Arrange the following countries in ascending order on the basis of the total medals earned by them in Rio Olympic 2016 : 1. United States 2. China 3. Great Britain 4. Russia Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a)1, 2, 3, 4
- (b)1, 3, 2, 4
- (c)4, 3, 2, 1
- (d)4, 3, 1, 2
Correct — C, the order 4, 3, 2, 1. At the close of the Rio de Janeiro Games of 2016 the total medal counts were Russia 56, Great Britain 67, China 70 and the United States 121. Ascending order is therefore Russia, then Great Britain, then China, then the United States — items 4, 3, 2, 1. The United States topped the table by a wide margin, taking 46 golds, 37 silvers and 38 bronzes.
- (a)1, 2, 3, 4 — This is the descending order dressed up as ascending — it puts the United States, the largest total, first. Half the marks in a sequence question are lost exactly here.
- (b)1, 3, 2, 4 — It again starts with the United States, so the direction is wrong before the internal order matters.
- (d)4, 3, 1, 2 — The first two are right, but it then places the United States below China. The American total of 121 was almost twice China's 70, so the United States must come last in an ascending list.
An Olympic medal table can be read two ways, and the two readings do not always agree. Ranking by golds is the official convention; ranking by total medals is what this question asks. Rio 2016 is the standard illustration — Great Britain finished second on golds with 27, ahead of China's 26, but third on total medals with 67 against China's 70.
Do the direction first and the arithmetic second. 'Ascending' means smallest first, so any option beginning with the United States can be discarded at once, which removes two of the four. Between the survivors, only the position of the United States differs, and 121 against 70 settles it. One honest present-day note: medals were reallocated after the Games as doping cases were decided, so current tables differ slightly from the figures recorded when the Games closed — the ranking of these four, however, is unaffected.
- United States: 46 gold, 37 silver, 38 bronze, 121 medals in all — the largest total at Rio 2016.
- China: 26 gold, 18 silver, 26 bronze, 70 in all.
- Great Britain: 27 gold, 23 silver, 17 bronze, 67 in all — second on golds but third on total.
- Russia: 19 gold, 17 silver, 20 bronze, 56 in all.
- India won two medals at Rio 2016 — a silver and a bronze.
Ascending totals give 4, 3, 2, 1 — option (c). Ranking by golds would swap Great Britain and China.
- Reversing ascending and descending, which is the single commonest error in sequence items.
- Ranking by golds when the question asks for total medals.
- Quoting present-day medal tables for a Games whose totals were later adjusted.
Olympics questions come as host-city items, as medal-table sequences like this one, or as statements about a particular edition's new sports and motto.
Consider the following statements in respect of the 32nd Summer Olympics: 1. The official motto for this Olympics is 'A New World'. 2. Sport Climbing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Karate and Baseball are included in this Olympics. Which of the above statements is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(b) 2 only
A neighbouring Games tested in the same way, and its first statement turns on a motto that belonged to Rio 2016.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which country topped the Rio 2016 Olympic medal table by total medals?
- (a)China
- (b)Great Britain
- (c)United States
- (d)Russia
Answer(c) United States — 121 medals in all, including 46 golds.
- practice — not a real PYQ
At Rio 2016, Great Britain finished ahead of China on golds but behind it on total medals. The two totals were
- (a)Great Britain 67, China 70
- (b)Great Britain 70, China 67
- (c)Great Britain 56, China 121
- (d)Great Britain 121, China 56
Answer(a) Great Britain 67, China 70 — with 27 golds to China's 26.