Data Interpretation Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The top three countries never out-weigh the rest, so the answer is None of these: it happens in 0 years.

Add up each year's column and take the three largest shares:

\[ \begin{aligned} 2007 &: \text{all } 86,\ \text{top three } 15 + 11 + 9 = 35 \\ 2008 &: \text{all } 87,\ \text{top three } 13 + 10 + 9 = 32 \\ 2009 &: \text{all } 89,\ \text{top three } 13 + 11 + 9 = 33 \\ 2010 &: \text{all } 92,\ \text{top three } 15 + 13 + 11 = 39 \\ 2011 &: \text{all } 93,\ \text{top three } 17 + 12 + 10 = 39 \end{aligned} \]

The remaining twelve countries hold 51, 55, 56, 53 and 54, which is more than the top three every year. So the number of years is zero, which is not offered as 1, 2 or 3.

Answer: C

The ranks of Germany add up to 24.

Rank each year by share, counting tied countries at the same rank and skipping the next rank, as the key does:

\[ \begin{aligned} 2007 &: \text{share } 6,\ \text{rank } 7 \\ 2008 &: \text{share } 6,\ \text{rank } 6 \\ 2009 &: \text{share } 7,\ \text{rank } 5 \\ 2010 &: \text{share } 11,\ \text{rank } 3 \\ 2011 &: \text{share } 10,\ \text{rank } 3 \end{aligned} \]

In 2007 six countries are above Germany (USA 15, Sweden 11, France 9, and UK, Canada and Greece at 8), so Germany is 7th. In 2008 five are above it (13, 10, 9, 8, 8) and Sweden ties with it at 6. In 2009 four are above (13, 11, 9, 8), and in 2010 and 2011 only the USA and France are above. The sum is 7 + 6 + 5 + 3 + 3 = 24. Ranking without skipping after ties would give 21, which is not offered.

Answer: D

The figure cannot be determined.

Each percentage in the table is a share of that year's total number of applications, and the yearly totals are not given. USA's five shares add up to 73, but the 278800 applications are the sum of 15%, 13%, 13%, 15% and 17% of five different totals. Without the yearly totals, France's 54 (the sum of its shares) cannot be turned into a number of applications.

If the totals were assumed equal, France would get \(\frac{54}{73} \times 278800 \approx 206000\), which matches none of the figures offered, so 216000, 262800 and 243900 are not obtainable by any reading.

Answer: A

The USA shows the minimum variation: none, since it is first in both years.

Rank the four countries in 2007 and 2011 by share, with tied countries on the same rank:

\[ \begin{aligned} \text{USA} &: 1 \to 1,\ \text{change } 0 \\ \text{France} &: 3 \to 2,\ \text{change } 1 \\ \text{Germany} &: 7 \to 3,\ \text{change } 4 \\ \text{UK} &: 4 \to 6,\ \text{change } 2 \end{aligned} \]

In 2007 the UK's 8% is tied with Canada and Greece behind USA, Sweden and France, and in 2011 its 6% is tied with Belgium and Canada behind five countries. The smallest change is the USA's zero.

Answer: A

Vesely's best throw was in the third round.

• From (i), neither Vadlejch nor Vesely made a medal-winning throw in rounds 1 and 2, so Vesely's best (his bronze-winning throw) came in round 3 or later.
• From (iii), Vesely could not improve after round 4, so his best came no later than round 4. Round 6 is also ruled out by (ii), as it was a foul.
• From (iv), Vadlejch's round 4 throw beat Vesely's round 4 throw. But after four rounds Vesely was ahead of Vadlejch, so Vesely's best must exceed Vadlejch's round 4 throw, and therefore cannot be his own round 4 throw.

That leaves round 3. Vadlejch, who finished second, must have produced his silver-winning throw in round 5, which is consistent with all four observations.

Answer: D

School P had the highest percentage.

In 2017 the selected-to-appeared percentages are: M 94/9200 = 1.02%, N 92/6700 = 1.37%, O 89/6780 = 1.31% and P 93/4500 = 2.07%.

P is the highest. M, N and O are all below 1.4%.

The question asks for the percentage selected out of those who appeared, not the percentage who qualified. P has the smallest number of candidates appearing (4500) and a high number selected (93), which makes its ratio the highest. A common mistake is to pick M, which has the largest number selected, 94.

Answer: B

Copper is the mineral whose production decreased continuously from 1991-92 to 1993-94. Its production was 310, 298 and 288 thousand tonnes in the three years, so it fell in each year.

Lead was 112, 160 and 126, so it rose in 1992-93 and then fell. Nickel was 232, 238 and 248, so it rose every year. Zinc was 98, 108 and 96, so it rose and then fell. A continuous decrease needs a fall at both steps, and only copper has that.

Answer: A

The answer is about 13 per cent. For 2012 add the candidates selected in the five districts: 82 + 70 + 48 + 65 + 55 = 320. Add those who qualified: 640 + 560 + 400 + 525 + 350 = 2475. The required percentage is \[\frac{320}{2475} \times 100 \approx 12.9\] which is about 13 per cent. The options 10, 8 and 15 per cent are further from 12.9. The table was read from the page image, where the 2014 Bankura appeared figure reads 4500.

Answer: B

The difference for school B is 750. From the data the number of students from school B who appeared is 2000 and the number who qualified is 1250. \[ 2000 - 1250 = 750 \] The values 650, 850 and 950 do not match the difference; 650 and 850 are close to it, but they are not the figures of the bars of school B.

Answer: B

A larger area on a radar chart generally indicates higher values across the board. By visual inspection of the data points, Company B has the highest or second-highest values on most metrics (Sales: 90, Profit: 85, Market Share: 75, Customer Sat.: 90). Company A has lower values (e.g., Sales 70, Market Share 60) and Company C also has lower values in some areas (Profit 60, Customer Sat. 70). Therefore, Company B covers the largest area.