GMAT is the global entrance test for MBA admissions. It assesses your mastery of various concepts across verbal and quantitative sections. It’s unique question types and time constraints, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. The GMAT Data Sufficiency questions are a part of the Quantitative section and likely unfamiliar to most test takers.
The Data Sufficiency Questions carry high weightage as around 14-15 questions are expected to appear in the exam. It becomes important for the test takers to perform well in this section as it will affect their overall GMAT score. This blog delves into some data-sufficiency questions to help you prepare for the GMAT. In the end, we gave tips to ace this section, so read the blog till the end.
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GMAT Data Sufficiency Concept
Data Sufficiency questions form one section of the Quantitative Reasoning part of the GMAT (the other being Problem-Solving questions). These questions test your ability to analyze a quantitative problem, identify the relevant data, and determine if enough information exists to solve the problem.
Each Data Sufficiency question presents a question followed by two statements. You will evaluate which statement provides the necessary information and use your math skills and general knowledge to eliminate incorrect answers. You can expect 14 to 15 Data Sufficiency questions in each quantitative section.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Questions and Answers: Difficulty Level I
Below are some data sufficiency problems with a medium difficulty level, along with their answers and explanations.
Two statements follow the questions 1 to 5. Use the following instructions to answer the question:
A) Choose (A) if the question can be answered using one of the statements alone, but not the other.
B) Choose (B) if the question can be answered using either statement alone.
C) Choose (C) if the question can be answered using both statements but not by either statement alone.
D) Choose (D) if the question cannot be answered even when using both statements together.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 1
In a team of five employees, each is given a unique rank based on performance. The team consists of employees A, B, C, D, and E. Who ranked the highest?
Statements:
A. Employee A ranked lower than at least three other employees.
B. Employee B ranked higher than Employee C, but lower than Employee D.
Answer: D
Explanation:
Neither statement alone nor together provides sufficient information to determine who ranked the highest. There are still multiple possible rankings that fit the given conditions.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 2
Consider a class of 40 students. John is ranked 10th among the boys and 15th overall. Is John among the top 50% of the class?
Statements:
A. There are 25 boys in the class.
B. There are 15 girls in the class.
Answer: B
Explanation:
Statement B alone is sufficient because it allows us to calculate the overall rank and determine if John is in the top 50%. Statement A alone does not provide enough information.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 3
Three friends, P, Q, and R are comparing their heights. Is P the tallest?
Statements:
A. Q is taller than at least one of P and R.
B. R is shorter than at least one of P and Q.
Answer: C
Explanation:
Neither statement alone provides enough information to determine if P is the tallest. Together they imply that Q and R are not taller than P, making P the tallest.
Suggested: GMAT Data Insights - A Complete Guide
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 4
In a chess tournament, four players—Liam, Noah, Emma, and Olivia—compete, and each player plays against every other player exactly once. Who won the most games?
Statements:
A. Liam won more games than Noah and Emma.
B. Olivia lost to both Liam and Noah but won against Emma.
Answer: C
Explanation:
Both statements alone and together do not provide information to determine the overall winner. Together, they suggest that Liam won the most games.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 5
A company evaluates its employees on two metrics. Productivity (P) and Efficiency (E). Did Employee X score higher than Employee Y overall?
Statements:
A. Employee X scored higher than Employee Y in Productivity.
B. Employee X scored lower than Employee Y in Efficiency.
Answer: D
Explanation:
Both statements alone and together do not provide information to determine if Employee X scored higher overall, as the overall score depends on the weighting of Productivity and Efficiency, which is not given.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Questions and Answers: Difficulty Level II
Below are some data sufficiency problems with a higher difficulty level, along with their answers and explanations.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 6
Directions for Questions 6 and 7: Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Use the following instructions to answer each question:
(a) If the question can be answered using statement A alone but not statement B alone.
(b) If the question can be answered using statement B alone but not statement A alone.
(c) If the question can be answered using either statement alone.
(d) If the question can be answered using both statements together but not by either statement alone.
The "Player of the Match" award goes to the player scoring the most points in a tennis tournament. If there is a tie, the player with more aces wins. If it is still a tie, the player with fewer double faults wins. Players A, B, and C are tied in points. B has two more aces than A. C has the same number of double faults as A. Who is the Player of the Match?
