SSC CGL 2025 Tier-II · Paper-I, 19 January 2026 · Mathematical Abilities · Question 29 of 150

We transcribed this text from the pictures of a candidate's response sheet for this paper; the answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

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SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. This paper reaches us as a candidate's response sheet saved as pictures, so we transcribed the text from those pictures, and a second reader checked every question against them; where the layout carries meaning, we show the picture too. Each answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. UnlockIAS wrote the solutions.

The weekly expenditure (in dollars) of 5 families on groceries is: Family A = 250, Family B = 400, Family C = 350, Family D = 500, Family E = 300. Determine: (i) Average expenditure, (ii) Family spending above average, (iii) Difference between highest and lowest expenditure.

(a)Average = $350, Families above average = B,D, Difference = $250
(b)Average = $360, Families above average = C,D, Difference = $250
(c)Average = $360, Families above average = B,D, Difference = $200
(d)Average = $360, Families above average = B,D, Difference = $250

Answer

Why

Correct — D. Work out each of the three parts; all three must match.

Sum: 250 + 400 + 350 + 500 + 300 = 1800
Average: 1800 ÷ 5 = $360

Compare with 360: B = 400 and D = 500 are above
C = 350, A = 250 and E = 300 are below
Families above average = B, D

Highest − lowest: 500 − 250 = $250
$360, B and D, $250 → option (d)

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Average = $350, Families above average = B,D, Difference = $250 — $350 is the median, the middle of 250, 300, 350, 400, 500. The average is 1800 ÷ 5 = $360, so the first part fails.
(b)
Average = $360, Families above average = C,D, Difference = $250 — C spends 350, which is below the average of 360, so C is not above average. The families above it are B and D.
(c)
Average = $360, Families above average = B,D, Difference = $200 — $200 is not the gap between the extremes. The highest spend is D's 500 and the lowest is A's 250, and 500 − 250 = $250.

Concept

Three basic measures sit in one question. The mean is the sum over the count, above average means strictly greater than that mean, and the range is highest minus lowest.

Here the mean (360) and the median (350) differ because the 500 pulls the mean up. That gap is the trap in one of the options.

Three options agree on $360, so the average alone rules out one; the family list and the range decide among the rest.

Key facts

Mean = sum of observations ÷ number of observations.
Range = highest value − lowest value.
For five sorted values, the median is the third: here $350.

Study next

Mean deviation about the meanStandard deviation and variance of a small data setEffect of one extreme value on the mean versus the median

Common traps

Taking the middle value, $350, as the average.
Counting C (350) as above average because it sits close to 360.

Here each option bundles three answers, and one wrong part makes the whole option wrong.

Comparing values with an average also decides 19 Jan 2026, 11:00 AM, Maths Q.23, which counts the students above it, and 10 Sep 2024, 12:30, Quant Q.22, which counts the years above average on a bar graph of bike production.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Averages — all 54 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.