UP Police Constable · Bite-size lessons
Data Interpretation
About 7 min · Numerical & Mental Ability · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 525 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Data Interpretation (DI) is a topic in UP Police Constable's Numerical & Mental Ability paper. You will be given data in the form of tables, bar charts, line graphs or pie charts, followed by calculation-based questions. Unlike advanced DI in banking exams, UP Police DI focuses on straightforward arithmetic—percentages, ratios, averages and simple comparisons. Speed and accuracy in basic calculations are your primary weapons here.
Key ideas
- Data representation formats: Tables show data in rows and columns; bar charts use vertical or horizontal bars; line graphs connect data points over time or categories; pie charts show percentage distribution of a whole.
- Reading scales carefully: Always check axis labels, units (lakhs, crores, percentages) and legends before calculating. Misreading a scale by one unit can change your answer entirely.
- Percentage vs absolute values: Pie charts show percentages; bar/line charts may show absolute numbers. Questions may ask you to convert between the two.
- Comparison questions: "Which year had the highest…?", "What is the difference between…?", "Which category is greater?" — these test your ability to scan and compare data quickly.
- Approximation skill: Exact calculations waste time. Learn to round numbers intelligently—if options are far apart, approximate; if close, calculate precisely.
Watch out for
- Misreading the scale → Always check if data is in units, thousands, lakhs or crores. If the axis says "in lakhs" and a bar shows 5, the actual value is 5,00,000, not 5. Underline the scale before solving.
- Using the wrong denominator in percentages → Identify the base correctly. "A is what % of B?" means (A/B)×100, not (B/A)×100. Reversing numerator and denominator is a classic error.
- Confusing rows and columns in tables → Trace with your finger. In a table with years as rows and products as columns, ensure you pick the intersection correctly. Highlight the relevant row/column if needed.
Quick reference
- Tables: Scan row and column headers first; cross-check units before calculating.
- Bar charts: Compare bar heights visually for "maximum/minimum" questions before calculating.
- Line graphs: Mark peaks and troughs; trend questions are often visual.
- Pie charts: Remember that all sectors sum to 100%; use the total value if given.
- Speed trick: For percentage of total, estimate each part as a fraction of the whole—30% ≈ 1/3, 25% = 1/4, 20% = 1/5.
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. A bar chart shows the production of wheat (in thousand tonnes) in five states: Punjab: 450 Haryana: 380 Uttar Pradesh: 520 Madhya Pradesh: 340 Rajasthan: 280 What is the average production of wheat across all five states (in thousand tonnes)?
2. A pie chart shows the monthly expenditure of a family. The family spends 25% on rent, 30% on food, 20% on education, 15% on transport and 10% on miscellaneous items. If the total monthly expenditure is Rs. 40,000, how much more does the family spend on food than on transport?
3. The line graph shows the sales (in lakhs of rupees) of a company over five years: Year 2019: 50 lakhs Year 2020: 60 lakhs Year 2021: 75 lakhs Year 2022: 65 lakhs Year 2023: 90 lakhs In which year did the sales show the maximum percentage increase compared to the previous year?
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 18 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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