Data Interpretation for CAT 2022: Concepts, Topics to Study | Download Sample Questions PDF

What is Data Interpretation for CAT?

As per the previous year’s CAT Analysis, the DI section in CAT Exam tests the candidates’ capability of solving logic-based questions and interpreting data sets. Data Interpretation for CAT consists of tables and charts, and the candidates have to analyze the data as per the questions. The DI section is expected to be a tough section among all three sections.

Data Interpretation for CAT is one of the most dreaded sections. So, the candidates who are appearing in the upcoming exam must do a planned CAT DILR Preparation to ace this section with a good score. Note the section below to get expert-recommended tips and strategies on How to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT and other related details.

Topics to Cover in CAT Data Interpretation 2022

There is no official Syllabus for CAT declared by the authorities for the CAT exam. However, seeing the previous years’ trend, we have listed below some topics that you must study to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT 2022.

Data Interpretation for CAT – Important Topics
Tables	Line Chart
Venn Diagram	Pie Chart
Scatter Plot	Radar Chart
Column Graph	Bar Graph
Routes and Network Radar Chart	Bubble Chart
Data Caselets – Reasoning-Based DI

Data Interpretation Questions for CAT PDF

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☛ Download CAT Data Interpretation Questions PDF

Sample Questions for Data Interpretation for CAT

Question 1: Six friends, A through F, bought shares of six companies, P to U on a particular day, say Day 1. Each friend bought shares of at least one of these companies and no friend had any share of any company before that day. On the very next day, say Day 2, all of them sold all the shares that they had bought on Day 1. Shares are always bought or sold on their respective market values. The market values (in ₹) of 1 share of each of the companies, P through U, in that order, were 1200, 1400, 1000, 1500, 1300, and 900 on Day 1. On Day 2, the market values (in ₹) of 1 share of each of the companies were 900, 1500, 1300, 1000, 1200, and 1400 respectively. Further, it was also known that:

(i) No friend paid any additional charge (brokerage, etc.) in buying or selling shares.

(ii) Each friend bought a different number of shares, and no one of them bought more than 6 shares.

(iii) No two friends bought shares in the same company.

(iv) All the questions below about the transactions and the period mentioned above.

1. a) If the six friends together suffered a loss of ₹ 3500 then how many shares of company R were bought by any of the friends?

• A) 3
• B) 4
• C) 2
• D) 6

1. b) Which of the following outcomes is not possible for the six friends?

1. They together suffered a loss of Rs 700
2. They together gained a profit of Rs 900
3. They together gained a profit of Rs 3500
4. They together neither suffered any loss nor gained any profit

1. c) If D earned a profit of ₹ 1500 and B suffered a loss ₹900 then which of the following can be true?

1. A suffered a loss of Rs 300
2. C earned a profit of Rs 2500
3. F suffered a loss of Rs 1800
4. None of the above

Solutions:

a)

From the given point (ii) we can find out the maximum profit/loss by all the friends together. For maximum profit, we can assign a maximum no. of shares to the company giving maximum return, and likewise, we can assign the shares to every company.

For maximum loss, we can assign a maximum no. of shares to the company giving minimum return, and likewise, we can assign the shares to every company.

–	P	Q	R	S	T	U
Day 1	1200	1400	1000	1500	1300	900
Day 2	900	1500	1300	1000	1200	1400
Profit/Loss on One Share	-300	100	300	-500	-100	500
No. of Shares for Maximum Profit	2	4	5	1	3	6
No of shares for Maximum Loss	5	3	2	6	4	1

Maximum Profit: (-300*2) + (100*4) + (300*5) + (-500*1) + (-100*3) + (500*6) = 3500

Maximum Loss: (-300*5) + (100*3) + (300*2) + (-500*6) + (-100*4) + (500*1) = 3500

Therefore if six friends together face a loss of 3500 then the number of shares of company R bought by any of the friends is 2.

The correct answer is option C.

