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Next CSE-PPT: 14 March 2027

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Data Interpretation MCQs

Civil Service Exam Professional reviewer on data interpretation: reading tables of permits, budgets, passing rates, rainfall and purchases, with totals, averages, percentages and ratios worked by hand.

19 MCQsUpdated 3 November 2026

Data interpretation is the fourth item in the official Analytical Ability scope of the Civil Service Exam Professional level. Each question here gives a small table, such as permits issued, a barangay budget, passing rates or office purchases, and asks for totals, averages, percentages, ratios or the statement the data support.

Read the table title and units first, then decide which numbers you need. Compare rates rather than raw counts, and base percentage change on the earlier value. Every answer was calculated and checked by script.

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  1. 1

    Table: Business permits issued by a municipal office — January 120, February 150, March 180, April 150. How many permits were issued in all four months?

    Correct answer: A. 600

    Add the four months: 120 + 150 + 180 + 150 = 600. Adding in pairs (120 + 180 = 300 and 150 + 150 = 300) makes the sum quick without a calculator.

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    easy
  2. 2

    Table: Business permits issued by a municipal office — January 120, February 150, March 180, April 150. What was the average number of permits issued per month?

    Correct answer: D. 150

    Average = total ÷ number of months = 600 ÷ 4 = 150. Notice that February and April are exactly at the average. Comparing each month with the average shows which months were busier than usual.

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    easy
  3. 3

    Table: Business permits issued by a municipal office — January 120, February 150, March 180, April 150. By what percentage did permits increase from January to March?

    Correct answer: A. 50%

    Increase = 180 − 120 = 60. Percentage increase = 60 ÷ 120 × 100 = 50%, always calculated on the earlier (January) figure.

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  4. 4

    Table: Business permits issued by a municipal office — January 120, February 150, March 180, April 150. March permits make up what percentage of the four-month total?

    Correct answer: D. 30%

    March share = 180 ÷ 600 × 100 = 30%. Check: 30% of 600 is 180. A share is always part ÷ whole, so the four-month total goes in the denominator.

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  5. 5

    Table: Business permits issued by a municipal office — January 120, February 150, March 180, April 150. Which statement is supported by the table?

    Correct answer: A. Permits in April were lower than in March.

    April (150) was lower than March (180), so that statement is supported. Permits did not rise every month, January had the fewest, and 150 is not double 120.

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  6. 6

    Table: A ₱2,000,000 barangay budget — Infrastructure 40%, Health 25%, Education 20%, Disaster preparedness 15%. How much is allotted to health?

    Correct answer: A. ₱500,000

    25% of ₱2,000,000 = ₱500,000. A quarter of two million is half a million. Checking with fractions is quick: 25% is the same as one quarter.

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    easy
  7. 7

    Table: A ₱2,000,000 barangay budget — Infrastructure 40%, Health 25%, Education 20%, Disaster preparedness 15%. How much more is allotted to infrastructure than to education?

    Correct answer: D. ₱400,000

    The difference is 40% − 20% = 20% of ₱2,000,000 = ₱400,000. Working with the percentage difference first saves one calculation.

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  8. 8

    Table: A ₱2,000,000 barangay budget — Infrastructure 40%, Health 25%, Education 20%, Disaster preparedness 15%. The disaster preparedness allotment is how much?

    Correct answer: A. ₱300,000

    15% of ₱2,000,000 = 0.15 × 2,000,000 = ₱300,000. Quick method: 10% is ₱200,000 and 5% is ₱100,000. Splitting a percentage into easy parts is a reliable method when calculators are not allowed.

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    easy
  9. 9

    Table: A ₱2,000,000 barangay budget — Infrastructure 40%, Health 25%, Education 20%, Disaster preparedness 15%. What is the ratio of the education allotment to the health allotment?

    Correct answer: D. 4 : 5

    Education is 20% and health is 25%, so the ratio is 20 : 25, which simplifies to 4 : 5 after dividing both by 5. The order matters: education comes first in the question.

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  10. 10

    Table: Reviewees who passed a mock exam — Group A 36 of 45, Group B 42 of 60, Group C 27 of 30. Which group had the highest passing rate?

