Multiple choice

A student gets 20% marks and fails by 60 marks. Another student gets 32% marks and so he gets 84 marks more than passing marks. Find the percentage passing marks.

  1. 32 %

  2. 35 %

  3. 25%

  4. 40 %
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C Correct answer
Explanation

Let total marks = T and passing marks = P. First student: 20% of T = P - 60. Second student: 32% of T = P + 84. Subtracting first equation from second: 12% of T = 144, so T = 1200. Then P = 0.20 × 1200 + 60 = 240 + 60 = 300. Passing percentage = (300/1200) × 100 = 25%. The key insight is that 32% - 20% = 12% represents the difference between 84 marks above passing and 60 marks below passing.

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