Data Sufficiency Questions are not very common at many B-School exams like CAT, XAT, and SNAP. Data Sufficiency aptitude questions have not been asked in CAT, but there are high chances of asking them again since the CAT does not have a well-defined syllabus. In GMAT, data interpretation & data sufficiency questions account for almost half of the total questions in the quantitative section. Most of the Data Sufficiency problems are based upon quantitative concepts and can be solved using data sufficiency options. However, knowing the quantitative concepts is not sufficient to ace the problems on data sufficiency. It is also important to understand cases in which it can be concluded that the data are given insufficient in the data sufficiency questions for cat.
Year | No of Questions | Good attempt | Difficulty |
2019 | 3 | 1 | Moderate |
2018 | 4 | 2 | Moderate |
2017 | 2 | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
Year | No of Questions | Good attempt | Difficulty |
2020 | 2 | 1 | Moderate |
2019 | 2 | 1 | Moderate |
2018 | 2 | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
The following is a list of topics from where the Data Sufficiency Questions may appear:
(CAT 2007)
1. In a particular school, sixty students were athletes. Ten among them were also among the top academic performers. How many top academic performers were in the school?
A. Sixty per cent of the top academic performers were not athletes.
B. All the top academic performers were not necessarily athletes.
From statement A, it is clear that 40% of top academic performers are athletes and that is equal to 10. So total number of academic performers can be Statement B does not provide any relevant information. So the answer is (1).
2. Five students Atul, Bala, Chetan, Dev and Ernesto were the only ones who participated in a quiz contest. They were ranked based on their scores in the contest. Dev got a higher rank as compared to Ernesto, while Bala got a higher rank as compared to Chetan. Chetan’s rank was lower than the median. Who among the five got the highest rank?
A. Atul was the last rank holder.
B. Bala was not among the top two rank holders.
Statement A and B alone are not sufficient but if both are combined, then we can form the following sequence:
So the answer is (4).
3. Thirty per cent of the employees of a call centre are males. Ten per cent of the female employees have an engineering background. What is the percentage of male employees with engineering background?
A. Twenty five per cent of the employees have engineering background.
B. Number of male employees having an engineering background is 20% more than the number of female employees having an engineering background.
Statement A alone is sufficient because 10% of the female employees have engineering background, 70% of the employees are females, so 7% of the employees are female and having engineering background. Hence, 18% of the employees are male and having engineering background. From statement B, we know the number of male employees having engineering background. So, the percentage of male employees having engineering background can be calculated. So, the answer is (3)
4. ln a football match, at the half-time, Mahindra and Mahindra Club was trailing by three goals. Did it win the match?
A. In the second-half Mahindra and Mahindra Club scored four goals.
B. The opponent scored four goals in the match.
Statement A alone is not sufficient because it is not giving any information about the opponent. Statement B alone is also not sufficient because it is not giving any information regarding the performance of Mahindra & Mahindra in the second half. Even if both the statements are used together, we will get two cases:
So in one case, match is drawn and in the other case, it is won by Mahindra & Mahindra.
Hence, the answer is (5)
Level 1
• Students are supposed to have basic knowledge of the properties of numbers. MBAP CAT E Book (Concept Theory) study material and MBAP Live Lecture Recording (Basic) on basic concept can be referred for the best approach.
• They should have an analytical mindset
• Students need to have the skill to identify which type of concept is being used and find solutions by solving MBAP CAT E Book (Practise Questions) and MBAP lecture Assignment
• Avoid making assumptions
• Always look for a definite answer
Level 2
• Good knowledge of all topics under Quantitative Aptitude is required to perform well in Data Sufficiency
• Practicing is the only way to master Data Sufficiency topic. Practice using MBAP Topic wise Previous Year CAT Question.to analyses the aptitude to reason and how to differentiate important facts from assumptions.
Level 3
• Students need to look into problems that use multiple concepts to find a solution. Try to answer questions from the advanced level of previous CAT papers using MBAP Previous year CAT paper, mock tests, and materials. And, try to attempt these questions in a time-based manner.
Taking too much time for advanced questions will not be considered good to crack the exam. Go through MBAP CAT Advance E books for finishing up the preparation Finally, Practice is the only key to success.
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