Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical
Reasoning

Author : Paul Newton

Version: 2.3

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

The Importance of Numerical Ability Tests

Numeric ability questions appear in most general aptitude tests because employers
usually want some indication of your ability to use numbers even if this is not a major
part of the job. The test may include basic arithmetic, number sequences and simple
mathematics.

In graduate and management level tests you will often be expected to answer data
interpretation questions. These take the form of charts and graphs that you need to
understand and then interpret. In other words, you need to work out how to get the
answer rather than what calculations to apply. Sometimes the questions are designed
to approximate the type of reasoning required in the workplace.

You may also be asked numerical reasoning questions which are designed to test your
reasoning ability rather than your ability to do calculations. They invariably include
some number series questions where you need to work out which number or numbers
are missing from the series and may also include questions where a mathematical
problem is posed in words and your task is to apply the necessary logic to find the
solution.

What do they Test?

The term ‘numerical reasoning test’ is often used interchangeably with ‘numerical
ability test’ and ‘numerical aptitude test’. There is no widely accepted definition of
the difference between numerical ability and numerical aptitude and as far as
psychometric tests are concerned the two terms are interchangeable. However the
same does not apply to the term ‘numerical reasoning’ which does have a specific
meaning. The term ‘numerical reasoning test’ should really only be used to describe a
specific type of numerical test.

This is best explained as follows: there are basically two types of numerical questions
that appear in psychometric tests. Speed questions are so easy that with unlimited time
most people taking the test could answer them all successfully. However, the time
allowed to complete the test is so short that even the most able person is not expected
to finish. This means that the result depends on the number of correct answers made
in the relatively short time allowed.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

In contrast, a power test contains questions that vary in difficulty and no one is
expected to get all of the answers correct even with unlimited time. In practice, a
definite but ample time is set for power tests.

Even though there are literally hundreds of numerical ability tests available to
employers, the questions used in these tests can be classified into four basic types:
Numerical computation, numerical estimation, numerical reasoning and data
interpretation.

Numerical Computation
These questions involve the basic principles of arithmetic including: addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, ratios, fractions and decimals. To
score well on these questions you will need to be able to make quick and accurate
calculations without using a calculator.

Numerical Estimation
Numerical estimation is essential in many technical jobs where you need to quickly
and accurately make estimates of material quantities etc. These questions require you
to make quick estimates of the answers to straightforward numerical questions. You
do not have time to actually calculate these answers because this will take up too
much time and prevent you from answering enough questions to get a good score.

Numerical Reasoning
These questions test your reasoning ability rather than your ability to do calculations.
In other words, you need to work out how to get the answer rather than simply being
told what calculations to apply. They invariably include some number series questions
where you need to work out which number or numbers are missing from the series.
They also include text based questions where a mathematical problem is posed in
words and your task is to apply the necessary logic to find the answer.

Data Interpretation
Most management and supervisory jobs require you to interpret data presented in
charts, tables and graphs in order to make day-to-day decisions. These tests
commonly use: pie charts, line graphs, scatter-plots and tables of data which you need
to interpret to answer the questions. The more complex questions may show the data
in one format, for example a table, and a subset of this data in another format, for
example a pie chart. To answer the questions you need to be able to cross reference
these two elements in a logical way.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

How to Improve Your Test Scores

You may hear people say that you can’t improve your scores in psychometric tests.
This is simply untrue. Everyone, if they practice, can improve their test scores. The
biggest gains are achieved quite quickly and result from becoming familiar with the
types of question and from getting ‘into the groove’ of answering them.

Research suggests that the amount of improvement you can expect will depend on
three areas.

1. Educational Background

The longer that you have been out of the educational system and the less
formal your educational background, the more likely you are to benefit
from practice. Both of these factors suggest that familiarity with any type
of examination process, both formal and timed, will give you an
advantage.

2. Personal Interests

Most people who have been out of education for more than a few years
will have forgotten how to multiply fractions and calculate volumes. While
it is easy to dismiss these as 'first grade' or elementary maths, most people
simply don't do these things on a day-to-day basis unless their job or a
hobby demands it. Practice will refresh these dormant skills.

3. Quality of Practice Material

If you are unfamiliar with the types of test questions then you will waste
valuable time trying to determine what exactly the questions are asking
you to do. This unfamiliarity also causes you to worry about whether you
have understood the question correctly and this also wastes mental energy,
which you could otherwise spend on getting the correct answer. By
increasing your familiarity with the style and types of questions you will
improve your scores.

