The given table shows the number of pages printed by four printers in three days. Days → Printers L | M | N | O Friday — 10,230 | 9580 | 7560 | 9600 Saturday — 8540 | 11,230 | 6580 | 7890 Sunday — 9235 | 8264 | 7546 | 10,325 If the total number of pages printed by all the given printers together on Wednesday was 15% more than the total number of pages printed by all the given printers together on Saturday, what was the total number of pages printed by all the given printers together on Wednesday?
- (a)42,577
- (b)38,450
- (c)39,376
- (d)40,263
Answer
Why
Correct — C. Wednesday is defined against Saturday, so of the twelve numbers in the table only the Saturday row is used.
Saturday, printers L to O: 8,540 + 11,230 + 6,580 + 7,890
= 19,770 + 6,580 + 7,890
= 34,240 pages
Wednesday = 15% more than Saturday = 34,240 × 1.15
15% of 34,240 = 3,424 + 1,712 = 5,136
34,240 + 5,136 = 39,376 → option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)42,577 — Far too large. This sits about 24% above Saturday's 34,240, not 15%. It is close to what the Friday row would give (36,970 × 1.15 = 42,515), which is the wrong row.
- (b)38,450 — Too small. 38,450 is only about 12.3% above Saturday's 34,240, so it undershoots the required rise. A full 15% adds 5,136, landing at 39,376.
- (d)40,263 — Too large by one step. 40,263 is roughly 17.6% above 34,240. It also sits near what Sunday's total would give (35,370 × 1.15 = 40,676), again the wrong row.
Concept
The figure is a table: four printers (L, M, N, O) down three days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), twelve values in all.
Table DI rewards reading the question before the table. This one names Saturday and nothing else, so eight of the twelve numbers are decoration.
"15% more than X" means 1.15 × X. On a five-figure base the fastest route is 10% plus 5%: 10% of 34,240 is 3,424, half of that is 1,712, and the two add to 5,136.
Add that to the base and the answer is out without any long multiplication.
The question invents a fourth day, Wednesday, that does not appear in the table at all — that is deliberate, and it is the signal that the number has to be built rather than read off.
Key facts
- Saturday's four printers total 8,540 + 11,230 + 6,580 + 7,890 = 34,240 pages.
- A 15% increase is a multiplication by 1.15, fastest as 10% of the base plus half of that.
- 15% of 34,240 is 5,136, so Wednesday's total is 39,376 pages.
- Friday's row totals 36,970 and Sunday's totals 35,370, so picking the wrong row lands you several thousand pages out.
Study next
Common traps
- Totalling the wrong day, since Friday and Sunday are equally available.
- Reading "15% more than" as adding 15 rather than multiplying by 1.15.
- Adding all twelve cells when a single row is wanted.
The pattern is one reading step and one arithmetic step bolted on top. Table DI also appears at Quant Q.11 (T-shirt production by four companies) and Quant Q.24 (helmet sales by year), and a bar graph at Quant Q.4.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.