UPSC CSE 2026 · PYQ · Data Interpretation / Weighted Average · medium
In a recruitment process, the selection of candidates is based on their performance in three components. The weightages of the components 1, 2 and 3 are 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5, respectively. Use the data given below and find the cutoff score if exactly three candidates are to be selected:
Candidate 1: Component 1 = 5, Component 2 = 4, Component 3 = 6
Candidate 2: Component 1 = 4, Component 2 = 6, Component 3 = 5
Candidate 3: Component 1 = 3, Component 2 = 2, Component 3 = 8
Candidate 4: Component 1 = 9, Component 2 = 4, Component 3 = 3
Candidate 5: Component 1 = 8, Component 2 = 8, Component 3 = 2
A.5.1✓ Correct
B.5.2
C.5.3
D.5.4
Explanation
Compute weighted score for each candidate using weights 0.2, 0.3, 0.5: Candidate 1: 0.2×5 + 0.3×4 + 0.5×6 = 1.0 + 1.2 + 3.0 = 5.2. Candidate 2: 0.2×4 + 0.3×6 + 0.5×5 = 0.8 + 1.8 + 2.5 = 5.1. Candidate 3: 0.2×3 + 0.3×2 + 0.5×8 = 0.6 + 0.6 + 4.0 = 5.2. Candidate 4: 0.2×9 + 0.3×4 + 0.5×3 = 1.8 + 1.2 + 1.5 = 4.5. Candidate 5: 0.2×8 + 0.3×8 + 0.5×2 = 1.6 + 2.4 + 1.0 = 5.0. Sorted: C1=5.2, C3=5.2, C2=5.1, C5=5.0, C4=4.5. To select exactly three, the cutoff must be at or just above the third-ranked candidate's score, which is 5.1 (Candidate 2). Hence the cutoff is 5.1.
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