Ohio Civil Service Exam Data Interpretation and Analysis 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A table shows inspection results across 5 districts. District 3 had 18 violations out of 60 inspections. What is its violation rate?
- 25%
- 30% (Correct answer)
- 20%
- 33%
Correct answer: 30%
18 violations divided by 60 inspections equals 0.30, or 30%.
Question 2: A line graph shows that tax revenue increased steadily for three years then dropped sharply in year four. Which term best describes the year-four trend?
- Plateau
- Decline (Correct answer)
- Fluctuation
- Acceleration
Correct answer: Decline
A sharp downward movement in data after a period of growth is described as a decline.
Question 3: A double bar chart compares 2024 and 2025 case closures for four units. Unit B shows 210 closures in 2024 and 252 in 2025. What is Unit B's year-over-year increase?
- 15%
- 20% (Correct answer)
- 25%
- 18%
Correct answer: 20%
The increase of 42 divided by the 2024 base of 210 equals exactly 20%.
Question 4: A dataset of employee salaries has a mean of $52,000 and a median of $44,000. What does this gap suggest?
- The data is normally distributed
- A few high salaries are pulling the mean upward (Correct answer)
- Most employees earn above the mean
- The median is the better measure only for small datasets
Correct answer: A few high salaries are pulling the mean upward
When the mean exceeds the median significantly, it indicates positive skew caused by a few high outlier values.
Question 5: A report states that calls to a hotline increased by 150% over two years. If the original call volume was 800 per month, what is the current volume?
- 1,600
- 2,000 (Correct answer)
- 1,200
- 2,400
Correct answer: 2,000
A 150% increase means adding 150% of 800 (=1,200) to the original 800, totaling 2,000.
Question 6: A stacked bar chart shows total caseloads with two segments: active and closed cases. If a bar totals 500 and the active segment is 60%, how many cases are closed?
- 200 (Correct answer)
- 300
- 250
- 150
Correct answer: 200
If 60% are active (300 cases), then the remaining 40% (200 cases) are closed.
Question 7: A table shows response times in minutes: 3, 7, 5, 8, 3, 9, 3, 6. What is the mode?
- 5
- 3 (Correct answer)
- 6
- 7
Correct answer: 3
The value 3 appears three times, more than any other value, making it the mode.
Ohio Civil Service Exam Data Interpretation and Analysis 3
A table shows inspection results across 5 districts.
District 3 had 18 violations out of 60 inspections.
What is its violation rate?