Tips & Tricks GIVEN: Ankit got 28% marks in an examination and failed by 40 marks. Had he got 40% marks, he would have got 32 more marks than the passing marks. FORMULA USED: X% of Y = Y% of X CALCULATION: Suppose the maximum marks are ‘M’ and passing marks are ‘P’. So, 28% of M = P - 40 ---(i) And 40% of M = P + 32 ---(ii) From both the equations : ⇒ M = 600 and P = 208 ∴ Maximum marks of the examination = 600 Smart Method Difference in percentage marks = (40 - 28)% = 12% Difference in marks = 72 Hence, 12% = 72 ∴ 100% = (72/12) × 100 = 600.