SSC CHSL · General Intelligence

Reasoning is scored twice. Only the second one is counted.

Tier 1 decides who sits Tier 2, and then its marks are set aside. The merit list is built on Tier 2 alone — and a quarter of it is reasoning.

Twenty-five General Intelligence questions in Tier 1, thirty more in Tier 2 — where each one is worth three marks and a wrong answer takes one back. It is the one part of CHSL that is a skill rather than a syllabus, and a skill can be trained.

For 12th-pass candidates preparing for LDC, JSA and Data Entry Operator posts.

Tier 1 shortlists. Tier 2 ranks. SSC shortlists candidates for Tier 2 on their normalised Tier-1 scores, then prepares the merit list on the aggregate of Tier-2 Section-I and Section-II alone. Source: SSC Notice of Examination, CHSL 2026, paras 13.8, 13.9, 17.2 and 17.9. Confirm the current cycle at ssc.gov.in ↗

The reasoning section, in numbers

25
reasoning questions in Tier 1
~36 sec
per question in Tier 1 — 25 reasoning questions on a 15-minute clock
90
reasoning marks in Tier 2, of the 360 that make the merit list
4
marks between seeing it and guessing it, on every Tier 2 question
A tree growing inside a mind Why start now

Three marks for seeing it. One more gone for guessing.

In Tier 2, every question in Section-I is worth three marks and a wrong answer costs a full one. So the distance between recognising a pattern and guessing at it is four marks — thirty times over, in the only tier that counts. That gap is where a rank is won, and it is not won in the last week.

Recognition is a reflex, and reflexes are built the way muscle is: a little each day, over months. The right questions in the right order make it faster. More hours at the desk do not — which is exactly why this section rewards method over time served.

And it pays twice. The same skill that answers Tier 1's twenty-five questions is worth ninety marks in Tier 2. Whatever stage of the cycle you're at, the day you start is the day it starts compounding.

Start today!
What · the exam

Two tiers. Reasoning is in both — only one of them is counted.

Tier 1 is the gate; its normalised score shortlists you and stops there. Tier 2 is the merit list. This is what SSC's own notice sets out.

Tier 1 · the gate

General Intelligence — 25 questions, 50 marks

100 questions · 15 minutes a part · 0.50 negative
  • Analogies, series and classification, verbal and non-verbal
  • Coding and decoding, symbolic and numerical operations, word building
  • Venn diagrams, drawing inferences, problem solving
  • Figures — folding and unfolding, embedded figures, pattern completion
One of four parts, and the only one that is pure skill. A quarter of the marks in the tier.
Tier 2 · the merit list

Reasoning and General Intelligence — 30 questions, 90 marks

30 questions · 30 minutes · 3 marks each · 1 mark negative
  • Same skill, harder questions
  • Shares a one-hour section with Mathematical Abilities, thirty questions each
  • Merit is the aggregate of Section-I and Section-II — 360 marks, 90 of them reasoning
  • The Computer Knowledge Test and the typing or data entry test are qualifying only
Selection is decided on Tier 2 alone.
How · train the section

Two tiers, one list, one skill.

SSC prints the same list twice. The General Intelligence syllabus for Tier 1 and the Reasoning and General Intelligence syllabus for Tier 2 are word for word identical — "questions of both verbal and non-verbal type… Semantic Analogy, Symbolic operations, Symbolic/ Number Analogy, Trends, Figural Analogy, Space Orientation, Semantic Classification, Venn Diagrams, Symbolic/ Number Classification, Drawing inferences, Figural Classification, Punched hole/ pattern-folding & unfolding, Semantic Series, Figural Pattern-folding and completion, Number Series, Embedded figures, Figural Series, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Emotional Intelligence, Word Building, Social Intelligence, Coding and de-coding, Numerical operations." One list of thinking skills, not a body of knowledge — built by solving the right questions, the right amount, over time. That is exactly what Master Mental Ability does.

◎

Adapts to you

Harder as you improve, easier when you slip. No time wasted on what you've already got.

↻

Back before you forget

Spaced repetition returns a question right as it's about to fade — so it's still there in Tier 2.

✎

Solve first, then see

You reason it out before the answer shows. That effort is where recognition gets built.

☁

Calm before the clock

A moment to settle before each session. The same calm a timed hall takes away.

