Question:medium

In an examination,there were 75 questions.3 marks were awarded for each correct answer,1 mark was deducted for each wrong answer and 1 mark was awarded for each unattempted question.Rayan scored a total of 97 marks in the examination.If the number of unattempted questions was higher than the number of attempted questions,then the maximum number of correct answers that Rayan could have given in the examination is

Updated On: Jan 15, 2026
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Solution and Explanation

Given:
- Total questions: \(75\)
- Marks for a correct answer: +3
- Marks for a wrong answer: -1
- Marks for an unattempted question: +1

Definitions:
\(C\) = Number of correct answers
\(W\) = Number of wrong answers
\(U\) = Number of unattempted questions

Formulated Equations:
\(C + W + U = 75 \quad \text{(Equation 1)}\)
\(3C - W + U = 97 \quad \text{(Equation 2)}\)
Also given: \(U>C + W\)

Step 1: Isolate \(U\) from Equation 1
\(U = 75 - C - W\)

Step 2: Substitute \(U\) into Equation 2
\(3C - W + (75 - C - W) = 97\)
\(2C - 2W + 75 = 97\)
\(2C - 2W = 22\)
\(C - W = 11 \quad \text{(Equation 3)}\)

Step 3: Analyze the inequality
Given: \(U>C + W\)
Substitute \(U\) from Equation 1: \(75 - C - W>C + W\)
Rearrange: \(75>2C + 2W\)
Simplify: \(37.5>C + W\)
Therefore: \(C + W<38 \quad \text{(Equation 4)}\)

Step 4: Solve for \(W\) and \(C\) using Equations 3 and 4
From Equation 3: \(C = W + 11\)
Substitute this into Equation 4: \((W + 11) + W<38\)
\(2W + 11<38\)
\(2W<27\)
\(W<13.5\)
Since \(W\) must be an integer, the maximum value for \(W\) is 13.

Calculate the maximum value for \(C\) using \(C = W + 11\). When \(W = 13\), \(C = 13 + 11 = 24\).

Final Result:
The maximum number of correct answers Rayan could have obtained is 24.
Correct Option: 24

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