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UPSC CSE CSAT 2018 · Paper II (CSAT) · Question 24 · Number system

X और Y, 1 के अलावा धनपूर्णांक हैं तथा Y, X से बड़ा है। निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा सबसे बड़ी संख्या…

UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Question 24 — Number system.

CSAT 2018 · Q24

Number system X-Ray · Core #4 Easy

X और Y, 1 के अलावा धनपूर्णांक हैं तथा Y, X से बड़ा है। निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा सबसे बड़ी संख्या को निरूपित करता है?

Read this question in English

X and Y are natural numbers other than 1, and Y is greater than X. Which of the following represents the largest number?

(a) XY · (b) X / Y · (c) Y / X · (d) (X + Y) / XY

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) XY

With X at least 2, the product XY is at least 2Y, while Y/X is at most Y/2, X/Y is below 1 and (X + Y)/XY is below 1. XY is always the largest.

  1. Try the smallest values X = 2, Y = 3: XY = 6, X/Y ≈ 0.67, Y/X = 1.5, (X + Y)/XY = 5/6.
  2. In general X ≥ 2, so XY ≥ 2Y > Y > Y/X.
  3. X/Y < 1 because Y > X, and (X + Y)/XY = 1/X + 1/Y ≤ 1/2 + 1/3 < 1.
  4. So XY is the largest.

Remember · For 'which is largest' under conditions, test the smallest allowed values first, then confirm with a general inequality.

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, Q24 — minimalistias.com/pyqs/csat/2018/q24

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