Question

The following line graph shows the sales and cost of goods sold (in rupees) for XYZ Co. over 10 months, from Month 1 to Month 10.

Sales growth in a month is the rise in sales compared to the previous month.

In which month did the company see the maximum growth in sales?

• A. Month 9
• B. Month 6
• C. Month 7
• D. Month 4

Hint:

Growth is the change in the sales curve from one month to the next; find the steepest upward move on the graph.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: List the sales figure for every month.
Reading the sales curve for months 1 through 10 gives, in rupees: 2200, 1750, 1625, 2250, 1700, 1825, 2100, 1450, 1700, 1650.

Step 2: Define sales growth and work it out month by month.
Growth in a month is that month's sales minus the previous month's sales, so month 1 has no growth figure to compare against.
Month 2: \(1750-2200=-450\).
Month 3: \(1625-1750=-125\).
Month 4: \(2250-1625=625\).
Month 5: \(1700-2250=-550\).
Month 6: \(1825-1700=125\).
Month 7: \(2100-1825=275\).
Month 8: \(1450-2100=-650\).
Month 9: \(1700-1450=250\).
Month 10: \(1650-1700=-50\).

Step 3: Pick out the largest positive growth figure.
The growth values are -450, -125, 625, -550, 125, 275, -650, 250, -50 for months 2 to 10. The biggest number here is \(625\), in month 4, well ahead of the next largest positive growth of \(275\) in month 7.

Step 4: Check why the other options fall short.
Month 9 grows by only 250, month 6 by 125, and month 7 by 275, all smaller than month 4's jump of 625. So none of these three months can be the answer.

Final Answer:
Sales grew the most, month on month, in month 4. \[ \boxed{\text{Month 4}} \]