SSC CGL Boat and Stream Questions 2026 — Free Chapter Wise Practice Test

Boat and Stream Tests — Pick a Level and Start

Tap a level to see every test in it. Level 1 is set at real SSC CGL difficulty — start there the day you finish the concept. Level 2 is pitched above the exam, to push accuracy under pressure.

The whole chapter is two additions. Going with the current, the boat’s speed over the ground is boat speed + stream speed; going against it, boat speed − stream speed. Run those backwards and you get the other pair: boat speed = half the sum of the two ground speeds, stream speed = half their difference. Every question in the chapter is one of these four lines, plus distance = speed × time.

The marks are lost in three places. The first is mixing up which speed is which — a boat at 8 km/h in a 2 km/h stream goes 10 km/h downstream and 6 km/h upstream, and the question will offer 10 and 6 the wrong way round. The second is averaging the two ground speeds for a round trip: the average speed of the trip is not the boat speed, because the upstream leg takes longer. The third is reading a time ratio as a speed ratio — if the upstream leg takes twice as long as the downstream leg, the ground speeds are in the ratio 1 : 2, and the boat is three times the stream, not two. Each test puts twenty-five boat and stream questions in front of you in one sitting, which is what makes those checks automatic.

How Many Boat and Stream Questions Are Asked in SSC CGL?

Boat and stream is a small, regular chapter. It appears as one question in most shifts, and it is one of the fastest marks on the paper once the four speed lines are automatic.

Counts vary by shift. Boat and stream is time, speed and distance with the speeds added or subtracted first, so the two chapters are best prepared together.

What You Will Practice in the Boat and Stream Chapter

Core topics

• Downstream and upstream speeds from the boat’s still-water speed and the speed of the current
• The boat’s speed and the stream’s speed recovered from the two ground speeds
• Speeds given in metres per minute or km/h, with the conversion done before anything else
• A distance covered downstream or upstream in a given time, and the time for a given distance
• The time for a round trip, and the one-way distance from a total round-trip time
• Downstream time and upstream time over the same distance, and the ratio between them
• The ratio of boat speed to stream speed from the ratio of the two times
• A boat that takes a stated multiple of the downstream time to come back upstream
• A floating object, a raft or a log that moves at the speed of the stream alone
• A boat and a raft, or two boats, starting from different points and meeting on the river
• A boat that turns back midstream to collect something that fell overboard
• Two round trips at two different boat speeds, solved together for the stream and the distance
• A round trip whose total time gives a quadratic in the unknown speed
• Journeys that mix a downstream stretch and an upstream stretch of different lengths
• A change in the current, or in the boat’s speed, and the minutes it adds to or saves from a trip

Rules worth memorising

The first two rows carry the chapter. Everything else is those two applied with the right distance, or the raft rule — anything that only floats moves at the speed of the stream.

The three mistakes that cost the most marks

• Swapping the two speeds. Downstream is with the current and is the larger speed. If the upstream figure comes out larger than the downstream one, a sign has been flipped somewhere.
• Averaging speeds for a round trip. The two legs are equal distances at different speeds, so the trip average is 2DU ÷ (D + U), and it is always less than the boat’s still-water speed. Use total distance over total time.
• Reading time ratios as speed ratios. Over the same distance, times are inverse to speeds. Upstream taking twice as long means the ground speeds are 1 : 2, which makes the boat 3 : 1 to the stream.

Solved Examples — SSC CGL Boat and Stream

How the Boat and Stream Chapter Tests Work

• 25 questions per test, with a full question palette — answered, skipped, marked for review, not visited.
• Optional 15-minute timer — with the clock to build exam speed, without it while you are still learning the chapter.
• Marking: +2 correct, −0.5 wrong, 0 unattempted — the same scheme as the real paper.
• Solutions, shortcut tricks and concept notes open after you submit, question by question.
• English and हिंदी, chosen at the start of every test.
• Free with a TrickySSC account — sign in once with Google or your mobile number, and every test is open to you.

How to Prepare Boat and Stream for SSC CGL

1. Write the four speeds before reading the question twice. b, s, b + s and b − s. Half the chapter is knowing which of the four the question is using.
2. Downstream is the bigger number. If your upstream speed comes out larger, stop and check the sign.
3. Convert units once, at the start. Metres per minute and km/h do not mix; settle on one before adding or subtracting anything.
4. Over equal distances, invert the times to get the speeds. Then take half the sum and half the difference.
5. For a round trip, add the two times, never average the two speeds. The 2bd ÷ (b² − s²) line saves a minute when the total time is given.
6. Anything that only floats moves with the stream. A raft, a hat, a log: its speed is s, and the boat separates from it at speed b whatever the current.
7. Between two boats the current cancels. Add or subtract their still-water speeds as in an ordinary meeting question.
8. Underline what is asked. Boat speed, stream speed, a distance, a total time and the time for one leg are all different answers.
9. Do Level 1 untimed, the same day you finish the theory. It is set at real SSC CGL difficulty; the aim is picking the right rule, not speed.
10. Repeat Level 1 with the 15-minute clock on, then move to Level 2. After that, verify against a previous year paper and a full mock test under locked sectional timing.

Related SSC CGL Maths Chapters

These chapters share the same relative-speed and ratio work. Practising them as a block is the fastest route through arithmetic.

All SSC CGL Chapter Wise Tests

Every chapter below has its own free Level 1 and Level 2 tests with full solutions.

SSC CGL Boat and Stream — Frequently Asked Questions

More Free SSC CGL Practice