Books borrowed in a week — Caselets Aptitude Question
Books borrowed in a week: A library lent 1,200 books in a week. 35% were fiction, 25% non-fiction, and the rest… Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Caselets
- Section: Data Interpretation
- Difficulty: Hard
- Time target: 90 seconds
Question
A library lent 1,200 books in a week. 35% were fiction, 25% non-fiction, and the rest reference. On Monday alone, one sixth of the week's reference loans were made.
How many reference books were lent on Monday?
Options
- 60
- 72
- 80
- 96
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: C. 80
Worked solution
- Reference loans = 40% of 1,200 = 480.
- Monday's share = 480 ÷ 6 = 80.
Answer: 80.
The idea
Compute the missing category from the percentages given, then apply the fraction to that category alone.
Shortcut. Chain the fractions: reference is 40% = 2/5, and 2/5 × 1/6 = 1/15, so Monday's reference loans are 1,200 ÷ 15 = 80.
Common trap. 96 — dividing the 480 reference loans by 5 instead of 6, as if thinking of a five-day week.