Analytical Reasoning & Data Interpretation Flashcards

A company's revenue increased from $2.4 million to $3.0 million over one year. What was the percentage increase?

Answer: 25%

The increase is $0.6 million. Percentage increase = (0.6 / 2.4) × 100 = 25%. Always divide the change by the original value, not the new value.

If a bar graph shows quarterly sales of 150, 200, 175, and 225 units, what is the average quarterly sales?

Answer: 187.5 units

Average = (150 + 200 + 175 + 225) / 4 = 750 / 4 = 187.5 units. The mean is calculated by summing all values and dividing by the number of data points.

In a pie chart, a sector representing 'Marketing' occupies 72 degrees. What percentage of the total budget does Marketing represent?

Answer: 20%

A full circle is 360 degrees. The percentage is (72 / 360) × 100 = 20%. Each degree of the pie chart represents approximately 0.278% of the total.

A table shows that Department A has 45 employees and Department B has 30 employees. What is the ratio of Department A to Department B staff?

Answer: 3:2

The ratio 45:30 simplifies to 3:2 by dividing both numbers by their greatest common divisor (15). Ratios should always be expressed in their simplest form.

If a trend line on a graph shows a negative slope, what does this indicate about the data?

Answer: The dependent variable decreases as the independent variable increases

A negative slope indicates an inverse relationship: as one variable increases, the other decreases. This is also called a negative correlation in statistical terms.

A data set contains the values: 12, 15, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25. What is the median?

Answer: 18

The median is the middle value in an ordered data set. With 7 values, the median is the 4th value: 18. The median is not affected by extreme values, unlike the mean.