Data Caselets For CAT

What are Data Caselets?

A data caselet can be defined as a paragraph that contains certain data/ information. In these questions, no graphs or charts are provided. One can either interpret the questions directly or draw a table to organize the data effectively and then solve the questions.

Data caselets are included in the CAT exam to test a candidate’s reading, comprehending and interpreting abilities. These questions are a bit time-taking but are easily solvable as only basic mathematical concepts are used to answer most of the questions.

Data Caselets: Example 1

Caselet:

In a batch of 60 students, 50% of the students scored more than 80% and 70% scored more than 50% in a test. There were 10% of students who scored less than 15 on that test. How many students scored between 15 to 60 marks if the total marks were 75?

Solution:

From this caselet, it is important to extract the necessary data first. If the total were 75, 80% of that would be-

80/ 100 x 75

=> 60.

Now, calculating the total number of students who scored less than 60 but more than 15 will give the total number of students who scored between 15-60 marks. Here, the data “70% score more than 50%” can be ignored.

Therefore,

Students who scored > 60 = 50% of 60 = 30 —–(i)

Students who scored <= 60 = 30 ——(ii)

Students who secured < 15 = 6 ——(iii)

Now, students who score between 15 to 60 can be easily obtained by subtracting equations (ii) and (iii).

Therefore, Students scoring between 15 to 60 marks are (30 – 6) = 24.

Data Caselets: Example 2

Caselet:

A total of 1650 students are studying in an engineering college in different departments. The ratio of male students to female students in the college is 86:79. The college had a total of 5 departments which are mechanical, civil, electrical, Biotechnology and computer science. Total 198 males study in the mechanical department. 18% of the students study in the civil department in which male to female ratio is 5:4. In the biotechnology department, 77 male students are studying and the number of female students in this department is 5/7th of the number of males. The total number of male students in the civil department is equal to the number of female students in the mechanical department. The number of males in the biotechnology department is half of the number of total male students in the computer science department. In the electrical department, the male to female ratio is 14:19.

Question 1:

The number of male students in the electrical department is how much more than female students in mechanical?

Question 2:

Female students in the electrical department are what % of the total number of females in the college (approximately)?

Solutions:

First, a table has to be created containing all the relevant details.

Table 1:

Now, for filling this table, follow the below-given calculation:

• Total students = 1650
• Male : Female = 86 : 79. This implies that the number of male students and females students will be 86 + 79 = 165.
• Now, the ratio will be = 165 : 1650 i.e. 1 : 10.
• So, total males = 860 and total females = 790
• No. of male students in mechanical = 198
• 18% students study in civil department i.e. (18 / 100) x 1650 = 297.
• In the civil department, M : F ratio is 5 : 4. So, total males = 5 x 33 = 165 and total females = 4 x 33 = 132.
• Total females in biotechnology are 77 and total females will be 5 / 7 x 77 i.e. 55.
• As the number of males in the civil department is equal to the number of females in the mechanical department, the total number of females in the mechanical department is 165.
• As the number of male students in the biotechnology department is half of the number of male students in the computer science department, so, the number of male students in the computer science department = 2 x 77 = 154.
• Also, M : F in electrical department = 14 : 19.
• So, total number of males in electrical will be 860 – (198 + 165 + 77 + 154) = 266.
• The total number of females in electrical will be 19 x 19 (female ratio) [since 266 / 14 (male ratio) = 19]. So, total females in electrical is 361.
• Number of females in computer science department = 790 – (165 + 132 + 361 + 55) = 77.

Now, put all these data in the above table. The table now obtained is:

Table 2:

From this table, solving the questions can now be extremely easy.

Solution 1:

Male in electrical = 266.

Females in mechanical = 165.

So, the number of males in the electrical department is (266 – 165) = 101 more than females in mechanical.

Solution 2:

Total number of females in electrical = 361.

So, females in the electrical department are (361 / 790) x 100 = 45.7% of the total number of females in the college.

Tips to Solve CAT Data Caselet Questions Easily

Some important tips are given below to help the CAT candidates solve data caselet questions easily.

• Create Tables

It is important to form tables by analyzing the information correctly. A table can help to organize the data and interpret the question effectively. Use notations to represent data in the table and note down the data while reading the caselet.

• Read the Caselets Carefully

It is important to read the caselets carefully to avoid unnecessary errors. Check if the units are the same for all the data given in the caselet. It is important to convert the unit(s) which are not in accordance with the overall data.

• Know the Basics

Data caselet questions require a stronghold of basic mathematics to solve them. Know the unit conversion properly and be thorough with the concepts of percentages, profit and loss, interests, etc. to be able to solve them.

• Use Approximations and Shortcuts

Shortcuts can be extremely helpful to solve these questions faster. Also, it is suggested to use approximation and check for the nearest value from the options. This way, a lot of crucial time can be saved in the exam.

• Practice

These questions are easily-solvable but require proper practice to tackle. Practice basic mathematical topics as mentioned above and solve various sample questions to get confident and effective while solving the CAT data caselet questions. It is also important to solve different variations of caselet questions to be able to tackle any related question with ease.

Candidates can also check CAT data interpretation questions and solve various DI questions and get confident with the entire section. The solutions for those questions are also provided at the end.

For more such lessons and preparation tips, stay tuned with BYJU’S. At BYJU’S, various sample papers, mock tests, previous year questions papers and several practice questions are provided to help the CAT aspirants prepare properly and ace the exam with ease.