15 students failed in a class of 52. After removing the names of failed students, a merit order list has been prepared in which the position of Ramesh is 22ⁿᵈ from the top. What is his position from the bottom?
- (a) 18ᵗʰ
- (b) 17ᵗʰ
- (c) 16ᵗʰ ✓ UPSC's answer
- (d) 15ᵗʰ
Why the answer is (c)
• Total students in the class are 52.
• 15 students failed, so the number of students in the merit list is 52 - 15 = 37.
• Ramesh's position from the top in this merit list is 22nd.
• To find his position from the bottom, use the formula: (Total in list - Position from top) + 1.
• Calculation: (37 - 22) + 1 = 15 + 1 = 16.
• Therefore, Ramesh's position from the bottom is 16th.
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) 18ᵗʰ
- 18th is incorrect because it likely results from miscalculating the total merit list size or applying the wrong formula for position from the bottom.
- (b) 17ᵗʰ
- 17th is incorrect because it fails to add 1 to the difference between the total merit list size and Ramesh's top position.
- (d) 15ᵗʰ
- 15th is incorrect because it simply subtracts Ramesh's top position from the total merit list size without adding 1 to account for his own rank.
Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, held on 18 June 2017. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.