The following line graph gives the ratio of the amounts of imports by a…
2024
The following line graph gives the ratio of the amounts of imports by a company to the amount of exports from that company over the period from 1995 to 2001.
Ratio of value of Import to Exports by a Company Over the Years:
What was the percentage increase in imports from 1997 to 1998?
- A.
72
- B.
56
- C.
28
- D.
Data inadequate
Attempted by 24 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Key insight: the graph gives ratios of imports to exports, not absolute import or export amounts.
Read the ratios from the graph: ratio in 1997 = 0.35, ratio in 1998 = 1.25.
Express imports in terms of exports: I1997 = 0.35 × E1997 and I1998 = 1.25 × E1998, where E1997 and E1998 are the export amounts.
Percentage increase in imports = (I1998 − I1997)/I1997 × 100 = (1.25·E1998 − 0.35·E1997)/(0.35·E1997) × 100.
Because E1997 and E1998 are not given, this expression cannot be evaluated numerically from the information in the graph.
Conclusion: The data are inadequate to find the percentage increase in imports from 1997 to 1998 without additional information about export amounts. (For reference: if exports were assumed unchanged, the imports would increase by (1.25 − 0.35)/0.35 × 100 ≈ 257.14%.)