The first of these factors is beyond your control, the second may be worth addressing
in the longer term if you feel that increasing you facility with maths would benefit
your career. However, it is not going to make much difference to your psychometric
test results in the short term. This leaves you with the ‘quality of the practice
material’ as the best way to improve your score.

Firstly, the material itself needs to match as closely as possible the tests that you
expect to take. The questions in this book are based on the question types used by the
most popular test providers in the industry and are updated regularly to reflect the
latest trends.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Secondly, you should practice the material in the most realistic way possible. Find
somewhere where you will not be disturbed and go through each paper without
interruption and try to stick to the time limit. Do not have anything with you that are
not allowed on the day of the test and switch off your mobile phone.

The tests are generally about twenty minutes long. If you don’t have an uninterrupted
twenty minutes for a practice paper, then try to complete the first half of the questions
in ten minutes and treat the second half as another ten minute paper. Concentrate one
hundred percent for the duration of the test as this keeps the practice as realistic as
possible.

Small Improvements Make a BIG Difference

‘Can you improve your score enough

The answer is
to make a difference in the selection
‘YES’.
process?

To understand why this is true, you need to consider three things.

I. The number of candidates sitting the test.

II. The educational background of candidates
III. How test scores are compared.

The most important concept to understand is that of the ‘percentile score’. This is the
score most often used by organizations when comparing your score with that of other
candidates. It has the advantage of being easily understood and percentiles are very
widely used when reporting test results to managers.

To calculate your percentile score, your actual score is converted to a number

indicating the percentage of the test group who scored below you.

For example,

SCORE MEANS THAT

your score is the same as or higher than the

60th percentile
scores of 60% of those who took the test.

your score is the same as or higher than the

85th percentile
scores of 85% of those who took the test

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

The numerical ability tests used in selection have relatively few questions and the
people sitting a particular test tend to be from a similar group in terms of their
education and background. As a result, the scores tend to cluster quite tightly around
the average. This combination of relatively few questions, clustering and the use of
percentiles has important implications for you as a job candidate. This means:

A small improvement in your actual score will result in a

big improvement to your percentile score.

To illustrate this point, consider a typical test consisting of 50 questions. Most of the
candidates, who are a fairly similar group in terms of their educational background
and achievements, will score around 40 (raw score on the diagram). It is very unlikely
that any of them will score less than 35 or more than 45.

This means the difference between the 35th (38/50) and the 70th (42/50) percentile
is only 4 marks out of the possible 50.

Although an experienced statistician would never use percentiles on this type of data;
nine times out of ten this is exactly what organisations do. So therefore, as the
previous example shows, a few extra marks can take you from the 35th to the 70th
percentile.

Those ‘4 marks’ can be the difference to your chances of success

and its all attributable to your preparation.

That is why preparing for these tests is so worthwhile. Even a small improvement of
two or three marks can make you appear a far superior candidate. It is extremely
important that you find effective ways to motivate yourself to practice, and the next
section gives you some guidelines.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Motivating Yourself to Succeed

Your personal experience has probably taught you that someone who is motivated can
achieve far more than someone who is not, even though their natural abilities may be
the same. Whilst everyone learns this, it does not make it any easier to become
motivated, particularly if the task is not obviously enjoyable or interesting. There are
literally thousands of publications dedicated to the subject of motivation. Entire books
have been written about it and high-profile careers have been carved out by people
who claim to know its secret.

If you are already someone who has embraced a particular motivational philosophy
then you may want to go straight to the next section. Use what you have and approach
the job selection process with the determination to succeed and no doubt you will
achieve your potential.

If you find it difficult to buy into any self motivational philosophy then you will
probably need some help to push yourself to achieve your potential. Those who have
achieved success, business professionals and motivational gurus, have done so by
setting themselves a ‘SMART’ goal.

The goal says what you want to achieve.

S pecific "I want to achieve my full potential in numerical ability tests"

"With practice I want to increase my score in the tests.”

Goals need to be measurable so that you know when you have

succeeded.

M easurable "I want to increase my test score each time I practice."

"I want to increase the number of questions I complete with
each practice.”
Goals need to be challenging but realistic.

A chievable “I must allocate three 1-hour sessions each week to practice.”

“I will complete half a test every day before my interview.”
The goal has to mean something to you; an emotional tie.

