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Each person’s performance compared with all other persons is to be done to rank them subjectively. How many comparisons are needed in total, if there are 11 persons

Each person’s performance compared with all other persons is to be done to rank them subjectively. How many comparisons are needed in total, if there are 11 persons?

(a)

66

(b)

55

(c)

54

(d)

45

Answer:

(b)

Explanation

If we compare each person with all the others, we will have to make (n – 1) comparisons for each person, where n is the number of persons. So, for 11 persons, the number of comparisons needed will be (11-1) times 11, which is equal to 110. However, since each comparison is made twice (e.g. A compared with B and B compared with A), we need to divide 110 by 2, giving us a total of 55 comparisons. Therefore, the correct answer is option B, 55.