Data Interpretation Made Easy

Ask an MBA aspirant about the types of questions the Data Interpretation (DI) section of
CAT contains and most will answer correctly that it contains raphs and tables! Ask them
a follow"up to this question# $i%! &'hat kinds of skills are tested by this section() Most
students will now flounder! *ome will say that it tests your ability to read raphs# while
others will opine that it e$aluates your capability to make quick calculations! Their
answers often lack an incisi$e understandin of the real purpose of this section!
+ikewise# ask students how ood they are in the DI section! Most will reply that it is an
easy section (compared to the dreaded ,roblem *ol$in section or the -erbal Ability and
.eadin Comprehension for some) but it takes time to do calculations! This kind of
answer indicates the faulty approach most students often take while dealin with this
section!
+istenin to feedback from students about their performance in this section soon after
CAT# pro/ects a new dimension! Most students will claim that they ha$e done fairly well
while the reality may be otherwise! They et a shock when they come to know about the
actual answers and blame their bad luck for their appallin performance!
*uch questions and answers i$e a clear indication that most students ha$e not#
unfortunately# understood the purpose of this section and the approaches to de$elop
proficiency in this section! 'ithout such an understandin# attemptin DI problems is like
embarkin on a /ourney without knowin your destination and the means of transport!
This 0"series article aims to e1plain the purpose of DI questions and pro$ide a structured
approach to speed"buildin!
Unraveling the Purpose of Data Interpretation
Data Interpretation section $irtually puts a student in the shoes of a Business Manaer#
who is inundated with useful (and not so infrequently with useless) data and has to make
some quick interpretation of the data to reach important decisions! 2nce presented with
raphs or tables# the mental processor of a manaer starts whirrin at the top ear and
selects# prunes# manipulates# and compares the data and reaches certain conclusions!
*uccessful operations of these processes require that a manaer possesses qualities like3
o An eye for detail#
o An ability to focus on key issues quickly#
o An ability to work on numbers in different ways#
o An ability to see a trend#
o An ability to identify e1ceptional situations#
o An ability to work with loical relationships and
o An ability to reach a conclusion usin deducti$e loic!
+et us see how some of these qualities are tested usin a set of questions picked up from
CAT 0445!
Question 1 to 3
There are si1 companies# 5 throuh 6! All of these companies use si1 operations# A
throuh 7! The followin raph shows the distribution of efforts put in by each company
in these operations!
85! *uppose effort allocation is interchaned between operations B and C# then C and D#
and then D and 9 and if companies are then ranked in ascendin order of effort in 9# what
will be the rank of company :(
5! 0 0! : :! ; ;! <
80! A new technoloy is introduced in company ; such that the total effort for operations
B throuh 7 ets e$enly distributed amon these! 'hat is the chane in the percentae of
effort in operation 9(
5! .eduction of 50!: 0! Increase of 50!:
:! .eduction of <!6 ;! Increase of <!6
8:! *uppose the companies find that they can remo$e operations B# C and D and re"
distribute the effort released equally amon the remainin operations! Then# which
operation will show the ma1imum effort across all companies and all operations(
5! 2peration 9 in company 5 0! 2peration 9 in company ;
:! 2peration 7 in company < ;! 2peration 9 in company <
Answer to Question 1
After the first interchane# efforts of operation C become equal to that of the operation B
and $ice $ersa! In the subsequent interchane between C and D# the efforts of C# which in
the question were of B# were allocated to D! In the last inter"chane# efforts of 9 became
equal to that of the D! Thus in effect# the efforts of operation 9 after : inter"chanes are
equal to that of the operation B before the start of inter"chanes! In effect# the question
requires rankin of Company : if efforts in operation B are arraned in an ascendin
order! The answer to the question is :! The question is thus testin loical reasonin! The
fact that a raphical representation has been used to test this skill is almost like a cle$er
decoy placed by the e1aminer! *uccessful CAT takers learn the knack of quickly
identifyin the root of the problem# rather than ettin cauht up in unnecessary details!
Answer to Question 2
*ince operation 9 has the hihest allocation# redistribution of efforts equally amon
operations B to 7 will reduce the allocation of operation 9! =ence# answer choices 0 and
; are eliminated! >ow# suppose the correct answer is ?reduction of <!6@# then allocation to
9 as well as to operations B# C# D and 7 would be 0:A each! This is not feasible! =ence
the correct answer is ?reduction of 50!:@! An alternati$e approach could ha$e been that
allocation to operation A is 5B!<! Therefore# allocation to all other efforts is B5!< (544C
5B!<)! Di$idin this equally amon < operations allocates 56!: to each acti$ity! =ence the
reduction is 50!: (0B!6"56!:)! The question therefore requires not /ust loical reasonin
but also the ability to work on numbers in different ways!
Answer to Question 3
This question can also be handled with equal ease! Compare operation 9 with operation 7
in company <! The effort allocation is hiher for operation 9 than for 7# and will remain
so after redistribution of efforts of operation B# C and D equally amon the remainin
operations! Choice : is therefore eliminated! +et@s now compare the answer choices 0 and
;! In both cases# operation 9 requires 0B!6A effort! By $isual inspection# we can see that
the combined efforts of operations B# C and D in company < are hiher than that of in
company ;! It implies that allocation will be more in company < than in the company ;
and thus choice 0 is also eliminated! Between operation 9 of company 5 and operation 9
of company <# the latter has about <A more allocation before redistribution! If the choice
5 is to be the correct answer# the cumulati$e allocation of B# C and D for company 5
should e1ceed that of company < by 5<A! *ince that is not so (once aain by $isual
comparison of allocations)# the correct answer is operation 9 in company <! Dear CAT
aspirant# which of the qualities listed abo$e are thus tested here(
It must be e$ident to you now how certain qualities are tested in DI! The ood news is
that these are innate qualities in most people but the bad news is that they do not know
how to use them! 8uite unfortunately# the plethora of trainin and coachin institutes also
ha$e not understood the real reason for the DI section and inundate students with non"
essential short"cuts and techniques!
+et@s now work step by step for unleashin these qualities and honin them to de$elop
mastery on data interpretation!
peed !uilder"1# Master $atios
Most questions on DI require computation of ratios# percentaes# rate of chane# a$erae#
ma1imum# minimum# count or data sortin# of which# ratio is the most common and
challenin operation! *ome techniques for their quick estimation are presented below!
It@s important to note that most questions do not require precise calculations! 'hat is
really required is an ability to estimate appro1imate $alues quickly!
%e&hni'ue"1 Effe&tive if nu(erator ) ) deno(inator
.ound off numerator to nearest 5# 54 or 544 dependin upon the manitude of its $alue#
find quotient and compare!
91ample3 'hich ratio is reater

