Mettl Data Interpretation 6 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A company's quarterly revenue (in $ thousands) was: Q1 = 240, Q2 = 300, Q3 = 270, Q4 = 390. What was the percentage increase in revenue from Q1 to Q4?
- 50%
- 62.5% (Correct answer)
- 37.5%
- 150%
Correct answer: 62.5%
(390 - 240) / 240 = 150 / 240 = 0.625, or 62.5%.
Percentage increase is calculated as (new value - old value) divided by the old value. The increase is 390 - 240 = 150. Dividing 150 by the Q1 figure of 240 gives 0.625, which is 62.5%. A common mistake is dividing by the final value, which would give about 38.5%.
Question 2: A bar chart shows employee headcount by department: Sales 120, Engineering 180, Support 60, HR 40. What percentage of total employees works in Engineering?
- 36%
- 40%
- 45% (Correct answer)
- 50%
Correct answer: 45%
Total = 400; Engineering share = 180 / 400 = 45%.
First find the total headcount: 120 + 180 + 60 + 40 = 400. Engineering has 180 employees, so its share is 180 / 400 = 0.45, or 45%. Chart-based questions in Mettl typically require you to compute the total before finding a proportion.
Question 3: A table lists monthly sales for two products. Product A: Jan 50, Feb 70, Mar 90. Product B: Jan 80, Feb 60, Mar 70. What is the average monthly sales of both products combined over the three months?
- 70
- 210
- 420
- 140 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 140
Combined total = 210 + 210 = 420; divided by 3 months = 140 per month.
Product A totals 50 + 70 + 90 = 210 and Product B totals 80 + 60 + 70 = 210, giving a combined total of 420 across three months. The average monthly combined sales is 420 / 3 = 140. 70 is the average per product per month, and 420 is the total rather than the average.
Question 4: A pie chart shows a marketing budget of $80,000 split as: Digital 45%, Events 25%, Print 20%, Other 10%. How much more is spent on Digital than on Print?
- $20,000 (Correct answer)
- $16,000
- $25,000
- $36,000
Correct answer: $20,000
Digital = $36,000, Print = $16,000; difference = $20,000.
Digital receives 45% of $80,000, which is $36,000. Print receives 20% of $80,000, which is $16,000. The difference is $36,000 - $16,000 = $20,000. Alternatively, the difference in percentages is 25%, and 25% of $80,000 is $20,000.
Question 5: A line graph shows a website's monthly visitors: Jan 20,000; Feb 25,000; Mar 22,500; Apr 27,000. In which month was the percentage change from the previous month the largest in magnitude?
- March
- April
- February and April are equal
- February (Correct answer)
Correct answer: February
Feb: +25%; Mar: -10%; Apr: +20%. February has the largest change.
February's change is (25,000 - 20,000) / 20,000 = +25%. March's change is (22,500 - 25,000) / 25,000 = -10%. April's change is (27,000 - 22,500) / 22,500 = +20%. The largest magnitude is February's 25%. Note that April's absolute increase (4,500) is close to February's (5,000), but the percentage base is larger in April.
Question 6: A table shows the number of support tickets and the number resolved within 24 hours per team. Team X: 400 tickets, 340 resolved. Team Y: 250 tickets, 225 resolved. Team Z: 600 tickets, 480 resolved. Which team has the highest 24-hour resolution rate?
- Team X
- Team Y (Correct answer)
- Team Z
- All teams are equal
Correct answer: Team Y
X = 85%, Y = 90%, Z = 80%; Team Y is highest.
Team X resolved 340 / 400 = 85%. Team Y resolved 225 / 250 = 90%. Team Z resolved 480 / 600 = 80%. Even though Team Z resolved the most tickets in absolute terms, Team Y has the highest rate. Data interpretation questions often test whether you distinguish between absolute numbers and ratios.
Mettl Data Interpretation 6
A company's quarterly revenue (in $ thousands) was: Q1 = 240, Q2 = 300, Q3 = 270, Q4 = 390.
What was the percentage increase in revenue from Q1 to Q4?