Practice Aptitude Tests

General Aptitude Test

1. Question 1 of 18

   An employee works 38.5 hours in a week at an hourly rate of £12.40. What is the gross weekly pay?

   1. £443.92
   2. £462.00
   3. £477.40
   4. £496.00
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. £477.40

   Multiply hours by the hourly rate: 38.5 × £12.40 = £477.40. A calculator makes the arithmetic safe; the traps are careless inputs. A common error here is rounding the hours to 40 first, which gives £496.00 (option d).

2. Question 2 of 18

   Pargeter’s restores plasterwork and pargeting from a yard behind the tithe barn. Lime putty is mixed on site in the yard’s pits, slaked from quicklime and left to fatten under water for a season before use. Moulds for repeat work hang on the loft wall, labelled by house and year. The yard takes two apprentices through a heritage skills scheme, taught pargeting on board offcuts. Scaffolding is hired in, but all the trestles are the yard’s own, painted in its green.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “Pargeter’s mixes its lime putty on site.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: A. True

   The statement is True. The passage says “lime putty is mixed on site in the yard’s pits”, and the statement repeats that fact in the same terms. The rule: a claim the passage states outright is True. The most tempting wrong answer is Cannot say, from importing the trade’s ready-mixed norm.

3. Question 3 of 18

   Exactly three of six engineers cover the weekend rota: Bala, Ceri, Deniz, Eshan, Fay and Gus.

   • Ceri and Deniz cannot both be on the rota.
   • Eshan is on the rota only when Fay is.
   • Bala and Gus cannot both be on the rota.

   Which rota breaks none of the rules?

   1. Ceri, Deniz and Fay
   2. Bala, Ceri and Eshan
   3. Ceri, Fay and Gus
   4. Bala, Ceri and Gus
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. Ceri, Fay and Gus

   Check each rota against each rule in turn. Ceri, Deniz and Fay puts Ceri and Deniz together, against rule 1. Bala, Ceri and Eshan brings Eshan without Fay, against rule 2. Bala, Ceri and Gus pairs Bala with Gus, against rule 3. Ceri, Fay and Gus leaves Deniz out, brings no Eshan, and keeps Bala off, so it breaks nothing. Each wrong rota is killed by a different single rule, so no two rules have to be held in mind at once.

4. Question 4 of 18

   

   Panels 1 to 4 form a sequence. Which figure completes it?

   1. Figure A
   2. Figure B
   3. Figure C
   4. Figure D
   Show the answer

   Answer: B. Figure B

   Each panel adds one dot to the previous panel: one, two, three, four. The fifth panel continues the count with five dots, which is Figure B. The common error is one-step-behind: repeating the four dots of panel 4 (Figure A) instead of adding one more.

5. Question 5 of 18

   

   The figure in panel 1 is turned a quarter turn clockwise. Which option shows the result? The figure may be turned but not flipped.

   1. Figure A
   2. Figure B
   3. Figure C
   4. Figure D
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. Figure C

   A quarter turn clockwise sends every point (x, y) of the figure to (10 - y, x), so the long arm that runs down the right of panel 1 swings across to run along the bottom. The result is Figure C. The common error is flipping rather than turning: Figure D is the correct turn reflected, which reverses the figure and is ruled out by the stem, since the figure may be turned but not flipped.

6. Question 6 of 18

   At Ashfield Textiles:

   • No trainee holds a forklift licence.
   • Everyone on the loading bay rota holds a forklift licence.

   Which conclusion must be true?

   1. Some trainees are on the loading bay rota.
   2. Everyone with a forklift licence is on the loading bay rota.
   3. No trainee is on the loading bay rota.
   4. Some people on the loading bay rota are not trainees.
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. No trainee is on the loading bay rota.

   Premise 2 gives everyone on the loading bay rota a forklift licence, and premise 1 says no trainee has one. So no trainee can be on the rota. Eliminate the rest: saying some trainees are on the loading bay rota asserts exactly what the chain rules out; saying everyone with a forklift licence is on the rota reverses premise 2; saying some people on the rota are not trainees needs the rota to have somebody on it, which no premise supplies. The most tempting trap is the claim that some people on the loading bay rota are not trainees, because it sounds like a weaker and therefore safer version of the answer. Claims about ‘some’ are not safer here: they need existence, and ‘all’ and ‘no’ statements never provide it.

7. Question 7 of 18

   Budget line	2024 (£)	2025 (£)
   Marketing	50,000	41,000
   Events	25,000	22,000
   Digital	18,000	19,440
   Print	12,000	10,800

   The table shows a firm’s cost budgets. What was the percentage change in the Marketing budget from 2024 to 2025?

