Minimalist IAS
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CSAT · 58 questions

Data interpretation & sufficiency

Every UPSC CSAT question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Data interpretation & sufficiency questions per year: 2016: 0, 2017: 1, 2018: 13, 2019: 0, 2020: 6, 2021: 5, 2022: 7, 2023: 5, 2024: 10, 2025: 5, 2026: 6 Asked in 9 of 11 years · most in 2018 (13)

UPSC syllabus: “Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level);” See the full syllabus →

CSAT 2017 · Q52

Easy

If for a sample data

Mean < Median < Mode

then the distribution is

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) skewed to the left

In a skewed distribution the mean is pulled furthest towards the long tail, the mode sits at the peak, and the median lies between them. Mean < Median < Mode means the tail stretches to the left: the distribution is negatively skewed.

  1. In a symmetric distribution mean = median = mode, so (a) and (c) are out.
  2. A few very small values pull the mean down more than the median, while the mode (the peak) is least affected.
  3. So mean < median < mode signals a long left tail: skewed to the left (negative skew).
  4. Skewed to the right would give the reverse order: mode < median < mean.

Remember · The mean chases the tail: mean below median means left-skewed; mean above median means right-skewed.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper II (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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