Each student answered exactly 2 questions correctly, meaning that each
student answered exactly 1 question incorrectly.
Suppose that the correct answer to Question #3 is not 24, and so each student answered Question
#3 incorrectly.
In this case, each student must have answered Question #2 correctly
(since each answered exactly 1
question incorrectly). However, each student answered Question #2
differently, and so each student cannot have answered Question #2
correctly. This tells us that the correct answer to Question #3 is 24, and each student answered this
question correctly.
Next, suppose that the correct answer to Question #1 is not 15. In this case, Students A and C did
not answer Question #1 correctly, and so they both must have answered
Question #2 correctly (since each answered exactly 1 question
incorrectly). However, Students A and C have different answers for
Question #2 and thus both cannot have answered Question #2 correctly.
This tells us that the correct answer to Question #1 is 15, and so Student B answered Question #1
incorrectly.
Finally, since Student B answered Question #1 incorrectly, then they
must have answered Question #2 correctly, and so the correct answer to
Question #2 is 38.
The sum of the correct answers to the 3 questions is 15+38+24=77.
Question #1
Question #2
Question #3
Student A
15 ✓
36
24 ✓
Student B
20
38 ✓
24 ✓
Student C
15 ✓
54
24 ✓