For each fiscal year in a 10-year period, the graph shows the number of employees at a certain corporation on...

Owning the Dataset

Table 1: Text Analysis

Table 2: Chart Analysis

Key Insights

1. Only two years (Year 2 and Year 8) feature employee increases greater than 100, signaling only these years were expected to have substantial revenue growth per the dataset's rule.
2. The employee count is otherwise stable, with no other years showing a qualifying increase—so no other years had substantial expected revenue growth.
3. The pattern of sharp increases followed by multi-year plateaus suggests this company makes infrequent, large-scale expansions anticipating notable revenue boosts, rather than constant gradual growth.

Step-by-Step Solution

Question 1: First Year with Expected Substantial Revenue Increase

Complete Statement:

Among the years shown in the graph, Year [BLANK 1] was the first year in which the corporation expected to have a substantial increase in revenue over the course of that year.

Breaking Down the Statement

• Statement Breakdown 1:
  • Key Phrase: first year
  • Meaning: We are looking for the earliest year that fits the given criteria.
  • Relation to Chart: We need to scan the chart starting from Year 1 and progressing chronologically.
  • Important Implications: Only the very first year that qualifies is the answer.
• Statement Breakdown 2:
  • Key Phrase: expected to have a substantial increase in revenue
  • Meaning: According to the passage, this is the year following an increase of more than 100 employees at the beginning of that year compared to the previous year.
  • Relation to Chart: We need to look for jumps of more than 100 in the employee count line from one year to the next.
  • Important Implications: The 'substantial increase' is expected only if the increase is greater than 100 employees.

What is needed: The first year in the chart where the employee count increased by more than 100 from the previous year, making it the first year the corporation expected a substantial increase in revenue.

Solution:

• Condensed Solution Implementation:
  Review the chart for the employee count at the beginning of each year and identify the first time the increase is greater than 100 compared to the previous year.
• Necessary Data points:
  Year 1: \(\mathrm{\sim 400}\) employees; Year 2: \(\mathrm{\sim 600}\) employees.
  • Calculations Estimations:
    \(\mathrm{Year\ 2 - Year\ 1 = 600 - 400 = 200\ (\gt 100)}\). Year 2 is the first such year.
  • Comparison to Answer Choices:
    Year 2 is among the listed answer choices (2, 4, 8), so the answer is 2.

FINAL ANSWER Blank 1: 2

Question 2: Second Year with Expected Substantial Revenue Increase

Complete Statement:

and Year [BLANK 2] was the second such year.

Breaking Down the Statement

• Statement Breakdown 1:
  • Key Phrase: second such year
  • Meaning: We are to find the next occurrence after the first, that is, the second year with an increase as described.
  • Relation to Chart: Continue scanning the chart, skipping years until the next time the employee count increases by more than 100.

What is needed: The next (second) year where the employee count increased by more than 100 from the previous year.

Solution:

• Condensed Solution Implementation:
  After Year 2, continue to check each pair of years for an increase of more than 100 in employee count.
• Necessary Data points:
  Year 7: \(\mathrm{\sim 600}\) employees; Year 8: \(\mathrm{\sim 850}\) employees.
  • Calculations Estimations:
    \(\mathrm{Year\ 8 - Year\ 7 = 850 - 600 = 250\ (\gt 100)}\). Year 8 is the second such year.
  • Comparison to Answer Choices:
    Year 8 is among the listed answer choices (2, 4, 8), so the answer is 8.

FINAL ANSWER Blank 2: 8

Summary

By analyzing the year-to-year changes in employee count on the chart, we see that only two periods show increases greater than 100: from Year 1 to Year 2 and from Year 7 to Year 8. Thus, the first year is 2 and the second is 8.

Question Independence Analysis

The two blanks are dependent: to find the second such year, one must first identify all years that qualify, so the answer to the first informs the answer to the second.