IPMAT Indore 2026 · Quantitative Ability · Question 40

IPMAT Indore 2026 previous year question on Tables, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

TablesData InterpretationMultiple choiceMedium

Set 2: Nutritionist’s diet plan – Calcium, Iron and Protein — this question belongs to a set. Read the full set with all 5 questions →

A nutritionist is designing a daily diet plan of a person using five food items: Milk, Spinach, Almonds, Oats, and Rice. The Minimum Daily Requirement (MDR) of the nutrients Calcium, Iron and Protein should be 1100 mg, 15 mg, and 40 g, respectively. The following table gives nutrient content per serving of each food item:

Food item

Calcium (mg)

Iron (mg)

Protein (g)

Milk

300

0

8

Spinach

90

6

3

Almonds

210

4

6

Oats

120

3

5

Rice

50

1

4

Each serving provides a certain percentage of the MDR. For example, one serving of milk satisfies 20% of MDR of Protein. Further, the number of servings of any food item should be a whole number.

If two servings of Milk are part of the daily diet plan, then the minimum number of servings of any other single item that can satisfy the MDR of all three nutrients is
  1. A
    7
  2. B
    5
  3. C
    4
  4. D
    6
Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option C

Step 1 — what the two milk servings provide.

2\times \left( 300, 0, 8 \right)=\left( 600\text{mg Ca}, 0\text{mg Fe}, 16\text{g protein}\right)

Step 2 — the shortfall against the MDR.

\text{Calcium:}1100-600=500 \text{Iron:}15-0=15 \text{Protein:}40-16=24

Step 3 — for each remaining item, find how many servings k clear all three.

Item

Ca: k\ge 500/\text{Ca}

Fe: k\ge 15/\text{Fe}

Protein: k\ge 24/P

k needed

Spinach (90,6,3)

5.56 → 6

2.5 → 3

8

8

Almonds (210,4,6)

2.38 → 3

3.75 → 4

4

4

Oats (120,3,5)

4.17 → 5

5

4.8 → 5

5

Rice (50,1,4)

10

15

6

15

Each item needs the largest of its three requirements, rounded up.

Step 4 — take the smallest across items. Almonds, with 4 servings.

Answer: Option 3 — 4

Shortcut. Milk contributes no iron, so whichever item you choose must supply all 15 mg — that alone rules Rice out. Almonds is the obvious candidate (best iron-per-serving among the calcium-rich items), and checking it first gives 4 immediately.

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