Practice Psychometric Tests

Cognitive Ability: Test 2

1. Question 1 of 10

   Ferry Meadow Forge bends and welds railings, balconies and stair strings for builders along the estuary. Railings are powder-coated in the forge’s own shop, a converted grain barn beside the workshop where the coated work cures overnight. Galvanising, when a job calls for it, goes by trailer to the works upriver before coating. The forge’s price list hangs by the door, dated in chalk. Site fixing is quoted separately, with the fixings themselves made in the forge.

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

   Statement: “Ferry Meadow Forge powder-coats its railings in its own shop.”

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

   Answer: A. True

   The statement is True. The passage says “railings are powder-coated in the forge’s own shop”, 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 False, from carrying the galvanising trips across to the coating.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are an accounts assistant. A department head asked for a breakdown of his costs by project. The system can only split them by cost centre, which is close but not the same, and he will notice. Producing it takes two hours. He needs it on Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him today that the split is by cost centre rather than by project, explain the difference, and ask whether that is still worth two hours of work.
   2. Spend the two hours mapping cost centres to projects by hand so he gets exactly what he asked for, without checking whether the approximation would have done.
   3. Produce the cost centre breakdown and send it on Thursday without saying that it is not the project split he asked for, since the two are close enough for most purposes anyway.
   4. Reply that the system cannot produce a breakdown by project at all and simply leave it there, so that he can decide for himself what he wants to do about it from his end.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell him today that the split is by cost centre rather than by project, explain the difference, and ask whether that is still worth two hours of work.

   Least effective: C. Produce the cost centre breakdown and send it on Thursday without saying that it is not the project split he asked for, since the two are close enough for most purposes anyway.

   B: Buys precision nobody asked the price of: a hand mapping may be unnecessary and it is the slowest route to Thursday.

   C: Withholds the one difference that matters: he asked for projects, receives cost centres, and nothing on the page tells him they are not the same thing.

   D: Reports the obstacle and stops: the cost centre split is close and may well serve, and he cannot judge that without being offered it.

   The most effective response is to tell him today that the split is by cost centre rather than by project, explain the difference, and ask whether that is still worth two hours: he learns what is actually available, understands the gap, and decides whether the work is worth doing. It beats replying that the system cannot produce a breakdown by project at all, because a flat no withholds something that probably serves. It beats spending the two hours mapping cost centres to projects by hand, because nobody has established that the approximation would not do. The least effective response is producing the cost centre breakdown and sending it without saying it is not the project split he asked for: he uses cost centres believing they are projects. That is silence about the difference rather than an unhelpful or over-thorough answer. The principle: when what you can give is not what was asked for, say so before you build it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   Station	Sectors	Passengers	Charge (£)
   Quenby	480	62,400	122,400
   Scarcliffe	90	12,150	31,050
   Vernham	130	18,850	40,300

   The table shows Rowsley Handling’s charges last month. Next month Ryedale Airways expects 540 sectors at Quenby. At Quenby’s cost per sector last month, what will the Quenby charge be?

   1. £122,400
   2. £137,700
   3. £163,800
   4. £186,300
   Show the answer

   Answer: B. £137,700

   Build Quenby’s own rate, then scale it to next month’s sectors. 122,400 divided by 480 = £255 per sector. 255 x 540 = £137,700. A common error here is averaging the three stations’ rates, which gives £163,800 and answers a question about the network rather than about Quenby. The passengers column is not needed: the charge is asked per sector, not per passenger.

4. Question 4 of 10

   Nettleton and Chalcombe’s management board is made up of the managing partner, the finance director, and the head of each of the firm’s three largest departments. The firm’s five departments are property, private client, commercial, employment and litigation. Property is the largest of the five by headcount and by income, and has been for six years. The board meets monthly at the main office. Its papers go to all partners a week beforehand.

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

   Statement: “The head of the property department is a member of the management board.”

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

   Answer: A. True

   The statement is True. The board includes “the head of each of the firm’s three largest departments”, and property “is the largest of the five by headcount and by income”. The largest department is one of the three largest. The rule: where the passage states that every member of a group has a property and states that a named thing belongs to that group, the property follows with certainty. The most tempting wrong judgement is Cannot say, because the passage ranks only one department, and a reader who wants the full ordering will feel short of information they do not actually need.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a compliance assistant. A fee earner asks you to confirm that a client’s source of funds check was completed before a transfer goes this afternoon. The system shows the check requested and not returned, and the provider is usually a day. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him the check is not back and that the transfer will have to wait until it is, since that is what the rule requires and there is nothing else to be said.
   2. Tell him the check is requested and not returned, and that you will chase the provider now and come back to him before the transfer window closes.
   3. Tell him it is requested and suggest he goes ahead on the basis that the check will land later today, so the transfer is not held up by paperwork.
   4. Tell him the check is complete and guarantee it, since checks of this kind almost always come back clear and the provider has never raised anything on this client.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell him the check is requested and not returned, and that you will chase the provider now and come back to him before the transfer window closes.

   Least effective: D. Tell him the check is complete and guarantee it, since checks of this kind almost always come back clear and the provider has never raised anything on this client.

