Two matrices are provided: Matrix I uses row and column numbers 0 to 4. Matrix II uses row and column numbers 5 to 9. A letter is…
Reasoning & General Intelligence ·Previously asked in SSC CGL 2025
View the full solved paper: SSC CGL 2025 Tier II (19 Jan 2026)
Question
Two matrices are provided: Matrix I uses row and column numbers 0 to 4. Matrix II uses row and column numbers 5 to 9. A letter is represented by row number, column number (for example, 23 means row 2, column 3 in Matrix I; 66 means row 6, column 6 in Matrix II). From the matrices, find the row-column codes for each letter in DUNG in sequence, and select the correct option from the given alternatives.
Matrix-I
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | M | A | E | L | M |
| 1 | C | G | M | J | K |
| 2 | F | B | I | C | F |
| 3 | F | A | L | J | I |
| 4 | C | L | D | K | F |
Matrix-II
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | V | Y | U | S | S |
| 6 | P | X | Q | O | R |
| 7 | N | V | V | O | Q |
| 8 | S | Q | U | T | U |
| 9 | Q | X | S | V | Z |
- A. 31, 76, 24, 96
- B. 20, 59, 41, 88
- C. 33, 68, 31, 75
- D. 42, 57, 75, 11 (Correct answer)
Correct Answer
Option D — 42, 57, 75, 11
Detailed Solution & Explanation
The correct answer is 42, 57, 75, 11.
Key Points
- Each code is read as row digit followed by column digit, with Matrix-I indexed 0-4 and Matrix-II indexed 5-9.
- Decode the keyed option letter by letter:
- 42 — Matrix-I, row 4, column 2 → D
- 57 — Matrix-II, row 5, column 7 → U
- 75 — Matrix-II, row 7, column 5 → N
- 11 — Matrix-I, row 1, column 1 → G
- Read in sequence that gives D-U-N-G, exactly the required word.
Additional Information
- The two matrices never share an index range, so the first digit alone tells you which grid to look in — 0-4 means Matrix-I and 5-9 means Matrix-II. Checking that first halves the search.
- Most letters appear in more than one cell, so several valid codes exist for the same word; the question asks only for the option that decodes correctly, not for the unique code.
- Work in the order given — decoding the four codes but assembling them out of sequence is the commonest error.
- Verifying a single position is often enough to eliminate an option, so test the first code of each and discard those that fail before decoding the rest.
Topics covered: Matrix Coding Coding-Decoding