Numerical Reasoning Tables: Sample Questions & Helpful Tips

Many numerical reasoning tests will ask you to solve questions based on information provided in tables. These numerical tables will contain data on population demographics, employment rates, and finances among other topics. You might also find nutrition labels and scientific reports. Your goal in these table reading tests is to extract the relevant information and process it appropriately.

Below, we’ll explain a little bit more about what kind of tables you can expect and how you should go about approaching these logical reasoning table problems. Make sure to prepare for the assessment center with our online practice questions.

What Is a Numerical Reasoning Graphs and Tables Test?

Unlike other pre-employment psychometric exams, a table reasoning test will require a great deal of analysis. You’ll be given data in a table and asked to interpret it. Sometimes you’ll be asked to find the percentage increase or decrease. Other times you’ll be asked to determine what percentage of a whole a certain value is.

How to Solve Table Reasoning Questions?

Many job-seekers find table reasoning questions intimidating, but they shouldn’t be. Take a look at the sample screening questions below to see what you should expect.

Statistical Information Tables:

New York City Earnings by Educational Attainment:

Question 1:
What is the average difference between male and female yearly earnings in New York City? (answers below)

Question 2:
What is the average percentage increase in salary a New York City resident can expect after completing a graduate degree?

The above table was found in a scientific article that discussed rates of mental illnesses among children.

Question 3:
According to the table, what percentage of primary diagnoses were post-traumatic stress disorder?

Question 4:
What percentage of students had both a primary and secondary diagnosis?

Everyday Tables:

While you’ll find plenty of numerical tables related to scientific studies and analytics, you’ll also find some tables you’ll have recognized from your everyday life. For instance, you might find tables for nutritional information, bills, and personal expenses.

Question 5:
Are there enough servings of this food for a full-sized adult male to eat in order to fulfill his daily requirement for fiber? How many cups would he have to consume?

Advanced Tip: Many consulting and management groups administer aptitude assessments to job-seekers and new graduates. If you’ve been asked to complete one, you’ll want to make sure you check carefully for scale. Some tables list values in thousands meaning every value is actually 1,000 times more than what’s listed in the table. You will end up with a completely different answer if you don’t adjust your response according to the scale.

Explained Answers:

1. $12,115.2- To find the average wage gap in New York City, you’ll need to subtract the average female earnings from the average male earnings in every category. Then, you’ll need to add up all of those values and divide by 5.
2. 3% Increase- To find the percent increase, you need to divide the graduate-level income by the bachelor’s-level income and then divide the result by the bachelor’s level income. In other words, you can use this formula:
   (new value/original value)/original value=percent increase
3. 7%- There are a total of 22 primary diagnoses, and out of those 22, 5 of them were post-traumatic stress disorder. So, we divide 5 by 22 to get 0.227, which is equivalent to 22.7%.
4. 5%-The small n’s at the top of the table tell us how many people were involved. We can see that there were 22 students overall and 10 who received secondary diagnoses. So, we can assume that slightly less than half had a secondary diagnosis. (10/22)
5. Yes, 4.76- With 4g of fiber, a serving of this food provides 14% of an adult male’s required fiber intake. When we divide 100 by 14, we learn that 14% is about 1/7. An adult male would, therefore, need to eat about seven servings in order to meet his needs. Since there are 8 servings in the container, there is plenty. When we multiply 2/3 c., the volume per serving, by 7.14285, the number of times 14 goes into 100, we get 4.76.