D
:5E

or

:
500
(

D
:5E
D
:04

and its quotient F ;6

:
500
:
504

and its quotient F ;4
=ence# the first ratio is bier!
%e&hni'ue"2 Effe&tive if nu(erator * * deno(inator
In$erse all fractions and use Technique"5! The fraction with lowest quotient is biest and
the one with hihest quotient smallest!
%e&hni'ue"3 Effe&tive if nu(erator * deno(inator
7ind the differences between the numerators of two fractions and similarly between the
denominators!
If the difference between numerators is reater than or equal to the difference between
denominators# then the fraction with hiher $alue of numerator is bier!
91ample3 Compare

5E
50

with

0E
0:
!
=ere the difference between the numerators of both fractions is 55 and between the
denominators is 54! =ence

0E
0:

is the hiher of the two numbers!
*imilarly# between

;D
0E

and

6<
;D
#

the latter is bier because differences between

numerators and denominators are 5B each!
%e&hni'ue"+ ignifi&ant differen&e ,etween the nu(erator and deno(inator
values of two fra&tions
Multiply numerator and denominator of fraction with small $alues with an appropriate
number and then compare
91ample3 Compare

5B5
55D

with

5E
50
!
Multiply numerator and denominator of the second fraction by 54! After multiplication#
ators deno between Difference
numerators between Difference
min G G
G G
F

E
:
#

which is less than the first fraction# hence the
second
fraction is smaller!
The abo$e"mentioned techniques can also be applied to percentaes because a percent is
a fraction multiplied with 544!
peed !uilder "2# %hin- (art
*ome smart thinkin can make sol$in DI problems $ery simple for the students takin
the CAT! In my teachin at Career ,lan# this is what I stress upon the most! I feel it is
important to eliminate some myths about how to prepare oneself for this section! The best
way to illustrate this approach is throuh an e1ample taken from CAT 0440!
Question + and .
Answer the questions based on the pie charts i$en below3
Chart"5 shows the distribution by $alue of top 6 suppliers of M7A Te1tiles in 5EE<!
Chart"0 shows the distribution by quantity of top 6 suppliers of M7A te1tiles in 5EE<! The
total $alue is <D64 million 9uros (the 9uropean currency)! The total quantity is 5!4<<
million tonnes!
8;! The country# which has the hihest a$erae price# is
5! H*A0! *wit%erland :! Turkey ;! India
8<! The a$erae price in 9uroI k for Turkey is rouhly
5! 6!04 0! <!64 :! ;!04 ;! ;!B4
Answer to Question +
Con$entional approach to sol$in the problem is to compute the a$erae prices of all ;
countries and compare the $alues!
H*A F

