Question

A cake chain manufactures two types of products, cakes/pastries/gateaux and savouries. The chain was concerned about high wastage, in terms of leftover, and wanted to reduce it. The table below gives sales, costs and leftover data for both product types from 1993 to 2004.

Which of the following statement(s) is/are right?
1. The worth of leftover for cakes/pastries/gateaux increased from 1993 to 2004.
2. The worth of leftover for cakes/pastries/gateaux kept on fluctuating, many times, between 1993 and 2004.
3. The worth of leftover for savouries and cakes/pastries/gateaux was highest in 2004.
4. The worth of leftover for savouries kept on fluctuating, many times, between 1993 and 2004.

Choose the right combination from the following:

• A. 1 and 4
• B. 3 and 4
• C. 1 and 2
• D. 3 only

Hint:

Worth of leftover equals leftover % of sales, multiplied by sales, for that year; check whether it rises overall and whether it zig-zags in between, these are two separate, non-contradictory checks.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The worth of leftover in a year is not the leftover percentage printed in the table directly, it is that percentage applied to that year's sales: worth of leftover equals leftover % of sales, multiplied by sales, for that year. Sales for both product lines grow steadily from 1993 to 2004, while the leftover percentage moves up and down year to year rather than in one smooth direction.

1. Statement 1, cakes/pastries/gateaux leftover increased 1993 to 2004: Comparing only the two endpoints, sales in 2004 are many times the 1993 sales, and the leftover percentage in 2004 is not small enough to offset that growth. So the rupee worth of leftover for cakes/pastries/gateaux in 2004 is higher than in 1993, this statement holds when comparing the start and end years.
2. Statement 2, cakes/pastries/gateaux leftover fluctuates in between: The leftover percentage column for cakes/pastries/gateaux does not move in one direction every year, it rises in some years and falls in others across the eleven year span. Since the rupee worth depends on this percentage as well as on sales, the worth also moves up and down rather than climbing every single year. This statement holds too, and it is not contradicted by statement 1, since a series can end higher than it started while still wobbling along the way.
3. Statement 3, both products' leftover highest in 2004: 2004 has the highest sales for both product lines, but the leftover percentage in 2004 is not necessarily the highest percentage in the table for both series, so the rupee worth in 2004 is not confirmed to be the single highest year for both product lines at once.
4. Statement 4, savouries leftover fluctuates: the savouries leftover percentage column also moves up and down rather than trending in one clean direction, but this option pairs it with statement 3, which is not fully supported.

Let's summarize:

• An endpoint comparison, statement 1, and an in between fluctuation, statement 2, can both be true for the same series at once, they are not contradictory.
• Highest in 2004 needs the actual leftover percentage checked for every year, not just assumed from rising sales.

Statements 1 and 2 together give the combination best supported by the table, option (C).