SSC CPO Quantitative Aptitude: important topics for Paper I, with examples

Quantitative Aptitude is part III of SSC CPO Paper I: 25 questions, 25 marks, 15 minutes, with −0.25 for a wrong answer. Fifteen minutes for 25 questions is 36 seconds each, so the Quant part rewards candidates who recognise a question type at once and know its shortcut. This guide lists the topics that carry most of the marks, with one worked example each, and how to spend the 15 minutes.

The SSC CPO Quant syllabus in one table

The full list is on our SSC CPO syllabus page.

Arithmetic: the biggest block

Percentage and profit

Example: A shopkeeper marks an article 40% above cost and gives a 15% discount. Profit? Take cost 100: marked 140, sold at 140 × 0.85 = 119, so profit 19%. Thinking in "cost = 100" turns most profit questions into one line.

Ratio and averages

Example: The average of 6 numbers is 30. One is removed and the average of the rest is 28. The removed number = 6 × 30 − 5 × 28 = 180 − 140 = 40.

Interest

Example: The difference between compound and simple interest on a sum for 2 years at 10% is ₹ 50. For 2 years, CI − SI = P × (R/100)², so P × 0.01 = 50 and P = ₹ 5,000.

Time and work, time and distance

Example (work): A finishes a job in 12 days and B in 18. Together they do 1/12 + 1/18 = 5/36 a day, so they need 7.2 days. The "units" method is faster: take the work as 36 units; A does 3 a day, B 2, together 5, so 36 ÷ 5 = 7.2.

Example (trains): Two trains, 150 m and 210 m long, run towards each other at 60 and 48 km/h. Relative speed 108 km/h = 30 m/s; distance 360 m; time 12 seconds.

Number system

Example (remainder): Remainder when 2²⁰ is divided by 7: since 2³ = 8 leaves 1, 2²⁰ = (2³)⁶ × 2² leaves 4.

Example (factors): 360 = 2³ × 3² × 5 has (3 + 1)(2 + 1)(1 + 1) = 24 factors.

Algebra

Example: If x + 1/x = 5, then x² + 1/x² = 25 − 2 = 23, and x³ + 1/x³ = 125 − 15 = 110. Learn these two lines by heart; they turn up in many forms.

Geometry and mensuration

Example: A chord 24 cm long is 5 cm from the centre of a circle. Radius = √(12² + 5²) = 13 cm. Pythagorean triples (3-4-5, 5-12-13, 8-15-17, 7-24-25) save a lot of time.

Example: Volume of a hemisphere of radius 21 cm = (2/3) × 22/7 × 21³ = 19,404 cm³.

Trigonometry and data

Example: If sec θ + tan θ = 3, then sec θ − tan θ = 1/3 (because sec²θ − tan²θ = 1), so sec θ = 5/3.

For data questions, read the question before the table, and estimate before you calculate: options are often far apart.

How to spend the 15 minutes

1. First pass (about 9 minutes): answer every question you can do in under 30 seconds: simplification, percentage, averages, direct formulas.
2. Second pass (about 5 minutes): the marked questions you know how to do but that take longer.
3. Last minute: stop. Guess only where you have ruled out two options.

If you regularly fail to reach the last 5 questions, practise one 25-question Quant part at a time under a 15-minute timer, as in our SSC CPO mock tests. For formulas in one place, see SSC CPO maths formulas.

Frequently asked questions

Which topics are most important in SSC CPO Quant?

Arithmetic: percentage, profit and loss, ratio, averages, interest, time and work, and time and distance. Together they make up most of the Quant part, followed by number system, algebra and geometry.

How can I solve 25 Quant questions in 15 minutes?

Answer the quick ones first, use the "100" and "units" methods instead of long equations, and skip any question that has no clear method within 20 seconds. Practise the part under its real timer.

Is the SSC CPO Quant section in Hindi?

Yes. Quantitative Aptitude questions are in Hindi and English in SSC CPO, and in our mocks.