Multi-Source Reasoning is the Data Insights question type with the most reading. You get two or three tabs of information, such as a table, a memo and an email, and a set of questions about them. Some questions are ordinary multiple choice; others ask you to judge several statements as Yes or No, and every statement must be right.
Skim all the tabs once before you answer anything. Note what each source contains and how they connect: a table of figures, a rule that tells you how to use those figures, and often a condition or exception tucked into a later tab. Most questions require combining at least two sources, and the hardest ones hinge on a single qualifying sentence.
For each question, identify which tabs it needs and go back to them deliberately rather than from memory. Write down the rule you are applying in a few words, then compute. The on-screen calculator is available in Data Insights, which helps with multi-step arithmetic, but it cannot catch a misread definition.
Common traps include applying a rule to the wrong rows, ignoring units, and treating a figure described in one tab as if it had the meaning given in another.
The sources
On the exam these 3 sources sit in tabs; you can switch between them as often as you like.
Tab 1: Routes
Route
One-way distance (km)
Crossings per day
Avg. passengers per crossing
Fare per passenger ($)
North Bay
6
12
45
4
Isle Point
11
8
60
6.5
Cove Run
4
16
22
3
Long Reach
18
6
70
9
Sand Key
9
10
30
5
Tab 2: Fuel memo
From: Fleet engineer To: Operations director
Fuel planning figures for next season:
Routes of 15 km or less are run with our 24-metre ferries, which burn 5 liters of fuel per kilometer traveled. Longer routes (at present only Long Reach) must be run with the 32-metre ferry, which burns 7 liters per kilometer.
Our supply contract fixes the fuel price at $1.20 per liter for the whole season.
A crossing is a single one-way trip, and the distances in the route table are one-way distances, so a route’s daily kilometers equal its one-way distance multiplied by its crossings per day. Port fees and crew wages are budgeted separately and are not part of fuel cost.
Tab 3: Board email
From: Board chair To: Operations director
Before we approve next season’s timetable, please apply one test to every route: a route is dropped if its daily fare revenue is less than three times its daily fuel cost. Daily fare revenue means crossings per day × average passengers per crossing × fare per passenger.
Routes that pass the test keep their current timetable. Any new route we consider must pass the same test before it is added.
If the board’s test is applied to the five routes in the route table, which of the routes will be dropped?
ACove Run only
BSand Key only
CNorth Bay and Cove Run
DCove Run and Sand Key
EAll five routes
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Cove Run and Sand Key
Key Concept or Approach
Combine all three tabs: the route table gives distance, crossings, passengers and fare; the fuel memo turns kilometers into fuel cost (5 L/km up to 15 km, 7 L/km above, $1.20 per liter); the board email defines the test (drop if revenue < 3 × fuel cost).
Step-by-Step Solution
Step 1: Fuel cost per km is 5 × $1.20 = $6.00 for routes of 15 km or less and 7 × $1.20 = $8.40 for Long Reach (18 km).
Step 7: Only Cove Run (1,056 < 1,152) and Sand Key (1,500 < 1,620) fail the test.
Final Answer
Answer: D
Common trap: E: treating a crossing as a round trip doubles every fuel cost and makes every route fail; the memo says a crossing is one-way.
Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR)ArithmeticPercents and Interest ProblemsHard
Question 2
For each of the following statements, select Yes if the statement is true based on the information provided. Otherwise, select No.
Yes
No
Statement
○
○
1. Long Reach’s daily fare revenue is more than five times its daily fuel cost.
○
○
2. Isle Point’s daily fuel cost is more than 20% greater than North Bay’s daily fuel cost.
○
○
3. If the Cove Run fare were raised to $3.50 and the number of passengers did not change, Cove Run would pass the board’s test.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: 1. No; 2. Yes; 3. Yes
Key Concept or Approach
Each statement needs a figure from the route table converted with the fuel memo. Watch the memo’s exception: Long Reach is longer than 15 km, so it burns 7 liters per km, not 5.
Step-by-Step Solution
Step 1: Statement 1: Long Reach runs 18 × 6 = 108 km/day at 7 × $1.20 = $8.40/km, so fuel = $907.20. Revenue = 6 × 70 × $9 = $3,780, and 5 × $907.20 = $4,536. $3,780 < $4,536, so No. (With the 5 L/km rate by mistake, fuel would be $648 and the statement would look true.)
Step 2: Statement 2: Isle Point fuel = 11 × 8 × $6 = $528; North Bay fuel = 6 × 12 × $6 = $432. 1.2 × $432 = $518.40 < $528 (528/432 ≈ 1.222, i.e. about 22% greater), so Yes.
Step 3: Statement 3: new Cove Run revenue = 16 × 22 × $3.50 = $1,232; fuel = 4 × 16 × $6 = $384 and 3 × $384 = $1,152. $1,232 is not less than $1,152, so the route passes: Yes.
Final Answer
Answer: No, Yes, Yes
Common trap: Statement 1: using 5 liters per km for Long Reach gives fuel of $648 and a ratio of 5.8, so many answer Yes; the memo requires 7 liters per km above 15 km.
The operator is considering a sixth route, Reed Harbor, with a one-way distance of 7 km, 14 crossings per day, and a fare of $4.50 per passenger. What is the least whole number of average passengers per crossing with which Reed Harbor would pass the board’s test?
A10
B28
C29
D40
E56
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B. 28
Key Concept or Approach
A route passes unless revenue is less than three times fuel cost, so revenue equal to exactly three times fuel cost passes. Reed Harbor is 15 km or less, so it uses 5 liters per km.
Step-by-Step Solution
Step 1: Daily fuel cost = 7 × 14 = 98 km × 5 L × $1.20 = $588.
Step 2: The route passes when 14 × p × $4.50 ≥ 3 × $588, i.e. 63p ≥ 1,764.
Step 3: p ≥ 1,764 / 63 = 28 exactly. With 28 passengers revenue is $1,764, which is not less than $1,764, so the route passes; 27 gives $1,701 and fails.
Final Answer
Answer: B
Common trap: C (29): reading the test as "revenue must be more than three times fuel" rules out the exact tie at 28 passengers.
