California State Jobs Data Interpretation and Analysis Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The table below shows the number of public records requests received by four state departments over a three-year period.
| Department | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| Health Services | 500 | 550 | 650 |
| Transportation | 300 | 310 | 360 |
| Parks & Rec | 150 | 200 | 225 |
| Justice | 400 | 420 | 440 |
Based on the table, which department experienced the largest PERCENTAGE increase in requests between Year 1 and Year 3?
- Transportation
- Health Services
- Parks & Rec (Correct answer)
- Justice
Correct answer: Parks & Rec
To find the percentage increase, use the formula: ((Year 3 Value - Year 1 Value) / Year 1 Value) * 100.
- Health Services: ((650 - 500) / 500) * 100 = 30%
- Transportation: ((360 - 300) / 300) * 100 = 20%
- Parks & Rec: ((225 - 150) / 150) * 100 = 50%
- Justice: ((440 - 400) / 400) * 100 = 10%
The largest percentage increase was in the Parks & Rec department.
Question 2: A state agency's IT department tracked the sources of help desk tickets for a month, as shown in the pie chart below. The total number of tickets was 800.
(Image of a pie chart with the following distribution: Email: 55%, Phone Call: 25%, Walk-in: 15%, Other: 5%)
How many more tickets were submitted via Email than by Phone Call and Walk-in combined?
- 80 tickets (Correct answer)
- 120 tickets
- 240 tickets
- 320 tickets
Correct answer: 80 tickets
First, calculate the number of tickets for each category. Email tickets: 55% of 800 = 0.55 * 800 = 440. Phone Call tickets: 25% of 800 = 0.25 * 800 = 200. Walk-in tickets: 15% of 800 = 0.15 * 800 = 120. Next, find the combined total of Phone and Walk-in tickets: 200 + 120 = 320. Finally, find the difference between Email tickets and the combined total: 440 - 320 = 120. A faster way is to use percentages: 55% (Email) - (25% + 15%) (Phone + Walk-in) = 55% - 40% = 15%. Then, 15% of 800 = 0.15 * 800 = 120.
Question 3: The line graph below shows the number of applications processed by a state agency each month over a six-month period.
(Image of a line graph with points: Jan: 400, Feb: 450, Mar: 425, Apr: 550, May: 575, Jun: 500)
During which one-month period did the number of applications show the greatest absolute increase?
- January to February
- March to April (Correct answer)
- April to May
- May to June
Correct answer: March to April
To find the absolute increase, calculate the difference between consecutive months:
- Jan to Feb: 450 - 400 = 50
- Feb to Mar: 425 - 450 = -25 (a decrease)
- Mar to Apr: 550 - 425 = 125
- Apr to May: 575 - 550 = 25
- May to Jun: 500 - 575 = -75 (a decrease)
The greatest absolute increase was 125 applications, which occurred from March to April.
Question 4: A manager must schedule a mandatory training for 180 employees. Option A involves using an in-house trainer who can teach 20 employees per session, with each session costing the department $250. Option B is to hire an external vendor who charges a flat fee of $2,000 to train all 180 employees in a single day. Based solely on cost, which of the following is the most accurate conclusion?
- Option B is more expensive than Option A.
- Both options have the same cost.
- The cost cannot be determined from the information given.
- Option A is more expensive than Option B. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Option A is more expensive than Option B.
First, calculate the total cost for Option A. The number of sessions needed is 180 employees / 20 employees per session = 9 sessions. The total cost for Option A is 9 sessions * $250 per session = $2,250. Option B has a flat cost of $2,000. Comparing the two, Option A ($2,250) is more expensive than Option B ($2,000).
Question 5: A quarterly performance report for a state agency includes the following statement: 'The division's goal was to reduce average call response time to under 120 seconds. This quarter, 8,000 calls were received. 75% of these calls were answered in under 120 seconds, and the average response time for all calls was 124 seconds.' Based on this data, which statement is correct?
- The division met its goal because a high percentage of calls were answered on time.
- It is impossible to determine if the goal was met.
- The division failed to meet its stated goal. (Correct answer)
- The division exceeded its stated goal.
Correct answer: The division failed to meet its stated goal.
The stated goal was to reduce the 'average call response time to under 120 seconds'. The report explicitly states that the 'average response time for all calls was 124 seconds'. Since 124 seconds is not under 120 seconds, the division failed to meet its goal. The percentage of calls answered within the timeframe is a different metric and does not determine success for this specific goal.
Question 6: The bar chart below displays the number of vehicles that used a state-operated toll bridge during one week, broken down by vehicle type.
(Image of a bar chart: Cars = 3,500, Trucks = 1,000, Motorcycles = 500)
Which of the following statements is best supported by the data in the chart?
- The number of cars using the bridge was exactly three times the number of trucks.
- Motorcycles represented more than 15% of the total weekly traffic.
- The total number of vehicles that used the bridge was less than 5,000.
- The combined number of trucks and motorcycles was less than half the number of cars. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The combined number of trucks and motorcycles was less than half the number of cars.
First, find the total number of vehicles: 3,500 (Cars) + 1,000 (Trucks) + 500 (Motorcycles) = 5,000 total vehicles.
Let's evaluate each option:
A) 3 * 1,000 (Trucks) = 3,000. The number of cars is 3,500, which is not exactly three times. This is false.
B) The percentage of motorcycles is (500 / 5,000) * 100 = 10%. 10% is not more than 15%. This is false.
C) The total number of vehicles is exactly 5,000, not less than 5,000. This is false.
D) The combined number of trucks and motorcycles is 1,000 + 500 = 1,500. Half the number of cars is 3,500 / 2 = 1,750. Since 1,500 is less than 1,750, this statement is true.
