Data Sufficiency - Introduction and Shortcuts

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Data Sufficiency is one of the hardest part of the Logical Reasoning
section which involve very simple calculations. Of course, many of you
may not agree with me with this point. But its fact, because in many of
the cases negligence or over thinking makes you ending up losing marks.
With little concentration and practice you can easily score good marks in
this section. After all you don't even need to do complete calculations to
get answer. Most of the times, with a simple glance on given options you
can choose the correct answer.

What is Data Sufficiency ?

Of course there is no technical definition for this, but simply you can say
that "its a process of checking whether the given data is sufficient
to get the answer or not".

What to Prepare for Data Sufficiency?

Unfortunately there is no specific area, they can ask questions from any
area like Reasoning, Arithmetic, Pure Maths, Time and Work, Time and
Distance, Geometry, Menstruation, Percentages, Simple and Compound

Interests etc.... So its better to prepare all areas (knowing basic formulas
and procedures is enough. No need to be expertise. Now lets have a look
at some example problems so that you will get a brief idea on Data
Sufficiency problems and solutions.

Practice Problems on Data Sufficiency with

Solutions :
Directions for questions 1 to 10 : Each problem contains a question
and two statements which give certain data. You have to select the
correct answer from (1) to (4) depending on the sufficiency of the data
given in the statements to answer the question.
Mark 1 : If statement I alone is sufficient to answer the question and
statement II alone is not sufficient to answer the question.
Mark 2 : If statement II alone sufficient to answer the question and
statement I alone is not sufficient to answer the question.
Mark 3 : If statements I and II together are sufficient to answer the
question, but neither statement alone is sufficient.
Mark 4 : If statements I and II together are not sufficient to answer the
question adn additional data specific to the problem are needed.
1. Which day of the week is 13th March of the year X ?
1.

25th December of the previous year is a Tuesday.

2.

The previous year is a non-leap year.

Solution :
From Statement I alone, 25th December of the year preceding X is a
Tuesday. But we do not know whether year X is a leap year or not. Hence,
I alone is not sufficient.
From Statement II alone, we don not know whether X is a leap year or a
non-leap year. This information is not sufficient to answer the question.

Hence II alone is not sufficient. From I and II together also we cannot

know whether year X is a leap year or not.
so you should choose option 4.
2. Is 2nd October of year Y a holiday ?
1.

The third Sunday of July of year Y falls on 15th Day.

2.

Only Sunday's are holidays.

Solution :
From statement I alone, 15th July is a Sunday. Hence it can be found out
which day of the week is 2nd October. But that does not answer the
question.
Hence, I alone is not sufficient.
From statement II alone, only Sunday's are holidays. But it cannot be
determined whether 2nd October is a Sunday or not.
From I and II together, it can be found out whether 2nd October is a
Sunday or not and hence the question can be answered.

So

Option 3
3. Among five persons A, B, C, D, and E, sitting in a row (not
necessarily in the same order) who is at the middle of the row ?
1.

A and E are at the extreme ends and C is to the right of A.

2.

B is between C and D, neither of whom are at extreme ends.

Solution :
From I alone, A is at the extreme left and E is at the extreme right. C is
at the 2nd, 3rd or 4th place from left. But, who occupies the 3rd place is
not known. Hence I alone is not sufficient.
From II alone, B is between C and D. Neither C nor D are at extreme
ends. Hence C and D are in 2nd and 4th places in any order and B is in
3rd place.
Hence II alone is sufficient. So option 2
4. Six persons P, Q, R, S, T and U are sitting around a circular
table (not necessarily in the same order). Is P sitting opposite to
T?

1.

S is to the left of R and U is to the left of Q.

2.

Q is sitting opposite to R.

Solution :
From I alone, if S, R, U and Q are sitting adjacent to each other, then P
and T are not opposite to each other. If Q and R are opposite to each
other then P and T will be opposite to each other. Hence, I alone is not
sufficient.
From II alone, Q and R are opposite to each other. This information is not
sufficient to answer the question . Hence II alone is not sufficient.
From I and II together, Only one arrangement is possible. From this we
can conclude that P is not sitting opposite to T.

So option 3

5. What is the angle between the two hands of a clock ?

1.

One hour ago, the angle between the two hands was 75
Degrees and the minute hand was ahead of the hours hand.

2.

The hour hand is between 9 and 10.

Solution :
From I alone, in 60 minutes the minute hand reaches the same place and
the hour hand moves forward by 30 Degrees. Hence, the angle reduces to
45 degrees. Hence I alone is sufficient.

Option I

6. What is the time indicated by the clock ?

1.

The minute hand is at 4.

2.

The hour hand is past 9.

Solution :
From I alone, the position of the hour hand is not known. Hence, I alone
is not sufficient.
From II alone, we don not know whether the hour hand is past 10 or not
and the position of minutes hand is not known.
From I and II together, the exact position of hour hand is not known. The
time could be 9:20, 10:20 or 11:20.

So option 4

7. Is A brother of C ?
1.

A's father's only sibling, X, is C' paternal aunt.

2.

A is the daughter of B.

Solution :
From I alone, A's father's sibling 'X' is female. She is the aunt of both A
and C. It is not know whether A is a male of Female. Hence, I alone is not
sufficient.
From II alone, A is female. Hence A is not the brother of C. Hence II alone
is sufficient.
So option 2
8. How is P related to T ?
1.

T is the father of P.

2.

T's son-in-law is P's brother-in-law.

Solution :
From I alone, P is either the son or the daughter of T. Hence, I alone is
not sufficient.
From II alone, it is not know whether P is a male or a female. II alone is
not sufficient.
From I and II together, we cannot conclude whether P is a male or
female.

So option 4
9. Is C the tallest among A, B, C and D ?
1.

A is as tall as B and D, but shorter than C.

2.

B and D are shorter than C.

Solution :
From I alone, C is the tallest among A, B, C and D.

So option 1

10. Is P the richest among L, M, N, O and P ?

1.

M is the poorest. N and O are poorer than L.

2.

No one is richer than L

Solution :
From I alone, L is the richest among L, M, N and O. No information
regarding P is available. Hence I alone is not sufficient.
From II alone, no one is richer than L. Hence, L is the richest.

So

option 2
That's all for now friends. In our next post we shall discuss more
problems on Data Sufficiency. All the Best and Happy Reading :)
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