Study the given table and answer the question. Year Rice gm/day Wheat gm/day Pulses gm/day Vegetables gm/day 2019 450 55 160 280 2020 430 60 150 300 2021 380 65 140 320 2022 350 70 125 400 2023 350 80 120 350 For which year is the daily consumption equal to that of another given year?
- (a)2021 and 2023
- (b)2019 and 2023
- (c)2019 and 2022
- (d)2020 and 2022
Answer
Why
Correct — C. Daily consumption for a year is the whole row — the stem names no single food — so total each row in gm/day.
2019: 450 + 55 + 160 + 280 = 945
2020: 430 + 60 + 150 + 300 = 940
2021: 380 + 65 + 140 + 320 = 905
2022: 350 + 70 + 125 + 400 = 945
2023: 350 + 80 + 120 + 350 = 900
Only 2019 and 2022 land on the same total, 945 gm/day → option (c)
Why the others are wrong
- (a)2021 and 2023 — 2021 totals 905 and 2023 totals 900 gm/day. Five grams apart is close enough to catch a hurried eye, but the stem asks for equal, not near.
- (b)2019 and 2023 — 2019 totals 945 against 900 for 2023, a gap of 45 gm/day, so the two years are not equal.
- (d)2020 and 2022 — 2020 totals 940 against 945 for 2022. The +100 on vegetables is nearly cancelled by the −80 on rice, which is what makes the pair look equal until you add.
Concept
When a table item asks about a year rather than a column, the quantity is the row total. The stem names no food group, so all four columns count and the work is four additions repeated five times.
Rice is the biggest column, which is exactly why the eye misleads: 2022 and 2023 both read 350 gm/day of rice, yet their totals sit 45 grams apart.
Total first, compare second. Scanning for a matching column is the fastest way to pick a wrong pair here.
The figures are per-day quantities, so no population or number-of-days factor enters the sum. Adding the row as printed is the whole computation.
Key facts
- Row totals in gm/day are 2019 = 945, 2020 = 940, 2021 = 905, 2022 = 945 and 2023 = 900.
- 2019 and 2022 tie at 945 gm/day although not one of their four columns matches.
- Rice falls from 450 gm/day in 2019 to 350 in 2022, then holds at 350 in 2023.
Study next
Common traps
- Comparing the rice column alone, where 2022 and 2023 both read 350
- Settling on the first pair whose totals look close, such as 2020 at 940 and 2022 at 945
Year-by-year tables also appear at 12 Sep 2024, 09:00, Quant Q.13, whose answer is likewise a pair of years (2012 and 2013, equally close to type B's average), and 18 Sep 2024, 09:00, Quant Q.1, which averages a five-year expenditure table.
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