15+ Important Data Sufficiency CAT Questions with Answers

Overview: Practicing Data sufficiency CAT questions can help your score good scores in the CAT 2026 exam. Read on to explore the practice CAT Data Sufficiency Questions to improve your preparation!

• Are you preparing for the CAT exam and grappling with the unique challenge of Data Sufficiency CAT questions?
• This section, often a stumbling block for many aspirants, is a critical component of the Quantitative Ability section. Unlike traditional problem-solving, Data Sufficiency doesn't ask you to find a specific answer; instead, it tests your ability to determine if the given information is sufficient to answer a question.

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Continue reading to know the important previous year's Data Sufficiency CAT questions along with expert strategies for tackling them and equip you with the knowledge to excel.

Read More: How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT Exam

What Exactly are Data Sufficiency CAT Questions?

At its core, Data Sufficiency CAT questions present you with a question followed by two statements, labeled (I) and (II). Your task is to analyze these statements, individually and then together, to decide if they provide enough information to answer the original question. The options typically are:

• Option A: Statement (I) alone is sufficient, but statement (II) alone is not sufficient.
• Option B: Statement (II) alone is sufficient, but statement (I) alone is not sufficient.
• Option C: Both statements (I) and (II) together are sufficient, but neither statement alone is sufficient.
• Option D: Each statement alone is sufficient.
• Option E: Statements (I) and (II) together are not sufficient.

Understanding these options thoroughly is the first step to mastering Data Sufficiency CAT questions. It’s not about finding the numerical answer, but about judging the "sufficiency" of the data.

Check: How to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT exam 

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Important Data Sufficiency CAT Questions to Practice

Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions:

Mark option (1) if the question can be answered by using statement A alone but not by using statement B alone.
Mark option (2) if the question can be answered by using statement B alone but not by using statement A alone.
Mark option (3) if the question can be answered by using either statement alone.
Mark option (4) if the question can be answered by using both statements together,1 but not by either of the statements alone.
Mark option (5) if the question cannot be answered based on the two statements.

Que 1. In a single-elimination tournament, any player is eliminated with a single loss. The tournament is played in multiple rounds, subject to the following rules:

1. If the number of players, say n, in any round is even, then the players are grouped in to n/2 pairs. The players in each pair play a match against each other and the winner moves on to the next round.

2. If the number of players, say n, in any round is odd, then one of them is given a bye, that is, he automatically moves on to the next round. The remaining (n − 1) players are grouped into (n − 1)/2 pairs. The players in each pair play a match against each other and the winner moves on to the next round. No player gets more than one bye in the entire tournament.

Thus, if n is even, then n/2 players move on to the next round while if n is odd, then (n + 1)/2 players move on to the next round. The process is continued till the final round, which obviously is played between two players. The winner in the final round is the champion of the tournament.

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What is the number of matches played by the champion?

A: The entry list for the tournament consists of 83 players. 
B: The champion received one bye.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4
5. Option 5

Answer: Option D

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Que 2. If the number of players, say n, in the first round was between 65 and 128, then what is the exact value of n?

A. Exactly one player received a bye in the entire tournament.
B. One player received a bye while moving on to the fourth round from the third round

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4
5. Option 5

Answer: Option D

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Que 3. The average weight of a class of 100 students is 45 kg. The class consists of two sections, I and II, each with 50 students. The average weight, WI, of Section I is smaller than the average weight, WII, of Section II. If the heaviest student, say Deepak, of Section II is moved to Section I, and the lightest student, say Poonam, of Section I is moved to Section II, then the average weights of the two sections are switched, i.e., the average weight of Section I becomes WII and that of Section II becomes WI. What is the weight of Poonam?

A. WII – WI = 1.0
B. Moving Deepak from Section II to I (without any move from I to II) makes the average weights of the two sections equal.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option C

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Que 4. In a football match, at the half-time, Mahindra and Mahindra Club was trailing by three goals. Did it win the match?

I. In the second-half Mahindra and Mahindra Club scored four goals.
II. The opponent scored four goals in the match.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4
5. Option 5

Answer: Option E

Que 5.  In a particular school, sixty students were athletes. Ten among them were also among the top academic performers. How many top academic performers were in the school?

