There are some nectar-filled flowers on a tree and some bees are hovering on it. If one bee lands on each flower, one bee will be left out. If two bees land on each flower, one flower will be left out. The number of flowers and bees respectively are:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 3 and 4
One bee per flower leaves a bee over, so bees = flowers + 1. Two per flower leaves a flower empty, so bees = 2 × (flowers − 1). Together these give 3 flowers and 4 bees.
- Let f = flowers and b = bees.
- One bee per flower, one bee left: b = f + 1.
- Two bees per flower, one flower left: b = 2(f − 1).
- f + 1 = 2f − 2, so f = 3 and b = 4.
- Check: 4 bees on 3 flowers, one each, leaves 1 bee; two each fills 2 flowers and leaves 1 flower empty.
Remember · Turn each 'left over' condition into an equation — or simply test each option against both conditions.
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). ·