R elevant “Once I get this new job I can afford my holiday.”

“My increase in salary will enable me to buy that house.”
All goals must be time bound.

T ime-bound “From the 2nd till the 18th I can do practice papers.”
“From today for 10-days I will practice these tests.”

Motivation is much easier to achieve and maintain when the objective is clear and you
can see that every minute of the time you are spending is taking you nearer to the
goal; not always easy in life. But, the nature of psychometric tests means that they are
ideal for use with ‘SMART’ as the test goals are easy to define and you can measure
your progress.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

To develop your techniques, you MUST complete sufficient practice papers to

identify any weak areas that you have and allow sufficient time to take remedial
action. It is important to remember that the difference in scores between those
candidates who are selected to go forward to the interview and those who are not is
likely to be quite small. An improvement of just a few percent could put you in the
first group, rather than the latter.

It’s your career that is at stake here and 30-60 minutes practice a day for 2
weeks is a small investment to make when you consider the potential payoff.

It is important that you view these tests in a positive way, as something that you can
excel at. Remember that employers see test results as indicating potential and good
results will encourage them to view you in a positive way. If you see the test as an
obstacle it will be much harder for you to motivate yourself. It is vital that you focus
on gaining a higher score, which will increase your ability to eclipse a candidate with
better qualifications or more experience.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

The Practice Environment

Once you’ve defined your goal, you then need to consider the practicalities of
achieving within your time frame. You may find another acronym ‘TAP’ will help
you to identify the most effective way for you to practice in the time available to you.

T ime slot Identify the best time for you and your schedule.

Create the right atmosphere, one that matches

A tmosphere the ‘real’ test situation as best you can. Avoid

ALL interruptions and turn off the mobile
phone!
Find the most ideal situation for you to practice

P lace in so that you can give the test you full

concentration for that time slot.

In order to develop your techniques and complete sufficient practice papers to identify
any weak areas you will need to spend between 30-60 minutes each day. You will
then be able to take remedial action to address your weak areas.

If you think that this could be a problem then you are not alone. Very few people feel
that they have a ‘spare’ hour a day just waiting to be filled. You will need to take
positive action to schedule this task. The conditions in which you practice will need to
be as near to the actual test conditions as possible. It is vital that the environment is
free of distractions and interruptions.

Some ideas that you may find useful are:

• Practice in your lunch hour,

• Practice at a local library,
• Practice in an empty office or conference room,
• Stay after work and do it at your desk before going home,
• Set the alarm an hour early and do it first thing.

If you miss a day or two the temptation is to try to make up for lost time by doing a
long session. You should avoid this at all costs, you can only concentrate fully for
about an hour and you will find that if you try to concentrate longer than that your
performance will decline. This is doubly frustrating because you will feel as though
you are getting worse instead of better and the more that you ‘stick at it’ the worse it
will get. This will destroy your motivation – so don’t do it.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Using the Practice Tests in this Book

This book has been designed so that it is easier for you to practice the areas where you
feel that you are weakest, giving you the greatest benefit in the shortest time. So each
test in the book contains more questions of each type than you would get in a real test.
It also ensures that you receive maximum exposure to as wide a variety of questions
styles and types as possible.

The best strategy is to attempt one of each type of paper. It is vital that you
complete the whole test before you look at the answers to maximise the benefit to you
and help you achieve your SMART goal.

• Calculation,
• Estimation,
• Data Interpretation,
• Numerical Reasoning.

After this session you will have a much clearer idea of the type of questions that you
are most likely to benefit from practicing. This is a personal decision and you should
go with your feelings.

It’s important to remember that a real test will contain a mixture of question types and
that most tests allocate one mark to each correct answer - there is no differential
marking. This means that you will get one mark for calculating a percentage or
fraction and you will get one mark for understanding some data presented graphically
and answering a question about it.

Therefore, it makes sense to concentrate on improving your mental arithmetic and

making sure that you are familiar with percentages, fractions, ratios, etc, as these can
gain you easy marks. Also, do not linger on questions that you find difficult -
complete all those you can answer easily and then go back and fill in the gaps. This
will also highlight the style of questions you find more difficult.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Managing Stress
The job selection process will always involve an element of stressfulness. This is
mostly due to confronting a situation over which you do not have total control. For
example, you cannot predict or influence the personality or behaviour of the
interviewer or know in advance which questions you will be asked. However you can,
and probably have already, prepared for the most likely questions. You can also make
educated guesses as to which areas of your resume the interviewer will concentrate
on.