54<< 5< ! 4
<D64 5D ! 4
x
x
Pakistan, 12%
China, 15%
Turkey, 16%
USA, 17%
Switzerland,
20%
India, 20%
Pakistan, 16%
China, 17%
Turkey, 15%
USA, 15%
Switzerland,
11%
India, 26%
*wit%erland F

54<< 55 ! 4
<D64 04 ! 4
x
x
Turkey F
54<< 5< ! 4
<D64 56 ! 4
x
x
India F

54<< 06 ! 4
<D64 04 ! 4
x
x
Jou would note that all $alues contain a factor of
54<<
<D64
! This factor can be inored
because you are required to identify the country ha$in the hihest a$erae $alue# not the
a$erae $alue itself! =ence# you ha$e to /ust compare

5<
5D
#

55
04
#
5<
56

and

06
04
!
2b$iously#

*wit%erland ets the hihest a$erae price! *mart thinkers can easily sol$e
this problem by obser$ation without writin e$en a sinle number on paper!
Answer to Question .
This question can also be answered by some quick mental calculations! The o$erall
a$erae price for all countries is about <!< (
54<<
<D64
54<
<D4
)!

7or Turkey# share of $alue to

share of quantity is

5<
56
#

which is slihtly more than 5! A$erae price for Turkey should
be a multiplication of these two ratios! =ence# the answer will be rouhly <!64!
Clearly# the e1aminer is not testin how quick you are with a series of calculations# but
wants to find out those who use a combination of common sense and smart thinkin to
quickly and efficiently arri$e at the final answer! This is their way of findin future
manaers and leaders# who will always need to take the riht decisions under se$ere time
and resource constraints!
Question / to 0 1our&e# 2A% 233+4
The profitability of a company is defined as the ratio of its operatin profit to its
operatin income# typically e1pressed in percentae! The followin two charts show the
operatin income as well as the profitability of si1 companies in the financial years
(7!J!s) 0445"40 and 0440"4:!
86! 'hich company recorded the hihest operatin profit in 7!J! 0440"4:(
5! A 0! C :! 9 ;! 7
8D! The a$erae operatin profit in 7!J! 0440"4:# of companies with profitability
e1ceedin 54A in 7!J! 0440"4:# is appro1imately3
5! 5D!< crore 0! 0< crore :! 0D!< crore ;! :0!< crore
Answer to Question /
,rofit is operatin income 1 profitability! Comparin company A with company 7# both
income and profitability of 7 are hiher# hence Choice (5) is eliminated! Compare
company 7 with company 9# income of 9 is slihtly lower but its profitability is almost
twice! Choice (;) is therefore eliminated! Comparison between C and 9 requires a closer
call! Income of 9 is only marinally lower than C# but its profitability is distincti$ely
hiher (,rofitability of C

5<A and of 9

5DA# hence A difference F

544 K
5<
5< 5D
L

54A)! =ence# company 9 has the hihest income!
Answer to Question 0
Companies with profitability hiher than 54A are C and 9! C@s profits are 044 M 5<A

