Study the following line graph and answer the question based on it. Number of…

Concept

In line-graph data interpretation, a company's total production over several years is the sum of its yearly readings. To compare two companies, compute each company's own total separately and then subtract the smaller total from the larger; never subtract single-year values, since that gives one year's gap, not the overall gap between the two full running totals.

Application

1. Read Company X's production for each year from the graph: 1997 = 119, 1998 = 99, 1999 = 141, 2000 = 78, 2001 = 120, 2002 = 159 (thousand vehicles).

2. Read Company Y's production for each year from the graph: 1997 = 139, 1998 = 120, 1999 = 100, 2000 = 128, 2001 = 107, 2002 = 148 (thousand vehicles).

3. Add Company X's six yearly values to get its total production: 119 + 99 + 141 + 78 + 120 + 159 = 716 (thousand vehicles).

4. Add Company Y's six yearly values to get its total production: 139 + 120 + 100 + 128 + 107 + 148 = 742 (thousand vehicles).

5. Subtract the smaller total from the larger: 742 − 716 = 26 (thousand vehicles), i.e., 26000 vehicles.

Cross-check

As an independent check, add the year-wise gaps (Company Y minus Company X) instead of the totals: 20 + 21 − 41 + 50 − 13 − 11 = 26 (thousand), the same overall difference — confirming the totals-based calculation.

Hence, the difference between the total productions of the two companies over 1997–2002 is 26000 vehicles.