With regard to the psychometric test component of the selection process, your
preparation should be far more straightforward. If you haven’t taken this type of test
for a long time this will increase the degree of stress and nervousness you experience.
This is mostly due to a simply fear of the unknown, as well as, a feeling that you will
‘let yourself down’ and that the test will not be a fair reflection of your strengths and
abilities. You may experience physical symptoms such as a lack of ability to get to
sleep and psychological symptoms such as loss of concentration and mild depression.
You must act immediately to tackle this stress before its effects become more
corrosive as the test date approaches.

You will hear a lot of advice for coping with the symptoms of stress and anxiety,
including: relaxation, exercise and visualization. While all of these things can help,
the most effective solution is to take direct action and spend your time practicing
these tests in the most systematic and efficient way possible.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Overview of Types of Numerical Tests

Numerical ability tests are used by employers to measure your ability to perform tasks
involving numbers. The questions range from simple arithmetic operations like
addition and subtraction to more complex questions where you need to interpret
numerical information presented as tables, diagrams, and graphs.

Numerical ability tests are popular with employers because many jobs require you to
work with numbers at least some of the time. Obviously, if you are applying for a job
which involves working with figures on a day-to-day basis, then the employer will
regard your numerical ability as a valuable predictor of your performance on the job.

Numerical ability tests from different suppliers vary in both the number and difficulty
of the questions that they contain and there are several hundred of these tests on the
market. The duration of any numerical ability test you are asked to take will depend
on several factors including how many other tests you are taking on the day.
However, most tests last about 30-40 minutes and have about 30-40 questions.

In practice, the numerical reasoning and data interpretation type of questions are
usually restricted to graduate and management roles. However, the reverse does not
apply; you may still encounter calculation questions in graduate and management
level tests.

Numerical ability types of question can be categorised more simply into the groups
which make up the following five sections.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Computation Questions

Numerical computation questions involve the basic principles of arithmetic like

addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. They also use mathematical terms
and methods such as percentages, ratios, fractions and decimals. To score well on
numerical computation questions you will need to make quick and accurate
calculations.

This type of test can be categorized as a speed test and is used to determine your basic
numeracy. Obviously you will not be allowed to use a calculator.

If you are very rusty with arithmetic, try re-learning the times tables up to 12 and
practice multiplication, division and percentage calculations. Practice can improve
your test scores for all types of aptitude tests, so try as many examples as you can.
These questions are directly applicable to many administrative and clerical jobs but
can also appear as a component of graduate and managerial tests.

The speed at which you can answer these questions is the critical measure, as most
people could achieve a very high score given unlimited time in which to answer. You
can therefore expect 25-35 questions in 20-30 minutes.

This section contains 4 computation practice papers, answers and some information to
refresh your memory about basic maths.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Computation Test 1: 30 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 17 + 47 = 7 + ? 55 57 65 67 35 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 33 + 18 = 29 + ? 21 24 32 22 37 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 56 + 81 = 44 + ? 93 90 89 91 95 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 44 – ? = 15 26 29 28 39 30 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 87 – 35 = ? 53 42 51 41 52 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 54 – 32 = 25 – ? 3 2 12 14 22 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 7 × 8 = ? 49 56 64 54 52 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 5 × ? = 45 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 17 × 3 = ? 47 49 51 53 54 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 140 ÷ 35 = ? 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 28 ÷ ? = 7 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 150 ÷ 100 = ? 1.3 1.5 1.7 15 0.75 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 3
5 ×?= 2
5
3
5
2
3
2
5
1
5
1
4
A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 1
4 +?= 3
4
1
4
1
5
3
5
1
2
2
3
A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 2 3
5 – 4
5
=? 1 14 1 1
5 1 53 1 12 1 4
5
A B C D E
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 9 78 – 3 12 = ? 6 83 6 2
3 7 83 5 83 6 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 60% of 120 = ? 65 70 62 72 54 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 75% of 400 = ? 320 300 375 310 250 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 22% of 200 = ? 42 44 40 88 46 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 45% of 500 = ? 210 225 205 240 230 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 33.6 + 8.7 = ? 42.3 43.3 42.5 43.7 38.7 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 56.9 – 7.4 = ? 48.3 47.9 45.9 49.3 49.5 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 0.7 × 0.5 = ? 0.33 0.35 0.75 1.40 3.50 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 1.8 × 1.5 = ? 2.5 2.0 2.4 2.6 2.7 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 12.8 × ? = 3.2 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.33 0.40 A B C D E

26) If one ream of paper costs $3.95 how much would 4 reams cost?

