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All questions of Percentages for UPSC CSE Exam

There are three galleries in a coal mine. On the first day, two galleries are operative and after some time, the third gallery is made operative. With this, the output of the mine became half as large again. What is the capacity of the second gallery as a percentage of the first, if it is given that a four-month output of the first and the third galleries was the same as the annual output of the second gallery?
  • a)
    60% ​
  • b)
    64%
  • c)
    65%  
  • d)
    70%
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

The third gallery making the capacity ‘half as large again’ means an increase of 50%.
Further, it is given that: 4(first + third) = 12 (second) In order to get to the correct answer, try to fit in the options into this situation.
(Note here that the question is asking you to find the capacity of the second gallery as a percentage of the first.)
If we assume option (a) as correct – 70% the following solution follows:
If the second is 70, then first is 100 and the first + second is 170. Then third will be 85 (50% of first + second).
Then the equation:
4 X (100 + 85) should be equal to 12 X 70
But this is not true.
Through trial and error, you can see that the third option fits correctly.
4 X (100 + 80) = 12 X 60.
Hence, it is the correct answer.

What percentage of numbers from 1 to 70 have 1 or 9 in the unit's digit?
  • a)
    1
  • b)
    14
  • c)
    20
  • d)
    21
Correct answer is 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Clearly, the numbers which have 1 or 9 in the unit's digit, have squares that end in the digit 1. Such numbers from 1 to 70 are 1, 9, 11, 19, 21, 29, 31, 39, 41, 49, 51, 59, 61, 69.
Number of such number =14
 Required percentage = (14/70 * 100)% = 20%

The number of girls appearing for an admission test is twice the number of boys. If 30% of the girls and 45% of the boys get admission, the percentage of candidates who do not get admission is
  • a)
    65
  • b)
    50
  • c)
    60
  • d)
    35
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

Let the number of girls be 2x and number of boys be x.
Girls getting admission = 0.6x
Boys getting admission = 0.45x
Number of students not getting admission = 3x – 0.6x -0.45x = 1.95x
Percentage = (1.95x/3x) * 100 = 65%

Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a faulty 120 cm scale while buying, but uses a faulty 80 cm scale while selling the same cloth. If he offers a discount of 20%, what is his overall profit percentage?
  • a)
    25%
  • b)
    20%
  • c)
    40%
  • d)
    15%
Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

Seema saved Rs. 900 in the first 3 months. She must saved Rs. (11400 – 900) = Rs. 10500 in the subsequent months.
The sequence will be of the form: 350 + 400 +……….. n terms = 10500

Solving, we get n = 15
The savings of Rs. 10500 is done in 15 months. Seema saved Rs. 11400 in 15+3 = 18 months.
Hence, option A is the correct answer.

What percentage of numbers from 1 to 70 have 1 or 9 in the unit's digit?
  • a)
    1
  • b)
    14
  • c)
    20
  • d)
    21
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Nitya Reddy answered
Clearly, the numbers which have 1 or 9 in the unit's digit, have squares that end in the digit 1. Such numbers from 1 to 70 are 1, 9, 11, 19, 21, 29, 31, 39, 41, 49, 51, 59, 61, 69.
Number of such number =14

The ratio of number of male and female journalists in a newspaper office is 5:4. The newspaper has two sections, political and sports. If 30 percent of the male journalists and 40 percent of the female journalists are covering political news, what percentage of the journalists (approx.) in the newspaper is currently involved in sports reporting?
  • a)
    60 percent
  • b)
    65 percent
  • c)
    70 percent
  • d)
    None of the above
Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

The ratio of number of male and female journalists in a newspaper office is 5:4.
The newspaper has two sections, political and sports.
If 30 percent of the male journalists and 40 percent of the female journalists are covering political news, what percentage of the journalists (approx.) in the newspaper is currently involved in sports reporting?
Let ‘9x’ be the number of total journalists in the office.
Then, we can say that the number of male and female journalists are ‘5x’ and ‘4x’ respectively.
It is given that 30 percent of the male journalists and 40 percent of the female journalists are covering political news. Hence, total number of journalists who are covering political news = 0.3*5x + 0.4*4x = 3.1x
Therefore, the total number journalists who are covering sports news = 9x – 3.1x = 5.9x.
Hence, the percentage of the journalists in the newspaper is currently involved in sports reporting = 5.9x/9x x 100 ≈ 
65 percent. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.

