DATA SUFFICIENCY

What is data sufficiency?

Data sufficiency means checking and testing a given set of information to see
if it is enough to answer a given question.

These are designed to test the candidate’s ability to correlate every provided
question to reach a conclusion.

Most of the time, questions related to sequence, ranking, blood relations,

puzzle tests, coding-decoding, etc., are asked.

In Data sufficiency problems, a question consists of two statements labeled

I and II, in which a certain information is given.
You have to decide whether the information given in the statements is
sufficient to answer the question or not.
Using the information given in the statements plus your knowledge of
mathematics and well-known facts, you must indicate the right option.
PROBLEMS
Problem-1: How many doctors are practicing in this town ?
Statements:
I. There is one doctor per seven hundred residents.
II. There are 16 wards with each ward having as many doctors as the number of wards.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient
Answer: B
Explanation:
From I, total number of doctors in town = (1/700 x N) , where N = total number of
residents in town. But, the value of N is not known.
From II, total number of doctors in town
= (Number of wards in town) x (Number of doctors in each ward)
= 16 x 16 = 256.
Problem-2: In which year was Rahul born ?
Statements:
I. Rahul at present is 25 years younger to his mother.
II. Rahul's brother, who was born in 1964, is 35 years younger to his mother.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient
Answer: E
Explanation:
From both I and II, we find that Rahul is (35 - 25) = 10 years older than his brother, who
was born in 1964.
So, Rahul was born in 1954.
Problem-3: What will be the total weight of 10 poles, each of the same weight ?
Statements:
I. One-fourth of the weight of each pole is 5 kg.
II. The total weight of three poles is 20 kilograms more than the total weight of two poles.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

ANSWER: C
Explanation:
From I, we conclude that weight of each pole = (4x5) kg = 20 kg.
So, total weight of 10 poles = (20 x 10) kg = 200 kg.
From II, we conclude that:
Weight of each pole = (weight of 3 poles) - (weight of 2 poles) = 20 kg.
So, total weight of 10 poles = (20 x 10) kg = 200 kg.
Problem-4: How many children does M have ?
Statements:
I. H is the only daughter of X who is wife of M.
II. K and J are brothers of M.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

ANSWER: D

Explanation:
From I, we conclude that H is the only daughter of M. But this does not indicate that M has no son.
The information given in II is immaterial.
Problem-5: How much was the total sale of the company ?
Statements:
I. The company sold 8000 units of product A each costing Rs.25.
II. This company has no other product line.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

ANSWER: E

Explanation:
From I, total sale of product A = Rs. (8000 x 25) = Rs. 200000.
From II, we know that the company deals only in product A.
This implies that sale of product A is the total sale of the company, which is Rs. 200000.
Problem-6: The last Sunday of March, 2006 fell on which date ?
Statements:
I. The first Sunday of that month fell on 5th.
II. The last day of that month was Friday.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: C

Explanation:
From I, we conclude that 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th of March, 2006 were Sundays.
So, the last Sunday fell on 26th.
From II, we conclude that 31st March, 2006 was Friday. Thus, 26th March, 2006 was the last
Sunday of the month.
Problem-7: On which day of the week was birthday of Kiran?
Statements:
I. Kiran celebrated his birthday the very next day on which Arun celebrated his birthday.
II. The sister of Kiran was born on the third day of the week and two days after Kiran was born.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: B

Explanation:
I does not mention the day of the week on the birthday of either Arun or Kiran.
According to II, Kiran's sister was born on Wednesday and Kiran was born two days before Wednesday i.e. on
Monday.
Problem-8: How many pages of book X did Robert read on Sunday ?
Statements:
I. The book has 300 pages out of which two-thirds were read by him before Sunday.
II. Robert read the last 40 pages of the book on the morning of Monday.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: E
Explanation:
From I and II, we find that Robert read (300 x 2/3) i.e. 200 pages before Sunday and the last
40 pages on Monday.
This means that he read [300 - (200 + 40)] i.e. 60 pages on Sunday.
Problem-9: Among T, V, B, E and C, who is the third from the top when arranged in the
descending order of their weights ?
Statements:
I. B is heavier than T and C and is less heavier than V who is not the heaviest.
II. C is heavier than only T.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient
Answer: A
Explanation:
From I, we have: B > T, B > C, V > B. Thus, V is heavier than each one of B, T and C.
But V is not the heaviest. So, E is the heaviest.
Thus, we have the order. E>V>B>T>C or E>V>B>C>T. Clearly, B is third from the top.
Problem-10: On a T.V. channel, four serials A, B, C and D were screened, one on each day, on four consecutive days
but not necessarily in that order. On which day was the serial C screened ?
Statements:
I. The first serial was screened on 23rd, Tuesday and was followed by serial D.
II. Serial A was not screened on 25th and one serial was screened between serials A and B.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: E

