In a class of 40 students, Prateek is placed eighth from the top, whereas Sonu is placed thirteenth from the bottom. Ashish is placed exactly between the two. What is Sonu's position from Ashish?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → 10
Put everyone’s place in the same count, from the top. A rank from the bottom changes to a rank from the top by: rank from top = total − rank from bottom + 1.
Prateek: 8th from the top
Sonu: 13th from the bottom, so \(40-13+1=28\)th from the top
Ashish is midway between 8th and 28th: \((8+28)\div2=18\)th from the top, with 9 students on each side of him
Sonu’s place counted from Ashish: \(28-18=10\), so Sonu is 10th from Ashish
Note: The question does not say how Sonu’s position from Ashish is to be counted. The usual reading counts the places from Ashish to Sonu, which gives 10, the answer given by NTA. Two other readings are possible:
Counting only the students between them gives 9 (Option (2)), but that is a number of students, not a position.
Counting Ashish himself as the 1st gives 11 (Option (3)).