.s! :4 cr! The profit of 9 is hiher than that of C! =ence a$erae should be more than
.s! :4cr! Therefore the correct answer is (;)!
'hat are some of the key lessons from these e1amples( =ow can this learnin be used to
build up your speed( 8uite ob$iously# what is required is an ability to look at problems
from different anles and an ability to simplify a seeminly difficult question! If you can
de$elop these abilities# you performance will impro$e dramatically in DI! This ability is
what we at Career ,lan call &Think 'ithout Ink) or T'I! The tools and principles of
T'I are also a$ailable in the form of a book authored by Mr! N! -enkataraman# 7ounder
of the T'I 7oundation and a Director at Career ,lan! I would stronly recommend this
book to those students who ha$e a mortal fear of numbers and a still want to do well in
e1ams like the CATO
peed !uilder 3# 5ogi&al $easoning
CAT questions increasinly require loical reasonin rather than the ability to perform
some quick calculations and intense number crunchin! -ery often# the questions require
students to understand the implications of the conditions imposed# obser$e the
relationships between data# and use deducti$e loic! Two e1amples taken from recent
CATs are presented here for illustration!
Question 6 to 13 1our&e# 2A% 23334
The table below pro$ides certain demoraphic details of :4 respondents who were part of
a sur$ey! The demoraphy characteristics are3 ender# number of children# and ae of
respondents! The first number is each cell is the number of respondents in that roup! The
minimum and ma1imum ae of respondents in each roup is i$en in brackets! 7or
e1ample# there are < female respondents with no children and amon these fi$e# the
younest is :; years old# while the oldest is ;E!
8B! The percentae of respondents aed less than ;4 years is at least!
5! 54A 0! 56!6DA :! 04!4A ;! :4A
No of
Children Male Female Total
0 1 !", !"# 5 !$, $%# 6
1 1 !2, !2# " !5, 57# %
2 " 21, 65# ! !7, 6!# 11
! 2 !2, !!# 2 27, $0# $
T&tal 12 1" !0
8E! Pi$en the information abo$e# the percentae of respondents older than :< can be at
most!
5! :4A 0! D:!::A :! D6!6DA ;! E4A
854! The percentae of respondents that fall into the :< to ;4 years ae roup (both
inclusi$e) is at least
5! 6!6DA 0! 54A :! 5:!::A ;! 06!6DA
Answer to Question 6
The condition &number of respondents aed less than ;4 years is at least) can be
interpreted as3
If minimum and ma1imum ae in a roup Q;4# then all respondents in the roup
meet the condition
If minimum ae Q;4 and ma1imum L;4# then at least 5 respondent meets the
condition
If both minimum and ma1imum aes L;4# then no respondent meets the condition
Therefore# number of respondents meetin the abo$e criteria is E as shown in the Table
below! =ence :4A is the correct answer!
Answer to Question 7
The condition &ma1imum number of respondents older than :<) can be interpreted as3
If minimum and ma1imum ae QF :<# then no respondent meets the condition
If minimum QF :< and ma1imum L :<# then one less than the number of
respondents in the roup meet the condition
If minimum and ma1imum L :< then# all respondents meet the condition
Therefore# correct answer is D6!6DA!
Answer to Question 13
The condition &minimum number of respondents that fall into the :< to ;4 years ae
roup (both inclusi$e)) can be interpreted as3
>o! of
children
Male 7emale
Total F E
4 5 5
5 5 5
0 5 5
: 0 5
>o! of
children
Male 7emale
4 5 ;
5 4 D
0 D :
: 4 5 Total F 0:
If both minimum and ma1imum aes are Q :< or L ;4 then no respondent meets
the condition
If both minimum and ma1imum aes are :< to ;4 then all respondents meet the
condition
If minimum Q :< and ma1imum between :< to ;4 then at least 5 respondent meets
the condition
If minimum is between :< to ;4 and ma1imum L ;4 then at least 5 respondent
meets the condition
+ets look at one more set of questions# this time from CAT 044;!
Question 11 to 12 1our&e# 2A% 233+4