I. Sixty per cent of the top academic performers were not athletes.
II. All the top academic performers were not necessarily athletes.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4
5. Option 5

Answer: Option A

Que 6. Five students, Atul, Bala, Chetan, Dev and Ernesto, were the only ones who participated in a quiz contest. They were ranked based on their scores in the contest. Dev got a higher rank as compared to Ernesto, while Bala got a higher rank as compared to Chetan. Chetan’s rank was lower than the median. Who among the five got the highest rank?

I. Atul was the last rank holder.
II. Bala was not among the top two rank holders.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4
5. Option 5

Answer: Option D

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Que 7. Thirty percent of the employees of a call centre are males. Ten per cent of the female employees have an engineering background. What is the percentage of male employees with an engineering background?

Twenty-five per cent of the employees have an engineering background.
II. Number of male employees having an engineering background is 20% more than the number of female employees having an engineering background.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4
5. Option 5

Answer: Option C

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Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions

Choose 1 if the question can be answered by using one of the statements alone but not by using the other statement alone.
Choose 2 if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone.
Choose 3 if the question can be answered by using both statements together but not by either statement alone.
Choose 4 if the question cannot be answered based on the two statements.

Que 8. Ravi spent less than Rs . 75 to buy one kilogram each of potato, onion, and gourd. Which one of the three vegetables bought was the costliest?

A. 2 kg potato and 1 kg gourd cost less than 1 kg potato and 2 kg gourd.
B. 1 kg potato and 2 kg onion together cost the same as 1 kg onion and 2 kg gourd.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4
5. Option 5

Answer: Option C

Each question is followed by two statements, A and B. Answer each question using the following instructions

Choose 1 if the question can be answered by using one of the statements alone, but not by using the other statement alone.
Choose 2 if the question can be answered by using either of the statements alone.
Choose 3 if the question can be answered by using both statements together but not by either statement alone.
Choose 4 if the question cannot be answered based on the two statements.

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Que 9. Tarak is standing 2 steps to the left of a red mark and three steps to the right of a blue mark. He tosses a coin. If it comes up heads, he moves one step to the right; otherwise he moves one step to the left. He keeps doing this until he reaches one of the two marks, and then he stops. At which mark does he stop?

A. He stops after 21 coin tosses.
B. He obtains three more tails than heads.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option B

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Que 10.Nandini paid for an article using currency notes of denominations Re. l, Rs. 2, Rs. 5, and Rs. 10 using at least one note of each denomination. The total number of five and ten rupee notes used was one more than the total number of one and two rupee notes used. What was the price of the article?

A. Nandini used a total of 13 currency notes.
B. The price of the article was a multiple of Rs. 10.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option D

Que 11. Four candidates for an award obtain distinct scores in a test. Each of the four casts a vote to choose the winner of the award. The candidate who gets the largest number of votes wins the award. In case of a tie in the voting process, the candidate with the highest score wins the award. Who wins the award?

A. The candidates with the top three scores each vote for the top scorer amongst the other three.
B. The candidate with the lowest score votes for the player with the second-highest score.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option A

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Que 12. In a class of 30 students, Rashmi secured the third rank among the girls, while her brother Kumar, studying in the same class, secured the sixth rank in the whole class. Between the two, who had a better overall rank?

A .Kumar was among the top 25% of the boys merit list in the class in which 60% were boys.
B. There were three boys among the top five rank holders, and three girls among the top ten rank holders.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option A

Que 13. Zakib spends 30% of his income on his children’s education, 20% on recreation and 10% on healthcare. The corresponding percentages for Supriyo are 40%, 25%, and 13%. Who spends more on children’s education?

A. Zakib spends more on recreation than Supriyo.
B. Supriyo spends more on healthcare than Zakib.

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option A

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Que 14. Is a44 < b11, given that a = 2 and b is an integer?

A. b is even

B. b is greater than 16

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option A

Que 15. What are the unique values of b and c in the equation 4x2 + bx + c = 0 if one of the roots of the equation is (−1/2)?

A. The second root is 1/2
B. The ratio of c and b is 1

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option B

Read more: CAT Ratio and Proportion Questions

Que 16. AB is a chord of a circle. AB = 5 cm. A tangent parallel to AB touches the minor arc AB at E. What is the radius of the circle?