   A: Answers with the rule and stops: it is right about the position and it accepts a delay before anybody has chased the provider, who may well answer within the hour.

   C: Advises acting ahead of the check: the timing of the result is not the point, and a transfer made before a source of funds check is exactly the sequence the rule forbids.

   D: States a result that has not arrived: a transfer will go this afternoon on the strength of a check nobody has seen, which is the one thing the check exists to prevent.

   The most effective response is to tell him the check is requested and not returned, and that you will chase the provider now and come back before the transfer window closes. He needs the true position and the check needs chasing, and doing both means the transfer either goes properly or waits for a reason. It beats telling him the transfer must wait until the check is back and saying nothing else, because nobody has chased. It beats suggesting he goes ahead on the basis that the check will land later today, because the order of check and transfer is the whole point. The least effective response is telling him the check is complete and guaranteeing it: a result that has not come back is reported, and a transfer goes on it. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which are honest about the check’s status. The principle: say exactly where the check is, and go and move it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   Row	Source	Transcribed
   1	TRF-2840-EC	TRF-2840-EC
   2	TRF-5163-EC	TRF-5163-EC
   3	TRF-9472-EC	TRF-9472-EC
   4	TRF-6395-EC	TRF-6395-Ec

   Which row was copied incorrectly?

   1. Row 1
   2. Row 2
   3. Row 3
   4. Row 4
   Show the answer

   Answer: D. Row 4

   Row 4 ends EC in the source but Ec in the transcription: the final letter has been dropped to lowercase. Every code opens and closes with the same blocks, so the digits in the middle are what the eye works on, and the case slip sits outside them.

7. Question 7 of 10

   Five service tickets are closed one after another.

   • Holt is closed last.
   • Eames is closed immediately after Dodd.
   • Fenn is closed before Dodd.
   • Garvey is closed after Eames.

   Which ticket is closed second?

   1. Dodd
   2. Eames
   3. Fenn
   4. Garvey
   Show the answer

   Answer: A. Dodd

   Holt takes place 5. Rules 2, 3 and 4 chain the other four into Fenn, then Dodd, then Eames, then Garvey, so the order is Fenn, Dodd, Eames, Garvey, Holt. Dodd is closed second. Eliminate the rest: Fenn is at the head of the chain so it is first, Eames sits directly behind Dodd so it is third, and Garvey sits behind Eames so it is fourth. The most tempting trap is Eames, which is where the Dodd and Eames pair lands if rule 2 is read the other way round.

8. Question 8 of 10

   Component	Units used last year	Units used this year
   Wheels	940	1,015
   Brake units	620	806
   Hydraulic units	380	469
   Filters	1,240	1,190

   The table shows spares used at Marsden Air’s Osgathorpe store. By what percentage did the combined use of brake units and hydraulic units change?

   1. 21.6%
   2. 23.4%
   3. 27.5%
   4. 30.0%
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. 27.5%

   Build one subtotal per year before comparing, and ignore the wheels and filters rows. Last year: 620 + 380 = 1,000 units. This year: 806 + 469 = 1,275 units. Change: 275 divided by 1,000 x 100 = 27.5%. A common error here is dividing by this year’s total rather than last year’s, which gives 21.6%. Reading one component alone gives 30.0% for brake units or 23.4% for hydraulic units, and neither is the combined figure.

9. Question 9 of 10

   Batch code: ZT-6394-KM-72

   Which option exactly matches the batch code?

   1. ZT-6394-MK-72
   2. ZT-6394 KM-72
   3. ZT-6394-KM-72
   4. Zt-6394-KM-72
   Show the answer

   Answer: C. ZT-6394-KM-72

   Only option c reads ZT-6394-KM-72 exactly. The three deviations sit in three different places: option a swaps the letters of the third block, option b replaces the second hyphen with a space, and option d drops the second letter to lowercase. Every option is thirteen characters and every one carries the same digits, so all four blocks have to be checked in turn.

10. Question 10 of 10

    Four handovers run from Monday to Friday, one per day. Wednesday is left free. The handovers are Peebles, Roslin, Selkirk and Traquair.

    • Traquair is on the calendar day immediately after Selkirk.
    • Peebles is not on Tuesday.

    Which statement must be true?

    1. Peebles is on Monday or on Friday.
    2. Selkirk is on Monday or on Thursday.
    3. Roslin is on Tuesday.
    4. Peebles is earlier in the week than Roslin.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Selkirk is on Monday or on Thursday.

    Wednesday is free, so the handovers use Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Rule 1 needs Selkirk and Traquair on consecutive days, and the only consecutive pairs left are Monday with Tuesday and Thursday with Friday. Selkirk takes the earlier day of whichever pair is used, so Selkirk is on Monday or on Thursday. Everything else stays open. With the pair on Monday and Tuesday, Peebles and Roslin split Thursday and Friday either way; with the pair on Thursday and Friday, rule 2 keeps Peebles off Tuesday, so Peebles takes Monday and Roslin Tuesday. That is three permitted weeks, and Peebles on Monday or on Friday, Roslin on Tuesday, and Peebles earlier in the week than Roslin each fail in at least one. The move that matters is that a free Wednesday breaks the week into two blocks of two.