Three candidates contested an election and received 4000, 6000 and 5000 votes respectively. What percentage of votes did the winning candidate get?

Appeared in: DSSSB - 29 August 2019 (Shift-2)

Explanation

The first step is to sum the votes from all three candidates to find the total number of votes cast, which is 4000 + 6000 + 5000 = 15,000.
The winning candidate is the one with the highest number of votes, which is 6,000.
To find the percentage, divide the winning candidate's votes by the total votes and multiply by 100: (6,000 / 15,000) * 100.
This calculation simplifies to 0.4 * 100, which equals 40%.

Option A: This percentage (33.33%) corresponds to the candidate who received 5,000 votes (5,000 / 15,000 ≈ 0.3333 or 33.33%). This was not the winning candidate.
Option C: A 25% share of the vote would be equal to 3,750 votes (0.25 * 15,000). None of the candidates received this number of votes.
Option D: A 50% share of the vote would be equal to 7,500 votes (0.50 * 15,000). The winning candidate only received 6,000 votes, which is less than half of the total.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Calculation of Percentage as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
While this is a math question, the underlying skill of calculating percentages is crucial in nursing for tasks like medication dosage calculations, interpreting lab results, and understanding statistical data in research.
For example, a nurse might need to calculate the percentage of weight loss in a patient or determine the percentage of a total daily fluid intake a patient has consumed.
What if the question asked for the percentage difference between the winner and the runner-up? The runner-up had 5,000 votes. The difference is 1,000 votes. The percentage difference relative to the total vote is (1,000 / 15,000) * 100 ≈ 6.67%.

How to Approach the Question

First, carefully read the question to understand what is being asked. Here, you need to find the percentage of votes for the 'winning' candidate.
Identify all the numbers given: 4000, 6000, and 5000 votes.
Determine the 'whole' or total amount. In this case, it's the total number of votes cast. Sum the votes: 4000 + 6000 + 5000 = 15,000.
Identify the 'part' you are interested in. The question asks for the 'winning candidate', so find the largest number of votes, which is 6,000.
Apply the percentage formula: (Part / Whole) × 100.
Substitute the values and calculate: (6000 / 15000) × 100 = 40%.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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Practise the full DSSSB - 29 August 2019 (Shift-2)

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.