Interpretation of Data Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The lowest growth in total production of energy was in 2009-10.

Find the year-on-year increase in the total column.

\[ 2007\text{-}08: 15547 - 14868 = 679 \]

\[ 2008\text{-}09: 16277 - 15547 = 730 \]

\[ 2009\text{-}10: 16889 - 16277 = 612 \]

\[ 2010\text{-}11: 17857 - 16889 = 968 \]

The smallest rise, 612, is in 2009-10. In percentage terms it is also the smallest, about 3.8 per cent.

Answer: A

Of the sources listed, coal and lignite shows the highest growth in production from 2006-07 to 2010-11.

\[ \text{Coal: } \frac{9207 - 7459}{7459} \approx 23.4\% \]

\[ \text{Crude: } \frac{1579 - 1423}{1423} \approx 11\% \]

\[ \text{Hydro: } \frac{5059 - 4763}{4763} \approx 6.2\% \]

\[ \text{All: } \frac{17857 - 14868}{14868} \approx 20.1\% \]

Coal is highest among the four choices. Natural gas grew faster still, but it is not one of the options.

Answer: A

In 2008-09 the highest growth was recorded by coal and lignite.

Compare each source with 2007-08.

\[ \text{Coal: } 8476 - 7926 = 550 \quad (6.9\%) \]

\[ \text{Hydro: } 5133 - 4944 = 189 \quad (3.8\%) \]

\[ \text{Natural gas: } 1265 - 1248 = 17 \quad (1.4\%) \]

Crude petroleum fell from 1429 to 1403, so it recorded negative growth. Coal leads on both the absolute and the percentage measure.

Answer: C

Hydro and nuclear electricity was almost double crude petroleum and natural gas together in 2008-09.

\[ 1403 + 1265 = 2668 \]

\[ 2 \times 2668 = 5336 \]

Hydro and nuclear output was 5133, which is close to 5336 and the ratio is about 1.92.

The ratio is lower in the other years, about 1.80 in 2006-07, 1.85 in 2007-08 and 1.39 in 2009-10, so none of them is as close to double.

Because the question uses the word almost, the nearest ratio to two is the right one, and 1.92 is closer to 2 than any other year's ratio.

Answer: D

The highest rate of increase in total horticulture area was between 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Rate of increase means the percentage rise over the previous year.

\[ \text{2005-06 to 2006-07}: \frac{7}{187} \approx 3.7\% \]

\[ \text{2006-07 to 2007-08}: \frac{8}{194} \approx 4.1\% \]

\[ \text{2007-08 to 2008-09}: \frac{5}{202} \approx 2.5\% \]

The next year gives 2 over 207, about 1%. The highest figure, 4.1%, is for 2007-08 over 2006-07.

Answer: A

The shares of flowers, vegetables and fruits are respectively 1, 38 and 30 percent.

These are the shares in the latest year of the table, 2009-10, when the total horticulture area was 209 lakh hectares.

\[ \text{flowers} = \frac{2}{209} \approx 1\% \]

\[ \text{vegetables} = \frac{79}{209} \approx 38\% \]

\[ \text{fruits} = \frac{63}{209} \approx 30\% \]

The option 30, 38 and 1 gives the same figures in the opposite order, and the other options do not match the table.

Answer: C

Flowers recorded the highest rate of increase from 2005-06 to 2009-10.

\[ \text{flowers}: \frac{2-1}{1} = 100\% \]

\[ \text{fruits}: \frac{63-53}{53} \approx 18.9\% \]

\[ \text{vegetables}: \frac{79-72}{72} \approx 9.7\% \]

\[ \text{total}: \frac{209-187}{187} \approx 11.8\% \]

Flowers started from a very small base of 1 lakh hectares, so their percentage rise is far above the others.

Answer: B

The crop whose area rose by around 10 percent from 2005-06 to 2009-10 is vegetables.

\[ \text{vegetables}: \frac{79-72}{72} \approx 9.7\% \]

\[ \text{fruits}: \frac{63-53}{53} \approx 18.9\% \]

Fruits rose by almost 19 percent and flowers doubled, a rise of 100 percent. Total horticulture rose by about 11.8 percent, which is also near ten percent, but vegetables at 9.7 percent are the closest to it.

The comparison should be made over the full period from 2005-06 to 2009-10 and not between single years.

Answer: B

The combined share of fruits, vegetables and flowers in total horticulture area in 2007-08 was 68 percent.

In 2007-08 the areas were 58, 78 and 2 lakh hectares, which add up to 138. The total horticulture area was 202.

\[ \frac{58+78+2}{202} = \frac{138}{202} \approx 68\% \]

The figure 53 is the area under fruits in 2005-06, 79 is the area under vegetables in 2008-09, and 100 percent would mean there was no other horticultural area.

Answer: A

The area under fruits recorded the highest rate of increase in 2006-07.

\[ 2006\text{-}07:\ \frac{3}{53} \approx 5.7\% \]

\[ 2007\text{-}08:\ \frac{2}{56} \approx 3.6\% \]

\[ 2008\text{-}09:\ \frac{3}{58} \approx 5.2\% \]

The final year, 2009-10, gives 2 over 61, about 3.3%. The highest rate, 5.7%, is therefore for 2006-07.

Percentage rise matters here, not the number of hectares added, because a rise of 3 lakh hectares on a small base counts for more than 2 lakh hectares on a larger base.