I. B is not a diameter of the circle
II The distance between AB and the tangent at E is 5 cm

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option A

Que 17. D, E, F are the mid-points of the sides AB, BC and CA of triangle ABC respectively. What is the area of DEF in square centimetres?

A. D = 1 cm, DF = 1 cm and perimeter of DEF = 3 cm
B. Perimeter of ABC = 6 cm, AB = 2 cm, and AC = 2 cm

1. Option 1
2. Option 2
3. Option 3
4. Option 4

Answer: Option B

Que 18. At the end of year 1998, Shepard bought nine dozen goats. Henceforth, every year he added p% of the goats at the beginning of the year and sold q% of the goats at the end of the year where p > 0 and q > 0. If Shepard had nine dozen goats at the end of year 2002, after making the sales for that year, which of the following is true?

1. p = q
2. p < q
3. p > q
4. p = q/2

Answer: Option C

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Why Are Data Sufficiency Questions Important for CAT 2026?

Data Sufficiency CAT questions are not just another type of problem; they are a sophisticated test of your logical reasoning and analytical skills. They assess:

• Conceptual Clarity: Do you truly understand the underlying mathematical concepts, or can you only apply formulas blindly?
• Logical Deduction: Can you draw valid conclusions from limited information?
• Efficiency: Can you quickly determine sufficiency without actually solving the entire problem? This saves crucial time in a competitive exam.
• Identification of Redundancy/Necessity: Can you distinguish between information that is essential and information that is superfluous?

Excelling in Data Sufficiency CAT questions demonstrates a deeper level of understanding than simply being able to solve equations. It showcases your ability to think strategically and critically.

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Strategies for Conquering Data Sufficiency CAT Questions 2026

Approaching Data Sufficiency CAT questions systematically can significantly improve your accuracy and speed. Here are some key strategies:

1. Analyze the Question First

Before even looking at the statements, thoroughly understand what the question is asking. What kind of answer are you looking for? A specific value, a "yes" or "no" answer, or a relationship?

2. Evaluate Statement (I) Alone

Assume statement (II) does not exist. Can you answer the question using only the information in statement (I)? If yes, mentally note it. If no, move on.

3. Evaluate Statement (II) Alone

Now, assume statement (I) does not exist. Can you answer the question using only the information in statement (II)? If yes, mentally note it.

4. Combine Statements (I) and (II)

 If neither statement alone was sufficient, then and only then, combine the information from both statements. Can you answer the question now? Be cautious not to carry over assumptions from one statement to another when evaluating them individually.

5. Avoid Unnecessary Calculations

This is perhaps the most crucial tip for Data Sufficiency CAT questions. Your goal is to determine sufficiency, not to find the exact numerical answer. If you can logically deduce that an answer is possible, even if you haven't calculated it, the statement(s) are sufficient.

6. Consider All Possibilities (for "Yes/No" Questions)

If the question asks for a "yes" or "no" answer, a statement is sufficient only if it consistently leads to either a definitive "yes" or a definitive "no." If it leads to "yes" in some scenarios and "no" in others, it is not sufficient.

7. Practice with Diverse Problems

The best way to improve is through consistent practice. Seek out a variety of data sufficiency questions for CAT covering different topics like algebra, geometry, number systems, and arithmetic.

8. Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Even with sound strategies, certain traps can lead to incorrect answers in Data Sufficiency CAT questions:

9. Jumping to Conclusions

Resist the urge to combine statements prematurely. Always evaluate them individually first.

10. Making Assumptions

Stick strictly to the information provided. Do not bring in external knowledge or make unwarranted assumptions.

11. Over-Solving the Questions 

As mentioned, you don't always need to find the exact answer. If you realize the information is sufficient, mark it and move on.

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12. Ignoring Constraints

Pay close attention to any given constraints, such as "x is a positive integer" or "triangle ABC is equilateral." These can significantly impact sufficiency.

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Conclusion

Master the Data Sufficiency CAT questions by practicing the previous year CAT questions.  By focusing on conceptual clarity, logical deduction, and efficient problem-solving, you can transform this challenging section into one of your strengths.

Remember to consistently practice with CAT Data Sufficiency Questions and utilize resources like cat data sufficiency questions and answers PDF to refine your skills. With dedication and the right strategies, you will be well-equipped to conquer this crucial section of the CAT exam and move closer to your academic goals.