What this doesn't cover: CHSL Tier 1 is four parts and we train one — General Intelligence. English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness need their own preparation, and nothing here prepares the Computer Knowledge Test or the typing and data entry skill test, which need a keyboard rather than a reasoning app. Inside reasoning, what the app builds is the core of SSC's own list — analogies, series and classification, coding and decoding, figures, and drawing inferences.
Works offline on Android

Practice anywhere. On Android, practice itself needs no internet.

On Android, all the questions live on your phone, so after install, daily practice costs zero data. The app needs the internet once to start, then at least once a week. In the web app, on a phone or computer, you practise in the browser while you are online.

Android works offline Full-screen web practice Progress saved online Zero data during practice
Try without an account

No account, no card, no install. Solve one full session, then decide.

Start free

On Android? The app is in beta. Join in two steps:

  1. Join the tester group
  2. Become a tester on Google Play, then install

Use the Google account that is on your phone for both steps. Can't join? Use the web app in your phone's browser.

Built by

In 2007, in his second year at IIT Delhi, Vineesh wrote a book — Master Mental Ability in 30 Days. It has sold year after year ever since, without the publisher ever marketing it.

In the years since, he built other learning products and spent a decade working with children of every background in a holistic learning centre.

This app goes far beyond that book — everything he's learned about how people actually learn, built into something you practise, not just read.

More about us →

No risk to you

Don't trust us. See it work.

1

Try free

Solve a full session, no registration. Decide nothing yet.

2

Register

Like it? Sign up and get 15 days free. No payment, no auto-debit.

3

Practise daily

Fifteen minutes a day on alphanumeric coding, paper folding and embedded figures — 25 questions in Tier 1, and 90 of the 360 marks that make the merit list.

4

Share to keep learning free

Invite a friend preparing for SSC CHSL — you both earn more free days.

Your questions

Common questions

Is it really free? Will money get taken from my account?

Free to try — no signup to start, no card, no auto-debit, nothing taken silently. When you want the full library there are three plans, by length: ₹499 for three months, ₹699 for six, ₹999 for a year. Each is a single payment for that period, not a subscription — when it ends we ask you, and nothing is ever taken automatically. You can also keep learning free by sharing the app, and you can always try before paying anything.

Is this app enough to clear SSC CHSL?

No, and no single app is. CHSL is four parts in Tier 1 and four sections in Tier 2; we train General Intelligence. English, Quantitative Aptitude, General Awareness, the Computer Knowledge Test and the typing test all need their own work. What we do, we do properly.

Does reasoning still matter after Tier 1?

More than before. SSC uses your normalised Tier-1 score only to shortlist you for Tier 2, and the merit list is prepared on Tier 2 alone — the aggregate of Section-I and Section-II. Reasoning is 30 of those questions and 90 of those 360 marks, at three marks each with one deducted for a wrong answer. The part that lets you in is the part that sets your rank.

I have very little time before my exam. Is this any use?

Some. Practice always beats no practice. But be honest with yourself about what 36 seconds a question means: recognition is built over months, not in a week. Start anyway — and if you're between cycles, that gap is the most useful preparation time you will get.

Is the app in Hindi?

Yes — fully. Choose Hindi and the whole app is Hindi: the questions themselves, the options, and the explanation after each one — not an English app with Hindi labels around it. The exam is unusually generous here: SSC sets CHSL in English, Hindi and 13 more Indian languages — Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu — for every part except the English Language ones. It is one of the widest language choices of any exam on this site.

How much internet does it need?

On the Android app, very little. The questions are on your phone, so you can practise on a train, in a village with no signal, on a phone with no data pack. It needs the internet once to start, then at least once a week to keep your access active; that is also when your progress is saved online. If it goes longer than a week without connecting, practice pauses until it does, and nothing is lost. The web app needs a connection while you practise.

When is the next SSC CHSL, and where do I apply?

Only on the Staff Selection Commission's own website, ssc.gov.in — never through an agent and never through us. The numbers on this page are from SSC's CHSL 2026 Notice of Examination, published on 7 September 2026. Applications for this cycle closed on 7 October 2026. SSC's schedule notice of 1 October 2026 puts Tier 1 between 30 November and 31 December 2026; the Tier 2 date is notified later on ssc.gov.in — check there for both.

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