Dear Readers,
The
Preliminary phase of the IBPS PO/MT Exam 2016 started from yesterday. As you
all are well aware, 2 sets of Data Interpretation questions were asked in each
slot. Today we are going to provide you some information to help you all
understand this topic better.
Data Interpretation is a major part of
Quantitative Aptitude section for any banking exam. Now, first and foremost,
What does Data Interpretation exactly mean?
Interpretation is the process of making
sense of numerical data that has been collected, analysed, and
presented.Interpreting
data is an important critical thinking skill that helps you comprehend text
books, graphs and tables
Majority of questions asked in the Data Interpretation Section are based on the following topics of the Arithmetic Section -
- Ratios
- Averages
- Percentages
If the
basics of these topics are clear, attempting DI in the exams becomes
comparatively easy.
Now,
let us go through the types of DI graphs/charts that you may encounter in the
exams -
- Pie Charts
- Line Charts
- 3. Bar Graphs
- Tabular Charts
- Mixed Graphs
We
shall now have a look at the types of questions that are asked under these Data
Interpretation Graphs -
Consider
the following data presented in the bar graph -
Percentage
of Students who like different sports in two different years is provided in the
following graph. Total number of Students is 1000 for both the years.
Now the
following types of questions may be asked from this data -
1. Sum or Difference based DI Questions -
These
are the most basic questions that may be asked in a DI set. For instance,
What
was the sum of total number of students who like Badminton and Cricket in bothe
the years?
Now
for such questions, first find the number of students who like the two sports
in the two years -
2011
- Badminton = (12/100) * 1000 = 120
Cricket = (45/100) * 1000 = 450
Total = 570
2012
- Badminton = (20/100) * 1000 = 200
Cricket = (37/100) * 1000 = 370
Total = 570
Sum
= 570 + 570 = 1140
2. Averages based Questions DI Questions-
Average
based questions are very commonly asked in the Data Interpretation sets. For
instance,
What
is the average number of students who like badminton, cricket and football in
2011?
Total
students who like badminton, cricket and football in 2011 = (12 + 45 + 22) =
79% of 1000
Required
average = 790/3
3. Ratio based question DI Questions-
Another
arithmetic operation based question that may be asked is Ratio based.
Now,
these questions may be asked directly or in combination with above. For
instance,
What
is the ratio of the students who like football and tennis in 2011 and those who
like volleyball and squash in 2012?
Students
who like football and tennis in 2011= (22 + 4) = 26% of 1000
Students
who like volleyball and squash in 2012 = (10 + 5) = 15% of 1000
Remember for such questions, you do not need to do the entire calculation, because such numbers will eventually cancel out while calculating the ratios.
Required
ratio = (26% of 1000) : (15% of 1000) = 26 : 15
4. Percentage based question DI Questions-
These
are yet other arithmetic problems that are usually asked in DI questions.
These
problems again may be asked individually or in combination with the sum or
difference based problems. For instance,
The
students who like badminton and squash in 2011 is what percent of the students
who like football and swimming in 2011?
Students
who like badminton and squash in 2011 = (12 + 2) = 14% of 1000
Students
who like football and swimming in 2011 = (22+7) = 29% of 1000
Here
again, do not calculate the entire value.
Required
% = (14% of 1000) / (29% of 1000) * 100 = 1400/29%
Same
data may be presented in the the form of other graphs as well, however, the
approach to attempt the questions would remain same. You may find numbers in
place of percentages or vice - versa, so do read the question carefully before
proceeding.
Line Graph -
Tabular Chart -
Pie Chart -
One
more variety of question that may be asked in pie charts is the angle based.
For instance,
Q. What
is the central angle corresponding to football and volleyball together for 2012?
Angle
= (20 + 10)% * 360 = (30/100) * 360 = 108
All the best for your exam..