Question

The following line graph shows the sales and cost of goods sold (in rupees) for XYZ Co. over 10 months, from Month 1 to Month 10.

Sales growth in a month is the rise in sales compared to the previous month.

In which month did the company see the maximum growth in sales?

• A. Month 9
• B. Month 6
• C. Month 7
• D. Month 4

Hint:

Growth is the change in the sales curve from one month to the next; find the steepest upward move on the graph.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Rather than subtracting every pair of consecutive months, it helps to picture the sales line on the graph and look for the single steepest upward jump between two neighbouring points.

1. Month 9: sales rise from about 1450 in month 8 to about 1700 in month 9, a jump of $250$, a moderate upward step but not the steepest one on the graph.
2. Month 6: sales rise from about 1700 in month 5 to about 1825 in month 6, a small jump of only $125$.
3. Month 7: sales rise from about 1825 in month 6 to about 2100 in month 7, a jump of $275$, bigger than months 9 and 6 but still not the biggest on the graph.
4. Month 4: sales rise from about 1625 in month 3 to about 2250 in month 4, a jump of $625$. This is by far the steepest upward segment on the whole curve.

Scanning the rest of the graph, every other month either falls or rises only mildly, so no segment challenges month 4's jump of $625$.

Let's summarize:

• Sales growth in a month is simply that month's rise over the previous month.
• The steepest such rise on the graph happens between month 3 and month 4.

So sales grew the most in month 4.