1. b) From the given point (ii) we can find out the maximum profit/loss by all the friends together. For maximum profit, we can assign a maximum no. of shares to the company giving maximum return, and likewise, we can assign the shares to every company.

For maximum loss, we can assign a maximum no. of shares to the company giving minimum return, and likewise, we can assign the shares to every company.

–	P	Q	R	S	T	U
Day 1	1200	1400	1000	1500	1300	900
Day 2	900	1500	1300	1000	1200	1400
Profit/Loss on One Share	-300	100	300	-500	-100	500
No. of Shares for Maximum Profit	2	4	5	1	3	6
No of shares for Maximum Loss	5	3	2	6	4	1

Maximum Profit: (-300*2) + (100*4) + (300*5) + (-500*1) + (-100*3) + (500*6) = 3500

Maximum Loss: (-300*5) + (100*3) + (300*2) + (-500*6) + (-100*4) + (500*1) = 3500

Since condition (ii) and (iii) prohibits the purchase of the same number of shares by two persons, and there are only 3 values with both positive and negative numbers, therefore, in this case, it is not possible that six friends together neither suffer any loss nor gain any profit. We can also verify it by using the elimination method:

One of the ways in which Option 1 is possible is:

–	P	Q	R	S	T	U
Profit/Loss on One Share	-300	100	300	-500	-100	500
No. of shares Purchased	6	2	5	4	1	3

One of how Option 2 is possible is:

–	P	Q	R	S	T	U
Profit/Loss on One Share	-300	100	300	-500	-100	500
No. of shares Purchased	3	6	4	1	5	2

Option C is the maximum profit they can make together is 3500 as proved in the Common.

Hence, the correct option is D.

1. c) From the given point (ii) we can find out the maximum profit/loss by all the friends together. For maximum profit, we can assign a maximum no. of shares to the company giving maximum return, and likewise, we can assign the shares to every company.

For maximum loss, we can assign a maximum no. of shares to the company giving minimum return, and likewise, we can assign the shares to every company.

Days	P	Q	R	S	T	U
Day 1	1200	1400	1000	1500	1300	900
Day 2	900	1500	1300	1000	1200	1400
Profit/Loss on One Share	-300	100	300	-500	-100	500
No. of Shares for Maximum Profit	2	4	5	1	3	6
No of shares for Maximum Loss	5	3	2	6	4	1

Maximum Profit: (-300*2) + (100*4) + (300*5) + (-500*1) + (-100*3) + (500*6) = 3500

Maximum Loss: (-300*5) + (100*3) + (300*2) + (-500*6) + (-100*4) + (500*1) = 3500

Days	P	Q	R	S	T	U
Day 1	1200	1400	1000	1500	1300	900
Day 2	900	1500	1300	1000	1200	1400
Profit/Loss on One Share	-300	100	300	-500	-100	500

In the above-generated table B can suffer a loss of Rs.900 only when he purchases 3 shares of company P. On the other hand, D can only earn a profit of Rs.1500 when it either purchases 3 shares of company U or 5 shares of company R. Since, 3 shares have already been purchased by B, and according to the given condition (ii) we can say that D purchased 5 shares of company R.

On the basis of the elimination method,

• Option 1 is not possible as one can suffer a loss of Rs.300 only when it buys 3 shares of company T but according to condition (ii), it is not possible.
• Option 2 is not possible as one can earn a profit of Rs.2500 only when it buys 5 shares of company U but according to condition (ii), it is not possible.
• Option 3 is not possible as one can suffer a loss of Rs.1800 only when it buys 6 shares of company P but according to condition (iii), it is not possible.

Therefore, option None of the above is correct.

Answer: The correct answer is option D.

Question 2: These questions are based on the data given below.

In a recently held test series consisting of three matches-I, II, and III, five players- Sehwag, Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, and Laxman are the top five scoring batsmen, not necessarily in the same order.

(i) No two players scored the same number of runs in any match

(ii) Sehwag scored more runs than Ganguly in the 1st and 2nd matches.

