CAT Questions | Bar Graphs
Data Interpretation or DI is one of the dominating sections in any MBA entrance exam. It assesses a candidate with his/her ability to interpret and analyse the data which may be provided in unstructured form and derive meaning and correct information out of it. The data provided can be anything such as Income-expenditure of an organization for several years, the population growth of a country, market share of multiple companies in the same industry etc. One of the most important forms of presenting data in this section is through Bar graphs.
Exams which use contain this topic:
CAT – CAT often presents questions in the form of pie charts and graphs in DI section. Each DI caselet contains 4 questions. Therefore, it is not an option to take this topic lightly as it may make all the difference.
NMAT – The Bar graph questions in NMAT usually range from moderate to difficult level. However, the number of questions is significantly high and so should not be ignored.
XAT – Bar graph questions in XAT may or may not be caselet type question. They usually range from moderate to a high level of difficulty.
IIFT – Bar graph questions in IIFT are set based and each caselet contains 3-4 questions.
List of concepts of Bar graphs
Calculation of absolute values when given numbers or vice versa.
Percentage increase or decrease – Data will be given for 2 different time-period and then the candidate needed to calculate the percentage change.
Simple bar graph – This is the most basic concept of bar graphs. It shows the relationship between one discrete and one continuous variable. Ex: Revenue generated in a company for over 5 years.
Composite or stacked bar graph – It is a little complex representation of data related to the continuous variable and its sub-group. Ex: Manufacturing of different flavours of ice cream in a company for over 4 years.
Deviation bar graph – Candidates may be presented with profit and loss of a company in 10 years and then asked questions around it.
Bar graph with other graphs – Many times, CAT, XAT, IIFT, etc like to give questions with multiple charts while presenting data in the form of bar graph along with pie chart, line graph, table etc.
Details on This Page
Previous Year Bar Graph Questions for CAT and XAT
CAT 2019: The Ministry of Home Affairs is analysing crimes committed by foreigners in different states and union territories (UT) of India. All cases refer to the ones registered against foreigners in 2016. The number of cases – classified into three categories: IPC crimes, SLL crimes and other crimes – for nine states/UTs are shown in the figure below. These nine belong to the top ten states/UTs in terms of the total number of cases registered. The remaining state (among top ten) in West Bengal, where all the 520 cases registered were SLL crimes.
The table below shows the ranks of the ten states/UTs mentioned above among ALL states/UTs of India in terms of the number of cases registered in each of the three categories of crimes. A state/UT is given rank r for a category of crimes if there are (r― 1) states/UTs having a larger number of cases registered in that category of crimes. For example, if two states have the same number of cases in a category, and exactly three other states/UTs have larger numbers of cases registered in the same category, then both the states are given rank 4 in that category. Missing ranks in the table are denoted by *.
Q. 1: What is the rank of Kerala in the ‘IPC crimes’ category?
Q. 2: In the two states where the highest total number of cases are registered, the ratio of the total number of cases in IPC crimes to the total number in SLL crimes is closest to
1. 1:9
2. 11:10
3. 3:2
4. 19:20
Q. 3: Which of the following is DEFINITELY true about the ranks of states/UT in the ‘other crimes’ category?
i) Tamil Nadu: 2
ii) Puducherry: 3
1. only ii)
2. both i) and ii)
3. neither i), nor ii)
4. only i)
Q. 4: What is the sum of the ranks of Delhi in the three categories of crimes?
Now all the remaining rank can be assigned as below
XAT 2020: The following graph depicts sector-wise percentage contributions to the gross domestic product (GDP) of nine nations, labelled “Nation A”, “Nation B” and so on. It is known that these nations are Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, the UK and the USA, but not necessarily in the same order.
The following, however, are known: i) The GDPs of the nine nations (in US $ trillion) are:
ii) China has the highest agriculture sector GDP, valued at US $1 trillion, followed respectively by the USA and India iii) In terms of percentage contribution to the respective nations’ GDPs by their service sectors, the UK and France are respectively the first and the second iv) Nation A, Nation B and Nation G have the same GDP v) The GDP of India’s industry sector is lower than the GDP of Russia’s industry sector. However, it is larger than that of Brazil’s industry sector
1. Based on the given information, how many nations can be uniquely identified?
A 6
B 9
C 3
D 2
E 7
2. Based on the given information, which of the following CANNOT be ruled out?
A US is Nation I
B Russia is Nation G
C China is Nation C
D Japan is Nation E
E India is Nation B
3. Which of the following information, when considered in addition to the given information, does not allow us to completely identify the nine nations in the graph?
A Germany’s industry GDP is US $1.2 trillion
B The nation ranked fourth in terms of agriculture GDP has its agriculture GDP valued at US $150 billion
C In terms of percentage contribution to the respective nations’ GDP, France and Japan’s agriculture sectors contribute the same
D Japan’s industry GDP is US $1.25 trillion E Both Japan’s and Germany’s industry GDPs are more than US $1 trillion
1. Based on the given information, how many nations can be uniquely identified?
A 6
B 9
C 3
D 2
E 7
Answer: A
2. Based on the given information, which of the following CANNOT be ruled out?
A US is Nation I
B Russia is Nation G
C China is Nation C
D Japan is Nation E
E India is Nation B
Answer: D
3. Which of the following information, when considered in addition to the given information, does not allow us to completely identify the nine nations in the graph?
A Germany’s industry GDP is US $1.2 trillion
B The nation ranked fourth in terms of agriculture GDP has its agriculture GDP valued at US $150 billion
C In terms of percentage contribution to the respective nations’ GDP, France and Japan’s agriculture sectors contribute the same
D Japan’s industry GDP is US $1.25 trillion E Both Japan’s and Germany’s industry GDPs are more than US $1 trillion
Answer: A
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How to Prepare
Preparing any topic from the scratch requires patience, hard work, and above all commitment. To prepare for Bar graphs, here are some Level-wise preparatory guidelines to follow:
Level – 1
- Learn Speed calculation: For an effective and quick calculation, be thorough with tables till 20, memorize squares till 30, and cubes till 15.
- Fraction – Percentage relation: For quick percentage calculation, memorize the fraction-percentage table. For example, 1/2 is 50%, 1/3 is 33.33%, and so on. It will help analyse percentage change, absolute value calculation etc.
- Learn percentage change formula.
- Practice beginner level questions with only one pie chart and no other graphs.
Level – 2
- Move on to more complex problems, attempt beginner and intermediate level mock on concepts of Pie charts.
- Solve previous year CAT questions on Pie chart and time yourself. Do not get stuck on one question and try to solve easy questions first.
- Keep attempting mocks to check your performance.
- Topic-wise mocks, provided by MBAP, can be utilized to enhance your performance.
Level – 3
- For advanced level preparation, start practising questions from Arun Sharma.
- Questions in Arun Sharma are categorized into Level of Difficulty (LOD), based upon your preparation level, start attempting 3 or 4 questions daily.
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