SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 11 September 2024, Shift 1 · Quantitative Aptitude · Question 25 of 95

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.

A sum of money is divided among P, Q, R and S in the proportion of 4 : 9 : 2 : 3. If Q gets ₹560 more than R, then the share of S is:

(a)₹140
(b)₹340
(c)₹440
(d)₹240

Answer

Why

Correct — D. Turn the ₹560 gap into the value of one part.

Shares: P = 4x, Q = 9x, R = 2x, S = 3x
Q − R = 9x − 2x = 7x
7x = 560 → x = 560 ÷ 7 = ₹80
S = 3x = 3 × 80 = ₹240 → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
₹140 — ₹140 is 560 ÷ 4, which uses P's four parts instead of the seven-part gap between Q and R. It would make one part ₹46.67 and the Q − R difference ₹326.67.
(b)
₹340 — ₹340 needs one part to be ₹113.33, at which Q − R comes to about ₹793 rather than the ₹560 given.
(c)
₹440 — ₹440 needs one part of ₹146.67, making Q about ₹1,320 and R about ₹293 — a gap of over ₹1,000.

Concept

In a ratio 4 : 9 : 2 : 3 the four shares are 4x, 9x, 2x and 3x, where x is one part in rupees. Every clue such a question offers is really a statement about x.

A difference clue is the most direct kind. Q − R is 9x − 2x = 7x, so ₹560 fixes x at ₹80 without the total sum ever being named.

Once x is known every share follows: P ₹320, Q ₹720, R ₹160 and S ₹240, with the whole sum 18x = ₹1,440.

The question never states the total, and it does not need to. A ratio plus any one absolute figure — a share, a difference or a sum — determines the entire division.

Key facts

Shares in the ratio 4 : 9 : 2 : 3 are 4x, 9x, 2x and 3x for a common part x.
Q − R = 7x, so a ₹560 difference makes x = ₹80.
S holds 3 parts, so S = 3 × 80 = ₹240.
The whole sum being divided is 18x = ₹1,440.

Study next

Ratio questions whose clue is a total rather than a differenceHow a ratio changes when a fixed amount is added to one shareCombining A : B with B : C into a single three-term ratio

Common traps

Dividing ₹560 by the 18 total parts instead of by the seven-part difference
Adding 9 and 2 to 11 parts when the clue is a difference
Finding x = ₹80 correctly and then answering with Q's share or R's

SSC gives a four-term proportion and one rupee clue that touches just two of the terms, so the fastest route is the difference or sum of those parts alone.

The same part-to-whole recovery drives Quant Q.19 of this shift, where a 5 : 7 split turns 168 female candidates into 288 qualified ones.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.