A B C D E
$15.75 $15.70 $15.72 $15.80 $15.77 A B C D E

27) If John starts work at 8:45 am and finishes at 5:15 pm. He has 90
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 5 days?

A B C D E
38 39 35 40 32 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
28) A restaurant bill is made up of the following: $12.50 for starters,
$28.55 for main courses and $8.95 for deserts, plus a 15% service
charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$56.50 $57.50 $57.00 $59.50 $60.50 A B C D E

29) A team of eight lumberjacks cut an average of 15,000 cubic feet of

timber in a week. How many cubic feet will four lumberjacks cut
in four weeks?

A B C D E
30,000 25,000 32,000 16,000 28,000 A B C D E

30) A discount of 15% is offered on an item which previously cost

$1.80. What is the discounted price?

A B C D E
$1.53 $1.40 $1.55 $1.60 $1.52 A B C D E

End of Numerical Computation Test 1

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Computation Test 2: 30 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 19 + 36 = 8 + ? 49 44 37 47 46 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 37 + 17 = 9 + ? 45 47 54 41 55 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 62 + 71 = 33 + ? 102 90 97 100 101 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 43 – ? = 17 18 24 26 36 25 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 89 – 32 = ? 59 42 47 55 57 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 53 – 29 = 25 – ? 2 1 0 3 -1 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 6 × 7 = ? 48 56 36 49 42 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 3 × ? = 27 5 6 8 9 7 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 19 × 4 = ? 76 66 74 78 67 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 135 ÷ 27 = ? 3 5 4 6 7 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 26 ÷ ? = 6.5 3.5 4 3 4.5 5 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 250 ÷ 50 = ? 20 50 5 25 7 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 1
5 × 1
2 =? 3
5
2
3
1
10
2
5
1
4
A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 3
4 +?=1 1
2
3
4
1
5
3
5
1
2
2
3
A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 7 3
7 – 5 6
7
=? 1 72 1 1
5
1 73 1 12 1 74 A B C D E
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 7 78 – 2 34 = ? 6 18 5 2
3 5 83 5 18 6 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 75% of 360 = ? 275 300 280 270 290 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 60% of 400 = ? 210 240 230 250 245 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 13% of 200 = ? 23 36 6.5 26 28 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 35% of 500 = ? 180 170 165 177 175 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 37 × 4.6 = ? 170.2 180.2 165.2 177.2 175.2 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 28.9 – 7.3 = ? 2.6 20.6 21.6 21 26.1 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 0.8 × 0.5 = ? 4.0 0.4 0.04 0.2 0.25 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 1.6 × 1.5 = ? 3.1 2.4 2.6 4.2 2.3 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 13.6 × 6.8 = ? 92 92.84 91.08 92.48 93.48 A B C D E

26) If 3 reams of paper costs $5.85 how much would 4 reams cost?

A B C D E
$7.95 $7.90 $7.75 $7.60 $7.80 A B C D E

27) If John starts work at 8:00 am and finishes at 5:15 pm. He has 60
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 4 days?

A B C D E
32.5 34.5 24.5 33.5 33.0 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
28) A restaurant bill is made up of the following: $10.50 for starters,
$26.55 for main courses and $7.95 for deserts, plus a 10% service
charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$48.50 $49.00 $50.00 $49.50 $50.50 A B C D E

29) A team of six lumberjacks cut an average of 18,000 cubic feet of

timber in a week. How many cubic feet will four lumberjacks cut
in three weeks?

A B C D E
36,000 60,000 68,000 7,200 6,000 A B C D E

30) A discount of 17% is offered on an item previously costing $2.00.

What is the discounted price?

