Answer the following questions based on the charts above. Try to answer each question by looking at Choice 1 first, and then Choice 2. Which was easier?
- 1. Which family spent the least on housing?
- 2. Which family spent the most on healthcare?
- 3. Approximately how much did Family A spend on education?
- 4. Which category did Family B spend most on?
- 5. Did Family A spend more on food or on healthcare?
Step-by-step solution
| Housing | Food | Education | Transportation | Healthcare | Recreation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family A | 1940 | 1700 | 1280 | 1200 | 1770 | 535 |
| Family B | 1750 | 1546 | 1500 | 1280 | 1210 | 0 |
| Family C | 950 | 1700 | 1540 | 1400 | 1300 | 150 |
Idea: A cluster chart is easiest to read when the columns you want to compare stand next to each other in one cluster. Choice 1 puts the families side by side for each category; Choice 2 puts the categories side by side for each family.
1. Which family spent the least on housing?
- In Choice 1, the Housing cluster shows three columns side by side: 1940 (A), 1750 (B), 950 (C). The shortest is Family C. In Choice 2 you must look for the housing column in three different clusters, so Choice 1 is easier.1 mark
2. Which family spent the most on healthcare?
- In Choice 1, the Healthcare cluster: 1770 (A), 1210 (B), 1300 (C). The tallest is Family A. Again Choice 1 is easier, since the three columns are together.1 mark
3. Approximately how much did Family A spend on education?
- Family A’s education column reaches a little above halfway between the 1000 and 1500 lines: about ₹1300 (the table gives ₹1280). Both charts show this one column equally well.1 mark
4. Which category did Family B spend most on?
- In Choice 2, Family B’s cluster shows its six columns together: 1750, 1546, 1500, 1280, 1210, 0. The tallest is Housing. In Choice 1 Family B’s columns are scattered over six clusters, so Choice 2 is easier.1 mark
5. Did Family A spend more on food or on healthcare?
- In Choice 2, Family A’s food column (1700) and healthcare column (1770) are in the same cluster. The healthcare column is slightly taller, so Family A spent more on healthcare. The difference is small (₹70), so read carefully.1 mark
Answer to write in the exam
1.
Housing: A = ₹1940, B = ₹1750, C = ₹950
∴ Family C spent the least on housing (Choice 1 is easier)
2.
Healthcare: A = ₹1770, B = ₹1210, C = ₹1300
∴ Family A spent the most on healthcare (Choice 1 is easier)
3.
Family A’s education column ≈ 1300 on the scale
∴ Family A spent about ₹1300 (₹1280) on education
4.
Family B: housing ₹1750, food ₹1546, education ₹1500, transport ₹1280, healthcare ₹1210, recreation ₹0
∴ Family B spent most on housing (Choice 2 is easier)
5.
Family A: food ₹1700, healthcare ₹1770
∴ Family A spent more on healthcare (Choice 2 is easier)
Common mistakes that cost marks
- On the food-or-healthcare question, answering ‘food’ because the two columns look equal. Healthcare (1770) is slightly taller than food (1700).
- Reading the colour of a column wrongly. Always check the legend: in Choice 1 colours are families, in Choice 2 they are categories.
- Saying one chart is always better. Which is easier depends on what is being compared.
How this can come in the exam
Assertion (A): To find which category a family spent most on, a chart clustered by family is more convenient.
Reason (R): In a chart clustered by family, all of one family’s columns stand next to each other.
- Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
- Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
- A is true but R is false.
- A is false but R is true.
Show answer
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
Putting a family’s columns together lets you pick the tallest at once, so R explains A.
Try one yourself
Using the same data, which family spent the most on transportation, and which chart shows it more easily?
Show answer
Family C (₹1400, against 1200 and 1280). Choice 1 shows it more easily, since the three transportation columns stand together.
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