Large Numbers Around Us MCQs for UPSC Prelims

110 practice questions covering Large Numbers Around Us, organised into 0 topics. 110 questions include a written explanation. Pick a topic below, or try the samples first.

Sample questions

Q1
medium

Two villages have $12{,}480$ and $9{,}530$ people. Estimate the total by rounding each population to the nearest thousand.

  1. A $21{,}000$
  2. B $22{,}000$
  3. C $23{,}000$
  4. D $20{,}000$
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B - $22{,}000$

The populations round to $12{,}000$ and $10{,}000$, giving an estimate of $22{,}000$. Rounding $9{,}530$ down to $9{,}000$ gives $21{,}000$, rounding both down gives $21{,}000$ as well, and $23{,}000$ comes from rounding $12{,}480$ up to $13{,}000$.

Q2
medium

Which of these numbers is the smallest?

  1. A $3{,}00{,}100$
  2. B $2{,}99{,}999$
  3. C $3{,}00{,}001$
  4. D $30{,}00{,}010$
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B - $2{,}99{,}999$

Three of the numbers have six digits and one has seven, so $30{,}00{,}010$ is the largest, not the smallest. Among the six-digit numbers, $2{,}99{,}999$ starts with $2$ while the others start with $3$, so it is the smallest even though it is packed with nines.

Q3
easy

Which of these figures is normally reported only as an estimate?

  1. A The price printed on a biscuit packet
  2. B The marks a student scored in a test
  3. C The number of students present in a classroom
  4. D The crowd at a village festival
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D - The crowd at a village festival

Nobody counts a festival crowd head by head, so such figures are always approximate. Marks, attendance and a printed price are all recorded exactly, because each is small enough or fixed enough to be known precisely.

Q4
medium

Which is greater, a crowd of $3$ crore or a crowd of $30$ million?

  1. A $3$ crore is ten times $30$ million
  2. B $3$ crore is greater
  3. C $30$ million is greater
  4. D They are the same size
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D - They are the same size

One crore equals $10$ million, so $3$ crore equals $30$ million and the two crowds are the same size. The trap is comparing the numbers $3$ and $30$ without noticing that the units differ by a factor of ten.

Q5
easy

One million is written as $1$ followed by how many zeros?

  1. A $9$
  2. B $5$
  3. C $6$
  4. D $7$
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C - $6$

One million is $1{,}000{,}000$, which is $1$ followed by six zeros. Five zeros give one lakh, seven zeros give one crore and nine zeros give one billion.

Q6
easy

Use the idea that $99 = 100 - 1$ to find $8 \times 99$.

  1. A $782$
  2. B $792$
  3. C $800$
  4. D $891$
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B - $792$

Eight hundreds less eight gives $800 - 8 = 792$. Subtracting $8$ twice gives $784$ and subtracting $18$ gives $782$, while $800$ forgets the subtraction altogether and $891$ is $9 \times 99$.

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Other subjects

Environment & Ecology 1200 Economy 1075 Logical Reasoning 1013 Quantitative Aptitude 916 Polity & Governance 897 Geography 885 Science & Technology 830 Ancient & Medieval History 737 Art & Culture 711 Modern History 589 International Relations 582 Data Interpretation 515 Reading Comprehension 408 Number Play 317 Fractions 142 A Peek Beyond the Point 125 Light: Shadows and Reflections 120 Quadrilaterals 120 Changes Around Us: Physical and Chemical 120 Proportional Reasoning-1 120 Measurement of Length and Motion 116 Exploring Substances: Acidic, Basic, and Neutral 116 Prime Time 116 Light: Mirrors and Lenses 116 Mindful Eating: A Path to a Healthy Body 115 Exploring Forces 115 Lines and Angles 115 Measurement of Time and Motion 115 Nature's Treasures 115 Parallel and Intersecting Lines 115 Pressure, Winds, Storms, and Cyclones 115 Power Play 114 The Invisible Living World: Beyond Our Naked Eye 112 Working with Fractions 110 Diversity in the Living World 110 A Journey through States of Water 110 A Tale of Three Intersecting Lines 110 The Amazing World of Solutes, Solvents, and Solutions 110 Electricity: Circuits and their Components 110 How Nature Works in Harmony 110 Nature of Matter: Elements, Compounds, and Mixtures 110 The World of Metals and Non-metals 110 Electricity: Magnetic and Heating Effects 110 We Distribute, Yet Things Multiply 110 A Square and A Cube 109 The Other Side of Zero 106 Heat Transfer in Nature 105 Living Creatures: Exploring their Characteristics 105 Health: The Ultimate Treasure 105 Expressions using Letter-Numbers 105 Methods of Separation in Everyday Life 105 Exploring Magnets 105 Our Home: Earth, a Unique Life Sustaining Planet 105 Beyond Earth 105 Life Processes in Animals 105 Life Processes in Plants 105 Patterns in Mathematics 103 Perimeter and Area 100 Particulate Nature of Matter 100 Materials Around Us 100 A Story of Numbers 100 Earth, Moon, and the Sun 100