A B C D E
$1.69 $1.83 $1.66 $1.60 $1.65 A B C D E

End of Numerical Computation Test 2

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Computation Test 3: 30 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 18 + 54 = 9 + ? 53 62 59 65 63 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 43 + 15 = 27 + ? 33 31 29 30 21 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 54 + 61 = 37 + ? 68 77 78 71 69 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 39 – ? = 16 13 22 25 23 21 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 85 – 29 = ? 56 54 66 65 55 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 45 – 28 = 22 – ? 7 3 5 4 6 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 7 × 7 = ? 56 49 42 47 59 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 4 × ? = 28 4 8 6 7 5 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 18 × 3 = ? 56 62 52 59 54 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 174 ÷ 29 = ? 8 4 6 5 7 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 35 ÷ ? = 7 6 5 4 8 3 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 420 ÷ 7 = ? 70 80 65 60 75 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 2
5 × 1
4 =? 2
7
3
9
1
10
1
5 1 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 7
8 +?=1 3
4
1
4
7
8
3
5
1
2
2
3
A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 4 3
8 –3 =? 1
4 1 14 7
8 1 53 1 18 1 83 A B C D E
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 6 83 – 2 12 = ? 3 83 3 78 2 83 3 18 3 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 25% of 180 = ? 35 42 40 30 45 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 80% of 400 = ? 320 290 280 310 300 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 28% of 200 = ? 54 57 56 55 52 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 65% of 500 = ? 365 325 370 375 380 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 27.6 + 8.3 = ? 39.9 34.9 36.9 35.9 35.8 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 36.8 – 7.2 = ? 29.4 30.6 29.6 28.6 26.9 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 0.8 × 0.25 = ? 1.8 2.0 0.22 0.2 0.15 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 1.7 × 1.5 = ? 2.55 1.75 3.50 2.45 2.00 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 14.4 ÷ 1.2 = ? 9.2 1.2 10.2 12.0 12.2 A B C D E

26) If 2 reams of paper costs $4.80 how much would 5 reams cost?

A B C D E
$12.80 $14.00 $12.00 $11.80 $24.00 A B C D E

27) If John starts work at 6:45 am and finishes at 2:15 pm. He has 60
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 12 days?

A B C D E
68 77 76 80 78 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
28) A restaurant bill is made up of the following: $22.50 for starters,
$38.35 for main courses and $19.15 for deserts, plus a 15% service
charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$90.00 $92.00 $92.80 $94.80 $94.00 A B C D E

29) A team of three lumberjacks cut an average of 15,000 cubic feet of

timber in a week. How many cubic feet will four lumberjacks cut
in four weeks?

A B C D E
60,000 70,000 75,000 80,000 85,000 A B C D E

30) A discount of 15% is offered on an item previously costing $3.80.

What is the discounted price?

A B C D E
3.23 3.25 3.22 3.20 3.18 A B C D E

End of Numerical Computation Test 3

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Computation Test 4: 30 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 13 + 36 = 17 + ? 34 32 35 33 29 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 47 + 17 = 36 + ? 25 29 28 38 27 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 52 + 61 = 33 + ? 77 70 73 80 83 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 42 – ? = 17 25 27 23 24 22 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 89 – 22 = ? 71 69 77 76 67 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 43 – 29 = 21 – ? 14 6 7 9 8 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 8 × 9 = ? 88 63 79 72 64 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 7 × ? = 84 13 12 11 14 9 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 17 × 5 = ? 85 75 90 80 95 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 108 ÷ 27 = ? 7 6 5 4 3 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 36 ÷ ? = 6 6.5 5.8 5.7 5.5 6.0 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 450 ÷ ? = 9 40 50 65 45 60 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 3
5 ×?=1 1
5 1 53 2 1 52 2 15 2 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 1 + ? = 2
1
4
3
8 1 14 1 83 1 18 5
8
7
8
A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 3 3
5 –1 4
5
=? 1 14 1 1
5 1 53 1 12 1 4
5
A B C D E
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Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 7 78 – 3 14 = ? 4 83 4 2
3 3 83 4 85 4 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 70% of 70 = ? 50 47 55 49 42 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 80% of 400 = ? 300 320 340 325 280 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 34% of 200 = ? 70 66 68 67 69 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 75% of 500 = ? 370 365 360 355 375 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 46.3 + 9.7 = ? 58 54 56 57 65 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 38.6 – 17.2 = ? 21.4 18.4 19.4 20.6 20.4 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 0.8 × 0.75 = ? 0.85 1.50 0.75 0.15 0.60 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 1.4 × 1.5 = ? 0.70 2.80 0.75 2.15 2.10 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 29.2 × ? = 7.3 1.25 0.25 1.20 0.20 0.33 A B C D E

26) If 4 reams of paper cost $10 how much would 7 reams cost?

