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For each of the first three months of last year, the graph shows the number of service requests handled by the Technical Services department at a certain company and the number of those service requests that were high, medium, or low priority. For example, the graph shows that in March, the department handled approximately 590 requests: approximately 310 high priority, 120 medium priority, and 160 low priority.
Select the options from the drop-down menus that create the statement that is most strongly supported by the information provided.
| Text Component | Literal Content | Simple Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Time Period | For each of the first three months of last year | Data is for January, February, and March of the previous year |
| Department | Technical Services department at a certain company | The department involved is Technical Services at a specific (unnamed) company |
| Measurement | Number of service requests handled | The chart/graph displays the count of service requests processed |
| Categories of Priority | High, medium, or low priority | Each request is classified by level of urgency: high, medium, or low |
| Example Given | In March... handled approximately 590 requests: approximately 310 high, 120 medium, and 160 low priority | March had about 590 requests split into three categories as an illustration of how to interpret the data shown |
| Chart Component | Description | What This Tells Us |
|---|---|---|
| Chart Type | Stacked bar chart, horizontal orientation | Allows comparison of total and segment breakdown by month |
| X-Axis | Number of service requests (0 to 1200, marked every 200) | Shows request volume scale; useful for approximating totals |
| Y-Axis | Months: Jan, Feb, Mar (from bottom to top) | Displays time trend over first three months |
| Color Coding | High (black), Medium (gray), Low (blue) | Distinguishes request priority visually |
| Bar Values | Jan: 1100 (420 high, 360 medium, 320 low); Feb: 920 (360, 240, 320); Mar: 600 (300, 120, 180) | Shows monthly totals and breakdown by priority |
| Patterns | Proportion of high-priority increases as total drops | Priority mix changes over time |
Over the first three months, the total number of service requests handled by the department decreased steadily: from 1100 in January, to 920 in February, to 600 in March. While overall requests dropped, the proportion of high-priority requests was highest in March at 50% (300 out of 600). This shift indicates that even as total demand fell, the share of urgent (high-priority) work increased. Medium and low priority requests became a smaller relative share, and the pronounced black segment (high-priority) in March's bar on the chart visually highlights this change.
Among the three months shown, the month for which high-priority requests constituted the greatest proportion of the total number of requests for the month is [BLANK 1]
What is needed: Which month had the highest fraction of high-priority requests out of its total requests.
and that month had [BLANK 2] total number of requests, among the three
What is needed: Does March have the least, the most, or neither the greatest nor the least total requests among the three months?
March was the month when high-priority work made up the largest share of all requests (50%), despite having the smallest total number of requests. This shows that even as the overall number of requests went down, the urgency or seriousness of those requests increased.
Question 2 directly depends on the answer to Question 1, as 'that month' refers to the month chosen previously. Therefore, the questions are not independent.