, which is 225 degrees, south-west. North-west is the tempting wrong pick: it results from treating the second turn as clockwise, since 90 + 225 = 315.Seema faces south. Arun stands facing Seema. Arun then turns 90 degrees anticlockwise. In which direction does Arun's right hand point now?
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Answer: A — North
Arun faces Seema, so he faces north. Turning 90 degrees anticlockwise makes him face west. His right hand points 90 degrees clockwise from west, which is north. West is the direction he faces, not the direction of his right hand, so it is the usual wrong pick.A square card has a square in its top-left corner, a circle in the top-right, a triangle in the bottom-right and a star in the bottom-left. The card is turned 90 degrees clockwise in its own plane. Which shape is now in the top-left corner?
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Answer: C — Star
A 90 degree clockwise turn moves the bottom-left corner to the top-left, so the star is now there. The square moves to the top-right, the circle to the bottom-right and the triangle to the bottom-left. The square stays tempting only if one forgets that the card has turned.A station notice says: “The lost-property desk returned 30% more items this month than last month, so passengers are becoming more careless.” Which one fact would most weaken this conclusion?
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Answer: B — A second counter opened and platform announcements invited passengers to report lost items
A second counter and announcements could raise the number of returned items without any change in passenger behaviour, which breaks the link between returns and carelessness. Falling footfall would actually strengthen the conclusion, since more items were lost by fewer people. Opening hours and the type of items do not touch the inference.Which one of the following statements is a fact that can be checked, and not an opinion?
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Answer: D — The 8:15 shuttle ran 12 minutes late on Monday
The Monday delay can be checked against the record of the run, so it is a fact. Confusing and unreliable are judgements that different people would assess differently, and what passengers should do is a view about conduct. The word always in the claim about shuttle services also makes it an overstatement.Rushed and upset, a colleague snaps at you in front of others about an error in a shared file. You can see the error is partly yours. Which response shows the most emotional intelligence?
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Answer: A — Stay calm, own your share of the error, offer to fix it and discuss his tone privately later
The calm, accountable reply handles the task, owns the mistake and protects the relationship, with the tone discussed privately. Answering back fails the calm and respect checks, ignoring the matter leaves the real problem unsolved, and an immediate complaint to the manager is out of proportion to a single remark.A passenger at the help desk seems confused, holds a ticket and keeps looking around the concourse. Which response shows the most social intelligence?
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Answer: C — Approach politely, ask if help is needed and listen before directing
Approaching courteously, offering help and listening first recognises the person's need, respects him and stays within the helper's role. Waiting for him to ask ignores a visible signal, calling out in public is disrespectful, and pointing at a signboard does not check whether he understood it.