(iii) The player who scored the highest runs in the 3rd match scored the least runs in the 1st match.

(iv) Dravid scored more runs than Laxman but fewer runs than Tendulkar in the 2nd Match. Tendulkar scored more runs than Laxman in the 1st match. Laxman scored more runs than Ganguly but less than Dravid in the 3rd match.

(v) Tendulkar scored the lowest runs in one match and his rank continuously declined from the first match to the third match. He was not the top scorer in any of the three matches.

1. a) Among the given five players, who scored the least number of runs in the 2nd match?

1. Sehwag
2. Ganguly
3. Laxman
4. Cannot be determined

1. b) Who is the second-highest scorer in the 1st match?

1. Sehwag
2. Laxman
3. David
4. None Of These

Solution:

1. a) Let us make a table as per the data given in the question:

Rank 1	1	2	3	4	5
I	Sh	ST	G/L	L/G	D
II	Sh	G	ST	D	L
III	D	ST

Sh: Sehwag; G: Ganguly; ST; Sachi Tendulkar; L: Laxman; D: Dravid

From the table, we are clear that Laxman scored the least number of runs in the 2nd match.

1. b) Let us make a table as per the data given in the question:

Rank 1	1	2	3	4	5
I	Sh	ST	L/G	G/L	D
II	Sh	G	ST	D	L
III	D	S	ST

Sh: Sehwag; G: Ganguly; ST; Sachi Tendulkar; L: Laxman; D: Dravid

From the table, we can say that Tendulkar is the second-highest scorer in the 1st match

Best Books to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT

There is an uncountable number of books available in the market (online and offline) for CAT Preparation. However, only a few of them are good and written by famous authors. For your reference, we have listed below some books for reference which will help you to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT 2022:

• How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
• Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency by Sandeep Bajaj & Ananta Ashish

☛ Visit Best Books for CA for more details on which books to refer to for the DI section.

How to Approach to Solve CAT Data Interpretation?

The candidates must be very flexible and straightforward in solving Data Interpretation for CAT. Read all the sets first and try to understand the structure of the questions, and select the right sets by the below-mentioned approaches.

Selection Sequence in Data Interpretation for CAT

Always yry to attempt the questions as per your competence level. Don’t hold the most difficult section for the last because it will create pressure on your mind at the last moment. Solve the easy section first and then follow up with the difficult section in Data Interpretation for CAT.

Reasoning for Data Interpretation for CAT

Never guess the answers. Always try to find the rationale behind the DI for CAT. As per the expert opinion, never try all the questions. Data Interpretation for CAT is attempted last by most of the candidates. Do not take a chance, and do not think that the solution will be obvious while trying the set.

How to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT 2022?

The questions from the CAT Data Interpretation focus on a student’s ability to derive conclusions from a given set of data. To better grip on these questions, the candidates can follow the tips below to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT 2022.

• Mental calculation is very important. So, candidates should focus on increasing their mental calculation speed to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT. Tables of at least up to 20 and basic calculations will give the confidence to solve CAT Data Interpretation questions.
• Candidates should start solving puzzles or Sudoku from mock question papers, study materials, and online websites to Prepare Data Interpretation for CAT.
• By solving questions from rankings, arrangements, and matrices, students should increase their accuracy level.
• It is beneficial to practice BYJU’S Exam Prep CAT Online Test Series for conceptual clarity and to improve accuracy and time management.
• In the DILR section, do not rush and try to solve all the questions. Candidates should try to attempt a maximum number of questions but be focused on 100% accuracy.
• In the last week before the exam, the candidates should avoid learning any new topic.

How to Improve Accuracy in Data Interpretation for CAT?

To improve accuracy in the CAT Data Interpretation, you must follow the tips given below:

• You must practice lots and lots of questions so that you get habituated to them and find out a shorter way to solve questions.
• Time management is another such factor you need to keep in mind. Choosing the questions wisely will help you improve your score in the Data Interpretation for CAT 2022.

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