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Unit 6 · Software Engineering Paper 2 CS · 22 June 2026

In a particular program, it is found that 1% of the code accounts for 50% of the execution time. To code the program in FORTRAN, it takes 100 man-days. Coding in assembly language is 10 times harder than coding in FORTRAN, but runs 5 times faster. Converting (rewriting) an existing FORTRAN program to an assembly language program is 4 times harder than coding in FORTRAN.

If 99% of the program is written in FORTRAN and the remaining 1% in assembly, the percentage increase in the programming time compared to writing the entire program in FORTRAN and rewriting (converting) the 1% to assembly language is

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Correct answer: B. 5

Explanation

Writing 99% of the code in FORTRAN costs 99% of 100 = 99 man-days, and writing the remaining 1% directly in assembly (10 times harder than FORTRAN for that same 1%, i.e. 10 x 1 man-day) costs 10 man-days, for a total of 99 + 10 = 109 man-days. The alternative of writing the whole program in FORTRAN and then converting the 1% into assembly costs 100 + 4 = 104 man-days (found earlier). The increase is (109 - 104) / 104 x 100 ≈ 4.8%, which rounds to the closest listed option, 5%.

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