Question

Study the table given below and answer the question that follows:

State	Infant Mortality Rate per 1000 live births (2018)	Literacy Rate % 2017 – 18	Net Attendance Ratio (per 100 persons) secondary stage (aged 14 and 15 years) 2017 – 18
P	32	62	43
Q	7	94	43
R	30	82	61
S	20	83	78

Identify the State whose Infant Mortality Rate is almost three times that of State ‘Q’.

• A. Q
• B. P
• C. S
• D. R

Hint:

Read the IMR of state Q, multiply it by three, and then look for the state whose figure comes closest to that product. Ignore the other two columns.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Concept:

• Rather than multiplying first, each state can be divided by the value for Q to see directly how many times larger it is.
• Working in ratios also guards against picking a state that is simply the largest instead of the one that is nearly three times.

Step 1: Note the base value.
State Q has an IMR of $7$. Every other value will be divided by this number.

Step 2: Divide each state by 7.
For P, $\dfrac{32}{7} \approx 4.6$
For R, $\dfrac{30}{7} \approx 4.3$
For S, $\dfrac{20}{7} \approx 2.9$

Step 3: Pick the ratio nearest to three.
The ratios for P and R are both above four, so neither is close to three. The ratio for S is about $2.9$, which is almost exactly three.

Step 4: Rule out the trap in option (A).
Option (A) names Q itself, whose ratio with itself is one. It is placed there for a student who reads the question in a hurry, since the state being compared cannot be the answer.

Step 5: Note the extra columns.
The literacy rate and the net attendance ratio are given as additional information about development but play no part in this particular calculation.

Final Answer: (C) S