In an election contested by two candidates, one candidate got 42% of the total votes and still lost by 800 votes. Find the total number of votes that were cast.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 4 i.e. 5000.
Let the total number of votes be x
Candidate 1 received 42% of the votes = 0.42x
Candidate 2 received the remaining 58% of the votes = 0.58x
The difference in votes between the two candidates is 800 votes
⇒ 0.58x - 0.42x = 800
⇒ 0.16x = 800
⇒ x = 800/0.16
⇒ x = 5000
Thus, The total number of votes cast is 5000