Study Material — 9 PYQs (2021–2021) · Concept Notes · Shortcuts
SSC MTS Work & Wages is a frequently tested subtopic — 9 previous year questions from 2021–2021 papers are included below with concept notes, key rules and shortcut tricks.
9 questions from actual SSC MTS papers · all shown free · click option to reveal solution
Exam Q 12021Previous Year Pattern
A worker earns ₹500 per day. If he works for 12 days, what is his total wage?
Exam Q 22021Previous Year Pattern
A and B together earn ₹1200 per day. If A earns ₹700 per day, how much does B earn per day?
Exam Q 32021Previous Year Pattern
A worker completes 1/4 of a job in 5 days. At this rate, how many days will it take to complete the entire job?
Exam Q 42021Previous Year Pattern
A man is paid ₹15 per hour. If he works 6 hours a day for 5 days, what is his total earnings?
Exam Q 52021Previous Year Pattern
Two workers A and B together complete a job in 8 days. If A alone can complete the same job in 12 days, in how many days can B alone complete it?
Exam Q 62021Previous Year Pattern
A and B work together and earn ₹7,200 for a project. A works for 8 days and B works for 6 days. If A's daily wage is ₹600, what is B's daily wage?
Exam Q 72021Previous Year Pattern
A contractor hires workers to complete a task. If 6 workers can finish the work in 9 days, how many days will 4 workers take to complete the same work, assuming all workers work at the same rate?
Exam Q 82021Previous Year Pattern
Two workers are paid wages in the ratio 5:3. If the worker with higher wage earns ₹2,500 per month, and they complete a project together in 8 days earning ₹9,600 total, what is the daily wage of the lower-paid worker?
Exam Q 92021Previous Year Pattern
A task requires 120 worker-days to complete. If 5 workers start the task and after 12 days, 3 more workers join them, how many more days are needed to complete the task?
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
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