Explanation:
From I, we know that the serials were screened on 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th.
Clearly, D was screened second i.e. on 24th, Wednesday.
From II, we know that one serial was screened between A and B.
So, A and B were screened first and third, i.e. on 23rd and 25th. But, A was not screened on 25th.
So, A was screened on 23rd and B on 25th. Thus, C was screened on 26th, Friday.
Problem-11: How is Sulekha related to Nandini ?
Statements:
I. Sulekha's husband is the only son of Nandini's mother.
II. Sulekha's brother and Nandini's husband are cousins.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: C

Explanation:
From I, we conclude that Sulekha is the wife of Nandini's mother's only son i.e.
Nandini's brother. Thus, Sulekha is Nandini's sister-in-law.
From II, we conclude that Sulekha is the cousin of Nandini's husband, which implies
that Sulekha is Nandini's sister-in-law.
Problem-12: On which date of the month was Anjali born in February 2004 ?
Statements:
I. Anjali was born on an even date of the month.
II. Anjali's birth date was a prime number.
A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient
B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: E

Explanation:

From I and II, we conclude that Anjali was born in February 2004 on a date which is an even prime
number.
Since the only even prime number is 2, so Anjali was born on 2nd February, 2004.
Problem-13: How is X related to Y?

Statements:
I. Y says, "I have only one brother".
II. X says, "I have only one sister".

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: D

Explanation:

The statements in I and II do not provide any clue regarding relation between X and Y.
Problem-14: B is the brother of A. How is A related to B ?
Statements:
I. A is the sister of C.
II. E is the husband of A.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: C

Explanation:

B is A's brother means A is either brother or sister of B. Now, each one of I and II individually
indicates that A is a female, which means that A is B's sister.
Problem-15: What is the code for 'sky' in the code language ?
Statements:
I. In the code language, 'sky is clear' is written as 'de ra fa'.
II. In the same code language, 'make it clear' is written as 'de ga jo'.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: D

Explanation:

The only word common to I and II is 'clear' and as such, only the code for 'clear' can be
ascertained from the given
Problem-16: In a certain code, '13' means 'stop smoking' and '59' means 'injurious habit'. What do '9' and '5'
mean respectively in that code ?

Statements:
I. '157' means 'stop bad habit'.
II. '839' means 'smoking is injurious'.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: C
Explanation:
'59' means 'injurious habit' and '157' means 'stop bad habit' (from I). Thus, the common code number '5' stands
for common word 'habit'. So, '9' represents 'injurious'. Hence, I is sufficient.

Also, '59' means 'injurious habit' and '839' means 'smoking is injurious'. Thus, the common code number '9'
stands for common word 'injurious'. So, '5' represents 'habit'. Thus, II is also sufficient.
Problem-17: How much money do Vivek and Suman have together ?
Statements:
I. Suman has 20 rupees less than what Tarun has.
II. Vivek has 30 rupees more than what Tarun has.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: D

Explanation:
From I, we have: S = T - 20.
From II, we have: V = T + 30.
Thus, from both I and II, we have: V + S = (T + 30) + (T - 20) = (2 T + 10).
So, to get the required amount, we need to know the amount that Tarun has.
Problem-18: How is 'No' coded in the code language ?
Statements:
I. 'Ne Pa Sic Lo' means 'But No None And' and 'Pa Lo Le Ne' means 'If None And But'.
II. 'Le Se Ne Sic' means 'If No None Will' and 'Le Pi Se Be' means 'Not None If All'.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: A

Explanation:

In the two statements given in I, the common words are 'But', 'None', 'And' and the common code
words are 'Ne', 'Pa', ,'Lo'. So, 'Ne', 'Pa' and 'Lo' are codes for 'But', 'None' and 'And'.
Thus, in the first statement, 'Sic' is the code for 'No'.
Problem-19: What time did the train leave today ?

Statements:
I. The train normally leaves on time.
II. The scheduled departure is at 14 : 30.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: D

Explanation:

Clearly, even both I and II together do not reveal the exact time of departure of the train today.
Problem-20: How many sons does D have ?
Statements:
I. A's father has three children.
II. B is A's brother and son of D.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: D

Explanation:

From both I and II together, we can conclude that A and B are the children of D, but the sex of A and
the third child of D is not known.
So, both I and II together are also not sufficient to answer the question.
Problem-21: What is the colour of the fresh grass ?

Statements:
I. Blue is called green, red is called orange, orange is called yellow.
II. Yellow is called white, white is called black, green is called brown and brown is called
purple.

A. I alone is sufficient while II alone is not sufficient

B. II alone is sufficient while I alone is not sufficient
C. Either I or II is sufficient
D. Neither I nor II is sufficient
E. Both I and II are sufficient

Answer: B

Explanation:
The colour of fresh grass is 'green' and as given in II, 'green' is called 'brown'.
So, the colour of fresh grass is 'brown'.
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