Multiple choice

The average age of the employee in a company is 23.5 years. And the average of the males in the company is 25.2 years and that of the females is 23.2 years. Find the ratio of the number of males to the number of females in the company.

  1. 17 : 3

  2. 3 : 17

  3. 12 : 5

  4. 5 : 12

  5. None of these

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Let m be the number of males and f be the number of females. The weighted average formula gives: 23.5(m+f) = 25.2m + 23.2f. Solving: 23.5m + 23.5f = 25.2m + 23.2f, so 0.3f = 1.7m, giving m/f = 3/17. This means males:females = 3:17. Option A (17:3) reverses the ratio.