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SSC CGL Reasoning · Non-Verbal Series and Analogy

Turning and Flipping

Figure series and analogies where a figure turns by a fixed angle at each step, or is mirrored or turned upside down, sometimes as it is carried into the next figure.

All Non-Verbal Series and Analogy notes

Why this matters

Nineteen questions in the bank, 9 from the 2023 shifts and 10 from the 2024 shifts, with 7 EASY, 11 MODERATE and 1 HARD. The angle of the turn is the whole question, so knowing where 45, 90 and 180 degrees take a pointer, in both directions, gets the mark.

Concept 1 of 2: Turning by a fixed angle

Pick one feature that points somewhere, such as an arrow, a corner or a dot, and watch where it points in each figure. The change from one figure to the next is the angle of the turn, and it stays the same through the series.

Definition

  • Clockwise is the way a clock's hands move: up, right, down, left. Anticlockwise is the other way: up, left, down, right.
  • A 90 degree turn moves a pointer one of those four places. A 45 degree turn moves it halfway, to a slant (up-right, up-left and so on). A 180 degree turn sends it to the opposite side, whichever way it turns.
  • Four turns of 90 degrees, or eight of 45 degrees, bring a figure back to where it began.
  • Everything inside the figure turns with it: a letter or a small mark keeps its place on the shape and turns too.
  • A part can turn on its own while the rest stays still, or two parts can turn by different angles. Watch each part.
  • Fast route: find the angle from figures 1 and 2, check it on figures 2 and 3, then turn figure 4 once more in your head.

Worked example

In a series, an arrow points up, then right, then down. Where does it point in the fourth and fifth figures?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2024 · Tier I, 9 Sep 2024, Shift 2 · Q13Easy

Example 1 · Non-Verbal Series and Analogy · Turning and Flipping

Identify the figure given in the options which when put in place of the question mark (?) will logically complete the series.

Turning the wrong way

Up to left is anticlockwise, not clockwise. Say the direction aloud from figures 1 and 2 and keep it; the setter puts the mirror-image turn among the options.

Forgetting that the inside turns too

When a shape with a letter or a dot inside it turns, the letter and the dot turn with it. An option where the outline has turned but the inside has not is wrong.
Drill 13 more on turning by a fixed angle

Concept 2 of 2: Mirrored, turned over and carried parts

A flip is not a turn. A mirror image swaps left and right; a water image swaps top and bottom. In an analogy, the second figure is the first after one such change, and you make the same change to the third. In some series, part of each figure is carried into the next one, flipped on the way.

Definition

  • Mirror image (left to right): b becomes d, p becomes q. Top and bottom stay where they are.
  • Water image (upside down): b becomes p, M becomes W. Left and right stay where they are.
  • A shape that is the same on both sides (A, H, a circle) does not change in a left-to-right mirror, so look at the parts that are not symmetric.
  • Analogy: name the change from figure 1 to figure 2 (turned upside down, mirrored, turned 90 degrees, shaded) and apply only that change to figure 3.
  • Carried parts: in some series a new symbol appears in each figure, and the next figure shows it again in another place, often mirrored or turned over. Track the new symbol from each figure into the next.

Worked example

In a figure analogy, figure 1 shows the letter b and figure 2 shows the letter d. Figure 3 shows the letter p. What does figure 4 show?
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps

The same idea in a real exam question:

SSC CGL · 2024 · Tier I, 13 Sep 2024, Shift 2 · Q19Easy

Example 2 · Non-Verbal Series and Analogy · Turning and Flipping

Select the option that is related to the third figure in the same way as the second figure is related to the first figure. Follow the analogy- Figure 1 : Figure 2 :: Figure 3 : ?

Mixing up a mirror image and a water image

A mirror swaps left and right; turning upside down swaps top and bottom. b mirrored is d, but b turned upside down is p. Decide which swap happened before you choose.

Changing more than the analogy changes

If figure 2 is only figure 1 turned upside down, the answer is figure 3 turned upside down and nothing else. An option that also shades or moves a part has made a second change.
Drill 4 more on mirrored, turned over and carried parts

Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance

A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.

Watch out for (4)

Test yourself on Non-Verbal Series and Analogy

20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.

Take the Non-Verbal Series and Analogy chapter testDrill all 19 questions