◆ DILR · Data Interpretation

Caselets & Reasoning DI, approach + real CAT sets

Data buried in a paragraph: asset distribution, faculty-age reasoning and trading-return logic. Learn to convert prose into a table, then drill actual CAT sets reproduced faithfully from the book, with the book's own answers.

1approach cards

3CAT sets

7questions

↩ All DI Approach Sheet CAT Sets

Approach & Concept Sheet

Method card for caselet DI, turning prose into a solvable framework.

1Caselets (data in a paragraph)

Identify the variables, instances and inter-relationships, then convert the prose into a table.
Fill in the direct data first; build the framework before chasing the answer.
Assign a variable (X) to the most-connected quantity and express others in terms of it.
Solve only what the question asks, completing the whole table can be wasted effort.

CAT Previous-Year Sets

Real CAT caselet/reasoning-DI sets, reproduced from the book. Difficulty: Easy Moderate Hard. Click any question to reveal the book's solution.

Caselets

Directions (Q. 25 to 28): Answer the questions on the basis of following information.
An old woman had the following assets:
(a) ₹70 lakh in bank deposits
(b) 1 house worth ₹50 lakh
(c) 3 flats, each worth ₹30 lakh
(d) Certain number of gold coins, each worth ₹1 lakh.
She wanted to distribute her assets among her three children; Neeta, Seeta and Geeta. The house, any of the flats or any of the coins were not to be split. That is, the house went entirely to one child; a flat went to one child and similarly, a gold coin went to one child.

ModerateCAT 2017

25. Among the three, Neeta received the least amount in bank deposits, while Geeta received the highest. The value of the assets was distributed equally among the children, as were the gold coins. How much did Seeta receive in bank deposits (in lakhs of rupees)?

(1) 30
(2) 40
(3) 20
(4) 10

Show solution

(3) 20. Total value of non-coin assets = 70 + 50 + 3×30 = ₹210 lakh, and the gold coins are split equally, so each child gets an equal value of ₹70 lakh from these. The consistent indivisible split is: one child gets 1 house (₹50) + ₹20 bank deposit; one gets 2 flats (₹60) + ₹10 bank deposit; one gets 1 flat (₹30) + ₹40 bank deposit (each plus an equal share of gold coins). Neeta has the least deposit (₹10) and Geeta the highest (₹40), so Seeta gets the house + ₹20 lakh in bank deposits.

HardCAT 2017TITA

26. Among the three, Neeta received the least amount in bank deposits, while Geeta received the highest. The value of the assets was distributed equally among the children, as were the gold coins. How many flats did Neeta receive?

Show solution

2. Each child receives ₹70 lakh of non-coin value with house and flats indivisible. Neeta, having the least bank deposit (₹10 lakh), must hold ₹60 lakh in property, i.e. 2 flats (2 × ₹30 = ₹60 lakh) + ₹10 lakh deposit = ₹70 lakh. So Neeta received 2 flats.

HardCAT 2017

27. The value of the assets distributed among Neeta, Seeta and Geeta was in the ratio of 1 : 2 : 3, while the gold coins were distributed among them in the ratio of 2 : 3 : 4. One child got all three flats and she did not get the house. One child, other than Geeta, got ₹30 lakh in bank deposits. How many gold coins did the old woman have?

(1) 72
(2) 90
(3) 180
(4) 216

Show solution

(2) 90. Let total gold coins = 9x (ratio 2 : 3 : 4 sums to 9). Total assets = 50 + 3×30 + 70 + 9x = 210 + 9x. Assets split 1 : 2 : 3, so Seeta gets 1/3 of total = 70 + 3x = house + ₹20 lakh deposit + 3x coins. Neeta (least, ₹30 lakh deposit) gets the smallest 1/6 share and Geeta gets all 3 flats. Using deposit ratio (30 + 2x) : (7 + 3x) = 1 : 2 gives x = 10, so total coins = 9 × 10 = 90.

CAT 2005, Management institute faculty. Founded 1 Jan 2000 with 3, 4, 5, 6 faculty in Marketing, OB, Finance, OM respectively. Over the next four years one faculty was recruited in each area; each new joiner was 25 at joining and joined on 1 April. During these years one faculty retired at age 60. The chart gives area-wise average age on 1 April of 2000-2003 (a group's average age rises by exactly 1 each year if no one joins/leaves).

Area	2000	2001	2002	2003
Marketing	50.0	49.0	50.0	51.0
OB	52.5	51.5	50.5	50.2
Finance	49.33	47.8	48.0	49.0
OM	55.0	46.0	45.0	45.0

Note: the average-age figures are read from the book's bar chart; trends (not exact decimals) drive the answers.

HardCAT 2005

From which area did the faculty member retire?

(1) Finance
(2) Marketing
(3) OB
(4) OM

Show solution

(1) Finance. If no one joins or leaves, a group's average age increases by exactly 1 per year. Marketing, OB and OM show the +1 (after accounting for one 25-year-old joiner). In Finance the average decreases twice, once when a young faculty joins and once when the 60-year-old retires, so the retirement was in Finance.

HardCAT 2005

In which year did the new faculty member join the Finance area?

(1) 2000
(2) 2001
(3) 2002
(4) 2003

Show solution

(3) 2002. Tracking Finance's average: the dip from the young joiner and the retirement, reconciled with the +1 baseline, places the new Finance joiner in 2002 (the book's answer).

Directions (Q. 22 to 24): Answer the questions on the basis of following information.
Abdul, Bikram and Chetan are three professional traders who trade in shares of a company XYZ Ltd. Abdul follows the strategy of buying at the opening of the day at 10 am and selling the whole lot at the close of the day at 3 pm. Bikram follows the strategy of buying at hourly intervals: 10 am, 11 am, 12 noon, 1 pm and 2 pm, and selling the whole lot at the close of the day. Further, he buys an equal number of shares in each purchase. Chetan follows a similar pattern as Bikram but his strategy is somewhat different. Chetan's total investment amount is divided equally among his purchases. The profit or loss made by each investor is the difference between the sale value at the close of the day less the investment in purchase. The "return" for each investor is defined as the ratio of the profit or loss to the investment amount expressed as a percentage.

ModerateCAT 2008

22. On a "boom" day the price of XYZ Ltd. keeps rising throughout the day and peaks at the close of the day. Which trader got the minimum return on that day?

(1) Bikram
(2) Chetan
(3) Abdul
(4) Abdul or Chetan

Show solution

(1) Bikram. Abdul buys all shares at the start (the lowest price), so he gets the highest return. Chetan divides his money equally across purchases, so he buys more shares when the price is low and fewer when it is high, giving a lower average cost. Bikram buys an equal number of shares at each price regardless of cost, so his average cost is highest and his return is the minimum.

ModerateCAT 2008

24. Which one of the following statements is always true?

(1) Abdul will not be the one with the minimum return
(2) Return for Chetan will be higher than that of Bikram
(3) Return for Bikram will be higher than that of Chetan
(4) None of the above

Show solution

(4) None of the above. Nothing can be inferred with certainty as we do not know how the share prices fluctuate during the day. On a falling day Abdul can have the minimum return, so (1) fails, and the relative ordering of Chetan and Bikram depends on the price path, so neither (2) nor (3) is always true.