Question

Continuing from the soda ash data: Tata Chemicals' own natural and synthetic soda ash output was:

Year	Natural Soda Ash (MT)	Synthetic Soda Ash (MT)
2005	0	0.7
2007	0.4	2.2
2008	3.2	2.2

The world production chart, however, only plots totals for the years 2001 to 2006.

What is Tata Chemicals' share of global production in 2008?

• A. 12.86%
• B. 17.42%
• C. 59.34%
• D. Incomplete data.

Hint:

Check the world production chart's years before dividing: it stops at 2006, so there is no global total for 2008 to divide Tata's output by.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Work out what is actually needed before reaching for a calculator. Tata's share of global production in 2008 needs two numbers: Tata's own 2008 output, and the world's total 2008 output.

1. 12.86%: this figure can only be produced by assuming some particular world total for 2008 and dividing 5.4 MT by it, but no such world total is given anywhere in the charts, so this is not a supportable answer.
2. 17.42%: same problem, this also needs an assumed world 2008 total that the data does not provide.
3. 59.34%: this would mean Tata made up well over half the world's soda ash, again only reachable by guessing a world total, not by reading it off the charts.
4. Incomplete data: the world production chart plots only 2001 to 2006. There is no 2008 bar on it at all, so the denominator we need simply does not exist in the given information.

Since only Tata's own 2008 figure (5.4 MT) is available and the world's 2008 total is never shown, the share cannot be computed.

Let's summarize:

• Tata's 2008 output is known from its own chart: 3.2 MT natural plus 2.2 MT synthetic, or 5.4 MT.
• The world chart never reports a 2008 figure, so there is nothing to divide that 5.4 MT by.

So the correct answer is that the data is incomplete.