In a Decathlon# the e$ents are 544m# ;44m# 544m hurdles# 5<44m# =ih /ump# ,ole"
$ault# +on /ump# Discus# *hot put and Ra$elin! The performance in the first four of these
e$ents is consolidated into *core"5# the ne1t three into *core"0# and the last three into
*core":! 9ach such consolidation is obtained by i$in appropriate positi$e weihts to
indi$idual e$ents! The final score is simply the total of these three scores! The athletes
with the hihest# second hihest and the third hihest final scores recei$e the old# sil$er
and bron%e medals# respecti$ely! The table below i$es the scores and performances of
nineteen top athletes in this e$ent!
Name Country Final Score Score-1 Score-2 Score-3 100m High jump ole-!ault
'duard (a)alainen *+S ""02 $%1 5!22 2%"% 10,7$ 2,0" $,"
-i.hael S)ith CA/ ""55 17$ 527$ !$07 11,2! 1,%7 $,%
T&)as 01&rak C2' "7%6 $%% 516% !12" 10,6! 1,%1 $,7
Uwe 3rei)uth 004 "7%% $$1 5$%1 !12$ 11,06 1,%7 $,"
T&rsten 5&ss 004 """0 521 52!$ 2"6" 10,6% 2,10 5,1
'rki /&&l 'ST "76" $0" 555! 2"0" 10,71 1,%% 5,$
Christian Plaziat 34A "775 56! 5$!0 27"1 10,72 2,10 5,0
6ur7en (in7sen 348 "7%2 $51 522! !0!! 10,%5 2,00 $,%
Sie79ried :entz 348 ""56 $70 5250 !1!7 10,"5 2,05 $,"
8uid& ;rats.h)er 348 ""61 575 5!0" !06$ 10,5" 2,00 $,6
0aley Th&)<s&n 8*4 5"2 !00! 10,55 2,11 $,6
3rank *use)ann 8'4 "%05 56" 5!%2 2%$5 10,60 2,0$ $,"
Ale=andr A<ai.he1 S>5 ""0! $%2 5!70 !115 10,%2 1,%5 $,"
8ri7&ry 0e7tyar&1 S>5 ""2! !!% 51%6 !11$ 11,05 2,0" $,%
4&?ert 2)elik TC( ""!2 $%$ 5$55 2""! 10,7" 2,06 5,1
0a1e 6&hns&n USA ""11 !66 5!70 !11$ 10,7" 2,10 5,0
Ste1e 3ritz USA ""27 $27 516! !11% 10,75 2,0$ 5,0
*ru.e 6enner USA ""$6 $"! 52"0 !200 10,%$ 2,0! $,"
0an >@*rien USA ""%7 $0" 5!!1 !120 10,!6 2,0% $,"
>o! of
children
Male 7emale
4 5 4
5 4 5
0 4 5
: 4 5 Total F ;
855! 'hat is the least that Daley Thompson must et in *core"0 that ensures him bron%e
medal(
5! <:4E 0! <0E6 :! <0D5 ;! <0D4
850! At least how many competitors (e1cludin Daley Thompson) must Michael *mith
ha$e out"/umped in the lon /ump e$ent(
5! 5 0! 0 :! : ;! ;
Answer to Question 11
=ihest# second hihest and third hihest scores are BE4<# BBED and BBB4 respecti$ely!
Therefore Daley Thompson score should be /ust hiher than BBB4 to qualify him for the
Bron%e medal! The least he should et in *coreC0 is <0E6 (BBB5 C <B0 C :44:)!
Answer to Question 12
The weihtae assined to =ih /ump# ,ole $ault and +on /ump e$ents to compute
*coreC0 are not known! Therefore# if Michael *mith ot hiher score either in =ih /ump
or ,ole -ault compared to other athletes# we can not say whether he out"/umped in the
+on /ump or not! =owe$er# if his score is lower than or equal to =ih /ump and ,ole
-ault scores of some other athletes and yet he scored hiher *coreC0# we are sure that
must ha$e out /umped in +on /ump! Therefore# this question can be inferred as3
compared to how many athletes# Michael *mith has a hiher *core"0 despite lower than
or equal to score in both =ih /ump and ,ole $ault! These athletes are Torsten -oss#
Ruren =insen# Priory Detyaro$ and *te$e 7rit%! The correct answer therefore is ;!
It should be clear to you with these e1amples that the e1aminer is usin a lot of data to
disuise the true intent of the question# $i%! to determine your critical thinkin ability
under the pressure of time! Jou must spend more time de$elopin this thinkin rather
than sol$in a thousand questions in the con$entional mode of thinkin!
peed !uilder"+# Understanding the stru&ture of a 'uestion8
=a$in learnt techniques of quick computation of ratios# approaches to smart thinkin
and importance of loical reasonin# the stae in now set for de$elopin a deeper
understandin of the structure of problems! This understandin enables the student to et
to the root of the problem# assess its difficulty le$el and select the most effecti$e way of
reachin the riht answer!
A question may typically require the followin or permutations of similar tasks3
*election of data meetin specified criteria

