A sum of ₹ 2,500 is distributed among X, Y and Z in the ratio 1/2: 3/4: 5/6. What is the difference between the maximum share and the minimum share?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) ₹ 400
Clearing the fractions by multiplying by 12 turns the ratio into 6 : 9 : 10, a total of 25 parts worth ₹ 100 each. The largest share (10 parts) exceeds the smallest (6 parts) by 4 parts, or ₹ 400.
- Multiply 1/2 : 3/4 : 5/6 by 12 to get 6 : 9 : 10.
- Total parts = 25; one part = 2,500 ÷ 25 = ₹ 100.
- Maximum − minimum = (10 − 6) × 100 = ₹ 400.
- Check: shares 600 + 900 + 1,000 = 2,500.
Remember · For a ratio of fractions, multiply every term by the LCM of the denominators to get whole-number parts.
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·