UCAT Numerical Data Interpretation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A line graph shows patient satisfaction scores increasing from 68% in January to 82% in June. What is the percentage point increase?
- 12 pp
- 14 pp (Correct answer)
- 16 pp
- 18 pp
Correct answer: 14 pp
82% − 68% = 14 percentage points increase over the period.
Question 2: A table shows drug adverse-event rates: Drug X = 8 per 1,000 patients, Drug Y = 12 per 1,000 patients. What is the ratio of Drug X's rate to Drug Y's rate in simplest form?
- 1:2
- 2:3 (Correct answer)
- 3:4
- 4:5
Correct answer: 2:3
8:12 simplifies to 2:3 by dividing both values by 4.
Question 3: A hospital's length of stay data shows: mean = 5.2 days, median = 4.0 days. What does the difference between mean and median suggest about the data?
- The data is symmetrically distributed
- The data is skewed by some very long stays (Correct answer)
- The data has no variation
- The mean is unreliable
Correct answer: The data is skewed by some very long stays
A mean much higher than the median indicates positive skew, suggesting a few patients with very long stays are pulling the mean up.
Question 4: A scatter plot shows a strong positive correlation between handwashing compliance (%) and patient-acquired infection rates. Which interpretation is correct?
- Higher compliance is associated with fewer infections
- Higher compliance is associated with more infections (Correct answer)
- There is no relationship between compliance and infection rates
- Compliance causes lower infection rates
Correct answer: Higher compliance is associated with more infections
A strong positive correlation means higher compliance is associated with higher infection rates — the question states a positive correlation, so both variables move in the same direction.
Question 5: Clinical trial data shows that a new drug reduced systolic blood pressure by an average of 12 mmHg with a 95% confidence interval of 10–14 mmHg. What does the confidence interval indicate?
- The true effect is definitely between 10 and 14 mmHg
- We are 95% confident the true population effect lies between 10 and 14 mmHg (Correct answer)
- The drug works in 95% of patients
- Only 5% of patients had a reduction outside this range
Correct answer: We are 95% confident the true population effect lies between 10 and 14 mmHg
A 95% confidence interval means that if the study were repeated many times, 95% of such intervals would contain the true population effect.
Question 6: A table shows 4 hospitals' readmission rates. Hospital A: 9%, B: 11%, C: 8%, D: 14%. What is the range of readmission rates?
- 5 pp
- 6 pp (Correct answer)
- 7 pp
- 8 pp
Correct answer: 6 pp
Range = highest − lowest = 14% − 8% = 6 percentage points.
UCAT Numerical Data Interpretation 2
A line graph shows patient satisfaction scores increasing from 68% in January to 82% in June.
What is the percentage point increase?