SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 10 September 2024, Shift 1 · Quantitative Aptitude · Question 16 of 98

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 10 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

The following table represents the total number of research scholars and the respective number of female research scholars in various departments of a university. Study the table carefully and answer the question that follows. Department → Total number of research scholars | Number of female research scholars Physics — 35 | 12 Chemistry — 40 | 28 Mathematics — 18 | 4 Statistics — 12 | 3 What is the ratio of male research scholars in Mathematics to Statistics?

(a)9 : 14
(b)14 : 9
(c)6 : 7
(d)7 : 6

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The stem is an image. It is a table of research scholars by department: Physics 35 total and 12 female, Chemistry 40 and 28, Mathematics 18 and 4, Statistics 12 and 3.

The table gives totals and females, so the male count in each row is the difference.

Mathematics: 18 − 4 = 14 male
Statistics: 12 − 3 = 9 male

The question asks Mathematics to Statistics, in that order, so the ratio is 14 : 9.
14 and 9 share no factor, so 14 : 9 is already lowest terms → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
9 : 14 — 9 : 14 has the right two numbers in the wrong order. "Mathematics to Statistics" puts the 14 males of Mathematics first.
(c)
6 : 7 — 6 : 7 is 12 : 14 reduced — Statistics' total set against Mathematics' males, and reversed on top of that.
(d)
7 : 6 — 7 : 6 is 14 : 12 reduced. It uses Mathematics' male count correctly but Statistics' total of 12 instead of its 9 males.

Concept

A table that gives a total and one subgroup is quietly giving you the other subgroup as well. Here every male figure is total minus female, with no percentage step involved.

The second half of the work is order. "Ratio of A to B" puts A on the left, so Mathematics leads. Form both counts first and reduce only at the end — 14 and 9 are coprime, so nothing cancels.

The table also carries Physics and Chemistry rows, and this question uses neither. Locate the two rows the wording names before doing any arithmetic.

Key facts

Mathematics has 18 research scholars in total and 4 female, so 14 are male.
Statistics has 12 research scholars in total and 3 female, so 9 are male.
14 and 9 have no common factor, so 14 : 9 cannot be reduced further.
The same table gives Physics 35 total with 12 female and Chemistry 40 with 28 female.

Study next

Table questions that give male and female percentages instead of countsRatios formed across two rows after a subtraction inside each rowReading the direction of a ratio from the words "A to B"

Common traps

Using the female counts 4 and 3 and answering 4 : 3.
Reversing the order and answering 9 : 14.
Subtracting in one row but using the total in the other, which produces 14 : 12 or 7 : 6.

The table hands you a total and one subgroup, so the count the question actually wants comes from a subtraction inside each row before any ratio is formed.

A table of totals with male and female percentages is asked at 18 Sep 2024, 16:00, Quant Q.9, where the females of companies A, C and E have to be summed.

Related PYQs

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