SAEE Analytical Reasoning & Data Interpretation 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A company's revenue increased from $2.4 million to $3.0 million over one year. What was the percentage increase?
- 25% (Correct answer)
- 20%
- 30%
- 15%
Correct answer: 25%
The increase is $0.6 million. Percentage increase = (0.6 / 2.4) × 100 = 25%. Always divide the change by the original value, not the new value.
Question 2: If a bar graph shows quarterly sales of 150, 200, 175, and 225 units, what is the average quarterly sales?
- 187.5 units (Correct answer)
- 200 units
- 175 units
- 190 units
Correct answer: 187.5 units
Average = (150 + 200 + 175 + 225) / 4 = 750 / 4 = 187.5 units. The mean is calculated by summing all values and dividing by the number of data points.
Question 3: In a pie chart, a sector representing 'Marketing' occupies 72 degrees. What percentage of the total budget does Marketing represent?
- 20% (Correct answer)
- 25%
- 15%
- 30%
Correct answer: 20%
A full circle is 360 degrees. The percentage is (72 / 360) × 100 = 20%. Each degree of the pie chart represents approximately 0.278% of the total.
Question 4: A table shows that Department A has 45 employees and Department B has 30 employees. What is the ratio of Department A to Department B staff?
- 3:2 (Correct answer)
- 2:3
- 9:6
- 45:30
Correct answer: 3:2
The ratio 45:30 simplifies to 3:2 by dividing both numbers by their greatest common divisor (15). Ratios should always be expressed in their simplest form.
Question 5: If a trend line on a graph shows a negative slope, what does this indicate about the data?
- The dependent variable decreases as the independent variable increases (Correct answer)
- The dependent variable increases as the independent variable increases
- There is no relationship between the variables
- Both variables are increasing at the same rate
Correct answer: The dependent variable decreases as the independent variable increases
A negative slope indicates an inverse relationship: as one variable increases, the other decreases. This is also called a negative correlation in statistical terms.
Question 6: A data set contains the values: 12, 15, 15, 18, 20, 22, 25. What is the median?
- 18 (Correct answer)
- 15
- 20
- 18.14
Correct answer: 18
The median is the middle value in an ordered data set. With 7 values, the median is the 4th value: 18. The median is not affected by extreme values, unlike the mean.
SAEE Analytical Reasoning & Data Interpretation 1
A company's revenue increased from $2.4 million to $3.0 million over one year.
What was the percentage increase?