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WGU D459: Data Analysis & Interpretation
Actual Assessment Guide with Real Exam
Questions & Verified Solutions | Western
Governors University
Section 1: Interpreting Charts & Graphs
Q1: A line chart shows a company’s quarterly sales over three years. The line has a consistent
upward slope with small seasonal dips in Q1 each year. What is the most accurate interpretation?
A. Sales are unpredictable and declining.
B. The company shows strong overall growth with predictable seasonal variation.
C. The company should discontinue its Q1 products.
D. There is no correlation between time and sales performance.
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because a consistent upward slope indicates overall growth,
while repeated dips in a specific quarter indicate a regular seasonal pattern.
Q2: A scatter plot displays customer satisfaction scores (Y-axis) against customer service
response time in hours (X-axis). The points trend downward from left to right. This suggests:
A. Faster response times have no effect on satisfaction.
B. There is a negative correlation: longer response times are associated with lower satisfaction
scores.
C. There is a positive correlation: longer response times improve satisfaction.
D. The data is insufficient to determine a relationship.
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because a downward trend in a scatter plot indicates that as
one variable (response time) increases, the other (satisfaction score) decreases, defining a
negative correlation.
Q3: A bar chart compares 2023 monthly website traffic for two campaigns. Campaign A bars are
consistently twice as high as Campaign B bars across all months. The best conclusion is:
A. Campaign B outperformed Campaign A.
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B. Campaign A generated approximately double the traffic of Campaign B.
C. Website traffic is unrelated to campaign activity.
D. The data shows a negative correlation between campaigns.
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because consistently taller bars for Campaign A demonstrate a
quantifiable two-to-one performance ratio.
Q4: A pie chart illustrates a company’s expense breakdown: Salaries 45 %, Rent 20 %,
Marketing 15 %, Utilities 5 %, Other 15 %. Which expense category should be targeted first if
management needs to reduce total costs by 10 %?
A. Utilities
B. Marketing
C. Salaries
D. Other
Answer: C
Verified Rationale: This is correct because salaries represent the largest proportion of expenses,
so even a small percentage reduction there yields the greatest absolute savings.
Q5: A histogram displays the distribution of customer purchase amounts. The highest bar is
centered at $50 and the distribution is nearly symmetrical with tails tapering equally on both
sides. This shape indicates:
A. A skewed distribution toward high-value purchases.
B. A uniform distribution where every amount is equally likely.
C. A normal distribution with $50 as the approximate mean.
D. A bimodal distribution with two distinct customer segments.
Answer: C
Verified Rationale: This is correct because a symmetrical bell-shaped histogram centered on a
central value is characteristic of a normal distribution.
Section 2: Calculating Basic Business Metrics
Q6: A project cost $80 000 and generated $100 000 in additional revenue. What is the ROI
percentage?
A. 20 %
B. 25 %
C. 80 %
D. 125 %
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because ROI = [(100 000 − 80 000) ÷ 80 000] × 100 = 25 %.
WGU D459: Data Analysis & Interpretation
Actual Assessment Guide with Real Exam
Questions & Verified Solutions | Western
Governors University
Section 1: Interpreting Charts & Graphs
Q1: A line chart shows a company’s quarterly sales over three years. The line has a consistent
upward slope with small seasonal dips in Q1 each year. What is the most accurate interpretation?
A. Sales are unpredictable and declining.
B. The company shows strong overall growth with predictable seasonal variation.
C. The company should discontinue its Q1 products.
D. There is no correlation between time and sales performance.
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because a consistent upward slope indicates overall growth,
while repeated dips in a specific quarter indicate a regular seasonal pattern.
Q2: A scatter plot displays customer satisfaction scores (Y-axis) against customer service
response time in hours (X-axis). The points trend downward from left to right. This suggests:
A. Faster response times have no effect on satisfaction.
B. There is a negative correlation: longer response times are associated with lower satisfaction
scores.
C. There is a positive correlation: longer response times improve satisfaction.
D. The data is insufficient to determine a relationship.
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because a downward trend in a scatter plot indicates that as
one variable (response time) increases, the other (satisfaction score) decreases, defining a
negative correlation.
Q3: A bar chart compares 2023 monthly website traffic for two campaigns. Campaign A bars are
consistently twice as high as Campaign B bars across all months. The best conclusion is:
A. Campaign B outperformed Campaign A.
, 2
B. Campaign A generated approximately double the traffic of Campaign B.
C. Website traffic is unrelated to campaign activity.
D. The data shows a negative correlation between campaigns.
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because consistently taller bars for Campaign A demonstrate a
quantifiable two-to-one performance ratio.
Q4: A pie chart illustrates a company’s expense breakdown: Salaries 45 %, Rent 20 %,
Marketing 15 %, Utilities 5 %, Other 15 %. Which expense category should be targeted first if
management needs to reduce total costs by 10 %?
A. Utilities
B. Marketing
C. Salaries
D. Other
Answer: C
Verified Rationale: This is correct because salaries represent the largest proportion of expenses,
so even a small percentage reduction there yields the greatest absolute savings.
Q5: A histogram displays the distribution of customer purchase amounts. The highest bar is
centered at $50 and the distribution is nearly symmetrical with tails tapering equally on both
sides. This shape indicates:
A. A skewed distribution toward high-value purchases.
B. A uniform distribution where every amount is equally likely.
C. A normal distribution with $50 as the approximate mean.
D. A bimodal distribution with two distinct customer segments.
Answer: C
Verified Rationale: This is correct because a symmetrical bell-shaped histogram centered on a
central value is characteristic of a normal distribution.
Section 2: Calculating Basic Business Metrics
Q6: A project cost $80 000 and generated $100 000 in additional revenue. What is the ROI
percentage?
A. 20 %
B. 25 %
C. 80 %
D. 125 %
Answer: B
Verified Rationale: This is correct because ROI = [(100 000 − 80 000) ÷ 80 000] × 100 = 25 %.