Instead of a metre scale, a cloth merchant uses a faulty 120 cm scale while buying, but uses a faulty 80 cm scale while selling the same cloth. If he offers a discount of 20%, what is his overall profit percentage?
  • a)
    25% 
  • b)
    20%
  • c)
    40%
  • d)
    15%
Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

Let’s say the cost of the cloth is x rs per metre. Because of the faulty meter, he is paying x for 120 cms when buying.
So cost of 100 cms = 100x/120.
He is selling 80 cms for x, so selling price of 100cms of cloth is 100x/80.
discount = 20%
so the effective selling price is .8*100x/80= x
profit = SP-CP= x – 100x/120 = x/6
Profit % = x/6 divided by 100x/120 = 20%

When 40% of a number E is added to another number R, B becomes 125% of its previous value. Then which of the following is true regarding the values of E and R?
  • a)
    Either (a) or (b) can be true depending upon the values of E and R
  • b)
    R > E
  • c)
    E > R
  • d)
    R = E​
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

Tanishq Shah answered
Let's start by translating the given information into equations:

- "40% of a number E": this can be written as 0.4E
- "added to another number R": we add 0.4E to R, so we get R + 0.4E
- "B becomes 125% of its previous value": if we call the previous value of B "B0", then we have B = 1.25B0

Putting it all together, we can write:

R + 0.4E = 1.25B0

But we don't know anything about B0, so we need to find another equation to solve for E and R. We can use the fact that B is a certain percentage of its previous value:

B = 1.25B0 = 1.25(B/1.25) = B/0.8

This means that B is 0.8 times its current value. So we can write:

B = 0.8(R + 0.4E)

Now we have two equations with two unknowns, E and R:

R + 0.4E = 1.25B0
B = 0.8(R + 0.4E)

We can solve for E by substituting the second equation into the first:

R + 0.4E = 1.25(0.8(R + 0.4E))

Simplifying:

R + 0.4E = R + 1.0E
0.6E = R

So we have found that 0.6E = R. We can substitute this into either equation to solve for E or R. For example, using the second equation:

B = 0.8(R + 0.4E)
B = 0.8(0.6E + 0.4E)
B = 0.8E

So we have found that B is 0.8 times E. This means that either (a) or (b) can be true depending on the values of E and R:

(a) If E = 1 and R = 0.6, then R + 0.4E = 1 and B = 0.8E = 0.8, which satisfies the conditions.
(b) If E = 0 and R = 0, then R + 0.4E = 0 and B = 0, which also satisfies the conditions.

In a group of people, 28% of the members are young while the rest are old. If 65% of the members are literates, and 25% of the literates are young, then the percentage of old people among the illiterates is nearest to
  • a)
    62
  • b)
    55
  • c)
    66
  • d)
    59
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Let ‘x’ be the strength of group G. Based on the information, 0.65x constitutes of literate people {the rest 0.35x = illiterate}
Of this 0.65x , 75% are old people =(0.75)0.65x old literates.
The total number of old people in group G is 0.72x  {72% of the total}.
Thus, the total number of old people who are illiterate = 0.72x - 0.4875x = 0.2325x.
This is 
≈ 66& of the total number of illiterates.
Hence, Option C is the correct answer.

Anil buys 12 toys and labels each with the same selling price. He sells 8 toys initially at 20% discount on the labeled price. Then he sells the remaining 4 toys at an additional 25% discount on the discounted price. Thus, he gets a total of Rs 2112, and makes a 10% profit. With no discounts, his percentage of profit would have been
  • a)
    55
  • b)
    60
  • c)
    54
  • d)
    50
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Let the CP of the each toy be “x”. CP of 12 toys will be “12x”. Now the shopkeeper made a 10% profit on CP. This means that
12x(1.1)= 2112 or x=160 . Hence the CP of each toy is ₹160.
Now let the SP of each toy be “m”. Now he sold 8 toys at 20% discount. This means that 8m(0.8) or 6.4m
He sold 4 toys at an additional 25% discount. 4m(0.8)(0.75)=2.4m  Now 6.4m+2.4m=8.8m=2112 or m=240
Hence CP= 160 and SP=240. Hence profit percentage is 50%.

If A = x% of y and B = y% of x, then which of the following is true?
  • a)
    A is smaller than B
  • b)
    A is greater than B
  • c)
    Relationship between A and B cannot be determined
  • d)
    None of these
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Sagar Sharma answered
Explanation:
To determine the relationship between A and B, we need to understand the meaning of "x% of y" and "y% of x".

- "x% of y" means x% times y, which can be expressed as (x/100) * y.
- "y% of x" means y% times x, which can be expressed as (y/100) * x.

Let's substitute these expressions into the given equations:

A = (x/100) * y
B = (y/100) * x

Comparing A and B:
To compare A and B, we can simplify the expressions:

A = (x/100) * y = xy/100
B = (y/100) * x = xy/100

As we can see, A and B have the same value, xy/100. Therefore, A is equal to B.

Conclusion:
From the given equations and the comparison of A and B, we can conclude that A is equal to B. None of the given options (a, b, or c) is true.

Therefore, the correct answer is option 'D' - None of these.

