Study Material — 8 PYQs (2018–2021) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
RRB NTPC Work & Wages is a frequently tested subtopic — 8 previous year questions from 2018–2021 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
8 questions from actual RRB NTPC papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12021Previous Year Pattern
A job requires 120 worker-days to complete. If 5 workers are assigned to the job, how many days will it take to finish?
Exam Q 22021Previous Year Pattern
A worker can complete a job in 12 days. If he is paid ₹480 for the entire job, what is his daily wage?
Exam Q 32021Previous Year Pattern
A worker earns ₹600 for 8 days of work. How much will he earn for 20 days of work at the same rate?
Exam Q 42021Previous Year Pattern
A and B together earn ₹2400 in 6 days. If A earns ₹200 per day and B earns ₹150 per day, how much does A earn in 10 days?
Exam Q 52021Previous Year Pattern
A contractor hires workers at ₹400 per day. If 5 workers complete a project in 16 days, how much total wage must be paid if the same project is to be completed in 10 days using workers at the same daily rate?
Exam Q 62018Previous Year Pattern
Three workers P, Q, and R are paid in the ratio 3:4:5 for a job. If the total payment is ₹14,400 and they work for 8, 10, and 12 days respectively, what is Q's daily wage?
Exam Q 72021Previous Year Pattern
A worker is paid ₹500 per day. If he works for 18 days and completes 3/4 of a project, what is his total wage for completing the entire project at the same daily rate?
Exam Q 82021Previous Year Pattern
A and B are paid in the ratio 3:2 for a project. If A receives ₹9,000 for completing 3/5 of the work, what is B's wage for completing the remaining work at the same rate per unit of work?
Concept Notes
Work & Wages— Rules & Concept
Core ConceptRead this first — the foundation of the topic
Core Concept
When multiple people work together and complete a job, their wages should be divided in the ratio of their work rates or efficiency. If A can do work in 10 days and B in 15 days, A is more efficient and deserves higher wages
Key Rules
(1) Wages ∝ Work Rate (2) Wages ∝ 1/Time taken (3) Total wages = Sum of individual wages (4) If workers work for different durations, wages depend on both efficiency and time worked.
Formula BlockMemorise — at least one formula appears in every paper
Wage Ratio = Work Rate Ratio = 1/Time Ratio
A's wage : B's wage = (1/A's time) : (1/B's time)
If working together: Combined rate = 1/A + 1/B
Wage distribution = (Individual rate / Combined rate) × Total wages
Exam PatternsWhat examiners ask — read before attempting PYQs
SSC CGL frequently asks wage distribution problems with 2-3 workers having different efficiencies. Common variations include workers joining/leaving at different times, and finding individual wages from total payment.
ShortcutsUse these to save 30–60 seconds per question
For time-based problems, flip the time values to get wage ratios directly. If A takes 6 days and B takes 9 days, wage ratio = 9:6 = 3:2 (notice the flip).
Worked ExampleSolve this step-by-step before moving on
1
Step 1
Find work rates
A's rate = 1/12 work per day
B's rate = 1/15 work per day
2
Step 2
Calculate wage ratio
Wage ratio = Rate ratio = (1/12) : (1/15)
Taking LCM of 12 and 15 = 60
(1/12) = 5/60 and (1/15) = 4/60
So ratio = 5:4
3
Step 3
Distribute wages
Total parts = 5 + 4 = 9
A's wage = (5/9) × 1350 = Rs 750
B's wage = (4/9) × 1350 = Rs 600
Verification: 750 + 600 = 1350 ✓
Shortcut for this: Time ratio = 12:15 = 4:5, so wage ratio = 5:4 (flipped)
Exam TrapsCommon mistakes students make — avoid these
Students often forget to flip time ratios when calculating wage ratios. Remember: higher efficiency (less time) means higher wages. Also, when workers work for different durations, multiply efficiency by time worked to get actual work contribution.
Key Points to Remember
Wages are always proportional to work rate or efficiency of workers
Wage ratio = 1/Time ratio (flip the time values to get wage ratio)
If A takes 'm' days and B takes 'n' days, wage ratio = n:m
Combined work rate = sum of individual work rates
When workers work different hours, multiply rate by time for wage calculation
Total wages distributed = sum of all individual wages
Higher efficiency worker gets larger share of wages
Wage distribution formula: (Individual rate/Total rate) × Total wages
Exam-Specific Tips
Work rate is always reciprocal of time taken (Rate = 1/Time)
Wage ratio equals work rate ratio in direct proportion
LCM method used to compare fractions in work rate calculations
Combined efficiency = sum of individual efficiencies when working together
Time ratio and wage ratio are inverse to each other
Proportion formula: A:B = x:y means A/B = x/y
Work done = Rate × Time for individual contribution calculation
Practice MCQs
Work & Wages — Practice Questions
13graded MCQs · easy to hard · full solution & trap analysis
A worker earns ₹600 for 5 days of work. How much will he earn for 18 days of work at the same rate?
Practice 2easy
Three workers A, B, and C are paid in the ratio 3:4:5 for completing a project. If C receives ₹1500, what is the total amount paid to all three workers?
Practice 3easy
A worker is paid ₹480 for completing a job in 8 days. If another worker completes the same job in 6 days, what is the daily wage of the second worker, assuming wages are proportional to work done per day?
Practice 4easy
A and B together earn ₹1200 in 4 days. If A earns ₹150 per day, how much does B earn per day?
Practice 5easy
A contractor hires workers to complete a project. If 5 workers can complete the project in 18 days, how many days will 9 workers take to complete the same project, assuming all workers work at the same rate?
Practice 6easy
A worker can complete a job in 12 days. If he is paid ₹480 for the entire job, what is his daily wage?
Practice 7easy
A worker completes 1/4 of a job in 6 days. At this rate, how many days will it take to complete the entire job?
Practice 8medium
Two workers, P and Q, are paid in the ratio 3:2. If P earns ₹450 more than Q per month, what is Q's monthly wage?
Practice 9medium
A worker is paid ₹480 for 6 days of work. If he works for 9 days, how much will he earn? Additionally, if he works overtime for 2 extra hours per day at 1.5 times his hourly rate, and works 8 hours per day normally, what will be his total earnings for 5 days including overtime?
Practice 10medium
A contractor hires workers on a contract basis. If 8 workers can build a wall in 15 days, how many workers are needed to build the same wall in 10 days, assuming all workers work at the same rate?
Practice 11medium
A job can be completed by 6 men in 8 days working 10 hours per day. How many days will it take for 8 men working 12 hours per day to complete the same job?
Practice 12medium
Two workers, P and Q, are paid based on the amount of work they complete. P completes 60% of a project and Q completes 40%. If the project is worth ₹15,000 and P works 5 days more than Q, what is the difference in their daily wages if they both work at the same daily rate?
Practice 13hard
Three workers A, B, and C are assigned to complete a task. A's efficiency is 20% more than B's, and C's efficiency is 25% less than B's. If all three work together, they complete the task in 10 days. B is paid ₹300 per day, A is paid 20% more than B, and C is paid 25% less than B. What is the ratio of total wages paid to A, B, and C respectively?
60-Second Revision — Work & Wages
Remember: Wage ratio = 1/Time ratio (always flip time values)
Formula: Individual wage = (Own rate/Combined rate) × Total wages
Trick: For times a:b, wages will be b:a
Trap: Don't forget to multiply by working hours if different
Quick check: Sum of distributed wages = Total wages given
Pattern: Higher efficiency = Less time = More wages