   1. -18.0%
   2. -12.0%
   3. -9.0%
   4. +18.0%
   Show the answer

   Answer: A. -18.0%

   Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100. Marketing: (41,000 − 50,000) ÷ 50,000 × 100 = −9,000 ÷ 50,000 × 100 = −18.0%. A common error here is quoting the raw £9,000 fall as though it were the percentage, −9.0% (option c). The other budget lines are not needed.

8. Question 8 of 18

   The eleven shops of Wool Row trade under a tenants’ charter dating from the row’s restoration. Christmas opening hours are set jointly for the whole row, agreed at the tenants’ October meeting rather than shop by shop, and printed on one card displayed in every window. The row shares a leaflet, a gift trail and the greenery swagged along the jetties by the landlord’s joiner. Deliveries come through the yard gate before ten. New tenants sign the charter with their lease.

   Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

   Statement: “The Wool Row shops set their Christmas opening hours individually.”

   1. True
   2. False
   3. Cannot say
   Show the answer

   Answer: B. False

   The statement is False. The passage says “Christmas opening hours are set jointly for the whole row, agreed at the tenants’ October meeting rather than shop by shop”. The stated arrangement is the opposite of the claim. The rule: False needs a stated contradiction, and the passage states the opposite of the claim directly. The most tempting wrong answer is True, from assuming independent shops must set independent hours.

9. Question 9 of 18

   A contractor briefing must be held in one of four rooms: Cedar, Fern, Holly or Juniper.

   • The Cedar room has no projector, and the briefing needs one.
   • The Fern room is booked for interviews all day.
   • The Juniper room is being redecorated.

   In which room must the briefing be held?

   1. Cedar
   2. Fern
   3. Holly
   4. Juniper
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. Holly

   Take the rooms in turn. Rule 1 rules out Cedar, rule 2 rules out Fern and rule 3 rules out Juniper, so Holly is the only room left. Each rule removes exactly one room on its own, and no rule mentions Holly at all. Holly is chosen entirely by what is left over, which is what this question type is for.

10. Question 10 of 18

    

    Panels 1 to 5 form a set. Which panel does not belong?

    1. Figure 1
    2. Figure 2
    3. Figure 3
    4. Figure 5
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. Figure 1

    Every panel except panel 1 holds a grey-filled shape; panel 1’s circle is unfilled. The circle being the only curved shape points to the same panel, and triangles and squares each appear twice, so no shape comparison can single out any other panel. The common error is comparing forms rather than shading and picking a triangle or square, such as Figure 3.

11. Question 11 of 18

    

    The figure in panel 1 is reflected in a vertical mirror line. Which option shows its mirror image?

    1. Figure A
    2. Figure B
    3. Figure C
    4. Figure D
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. Figure A

    Reflecting in a vertical mirror line sends every point (x, y) to (10 - x, y), so the step that rises on the right of panel 1 must appear on the left, with the wide edge still along the bottom. That is Figure A. The common error is turning the figure instead of flipping it, giving Figure C: a rotation keeps the figure’s handedness, and only a reflection reverses it.

12. Question 12 of 18

    At Dunmore Print, the policy is always followed:

    • Every invoice above £2,000 is countersigned by a director.
    • Every invoice a director countersigns is entered in the month-end register.

    Invoice 812 is not in the month-end register. Which must be true?

    1. Invoice 812 is not above £2,000.
    2. Invoice 812 was countersigned by a director.
    3. Invoice 812 is above £2,000 but was not countersigned by a director.
    4. Invoice 812 is above £2,000.
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. Invoice 812 is not above £2,000.

    Work backwards from the fact. Invoice 812 is not in the register, so by rule 2 no director countersigned it. By rule 1, an invoice above £2,000 would have been countersigned, so invoice 812 is not above £2,000. Eliminate the rest: saying invoice 812 was countersigned by a director denies the stated fact once rule 2 is applied; saying it is above £2,000 but was not countersigned needs the policy to have been broken, which the stem forbids; saying it is above £2,000 is the opposite of what the chain gives. The most tempting trap is the claim that invoice 812 is above £2,000 but was not countersigned, because it feels like the realistic case. In a deductive item the stated policy holds without exception.

13. Question 13 of 18

    Rowsley Handling’s monthly station cost at Vernham is €63,840. It is apportioned between Ryedale Airways and Thurgarton Air in the ratio 5 : 3, and £1 buys €1.20. What is Ryedale Airways’ share in pounds?

