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UPSC CSE CSAT 2018 · Paper II (CSAT) · Question 41 · Arithmetic: percentage, ratio, averages, time & work

A student has to get 40% marks to pass in an examination. Suppose he gets 30 marks and fails by 30…

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Question 41 — Arithmetic: percentage, ratio, averages, time & work.

CSAT 2018 · Q41

Arithmetic: percentage, ratio, averages, time & work X-Ray · Core #5 Easy

A student has to get 40% marks to pass in an examination. Suppose he gets 30 marks and fails by 30 marks, then what are the maximum marks in the examination?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 150

Scoring 30 and falling 30 short means the pass mark is 60. If 60 is 40% of the maximum, the maximum is 60 ÷ 0.4 = 150.

  1. Pass mark = marks scored + shortfall = 30 + 30 = 60.
  2. 40% of maximum = 60, so maximum = 60 × 100 ÷ 40 = 150.
  3. Check: 40% of 150 = 60, and 60 − 30 = 30.

Remember · Pass mark = marks scored + shortfall; divide it by the pass percentage to get the maximum marks.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·

Cite this question: UPSC CSE CSAT 2018, Q41 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/csat/2018/q41

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