Cognitive Ability Test

Free Cognitive Ability Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   A team of 6 people completes a task in 8 days. Working at the same rate, how many days would 4 people take to complete the same task?

   1. 5.3
   2. 6
   3. 12
   4. 48
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   Answer: C. 12

   The work is 6 multiplied by 8, which is 48 person-days; shared among 4 people that is 48 divided by 4, or 12 days. Fewer people means more days, so 8 times 4 divided by 6 (about 5.3) scales the wrong way. The value 6 subtracts the two lost workers from the 8 days. The value 48 leaves the answer as the total person-days without dividing.

2. Question 2 of 10

   Cautious is to reckless as frugal is to which word?

   1. Thrifty
   2. Careful
   3. Wealthy
   4. Extravagant
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   Answer: D. Extravagant

   Cautious and reckless are opposites, so the answer must be the opposite of frugal, which is extravagant. Thrifty is a synonym of frugal rather than its opposite. Careful belongs to the cautious side of the first pair, not the frugal one. Wealthy describes having money rather than being the opposite of frugal.

3. Question 3 of 10

   The average of five numbers is 20. Four of the numbers are 12, 18, 25 and 15. What is the fifth number?

   1. 30
   2. 17.5
   3. 10
   4. 20
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   Answer: A. 30

   Five numbers averaging 20 have a total of 5 times 20, or 100. The four given numbers sum to 70, so the fifth is 100 minus 70, which is 30. The value 17.5 averages only the four given numbers (70 divided by 4). The value 10 multiplies the mean by four instead of five before subtracting. The value 20 simply repeats the mean.

4. Question 4 of 10

   All the items in the sale are discounted. Some discounted items are electrical goods. Which statement must be true?

   1. Some sale items are electrical goods.
   2. Some electrical goods are discounted.
   3. All electrical goods are discounted.
   4. All discounted items are in the sale.
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   Answer: B. Some electrical goods are discounted.

   “Some discounted items are electrical goods” can be turned around to “some electrical goods are discounted”. Concluding that some sale items are electrical goods is the undistributed-middle error, because the discounted electrical goods need not be the sale items. Concluding that all electrical goods are discounted turns a “some” into an “all”. Concluding that all discounted items are in the sale reverses “all sale items are discounted” into a converse that does not follow.

5. Question 5 of 10

   A price rises by 10%, and the new price then falls by 10%. What is the net change from the original price?

   1. No change
   2. A 1% increase
   3. A 2% decrease
   4. A 1% decrease
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   Answer: D. A 1% decrease

   A 10% rise multiplies the price by 1.1; a 10% fall then multiplies by 0.9. Together 1.1 times 0.9 is 0.99, a 1% decrease. Assuming no change treats the two as cancelling, but the fall is taken on the higher, risen price, so it removes a little more than the rise added. A 1% increase has the right size but the wrong direction. A 2% decrease doubles the effect.

6. Question 6 of 10

   Which word is closest in meaning to “concise”?

   1. Brief
   2. Detailed
   3. Vague
   4. Complex
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   Answer: A. Brief

   Concise means expressed in few words, so it is closest to brief. Detailed is its opposite. Vague concerns a lack of clarity rather than length, and a concise statement can be perfectly clear. Complex describes difficulty rather than brevity.

7. Question 7 of 10

   Three colleagues share a bonus of £480 in the ratio 3:2:1. How much does the colleague with the largest share receive?

   1. £80
   2. £160
   3. £240
   4. £288
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   Answer: C. £240

   The ratio has 3 plus 2 plus 1, which is 6 parts, so each part is £480 divided by 6, or £80. The largest share is 3 parts, £240. The value £80 is a single part. The value £160 is the two-part middle share. The value £288 divides by 5 parts instead of 6, using only 3 plus 2 and omitting the last term.

8. Question 8 of 10

   In an office of 30 people, 18 drink tea and 14 drink coffee. Every person drinks at least one of the two. How many drink both?

   1. 32
   2. 2
   3. 12
   4. 16
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   Answer: B. 2

   Because everyone drinks at least one, adding the two groups counts the both-drinkers twice: 18 plus 14 is 32, which is 2 more than the 30 people, so 2 drink both. The value 32 stops at 18 plus 14 without removing the overlap. The value 12 is 30 minus 18, the tea-only complement, not the overlap. The value 16 is 30 minus 14 in the same mistaken way.

9. Question 9 of 10

   Four of these five numbers share a property that the fifth does not: 64, 27, 100, 8, 125. Which is the odd one out?

   1. 64
   2. 8
   3. 125
   4. 100
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   Answer: D. 100

   The numbers 27, 8, 125 and 64 are perfect cubes (3 cubed, 2 cubed, 5 cubed and 4 cubed); 100 is a square but not a cube, so it is the odd one out. Singling out 64 as a perfect square still leaves it 4 cubed, fitting the cube rule the others share. Picking 8 or 125 selects by size only, though both are cubes.

10. Question 10 of 10

    Everyone in the finance team submitted their report on time. Ravi submitted his report late. Which conclusion follows?

    1. Ravi is not in the finance team.
    2. Ravi is in the finance team.
    3. The finance team missed the deadline.
    4. Ravi will be disciplined.
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    Answer: A. Ravi is not in the finance team.

    Since everyone in the finance team was on time and Ravi was late, Ravi cannot be in the finance team, by modus tollens. Claiming he is in the team contradicts this. Claiming the finance team missed the deadline contradicts the premise that they submitted on time. Claiming Ravi will be disciplined adds a consequence the statements never mention.