MH Police Bharti · Bite-size lessons
Data Interpretation
About 7 min · Intellectual Test (Reasoning) · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 475 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Data Interpretation (DI) is a critical reasoning topic in the Maharashtra Police Bharti exam that tests your ability to extract, analyze, and calculate information from visual data presentations. You will encounter tables, bar graphs, pie charts, and line graphs—each requiring you to quickly identify relevant numbers and perform basic arithmetic operations.
Key ideas
- Table: Presents exact numerical data in rows and columns. Most precise but requires careful row-column matching. Always check units mentioned in headers.
- Bar Graph: Compares quantities across categories or time periods. Height of each bar represents value. Can be vertical or horizontal; can show single or multiple data series (grouped/stacked bars).
- Pie Chart: Shows parts of a whole as slices of a circle. Total always equals 100% or 360 degrees. Each slice's size represents proportion—useful for percentage-based questions.
- Line Graph: Displays trends over time. Points connected by lines show increase, decrease, or stability. Slope steepness indicates rate of change.
- Data Point Identification: Before any calculation, locate the exact numbers. For bar graphs, read the scale carefully. For pie charts, note whether values are given in percentages or degrees.
Quick reference
- For pie charts: 1% = 3.6 degrees; 10% = 36 degrees; 25% = 90 degrees.
- Percentage change = (Difference / Original) × 100 — denominator is always the BASE value.
- In bar graphs, always check Y-axis starting point—it may not be zero.
- For ratios, simplify by dividing both values by their HCF.
- Line graph slope: steeper line = faster change; flat line = no change.
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. The following table shows the number of crimes reported in five police stations during a week: Police Station | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- Station A | 12 | 15 | 10 | 18 | 14 Station B | 8 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 16 Station C | 20 | 18 | 22 | 16 | 19 Station D | 5 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 8 Station E | 14 | 16 | 12 | 15 | 13 What is the total number of crimes reported on Wednesday across all five stations?
2. A pie chart shows the distribution of the annual budget of a police department: - Salaries: 45% - Equipment: 25% - Training: 15% - Infrastructure: 10% - Others: 5% If the total annual budget is Rs. 80,00,000, how much money is allocated for Equipment and Training combined?
3. The bar graph below shows the number of traffic violations recorded in a city over six months: Month | Violations --- | --- January | 240 February | 180 March | 300 April | 270 May | 210 June | 360 What is the average number of traffic violations per month over this six-month period?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 21 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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