MAT Data Analysis Pattern and Topics

Data Analysis & Sufficiency has 30 questions within the 150-question MAT. The total test duration is 120 minutes, and a wrong answer attracts a 0.25-mark penalty. This section has the same composite-score weight as each of the other four sections.

AIMA's samples include charts, a written data case, sufficiency and comparison questions. They are examples, not a fixed chapter-wise quota. Build practice around those skills instead of expecting an exact number of pie-chart or sufficiency questions.

Percentages, Ratios and Mixed Charts

Before calculating, write down three things: the quantity requested, its unit and its base. The same table can produce different percentages depending on whether the question asks for growth over time or a share of the total.

In this practice example, Branch A's growth is (100 - 80) / 80 × 100 = 25%. Its share of 2025 sales is 100 / 250 × 100 = 40%. Using 250 as the base for growth would answer a different question.

Comparing two pie charts

Suppose a group has 40% of 500 students in one year and 35% of 800 in the next. Its count rises from 200 to 280, even though its share falls. The count increases by 40%, while the share falls by five percentage points. Convert shares into counts whenever chart totals differ.

Reading a caselet

If a paragraph says a shop sold 240 items, of which three-eighths were online orders, enter online = 90 and offline = 150 before answering related questions. A small reusable table avoids recalculating the same split for every question.

How to Solve Data Sufficiency

First identify what must be determined. Test Statement I alone, then Statement II alone, then combine them only if necessary. Read the answer-code wording printed with that question; the letter assigned to a sufficiency outcome can differ between practice sources.

Example: What is the price of one notebook? Statement I says that three notebooks and two pens cost INR 160. Statement II says that one pen costs INR 20. Statement I alone leaves two unknown prices, while Statement II alone gives no notebook price. Together, three notebooks cost INR 120, so one costs INR 40. Both statements together are sufficient; neither alone is.

For a yes/no question, a definite "no" is also sufficient. If the question asks whether integer x is positive and a statement gives x = -3, it settles the answer. If the statement gives x squared = 9, x may be 3 or -3, so it is insufficient. The goal is a definite answer, not necessarily a positive answer.

Avoid borrowing information from the second statement while testing the first. Write the possible values or a counterexample when a statement seems sufficient but does not uniquely fix the answer.

Quantitative Comparison and Approximation

For a comparison, list all allowed values before deciding that one quantity is larger. If x squared = 16, comparing x with 0 gives two possibilities: x = 4 or x = -4. The relationship cannot be fixed unless another condition restricts x.

Use approximation when it separates the answer choices. If two options differ by only a small amount, return to the exact values. Preserve the denominator in a ratio and keep units consistent: 0.8 crore and 80 lakh represent the same amount.

For percentage comparisons, calculate the rate rather than selecting the biggest absolute increase. A rise from 20 to 30 is 50%; a rise from 100 to 120 is 20%, despite the larger numerical increase.

Two-week Data Analysis Preparation Plan

This is a suggested revision sequence. If fractions and percentages are still causing mistakes, repeat those exercises before adding more complex charts. If the equations are correct but arithmetic is slow, practise the calculation separately from the full set.

Reviewing Data Analysis Attempts

Record the first wrong step, not just the final answer. A correct formula with a subtraction slip needs a different correction from a percentage formula built on the wrong total. For a multi-question set, check whether one mistaken base affected several answers.

Use mixed sets from the MAT 2026 question-paper collection after topic exercises. Review the paper's actual format before using it as a timed full test. Keep your Data Analysis practice inside the five-section MAT study plan so a long chart set does not consume the whole mock.

When a set is taking too long, mark the exact point where progress stopped: missing equation, repeated arithmetic or an unresolved condition. That gives you a specific exercise for the next session instead of the vague target of "improving speed".