IBPS Arithmetic Word Problems Questions and Answers

Question 1

The average age of 30 students in a class is 14 years. When the age of the class teacher is included, the average age of the class becomes 15 years. What is the age of the class teacher?

Accepted Answer

45 years

Answer

The initial total age of the 30 students is 30 * 14 = 420 years. When the teacher is included, the total number of people becomes 31, and the new average age is 15 years. The new total age is 31 * 15 = 465 years. The age of the teacher is the difference between the new total age and the initial total age: 465 - 420 = 45 years.

Question 2

A container holds a mixture of milk and water in the ratio 7:3. When 20 litres of the mixture are drawn off and replaced with 20 litres of water, the ratio of milk to water becomes 1:1. What was the initial quantity of the mixture in the container?

Accepted Answer

70 litres

Answer

Let the initial quantities of milk and water be 7x and 3x litres. Total mixture = 10x. When 20 litres are removed, the milk removed is (7/10)*20 = 14 litres and water removed is (3/10)*20 = 6 litres. The remaining quantities are (7x-14) of milk and (3x-6) of water. After adding 20 litres of water, the new quantity of water is (3x-6)+20 = 3x+14. The new ratio is (7x-14) / (3x+14) = 1/1. Solving this gives 7x-14 = 3x+14, which simplifies to 4x = 28, so x=7. The initial quantity of the mixture was 10x = 10*7 = 70 litres.

Question 3

A shopkeeper marks an article 60% above its cost price. He then sells it after allowing a discount of 25% on the marked price. If his profit in the transaction is ₹440, what is the cost price of the article?

Accepted Answer

₹2200

Answer

Let the Cost Price (CP) be 'x'. The Marked Price (MP) is x + 60% of x = 1.6x. The discount is 25% of MP, so the Selling Price (SP) is 75% of MP. SP = 0.75 * 1.6x = 1.2x. Profit is SP - CP = 1.2x - x = 0.2x. Given that the profit is ₹440, we have 0.2x = 440. Therefore, x = 440 / 0.2 = ₹2200.

Question 4

The difference between the compound interest and simple interest on a certain sum of money for 2 years at a rate of 15% per annum is ₹900. What is the principal amount?

Accepted Answer

₹40,000

Answer

The formula for the difference between compound interest (CI) and simple interest (SI) for 2 years is: Difference = P * (R/100)^2, where P is the principal and R is the rate of interest. Plugging in the values: 900 = P * (15/100)^2. This simplifies to 900 = P * (3/20)^2, which is 900 = P * (9/400). Solving for P gives P = (900 * 400) / 9 = 100 * 400 = ₹40,000.

Question 5

A can complete a piece of work in 24 days and B can complete the same work in 36 days. They start working together, but A leaves 8 days before the completion of the work. For how many days did the work last?

Accepted Answer

19.2 days

Answer

Let the total time be 'x' days. B works for all 'x' days, while A works for (x-8) days. A's one-day work is 1/24 and B's is 1/36. The total work done is 1. So, the equation is (x-8)/24 + x/36 = 1. The LCM of 24 and 36 is 72. Multiplying the equation by 72 gives 3(x-8) + 2x = 72. This simplifies to 3x - 24 + 2x = 72, or 5x = 96. Therefore, x = 96/5 = 19.2 days.

IBPS - Institute of Banking Personnel Selection Practice Test

IBPS - Institute of Banking Personnel Selection Practice Test

IBPS Arithmetic Word Problems Questions and Answers