In a graduate class of $200$, $40\%$ are women and $\frac{1}{5}$ become lecturers. If the number of men who become lecturers is twice that of women, calculate approximate percentage of men who became lecturers.
Aptitude
Percentage
Difficulty: Medium
Choose an option
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A$16\%$
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B$18\%$
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C$20\%$
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D$27\%$
Answer
Correct Answer: $27\%$
Explanation
### Concept & Logic
To find the percentage of a specific subset, we need two absolute numbers: the total size of the group in question (total men) and the size of the subset (men who became lecturers).
$$\text{Percentage} = \left(\frac{\text{Men Lecturers}}{\text{Total Men}}\right) \times 100$$
### Step-by-step Solution
**Given:**
Total students = $200$
Women = $40\%$ of total
**Step 1: Calculate total women and men**
Total Women = $40\%$ of $200 = 80$
Total Men = $200 - 80 = 120$
**Step 2: Calculate women who became lecturers**
Women Lecturers = $\frac{1}{5}$ of $80$
Women Lecturers $= 16$
**Step 3: Calculate men who became lecturers**
The problem states this is twice the number of women lecturers.
Men Lecturers $= 2 \times 16 = 32$
**Step 4: Calculate the required percentage**
We need the percentage of *men* who became lecturers (out of the total men).
Percentage $= \left(\frac{32}{120}\right) \times 100$
$= \left(\frac{4}{15}\right) \times 100$
$= \frac{400}{15} = 26.66\%$
Rounding to the nearest whole number gives an approximate percentage of $27\%$.
### Exam Strategy & Shortcut
Work purely in proportions or use a base of $100$ to shrink the mental math.
If the class is $100$, women = $40$, men = $60$.
Women lecturers = $\frac{1}{5}$ of $40 = 8$.
Men lecturers = $2 \times 8 = 16$.
Percentage of men = $\frac{16}{60} = \frac{4}{15}$.
Memorizing common fractions helps here: $\frac{1}{15} \approx 6.66\%$, so $\frac{4}{15} \approx 26.66\%$, which rounds to $27\%$.
### Common Pitfall
A major trap is calculating the percentage of men lecturers out of the *entire* class ($32$ out of $200 = 16\%$) instead of out of the total number of *men* ($32$ out of $120$). The examiners specifically included $16\%$ as option (a) to catch this mistake!
### Final Answer
**Therefore, the correct answer is 27%.**