The following table shows the percentage population of four states below poverty line, and the male to female ratios both above and below the poverty line. State → Percentage of population below poverty line | Ratio of male to female, Below poverty line (Male : Female) | Ratio of male to female, Above poverty line (Male : Female) P — 13 | 1 : 2 | 1 : 4 Q — 19 | 2 : 5 | 3 : 5 R — 11 | 3 : 4 | 2 : 9 S — 15 | 1 : 6 | 7 : 4 If the population of states Q and S is 14,700 each, then what is the total number of males below poverty line in these states?

Correct — D. Two multipliers per state, applied in order: the percentage first to get the below-poverty-line group, then the male share of that group.

State Q — 14,700 people, 19% below the line:
below the line = 14,700 × 19⁄100 = 2,793
male : female = 2 : 5, so males = 2,793 × 2⁄7 = 798

State S — 14,700 people, 15% below the line:
below the line = 14,700 × 15⁄100 = 2,205
male : female = 1 : 6, so males = 2,205 × 1⁄7 = 315

Total = 798 + 315 = 1,113 → option (d)

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  1479 — Both rows are pinned: Q gives 798 males and S gives 315. Reaching 1,479 would need S to supply 681, but its 1 : 6 split hands exactly one seventh of 2,205.
• (b)
  1276 — 1,276 would require state S to contribute 478 males. S's ratio is 1 : 6, which fixes it at 2,205 ⁄ 7 = 315, and Q's 798 cannot move either.
• (c)
  1364 — 1,364 would need state S to supply 566 males. Its 1 : 6 split fixes S at 2,205 ⁄ 7 = 315, and Q's 798 does not move, so the total stays 1,113.

This is a two-stage table. The percentage column shrinks each state's population to its below-poverty-line group; the ratio column then splits that group by sex.

The ratio is printed male : female, so the male share is the first term over the sum of both terms. A 2 : 5 ratio means two of every seven, not two of every five. Reading it as two fifths changes every number downstream.

Both states carry the same population, 14,700, so only the percentage and the ratio distinguish them.

Key facts

• State Q: 19% of 14,700 is 2,793 people below the poverty line.
• State S: 15% of 14,700 is 2,205 people below the poverty line.
• A male : female ratio of a : b makes the male share a⁄(a + b), never a⁄b.
• Both states are given the same population of 14,700 in this question.

Common traps

• Applying the male : female ratio to the state's full population instead of its below-line count.
• Picking the above-poverty-line ratio, which sits in the adjacent column.
• Treating 2 : 5 as two fifths rather than two sevenths.

No directly related past PYQ was found.