Question

The pie chart below has the breakup of the number of students from different departments in an engineering college for the year 2012. The proportion of male to female students in each department is 5:45:4. There are 4040 males in Electrical Engineering. What is the difference between the numbers of female students in the Civil department and the female students in the Mechanical department?

Pie chart showing department-wise breakup of engineering students: Computer Science 40%, Civil 30%, Mechanical 10%, Electrical 20%
Department-wise student distribution in 2012
Official answer and solution
Official answer
32
From
Official GATE 2015 answer key

Solution

Use the male-to-female ratio and Electrical Department headcount to determine total college enrollment, then compute the difference between female students in Civil and Mechanical.

  1. Analyze Electrical Engineering:
  • From the pie chart, Electrical Engineering accounts for 20%20\% of the total student body.
  • The ratio of male to female students in each department is 5:45 : 4.
  • There are 4040 males in Electrical Engineering. Since the male component corresponds to 5 parts:
    Value of 1 part=405=8.\text{Value of 1 part} = \frac{40}{5} = 8.
  • Number of females in Electrical Engineering =4×8=32= 4 \times 8 = 32.
  • Total students in Electrical Engineering =40+32=72= 40 + 32 = 72.
  1. Find Total College Enrollment:
  • Since Electrical Engineering is 20%20\% of total students:
    Total Students=720.20=360.\text{Total Students} = \frac{72}{0.20} = 360.
  1. Calculate Civil and Mechanical Departments:
  • Civil Department (30%30\%):

    Total Civil Students=0.30×360=108.\text{Total Civil Students} = 0.30 \times 360 = 108.
    Female Civil Students=49×108=48.\text{Female Civil Students} = \frac{4}{9} \times 108 = 48.
  • Mechanical Department (10%10\%):

    Total Mechanical Students=0.10×360=36.\text{Total Mechanical Students} = 0.10 \times 360 = 36.
    Female Mechanical Students=49×36=16.\text{Female Mechanical Students} = \frac{4}{9} \times 36 = 16.
  1. Difference in Female Students:
Difference=48−16=32.\text{Difference} = 48 - 16 = 32.

Alternatively, since female students are 49\frac{4}{9} in both departments:

Difference=49×(30%−10%)×360=49×0.20×360=49×72=32.\text{Difference} = \frac{4}{9} \times (30\% - 10\%) \times 360 = \frac{4}{9} \times 0.20 \times 360 = \frac{4}{9} \times 72 = 32.
Final answer

32

Common trap

Calculating the total difference in students (72) rather than the difference specifically in female students (32).

The answer is the one in the official GATE answer key. The solution is this site's own explanation.

Source

Paper
GATE 2015 Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) Session 1
Question
9 of 65, printed as GA Q.9
Section
General Aptitude

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