A. C scored 10 points fewer than both A and B.
B. The double faults made by B are one fewer than the aces made by A.
Answer: (d)
Explanation:
-
Statement A tells us that C scored fewer points than A and B but doesn't distinguish between A and B.
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Statement B provides information about double faults and aces but not the total points. Together, they allow comparison and determination of the winner by giving us enough to compare aces and double faults along with points.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 7
Four students – P, Q, R, and S secured the top four positions in an exam, but P did not get first, Q did not get second, R did not get third, and S did not get fourth. Who ranked where?
A. Neither P nor S were in the top 2.
B. Neither Q nor R was in the bottom 2.
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
-
Statement A excludes P and S from the top 2, providing partial information.
-
Statement B excludes Q and R from the bottom 2, offering additional partial information.
-
Together, they help determine the exact ranks of P, Q, R, and S by elimination.
Suggested: Know How to Study for GMAT Math in 2024
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 8
The following question is followed by two statements, A and B. Use the instructions to determine the answer:
(a) If the question can be answered using statement A alone but not statement B alone.
(b) If the question can be answered using statement B alone but not statement A alone.
(c) If the question cannot be answered using both statements together.
(d) If the question can be answered using both statements together but not by either statement alone.
Mr. Sharma distributes 45 candies among five children such that each child receives at least one candy, and no two children receive the same candies. What number of candies is received by the child who gets the most?
A. Each child receives more than 4 candies.
B. The sum of candies received by the child who gets the most and the child who gets the least is 23.
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
-
Statement A provides information on the minimum number of candies each child receives but will not determine the distribution.
-
Statement B allows us to deduce the distribution since the total candies and the sum of the maximum and minimum candies provide enough constraints to solve the problem.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 9
The following question is followed by two statements, A and B. Use the instructions to determine the answer:
(a) If the question can be answered using statement A alone but not statement B alone.
(b) If the question can be answered using statement B alone but not statement A alone.
(c) If the question cannot be answered using both statements together.
(d) If the question can be answered using both statements together but not by either statement alone.
In a line of students facing East, there are 12 students to the left of Ramesh and 18 students to the right of Suresh. How many students are in the line?
A. There are 6 students between Ramesh and Suresh.
B. The total number of students is a prime number less than 31.
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
-
Statement A gives partial information about the students between Ramesh and Suresh but not the total.
-
Statement B provides a constraint on the total number of students but without knowing the positions of Ramesh and Suresh.
-
Combined, they allow us to determine the total number of students considering the prime number constraint.
GMAT Data Sufficiency Question 10
The following question is followed by two statements, A and B. Use the instructions to determine the answer:
(a) If the question can be answered using one of the statements alone but not the other.
(b) If the question can be answered using either statement alone.
(c) If the question can be answered using both statements together but not by either statement alone.
(d) If the question cannot be answered even using both statements together.
The houses of Arun, Varun, Mohit, and Suresh are of different sizes. Arun lives in the second largest house, which has the same number of rooms as Varun's house. The largest house does not have the maximum number of rooms. Suresh does not live in the smallest house. The total number of rooms in Mohit's and Varun's houses is even. Who lives in the second smallest house, and how many rooms does it have?
A. One house has three rooms, and the others have one, two, and four rooms.
B. The houses have two, three, three, and five rooms, in no particular order.
Answer: (a)
Explanation:
-
Statement A provides a specific distribution of rooms allowing us to deduce the number of rooms in the second smallest house.
-
Statement B gives a broader range, making it more difficult to pinpoint the exact number of rooms.
-
Statement A alone provides enough detail to answer the question.
Suggested: GMAT Quant Updated Syllabus for 2024
Tips for GMAT Data Sufficiency Questions
Below are some tips that can be used while solving GMAT Data Sufficiency Questions.
From the Desk of Yocket
GMAT test takers are assessed not just on who has the requisite quant knowledge, but also on who has important skills and abilities such as critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and good decision-makers. GMAT Data Sufficiency is GMAC’s number-one tool for “equalizing” the playing field on the Quant section and making it more of a reasoning test. Practice well before appearing for the exam and remember the above tips to ace the GMAT.
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