*ome mathematical operation on selected data

*econd stae selection or operation!

The criteria may be specified usin mathematical operators like F# Q#

# L#

# not
less than# not more than# etc! Hse of loical operators like A>D# 2. S >2T is also $ery
common!
+et me illustrate the structure of a question usin a set of problems!
Question 13 to 1+ 1our&e# 2A% 23324
The followin table pro$ides data on different countries and location of their capitals#
(the data may not match the actual +atitudes# +onitudes)! Answer the followin
questions on the basis of this table!
85:! 'hat percentae of cities located within 54T 9 and ;4T 9 (54 C deree 9ast and ;4
deree 9ast) lie in the southern hemisphere(
5! 5<A 0! 04 A :! 0<A ;! :4A
85;! The ratio of number of countries whose name starts with $owels and located in the
*outhern hemisphere# to the number of countries# the name of whose capital cities starts
with a $owel in the table abo$e is3
5! :30 0! :3: :! :35 ;! ;3:
Answer to Question 13
Task"53 *elect countries usin the criteria3 (City with lonitude L 54T9) A>D
(city with lonitude Q ;4T9)

Task"03 Count (>o! of selected countries)

S"No Country Capital #atitude #ongitude

1 Ar7entina *uen&s Aires !$,!0 S 5",20 '
2 Australia Can?erra !5,15 S 1$%,0" '
! Austria 5ienna $",12 / 16,22 '
$ *ul7aria S&9ia $",$5 / 2!,20 '
5 *razil *rasilia 15,$7 S $7,55 '
6 Canada >ttawa $5,27 / 75,$2 '
7 Ca)?&dia Phn&) Penh 11,!! / 10$,55 '
" '.uad&r Auit& 0,15 S 7",!5 '
% 8hana A..ra 5,!5 / 0,6 '
10 Iran Teheran !5,$$ / 51,!0 '
11 Ireland 0u?lin 5!,20 / 6,1" '
12 +i?ya Tri<&li !2,$% / 1!,07 '
1! -alaysia ;uala +u)<ur !,% / 101,$1 '
1$ Peru +i)a 12,05 S 77,0 '
15 P&land :arsaw 52,1! / 21,0 '
16 /ew 2ealand :ellin7t&n $1,17 S 17$,$7 '
17 Saudi Ara?ia 4iyadh 2$,$1 / $6,$2 '
1" S<ain -adrid $0,25 / !,$5 :
1% Sri +anka C&l&)?& 6,56 / 7%,5" '
20 2a)?ia +usaka 15,2" S 2",16 '
Task":3 *elect a subset of the abo$e set usin criteria (suffi1 in latitude F *)

Task";3 Count (>o! of elements in the subset)

Task"<3 Compute percentae of second count with respect to first count!

Answer to Question 1+
Task"53 *elect set"5 usin criteria (7irst letter of country name F$owel) A>D
(*uffi1 in +atitude F *)

Task"03 Count"5 (>o! of selected countries)

Task":3 *elect set"0 usin criteria (first letter of capital F$owel)

Task";3 Count"0 (>o! of selected cities)

Task"<3 .atio of count"5 to count"0

2nce the question structure is understood# answerin a question becomes much easier!
Isn@t it(
Nnowin the question structure also helps in understandin the difficulty le$el of a
question! An e1aminer can make questions difficult by usin one or more of the
followin approaches3
o Hsin many conditions in definin the selection criteria!
o Hsin neati$e operators like

# not less than# not more than# etc!

o Hsin operators like ?Closest@# which require /udment!
o Hsin one or more loical operator like A>D# 2. S >2T!
o Increasin the number of mathematical operations!
o Hsin many sets of selection criteria!
*tudents must de$elop capabilities to understand the structure of questions and obser$e
how questions are made difficult! In eneral# questions requirin selection of true or false
statements are difficult because each answer choice may use a different selection
criterion! *uch questions may be skipped!
2nce the structure is understood# students must first e$aluate whether the criteria can be
simplified without chanin its meanin! 8uestion 50 described earlier is a ood e1ample
of this approach!
In the ne1t stae# student should apply the simplified criteria to the data set to make a
selection! If the criteria are made of two sub"criteria connected to each other by A>D
operator# apply that sub"criteria first# which is met by fewer elements of the data set! 2n
the other hand if the sub"criteria are connected by an 2. operator# use that sub"criteria
first which is met by more elements of the data set!
Most operations# particularly Ma1# Min# Count# etc! can be conducted simultaneously
while criteria are bein applied to select data elements! This acti$ity# of course# requires
some deree of parallel processin in students@ minds# which most students unfortunately
lack due to absence of any practice! 7ortunately# this skill can be de$eloped with some
practice under the uidance of a ood tutor!
Many readers who ha$e read this article this far may ask# ?Is it really necessary to o to
this e1tent of insiht to sol$e such questions quickly@! My answer is an unqualified
&9E:;! This is a $ery effecti$e approach# particularly for questions based on the tabular
data! In the recent years# ma/ority of the questions are based on tabulated data rather than
on raphs! If you can de$elop the mindset that allows you to sol$e these problems in less
than :4 seconds each# you can be assured of a hih percentile score in the CAT! I will
co$er some other techniques for problem sol$in in the ne1t few issues!