Data Sufficiency: Key Concepts, Solved Examples, & Prep Tips
Tuhin Chakraborty
| Updated: Oct 28, 2020 22:01 IST
As the term itself makes it clear, the problems based on data sufficiency reasoning consist of a question followed by some statements that provide clues to answer the question. Candidates need not find the answer to the question. Candidates just need to check whether the given statement(s) is/are sufficient to answer the question and accordingly choose the answer from the options provided. Questions from this section are being regularly asked in various government examinations.
In this article, we are going to cover the key concepts of the Data Sufficiency Logical Reasoning section along with the solved examples, practice questions, and the tips and tricks to make the candidates well aware with the pattern of questions that may come in various upcoming government examinations. Read the article to clear all your doubts regarding the same.
What is Data Sufficiency?
Data Sufficiency is to check and test the given set of information, whether it is enough to answer a question or not. Data Sufficiency-type questions are designed to test the candidate’s ability to relate given information to reach a conclusion. Moreover, the data sufficiency has wider attributes to test the candidate. On one hand, it may have problems from any of the topics of reasoning or quantitative aptitude and on the other hand, it can test a candidate’s analytical skills.
Generally, a question on any of the topics such as sequence, ranking, puzzle test, coding-decoding, blood relation, and so on is followed by two, three or any number of statements. These statements may contain information to arrive at the answer. Candidate’s need to decide which of the statement(s) is/are sufficient to answer the given questions.
Types of Data Sufficiency
As of now we know what consists of the questions related to the Data Sufficiency reasoning section. Let us see the various types of Data Sufficiency one by one from below.
1. Blood Relation
In this type of data sufficiency, relation between 2 people will be asked and candidates need to find the statement(s) in which data is sufficient to find the relation or the correct answer.
2. Order & Ranking
In this type of data sufficiency, data on order of people or their ranking will be provided and candidates will need to find statement(s) in which data is sufficient to find the correct answer.
3. Direction & Distance
In this type of data sufficiency, data on direction of people or points and the distance traveled by a person or distance between the points will be given and candidates will need to find the statement(s) in which data is sufficient to find the direction or distance between the points.
4. Coding Decoding
In this type of data sufficiency, words or letters will be coded and candidates will need to find the statement(s) in which data is sufficient to find the logic applied to decide the code.
5. Seating Arrangement
In this type of data sufficiency, data on arrangement of people will be provided and candidates will need to find the statement(s) in which data is sufficient to find the correct answer. Seating Arrangements are of two types such as Linear Arrangement and Circular Arrangement. In Linear Arrangement, people will be arranged or seated in one or multiple rows. In Circular Arrangement, people will be arranged or seated around a circular table.
6. Floor Puzzle
In this type of data sufficiency, data on people living on different floors of either same or different buildings will be given and candidates will need to find the statement(s) in which data is sufficient to find the correct answer.
7. Scheduling
In this type of data sufficiency, data based on months, years or date will be given and candidates need to decide whether the data provided in the statements is sufficient or not.
How to Solve Question-Based on Data Sufficiency – Know all Tips and Tricks
Candidates can find various tips and tricks from below for solving the questions related to the Data Sufficiency reasoning section.
Tip # 1: In Data Sufficiency, candidates only need to check whether the data provided is sufficient or not to find the answer. Therefore, do not waste time in finding the final answer.
Tip # 2: Data Sufficiency problems appear to be difficult at first because of the complicated directions, but once you get familiar with these directions, you will find these problems easy to solve. Never assume anything by yourself.
Tip # 3: Always read the question carefully and identify the specific information required to answer the question. Read the statements carefully and understand them and then finally analyze the statements and try to eliminate some answer choices. This will help you increase your chances of gaining points by guessing the answer.
Also checkout Statement & Assumption Reasoning
Data Sufficiency Sample Questions
Question 1: In an innings of a T20 international match six batsman, Raina, Yuvraj, Kohli, Dhoni, Rahane and Dhawan have scored different number of runs. How many batsmen have scored more runs than Dhoni?
(I) Rahane has scored 7 runs less than Yuvraj and 10 runs more than Raina.
(II) Kohli has scored 56 runs, which is 8 runs less than Dhoni.
