Based on the information given in the passage, Meenakshi has an IQ of…

Read the text carefully and answer the questions:

Meenakshi is ten years old. The psychologist assessed her intellect and her mental age was found to be twelve years. Based on the normal curve, she is considered to be on the extreme side of the curve.

IQ scores are distributed in the population in such a way that the scores of most people tend to fall in the middle range of the distribution. The frequency distribution for the IQ scores tends to approximate a bell shaped curve.

Meenakshi is also extraverted and enjoys being with people. She has the ability to understand the motives, feelings and behaviours of other people. She also believes strongly in non violence and her entire life is guided by this value. Her friends call her Gandhian due to these traits. Further, they believe that she has developed these traits because of the culture in which she grew up.

Based on the information given in the passage, Meenakshi has an IQ of :

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → 120

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100. The passage gives both ages.

Given: mental age (MA) = 12 years, chronological age (CA) = 10 years
IQ = (MA ÷ CA) × 100
IQ = (12 ÷ 10) × 100 = 120

Her mental age is more than her chronological age, so her IQ has to be more than 100; an IQ of 100 would mean the two ages are equal.

NCERT (2025-26): “Assessment of Intelligence … In 1908, when the scale was revised, they gave the concept of Mental Age (MA), which is a measure of a person’s intellectual development relative to people of her/his age group. A mental age of 5 means that a child’s performance on an intelligence test equals the average performance level of a group of 5-year olds. Chronological Age (CA) is the biological age from birth. A bright child’s MA is more than her/his CA; for a dull child, MA is below the CA.…”

“…In 1912, William Stern, a German psychologist, devised the concept of Intelligence Quotient (IQ). IQ refers to mental age divided by chronological age, and multiplied by 100.…”

“…When the MA equals the CA, the IQ equals 100. If MA is more than the CA, IQ is more than 100. IQ becomes less than 100 when the MA is less than the CA.…”