Data Interpretation
Study this chapter to learn about:■ How to answer Data Interpretation questionsD
ata Interpretation questions present you with one or more tables,
charts, or graphs, and ask you to make calculations and inferences
based on this information. Most of the time, the questions will appear
in graphs in one of three forms: bar graphs, circle graphs, or line
graphs. Each Quantitative Reasoning section will have three Data Interpretation
questions. The tables, charts, and graphs will appear either at the top or to the left
of every corresponding question.
The math on these questions is fairly straightforward; the difficult part is fully
comprehending the information in the charts and answering the questions quickly
and efficiently. Most of the questions will test concepts that you should be familiar
with from the previous chapters: fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, averages,
probability, and, occasionally, geometry. Since these topics are already known to
you, the key to doing well on these questions is to fully understand the data so that
you use the proper information to answer the questions. Though your calculator will
certainly come in handy on many of these questions, Data Interpretation questions
are designed to test your estimation and approximation abilities, so you would be
well-served to practice these questions with and without a calculator.
The two graphs and three multiple-choice questions following them illustrate a
typical Data Interpretation question group and will form the basis of this overview
of Data Interpretation strategies and methodology:CHAPTER 14
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