Meena scores 40% in an examination and after review, even though her score is increased by 50%, she fails by 35 marks. If her post-review score is increased by 20%, she will have 7 marks more than the passing score. The percentage score needed for passing the examination is
  • a)
    70
  • b)
     80
  • c)
    60 
  • d)
     75
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

Assuming the maximum marks =100a, then Meena got 40a
After increasing her score by 50%, she will get 40a(1+50/100)=60a
Passing score = 60a+35
Post review score after 20% increase = 60a*1.2=72a
=>Hence, 60a+35+7=72a
=>12a=42   =>a=3.5
=> maximum marks = 350 and passing marks = 210+35=245
=> Passing percentage = 245*100/350 = 70

If equal numbers of people are born on each day, find the approximate percentage of the people whose birthday will fall on 29th February. If we are to consider people born in 20th century (1901-2000) and assuming no deaths.
  • a)
    0.0684
  • b)
    0.5732
  • c)
    0.374 
  • d)
    None of these
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

Esha singh answered
Approximate Percentage of People with Birthday on 29th February

Given that equal numbers of people are born on each day and we are considering people born in the 20th century (1901-2000) with no deaths, we can calculate the approximate percentage of people whose birthday falls on 29th February.

First, let's calculate the total number of days in the 20th century:
Number of Years = 2000 - 1901 + 1 = 100
Total Number of Days = Number of Years * 365 = 100 * 365 = 36500

Next, let's calculate the number of leap years in the 20th century:
Number of Leap Years = Number of Years / 4 = 100 / 4 = 25

Since 29th February occurs only in leap years, we need to consider the number of people born on this day during the 20th century. To find this, we multiply the number of leap years by the number of people born on each day:

Number of People Born on 29th February = Number of Leap Years * Number of People Born Each Day

Since equal numbers of people are born on each day, we can assume that the number of people born on 29th February is the same as the number of people born on any other day. Therefore:

Number of People Born on 29th February = Number of Leap Years * Number of People Born Each Day = 25 * (Total Number of People / Total Number of Days)

Now, let's calculate the percentage of people born on 29th February:

Percentage of People Born on 29th February = (Number of People Born on 29th February / Total Number of People) * 100

Substituting the values:

Percentage of People Born on 29th February = (25 * (Total Number of People / Total Number of Days) / Total Number of People) * 100

Simplifying:

Percentage of People Born on 29th February = (25 / Total Number of Days) * 100

Since we are considering people born in the 20th century, the total number of days is 36500, so:

Percentage of People Born on 29th February = (25 / 36500) * 100 ≈ 0.0685 ≈ 0.374%

Therefore, the approximate percentage of people whose birthday falls on 29th February is approximately 0.374%, which matches option 'A'.

Find 8.33% of 252.
  • a)
    18
  • b)
    21
  • c)
    23
  • d)
    22.5
Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

Harsh Kothari answered
It's easy first take 8% of 252 and then add 0.33% of 252 and the answer is nearby 20.9 i.e 21 option b

Which of the following is correct statement ?
  • a)
    Na2S is Sodium sulphide, Na2S03 is Sodium sulphite and Na2S04 is Sodium sulphate
  • b)
    Na2S is Sodium sulphite, Na2S03 is Sodium sulphide and Na2S04 is Sodium sulphate
  • c)
    Na2S is Sodium sulphite, Na2S03 is Sodium sulphate and Na2S04 is Sodium sulphide 
  • d)
    Na2S is Sodium sulphide , Na2S03 is Sodium sulphate and Na2S04 is Sodium thiosulphate
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

Na2S is Sodium sulphide, Na2S03 is Sodium sulphite, and Na2S04 is Sodium sulphate.

Explanation:
Sodium (Na) is a chemical element with atomic number 11. It belongs to Group 1 of the periodic table and is highly reactive. Sulfur (S) is a chemical element with atomic number 16. It belongs to Group 16 of the periodic table and can form various compounds with different elements.

Sodium sulfide (Na2S):
- Sodium sulfide is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2S.
- It is composed of two sodium (Na) ions and one sulfur (S) ion.
- Sodium sulfide is a colorless solid and it is highly soluble in water.
- It is commonly used in the leather industry for dehairing hides and in the production of dyes and pigments.

Sodium sulphite (Na2SO3):
- Sodium sulphite is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2SO3.
- It is composed of two sodium (Na) ions, one sulfur (S) ion, and three oxygen (O) ions.
- Sodium sulphite is a white crystalline solid and it is soluble in water.
- It is commonly used as a reducing agent in various chemical reactions and as a preservative in food and beverages.

Sodium sulphate (Na2SO4):
- Sodium sulphate is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2SO4.
- It is composed of two sodium (Na) ions, one sulfur (S) ion, and four oxygen (O) ions.
- Sodium sulphate is a white crystalline solid and it is soluble in water.
- It is commonly used in the manufacturing of detergents, glass, and paper.

Based on the above explanations, it can be concluded that option 'A' is the correct statement. Na2S represents sodium sulfide, Na2SO3 represents sodium sulphite, and Na2SO4 represents sodium sulphate.

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