There were 50 faculty members comprising 30 males and the rest females. No male faculty member knew music, but many of the female faculty members did. The Head of the institution invited six faculty members to a tea party by draw of lots. At the party it was discovered that no member knew music. The conclusion is that:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) nothing can be said about the gender composition of the party
No man knew music, but only 'many' — not all — of the women did. So six non-musicians could be all men, all non-musical women, or a mix; the fact rules out none of these.
- Non-musicians: all 30 men and those women who do not know music ('many', not all, women know music).
- Six non-musicians could be drawn entirely from men, entirely from non-musical women, or from both.
- Each of (a), (b) and (c) is possible but none is certain, so nothing definite can be said.
- ✗ (a) Women who did not know music could also have been drawn.
- ✗ (b) Men, none of whom knew music, could equally have been drawn.
- ✗ (c) Possible, but not certain — the six could all be men.
- ✓ (d) The non-musicians include all 30 men and some women, so any gender mix fits.
Remember · 'Many' is not 'all'. When a group could be drawn from several sub-groups, no definite conclusion about its make-up follows.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·