Which of the following commodities show the least average demand over the…
2024
Which of the following commodities show the least average demand over the decades from 1990 to 2020 ?
Answer: B. Edible oils — Concept — the arithmetic mean of a series is the sum of its observations divided by the number of observations. When several series are recorded over the very…
- A.
Sugar
- B.
Edible oils
- C.
Fruits
- D.
Meat, Fish and Eggs
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept — the arithmetic mean of a series is the sum of its observations divided by the number of observations. When several series are recorded over the very same set of periods, every series is divided by the same count, so ranking the series by their totals produces exactly the same ordering as ranking them by their means.
A commodity that happens to be the smallest in any single year need not carry the smallest mean; the whole series has to be aggregated before any comparison is made.
Add the four yearly entries of each commodity that appears among the choices.
Divide every total by 4, the common number of observation years.
Compare the four means — equivalently, compare the four totals — and take the smallest.
Application — the table records four years, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020, so the divisor is 4 for every commodity. Adding each offered commodity's four entries and dividing by 4 gives:
Commodity | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020 | Total (4 years) | Mean per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sugar | 9.6 | 12.8 | 18.4 | 23.1 | 63.9 | 15.975 |
Edible oils | 4.3 | 6.3 | 10.1 | 14.3 | 35.0 | 8.75 |
Fruits | 12.5 | 22.2 | 43.5 | 82.1 | 160.3 | 40.075 |
Meat, Fish and Egg | 3.0 | 6.2 | 13.6 | 28.3 | 51.1 | 12.775 |
Cross-check — a single-column glance is misleading here. In 1990 and again in 2000 the Meat, Fish and Egg row sits below the Edible oils row (3.0 against 4.3, and 6.2 against 6.3), so reading only the early columns points at the wrong commodity. From 2010 onward Meat, Fish and Egg climbs far more steeply (13.6 and 28.3 against 10.1 and 14.3), and its four-year total of 51.1 overtakes the 35.0 of Edible oils. Only the aggregate settles the comparison.
Result — Edible oils carries the least average demand across 1990 to 2020, at 35.0 ÷ 4 = 8.75 million metric tonnes per year, below Meat, Fish and Egg at 12.775, Sugar at 15.975 and Fruits at 40.075 million metric tonnes.