Find the answers to the following questions.
- (i) Which family spent the least amount overall?
- (ii) Approximately how much did Family C spend overall?
- (iii) Approximately what percentage of Family C’s expenses were on housing?
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: These questions are about each family’s total. A cluster chart does not show totals, so we must add up a family’s six columns ourselves.
(i) Which family spent the least amount overall?
- Totals: A = 1940 + 1700 + 1280 + 1200 + 1770 + 535 = 8425; B = 1750 + 1546 + 1500 + 1280 + 1210 + 0 = 7286; C = 950 + 1700 + 1540 + 1400 + 1300 + 150 = 7040. Least: Family C.1 mark
(ii) Approximately how much did Family C spend overall?
- Reading Family C’s columns roughly as 950 + 1700 + 1550 + 1400 + 1300 + 150 gives about ₹7000. The exact total is ₹7040.1 mark
(iii) Approximately what percentage of Family C’s expenses were on housing?
- Housing share = 9507040 × 100 ≈ 13.5%, so about 13–14% (roughly one-seventh) of Family C’s spending.1 mark
Check: 8425 + 7286 + 7040 = 22751 = sum of all 18 table values ✓.
Answer to write in the exam
(i)
Total of A = ₹8425, B = ₹7286, C = ₹7040
∴ Family C spent the least overall
(ii)
Family C: 950 + 1700 + 1540 + 1400 + 1300 + 150 = ₹7040
∴ Family C spent about ₹7000 overall
(iii)
Housing % = 9507040 × 100 = 13.49%
∴ About 13.5% of Family C’s expenses were on housing
Common mistakes that cost marks
- Leaving out a small column such as Recreation (₹150 for Family C) when adding.
- Picking Family C as ‘least’ only because its housing column is shortest. ‘Overall’ means the total of all categories.
- Dividing 950 by Family A’s or the grand total instead of Family C’s own total.
How this can come in the exam
A family spends ₹1200 on rent out of a total of ₹6000. The percentage spent on rent is
- 12%
- 20%
- 25%
- 5%
Show answer
(B) 20%
12006000 × 100 = 20%.
Try one yourself
Using the same table, approximately what percentage of Family A’s expenses were on healthcare?
Show answer
17708425 × 100 ≈ 21%.
More questions like this
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- The following stacked column chart shows the number of animal species in the IUCN Red List, by class, over time.
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- Try answering the following question based on the expenditure stacked bar chart you saw earlier: Which family has the smallest share of their total expenditure towards healthcare? Was it easy? If not, what visualisation can help answer such questions easily?