    Correct answer: C. Group C

    Passing rates: A = 36/45 = 80%, B = 42/60 = 70%, C = 27/30 = 90%. Group C had the highest rate even though Group B had the most passers. Always compare rates, not counts.

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  12. 11

    Table: Reviewees who passed a mock exam — Group A 36 of 45, Group B 42 of 60, Group C 27 of 30. What was the passing rate of Group B?

    Correct answer: B. 70%

    Passing rate = 42 ÷ 60 × 100 = 70%. Simplifying first also works: 42/60 = 7/10 = 70%. Always divide the number who passed by the number in that group only, not by the total of all groups.

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    easy
  13. 12

    Table: Reviewees who passed a mock exam — Group A 36 of 45, Group B 42 of 60, Group C 27 of 30. What was the overall passing rate of all three groups combined?

    Correct answer: B. about 78%

    Combined passers = 36 + 42 + 27 = 105, out of 45 + 60 + 30 = 135 reviewees. Rate = 105 ÷ 135 × 100 = 77.78%, about 78%. The simple average of 80, 70 and 90 (80%) is wrong because the groups differ in size.

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    hard
  14. 13

    Table: Reviewees who passed a mock exam — Group A 36 of 45, Group B 42 of 60, Group C 27 of 30. How many reviewees in Group A did NOT pass?

    Correct answer: A. 9

    Group A had 45 reviewees and 36 passed, so 45 − 36 = 9 did not pass, which is 20% of the group. Read questions with "NOT" carefully, since the number who passed (36) is a tempting wrong choice.

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    easy
  15. 14

    Table: Monthly rainfall in a town, in millimetres — June 250, July 400, August 500, September 350. What was the total rainfall from June to September?

    Correct answer: D. 1,500 mm

    Total = 250 + 400 + 500 + 350 = 1,500 mm. Pairing 250 + 350 = 600 and 400 + 500 = 900 makes the sum easy. Keep the unit, millimetres, with the answer.

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    easy
  16. 15

    Table: Monthly rainfall in a town, in millimetres — June 250, July 400, August 500, September 350. August rainfall is how many times June rainfall?

    Correct answer: B. 2 times

    August ÷ June = 500 ÷ 250 = 2, so August had twice as much rain as June. "How many times" calls for division, while "how much more" calls for subtraction (500 − 250 = 250 mm).

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    easy
  17. 16

    Table: Monthly rainfall in a town, in millimetres — June 250, July 400, August 500, September 350. By what percentage did rainfall fall from August to September?

    Correct answer: A. 30%

    Decrease = 500 − 350 = 150 mm. Percentage decrease = 150 ÷ 500 × 100 = 30%, based on the earlier month (August). Using September as the base would give the wrong answer.

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  18. 17

    Table: Office supplies bought — 12 reams of bond paper at ₱250 each, 30 ballpens at ₱15 each, 5 staplers at ₱180 each. What was the total cost of the supplies?

    Correct answer: D. ₱4,350

    Bond paper: 12 × ₱250 = ₱3,000; ballpens: 30 × ₱15 = ₱450; staplers: 5 × ₱180 = ₱900. Total = ₱3,000 + ₱450 + ₱900 = ₱4,350.

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  19. 18

    Table: Office supplies bought — 12 reams of bond paper at ₱250 each, 30 ballpens at ₱15 each, 5 staplers at ₱180 each. Bond paper makes up about what percentage of the total cost?

    Correct answer: A. about 69%

    Bond paper costs ₱3,000 out of ₱4,350, which is 3,000 ÷ 4,350 × 100 ≈ 69%. More than two-thirds of the spending went to paper.

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    hard
  20. 19

    Table: Office supplies bought — 12 reams of bond paper at ₱250 each, 30 ballpens at ₱15 each, 5 staplers at ₱180 each. If the price of each ream of bond paper rises by 10%, how much more will the 12 reams cost?

    Correct answer: B. ₱300

    The 12 reams cost ₱3,000, and 10% of ₱3,000 is ₱300. Equivalently, each ream rises by ₱25 and 12 × ₱25 = ₱300. The new total for the bond paper would be ₱3,300.

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