Analogy is among the most heavily tested topics in SSC General Intelligence and appears in banking papers too, and it is unusual in one respect: a badly-set analogy genuinely has two right answers. Knowing that is a practical advantage, because it tells you what to check before committing — not just which rule fits, but whether a second rule fits equally well.
Square, cube, small multiple, small addition, then the near-misses — square plus one, square minus one, square plus the number itself. Most exam analogies are one of these, and testing in a set order is faster than staring at the pair hoping the rule appears.
A large jump from a small number means a power is involved; a modest one means a multiple or an addition. From 7 to 343 is a cube; from 7 to 21 is a multiple. That single glance eliminates most of the checklist before you test anything.
This is the step that separates a careful solver. 7 : 49 is explained by squaring and by multiplying by 7 — and those give 25 and 35 for the number 5. When two rules fit the given pair, the intended answer is whichever one the option list supports uniquely.
If your rule produces a value not among the options, the rule is wrong — go back to the checklist rather than picking the nearest number. A near-miss option is usually the result of the rival rule you did not rule out.
| The pair looks like | Try |
|---|---|
| Small number → very large (7 → 343) | Cube |
| Small number → moderately large (7 → 49) | Square, or a multiple — check both |
| 7 → 50, 9 → 82 | Square plus one |
| 7 → 42, 9 → 72 | Square minus the number itself |
| 7 → 350, 10 → 1010 | Cube plus the number itself |
| 7 → 11, 13 → 17 | The next prime number |
Every question below was generated by the same engine that mints the Deduce daily puzzle, and machine-proven to have exactly one correct answer before it reached this page. The walkthrough is the engine's own, step for step.
16 : 255 :: 11 : ?
Work out how the first number becomes the second, then apply the same rule to the third.
9 : 80 :: 13 : ?
Work out how the first number becomes the second, then apply the same rule to the third.
14 : 195 :: 5 : ?
Work out how the first number becomes the second, then apply the same rule to the third.
A single pair often admits two rules, and they diverge on the second number. Before applying a rule, spend two seconds asking whether another one also explains the pair — the option list is usually built from exactly that rival.
Without a checklist you re-test some relations and never test others. The fixed order costs nothing to learn and makes the topic mechanical rather than intuitive.
If your computed value is absent, the rule is wrong. Picking the closest available number converts a recoverable mistake into a certain one.
One puzzle a day, timed on the server, with a national and state leaderboard and a streak that survives as long as you do. Practising a topic once is worth little; the aspirants who move are the ones who show up daily. See what Deduce does or read the rules first.
Start your streak free →A question of the form A : B :: C : ?, where a rule connects the first pair and you apply the same rule to complete the second. The rule is usually a power, a small multiple, a small addition, or a near-miss variant such as square-plus-one.
Because a single pair often does not determine the rule. 7 : 49 is satisfied by squaring and by multiplying by seven, which give 25 and 35 respectively for the number 5. Well-set questions choose pairs where only one rule fits — and every analogy question on this page is machine-checked against a family of standard rules before publication, so exactly one answer is defensible.
It is one of the highest-frequency topics in General Intelligence, typically two to three marks, and it sits alongside classification and series as the trio that rewards a checklist approach most. It appears in banking papers too, though less prominently than arrangement puzzles.
Judge the size of the jump before testing anything. A small number leading to a very large one points at a cube; a moderate jump points at a square or a multiple; a small jump points at an addition or the next prime. That single observation removes most of the checklist.
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