A contractor employed 18 labourers at Rs. 12 each per day, 10 labourers at Rs. 13.50 each per day, 5 labourers at Rs. 25 each per day and 2 labourers at Rs. 42 each per day. The average wages paid is

Options

A. Rs.16
B. Rs.20
C. Rs.24
D. Rs.28

Answer

To find the average wages paid to the laborers, we will follow these steps:

### Step 1: Calculate the total wages for each group of laborers.

1. **For 18 laborers at Rs. 12 each:**
\[ \text{Total wages} = 18 \times 12 = 216 \text{ Rs.} \]

2. **For 10 laborers at Rs. 13.50 each:**
\[ \text{Total wages} = 10 \times 13.50 = 135 \text{ Rs.} \]

3. **For 5 laborers at Rs. 25 each:**
\[ \text{Total wages} = 5 \times 25 = 125 \text{ Rs.} \]

4. **For 2 laborers at Rs. 42 each:**
\[ \text{Total wages} = 2 \times 42 = 84 \text{ Rs.} \]

### Step 2: Sum up all the total wages calculated.

\[ \text{Total wages} = 216 + 135 + 125 + 84 \]

Calculating this gives:
\[ \text{Total wages} = 216 + 135 = 351 \]
\[ 351 + 125 = 476 \]
\[ 476 + 84 = 560 \text{ Rs.} \]

### Step 3: Calculate the total number of laborers.

\[ \text{Total number of laborers} = 18 + 10 + 5 + 2 = 35 \]

### Step 4: Calculate the average wages paid.

\[ \text{Average wages} = \frac{\text{Total wages}}{\text{Total number of laborers}} = \frac{560}{35} \]

Calculating this gives:
\[ \text{Average wages} = 16 \text{ Rs.} \]

### Final Answer:
The average wages paid is **Rs. 16**.

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