The following three items (11-13) are based on the graph given below which shows imports of three different types of steel over a period of six months of a year. Study the graph and answer the three items that follow.

The figures in the brackets indicate the average cost per ton over six months period.

Question: By how much (measured in thousands of tons) did the import of sheet steel exceed the import of coil steel in the first three months of the year?

The correct option is 19.

Step-by-step Explanation:

To find by how much the import of sheet steel exceeded the import of coil steel in the first three months of the year (January, February, and March), we extract the values for each steel type from the bar chart provided in the image.

The vertical axis of the graph shows the "Thousands of tons imported" with increments of 2 (20, 22, 24, ..., 44). The legend at the bottom defines the types of steel:
- Coil: represented by the white (open) bars.
- Sheet: represented by the vertically striped bars.
- Scrap: represented by the grid-patterned bars.

Let's determine the imports for the first three months:

1. Sheet Steel Imports (Vertically Striped Bars)
- January: The bar reaches exactly the 40 mark, representing 40 thousand tons.
- February: The bar reaches halfway between 36 and 38, representing 37 thousand tons.
- March: The bar reaches exactly the 36 mark, representing 36 thousand tons.

The total import of sheet steel for the first three months is:

$$\text{Total Sheet Steel}=40+37+36=113\text{thousand tons}$$

2. Coil Steel Imports (White Bars)
- January: The bar reaches exactly the 30 mark, representing 30 thousand tons.
- February: The bar reaches halfway between 30 and 32, representing 31 thousand tons.
- March: The bar reaches halfway between 32 and 34, representing 33 thousand tons.

The total import of coil steel for the first three months is:

$$\text{Total Coil Steel}=30+31+33=94\text{thousand tons}$$

3. Calculating the Difference
Subtracting the total coil steel imports from the total sheet steel imports:

$$\text{Difference}=113-94=19\text{thousand tons}$$

Therefore, the import of sheet steel exceeded the import of coil steel by 19 thousand tons in the first three months.