Solved Examples Set 1 (Quantitative Ability)

1. A third-grade class is composed of 16 girls and 12 boys. There are 2 teacher-aides in the class. The ratio of girls to boys to teacher-aides is

   1. 16:12:1
   2. 8:6:2
   3. 8:6:1
   4. 8:3:1
   5. 4:3:1

   Girls to boys to teacher-aides are in proportion 16 to 12 to 2. Reduced to lowest terms, 16:12:2 equals 8:6:1.

2. At a book fair, a book was reduced in price from $ 75 to $ 60. If the first price gives a 50% profit, find the percentage profit of the book sold at the reduced price.

   1. 20%
   2. 30%
   3. 40%
   4. 50%
   5. 10%

   As $ 75 (first price) gives a profit = 50%
   $ 1 gives a profit = (50/75)%
   $ 60 (reduced price) gives profit = (50/75 x 60)% = 40%

3. \( {63.84 \over ?} \) = 21

   1. 3.04
   2. 3.4
   3. 30.4
   4. 300.4
   5. 0.304

   ? = \( 63.84 \over 21 \) = 3.04

4. After spending 88% of his income, a man had $ 2160 left. Find his income.

   1. $ 18000
   2. $ 19000
   3. $ 20000
   4. $ 22000
   5. $ 17000

   Let income = x
   x = 88% of x + 2160
   x - 0.88x = 2160
   0.12x = 2160
   x = \(216000 \over 12\) = 18000

5. A primary school had an enrollment of 850 pupils in January 1970. In January 1980 the enrollment was 1,120. What was the percentage increase for the enrollment?

   1. 31.76%
   2. 33.50%
   3. 30.65%
   4. 34.76%
   5. 30.55%

   Percentage increase for the enrollment = \(1120 - 850 \over 850\) × 100 = 31.76

6. In the series 8, 9, 12, 17, 24 . . . the next number would be

   1. 29
   2. 30
   3. 33
   4. 35
   5. 41

   In the series, 8, 9, 12, 17, 24 . . .
   9 − 8 = 1
   12 − 9 = 3
   17 − 12 = 5
   24 − 17 = 7
   Hence, the difference between the next term and 24 must be 9 or
   x − 24 = 9, and
   x = 33
   Hence, the next term in the series must be 33

7. \( {1250 \over 25} × 0.5 = ? \)

   1. 250
   2. 50
   3. 2.5
   4. 25
   5. 125

   \( {1250 \over 25} × 0.5 = 50 × 0.5 = 25 \)

8. A retailer bought a compact disc from a manufacturer for $ 200. In addition to that, he paid a 15% sales tax. If he sold the disc to a customer for $ 260, calculate the cash profit he made.

   1. $ 30.00
   2. $ 35.00
   3. $ 32.50
   4. $ 28.00
   5. $ 30.50

   price of a compact disc with sales tax = 200 + 0.15 × 200
   = 200 + 30 = $ 230
   As the selling price of the disc = $ 260
   Hence, cash profit = 260 - 230 = $ 30

9. 60% of 37 = ?

   1. 20
   2. 21
   3. 22.2
   4. 22
   5. none

   60% of 37 = 0.6 × 37 = 22.2

10. 350 × ? = 4200

    1. 12
    2. 24
    3. 15
    4. 30
    5. 16

    \( ? = {4200 \over 350} =12 \)

11. 8 : ? :: 1 : 4

    1. 24
    2. 16
    3. 0
    4. 32
    5. 20

    ? × 1 = 8 × 4
    ? = 32

12. \( {0.027 \over 90} = ? \)

    1. 0.0003
    2. 0.03
    3. 3
    4. 0.00003
    5. 0.003

    \( {0.027 \over 90} = {27 \over 1000 × 90} = {3 \over 10000} = 0.0003 \)

13. 1015 / 0.05 / 40 = ?

    1. 50.75
    2. 507.5
    3. 506
    4. 2056
    5. 5075

    1015 / 0.05 / 40 = 20300 / 40 = 507.5

14. A bank increased the rate of interest which it paid to depositors from 3.5% to 4% per annum. Find how much more interest a man would receive if he deposited $ 64000 in the bank for 6 months at the new interest rate

    1. $ 160
    2. $ 180
    3. $ 200
    4. $ 220
    5. $ 150

    If the interest rate is 3.5% then interest amount is
    3.5% of 6400 = 0.035 × 6400 = $ 2240
    If the interest rate is 4% then interest amount is
    4% of 6400 = 0.04 × 6400 = $ 2560
    Now the difference of both interests = 2560 - 2240 = $ 320 per annum
    Interest for half year (6 months) = \(320 \over 2\) = $ 160

15. 40 arithmetic questions, each carrying equal marks, were given in a class test. A boy answered 25 questions correctly. What percentage was this? To pass a test a student must answer at least 45% of the questions correctly. Find the least number of correct answers needed to pass.

    1. 62.5%, 18
    2. 63.5%, 16
    3. 64.5%, 20
    4. 61.0%, 21
    5. 60.0%, 22

    \(x \text{% of } 40 = 25\)
    \(x \text{% } × 40 = 25\)
    \(x = {25 \over 40} × 100 \)
    x = 62.5
    
    \(x = 45 \text{% of } 40 \)
    \(x = 0.45 × 40 \)
    x = 18

16. Which expression is equivalent to \(\frac{6𝑥^2 + 4𝑥}{2𝑥}\)?

    1. 7x
    2. 5x²
    3. 3x + 2
    4. 6x² + 2
    5. 3x² + 2x

    As \(\frac{6𝑥^2}{2𝑥} = 3𝑥,\) and \(\frac{4𝑥}{2𝑥} = 2,\) so then \(\frac{6𝑥^2 + 4𝑥}{2𝑥} = 3𝑥 + 2\)

17. A boy scored 90 marks for his mathematics test. This was 20% more than what he had scored for the geography test. How much did he score in geography?

    1. 71 marks
    2. 73 marks
    3. 75 marks
    4. 77 marks
    5. 78 marks

    20% of x + x = 90
    0.2x + x = 90
    1.2x = 90
    x = \(90 \over 1.2\)
    x = 75

18. A train takes 50 minutes for a journey if it runs at 48 km/hr. The rate at which the train must run to reduce the time to 40 minutes will be

    1. 50 km/hr
    2. 55 km/hr
    3. 60 km/hr
    4. 57 km/hr
    5. 65 km/hr

    \(50 × 48 \over 40\) = 60 \(km \over hr\)

19. \( {𝑥 - 8 \over 24} = {3 \over 4} \)
    What is the value of 𝑥 in the equation?

    1. 10
    2. 20
    3. 26
    4. 31
    5. 40

    By cross multiplying, 4(𝑥 – 8) =3 × 24. Thus, 4𝑥 – 32 = 72, and so 4𝑥 = 104 and 𝑥 = 26.

20. A shopkeeper buys 300 identical articles at a total cost of $ 1500. He fixes the selling price of each article at 20% above the cost price and sells 260 articles at the price. As for the remaining articles, he sells them at 50% of the selling price. Calculate the shopkeeper's total profit.

    1. $ 180
    2. $ 185
    3. $ 200
    4. $ 190
    5. $ 170

    cost price of each item = \( 1500 \over 300 \) = $ 5
    selling price at 20% above the cost price = 5 + 5 × .2 = $ 6
    selling price of 260 items = 260 × 6 = $ 1560
    selling price of remaining 40 items = 40 × 6 × .5 = $ 120
    Total profit = 1560 + 120 - 1500 = $ 180

Solved Examples Set 1
Solved Examples Set 2
Solved Examples Set 3