SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 12 September 2024, Shift 1 · Quantitative Aptitude · Question 15 of 99

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 6 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.

Raj divides ₹1,200 in the ratio 2 : 1 : 3 among three of his friends. The amount equal to the sum of three times the largest share and two times the smallest share is:

(a)₹1,800
(b)₹2,400
(c)₹2,000
(d)₹2,200

Answer

Why

Correct — D. Find the value of one part, then read the largest and smallest shares off it.

2 : 1 : 3 is 2 + 1 + 3 = 6 parts
One part = ₹1,200 ÷ 6 = ₹200

Shares: 2 parts = ₹400, 1 part = ₹200, 3 parts = ₹600.
Largest = ₹600, smallest = ₹200.

3 × largest = 3 × 600 = ₹1,800
2 × smallest = 2 × 200 = ₹400

Total asked for = 1,800 + 400 = ₹2,200 → option (d).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
₹1,800 — ₹1,800 is 3 × ₹600 on its own. It stops after the largest share and drops the 2 × ₹200 the same sentence asks for.
(b)
₹2,400 — ₹2,400 is 3 × ₹600 + 3 × ₹200 — the multiplier 3 applied to both shares. The smallest share is doubled, not tripled.
(c)
₹2,000 — ₹2,000 is 3 × ₹600 + ₹200, with the smallest share counted once instead of twice.

Concept

Dividing a sum in a ratio is one idea: add the ratio terms to get the number of parts, divide the sum by that to get the value of one part, then multiply back.

Here 2 : 1 : 3 gives 6 parts and ₹1,200 ÷ 6 = ₹200 a part.

The second half of the question is a reading test, not an arithmetic one. "Largest" and "smallest" refer to the sizes of the shares, and the ratio is not written in size order — the middle term, 1, is the smallest.

The ₹1,200 total never appears again after the division. Any option that is a simple multiple of 1,200 is worth a second look for that reason alone.

Key facts

2 : 1 : 3 totals 6 parts, so one part of ₹1,200 is ₹200.
The shares are ₹400, ₹200 and ₹600, so the smallest is the middle term of the printed ratio.
3 × ₹600 + 2 × ₹200 = ₹1,800 + ₹400 = ₹2,200.

Study next

Dividing a sum in a three-term ratioRatio questions where one share is described relative to another rather than by a part countCombining an income ratio with an expenditure ratio to get savings

Common traps

Assuming the ratio is written largest-first and calling ₹400 the largest share.
Applying the same multiplier to both shares.
Answering ₹1,800 after the first multiplication, before finishing the sentence.

SSC keeps the division itself trivial and puts the difficulty in the sentence that follows it, so the marks turn on reading rather than on arithmetic.

Also asked 10 Sep 2024, 09:00, Quant Q.13, where coins in a 3 : 5 : 7 ratio must be converted to rupee values before the count is found, and Quant Q.9 of this paper, which chains an income ratio to an expenditure ratio.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.