    1. £19,950.00
    2. £26,600.00
    3. £33,250.00
    4. £39,900.00
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. £33,250.00

    Convert the station cost to pounds, then split it. 63,840 divided by 1.20 = £53,200. The ratio has 5 + 3 = 8 parts, so Ryedale Airways takes five eighths. 53,200 x 5 divided by 8 = £33,250.00. A common error here is splitting the euro figure and reading the result as pounds, which gives £39,900.00. Another is dividing the cost in two, which gives £26,600.00 and ignores the stated ratio.

14. Question 14 of 18

    Bredonside Parish Council walks its footpath network each spring, checking stiles, waymarks and surfaces after the winter. Of the parish’s eleven paths closed by winter damage this year, nine were reopened at the spring inspection, their repairs signed off by the footpaths officer. The Millhook path, which crosses the leat on a timber footbridge, was among the eleven closed. Repairs are done by a volunteer party with materials from the council’s barn. Path reports go to the county’s rights of way team each quarter.

    Based only on the information in the passage, is the following statement True, False, or Cannot say?

    Statement: “The Millhook footpath was reopened at the spring inspection.”

    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Cannot say

    The statement is Cannot say. The passage says “nine were reopened at the spring inspection” of the eleven closed paths, and that Millhook was among the eleven, but never says which nine reopened. Millhook’s position is not settled. The rule: a fact about most of a group never settles a claim about a named member; only a universal would. The most tempting wrong answer is True, from carrying the nine-in-eleven down to the one named path.

15. Question 15 of 18

    Five consultants each gave one talk, in sequence:

    • Raj spoke immediately before Sam.
    • Leah spoke after Sam.
    • Omar spoke last.
    • Fiona spoke before Raj.

    Who spoke third?

    1. Raj
    2. Leah
    3. Omar
    4. Sam
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. Sam

    Omar takes slot 5 (rule 3). Raj and Sam form an adjacent pair (rule 1), and Fiona must come before that pair (rule 4), so the pair cannot start at slot 1. Leah must come after Sam (rule 2), so the pair cannot end at slot 4 (that would leave Leah nowhere after Sam except slot 5, which is Omar’s). The only fit is Raj–Sam in slots 2–3, giving Fiona, Raj, Sam, Leah, Omar. Enumerating the alternatives confirms no other order satisfies all four rules. Third speaker: Sam. The most tempting trap is Raj, from reversing the adjacency direction.

16. Question 16 of 18

    

    Panels 1 to 4 form a sequence. Which figure completes it?

    1. Figure A
    2. Figure B
    3. Figure C
    4. Figure D
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Figure C

    Two rules run together: the shape cycles diamond, star, cross, and the fill alternates unfilled, solid. Panel 5 is therefore an unfilled star (a combination no stimulus panel shows), which is Figure C. The common error is Figure A, the solid star matching visible panel 2: the shape is right, but the fill must alternate back to unfilled.

17. Question 17 of 18

    

    Every block rests on the ground or on another block, and the base is a solid rectangle with no gaps. How many blocks are in the stack?

    1. 4
    2. 5
    3. 6
    4. 8
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. 6

    Take the base first. It is stated to be a solid rectangle, and the base blocks you can see mark out a square two along by two deep, so the base holds four blocks even though only three are drawn. The fourth sits behind the column and is completely hidden. The column rising from the nearest corner is three blocks tall. One of those three is the base block already counted, so it adds two more. Four plus two is six. The common error is counting only what is drawn and answering five. Answering eight is the opposite mistake, filling the whole two by two by two box when only one corner rises.

18. Question 18 of 18

    Four consignments are loaded onto two vans, north and south. The consignments are Kilburn, Marlow, Penrose and Selby.

    • The Kilburn and Marlow consignments go on different vans.
    • The Penrose consignment goes on the north van.

    Which statement must be true?

    1. The Selby consignment is on the south van.
    2. The Kilburn consignment is on the north van.
    3. The north van carries at least two consignments.
    4. The south van carries exactly one consignment.
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. The north van carries at least two consignments.

    Penrose is on the north van. Rule 1 splits Kilburn and Marlow, so exactly one of them is also on the north van. That is already two consignments, so the north van carries at least two, whatever Selby does. Eliminate the rest: Selby is unconstrained, so putting Selby on the south van fails; rule 1 does not say which of Kilburn and Marlow goes north, so putting Kilburn on the north van fails; and the south van holds one of Kilburn and Marlow plus possibly Selby, so it need not carry exactly one. The most tempting trap is the south van carrying exactly one consignment, which is true in half the permitted loadings. Counting what is guaranteed rather than what is typical is the whole move here.