(III) Raina has scored 34, which is 1 run less than Dhawan.
Solution: If we analyze the given statements then we get,
(a) Raina has scored 34, which is 1 run less than Dhawan, which means Dhawan has scored 35.
(b) Kohli has scored 56 runs, which is 8 runs less than Dhoni, which means the score of Dhoni is 64.
(c) Rahane has scored 7 runs less than Yuvraj and 10 runs more than Raina, which means Rahane scored 10+34 = 44 and Yuvraj scored 44+7 = 51.
As we can see, no one has scored more than Dhoni and all the statements were required to get the final answer.
Question 2: If City A and City E are in a straight line and the distance between A and C is the equal in distance between F and E then find out City A is in which direction with respect to City E.
(I) A is the north of F, which is to the west of C
(II) A is to the north west of C
(III) E is to the north west of F
Solution: If we draw all the directions mentioned in the statements we can say very easily that Only the statement I and III are sufficient to get the final answer.
Question 3: In a certain code, “14” means “stop whispering” and “68” means “its irritating”. What do 8 and 6 mean respectively in that code?
(I) 167 means “stop irritating me”
(II) 4982 means “it’s sound like whispering”
Solution:
Given:
14 = stop whispering
68 = its irritating
Now in statement 1, 167 “stop irritating me”, where 1 is stop, 6 is “irritating”, so 6 means “irritating” and 8 means “it’s” we can easily find the final answer from statement I.
Now in statement 2, 4982 means “it’s sound like whispering” so 4 means “whispering”, and 8 means “it’s” so we can say that 6 means “irritating” and 8 means “it’s”. We can also very easily final the final answer from Statement II.
Therefore, both Statement I and II are sufficient.
Question 4: How is Vivaan related to Yeshna?
(I) Vivaan is the only son of Yeshna’s mother-in-law
(II) Neelam is Vivian’s only sister.
Solution: From statement I, we find that Vivaan is Yeshna’s husband, while from statement II, we don’t get any required detail. So, Statement I alone is sufficient to answer the question.
Question 5: Who is R’s partner is a game of cards involving platers P, Q, R and S?
(I) P is sitting opposite to S
(II) Q is sitting right of P and left of S
Solution: It is clear from both of the given statements that P is sitting opposite to S or P is the partner of S.
Exams where Data Sufficiency is Part of Syllabus
Questions based on the Data Sufficiency reasoning section come up often in various prestigious government exams some of them are as follows.
- Bank (PO & Clerk) Exams
- SSC (CGL, 10+2, Steno, FCI, CPO, Multitasking)
- LIC (AAO & ADO)
- RRB
- UPSC
- State PSC Exams
- NABARD Development Assistant
Get to know more details on other Reasoning Topics:
| Syllogisms | Venn Diagrams |
| Analogy | Classification |
| Puzzles | Cubes and Dice |
We hope you found this article regarding the Data Sufficiency reasoning section was informative and helpful, and please do not hesitate to contact us for any doubts or queries regarding the same. You can also download the Testbook App, which is absolutely free and start preparing for any government competitive examination by taking the mock tests before the examination to boost your preparation.
Data Sufficiency Reasoning FAQs
Q.1 What is the Data Sufficiency?
Ans.1
Data Sufficiency means candidates need to find whether the given data which is the statement(s) is/are sufficient to find the answer or not.
Q.2 How many types of Data Sufficiency reasoning questions are there?
Ans.2
The types of Data Sufficiency Reasoning based questions that come up in various governments exams are given above in the article. Kindly go through the article for the same.
Q.3 Where I will get the tips and tricks for the Data Sufficiency reasoning section?
Ans.3
Some of the tips and tricks regarding the Data Sufficiency reasoning section are given above in the article.
Q.4 Where I will find some of the sample questions related to the data sufficiency reasoning?
Ans.4
Various example questions along with their solutions are given above in the article. Kindly go through the article for the same.
Q.5 In which exam questions from Data Sufficiency reasoning comes up?
Ans.5
Some of the prestigious exams where the Data Sufficiency reasoning based questions are included in the Logical Reasoning syllabus are given above in the article.
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