A B C D E
$18.50 $16.50 $16.00 $17.50 $17.00 A B C D E

27) If John starts work at 8:30 am and finishes at 5:10 pm. He has 100
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 5 days?

A B C D E
37 38 39 35 40 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
28) A restaurant bill is made up of the following: $11.50 for starters,
$27.55 for main courses and $10.95 for deserts, plus a 15% service
charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$57.50 $57.25 $57.00 $60.50 $55.50 A B C D E

29) A team of three lumberjacks cut an average of 45,000 cubic feet of

timber in a week. How many thousand cubic feet will seven
lumberjacks cut in two weeks?

A B C D E
21 105 225 210 22 A B C D E

30) A discount of 15% is offered on an item previously costing $5.00.

What is the discounted price?

A B C D E
4.12 4.40 4.25 4.80 4.75 A B C D E

End of Numerical Computation Test 4

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Answers to Numerical Computation Tests 1-4

Question Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4

1) B D E B
2) D A B C
3) A D C D
4) B C D A
5) E E A E
6) A B C C
7) B E B D
8) E D D B
9) C A E A
10) C B C D
11) C B B E
12) B C D B
13) B C C B
14) D A B C
15) E E D E
16) A D B D
17) D D E D
18) B B A B
19) B D C C
20) B E B E
21) A A B C
22) E C C A
23) B B D E
24) E B A E
25) B D D B
26) D E C D
27) C E E D
28) B D B A
29) A A D D
30) A C A C

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Practicing Numerical Computation

The two biggest mistakes people make when faced with numerical computation tests
are:

1. To fool themselves that they can remember their entire elementary maths
curriculum even though they may not have used most of it for years.
2. To feel too embarrassed to sit down and relearn the parts that they may have
forgotten.

Don’t make these mistakes yourself. It’s better to feel a little bit embarrassed now (in
private) and quietly relearn how to do these things than to sit there in the test
desperately trying to remember how to do them. Not only will taking action now
improve your scores but it will avoid that sickening feeling after the test when you
know that with a little more preparation you could have done a whole lot better.

Simple Arithmetic
You can achieve a big improvement in your scores by practicing your mental
arithmetic until you are both quick and confident. Your score in the simple speed tests
will be very much influenced by your ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide
quickly and accurately.

In a typical test of 60 mixed questions, you may need to perform over two hundred
separate multiplication and division operations. Knowing your multiplication tables
(up to the ten times table) and being able to give an instant answer to any operation is
essential. The key word here is instant. Most people can provide instant answers to
about 80% of these operations and take a few seconds to think about the remainder.

These extra few seconds add up over the course of the test, where answering a single
question can involve 3 or 4 of these simple operations. Shaving a few seconds off here
and there gives you time to answer an extra four or five questions in a typical test and
this will make a big difference to your final score.

Firstly, you need to forget any embarrassment you may feel about practicing this first-
grade material and secondly you need to be totally objective. You are very unlikely to
have any problems with the 1, 2, 5 and 10 times tables – so you can probably ignore
them.

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Take a sheet of A4 paper and list the numbers 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 in a column down the
left-side of the page and along the top margin as shown.

Work from left to right and top to bottom through the grid, writing in each answer. If
you pause for even a second to think about the answer then place a dash in the space
and continue. This is very important – do NOT stop to think, either write the answer
immediately or put a dash in the space. You MUST complete this exercise in less than
40 seconds.

The result is usually a sheet with a few dashes, where the correct answer did not come
instantly to mind. You will need to spend a bit of time refreshing your memory on
these operations – do this over a few days, spending a couple of minutes at a time to
go over them until they are instantaneous. When you are completely happy, try the
grid again – you should be able to complete it correctly in less than 40 seconds.

The rules for performing basic arithmetic operations with whole numbers (integers)
should be familiar to you although you may find that there are some things you have
forgotten. For example:

i) Multiplication or division of two integers with different signs gives a negative

result; for example, 5 x -3 = -15.
ii) Multiplication or division of two negative integers gives a positive result;
for example, -3 x -3 = 9.

There are some tips and tricks to help you with your mental arithmetic which are
worth spending time to consider and practice. They will all make a small difference to
your overall speed, but if you can master a few of them, and they are all
straightforward, then the cumulative effect will enable you to answer a few more
questions in the allotted time. As you already know, these few extra marks can make a
big difference to how you are perceived as a job candidate.

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Subtraction
Consider the sum: a – b, there are three approaches to this type of calculation.

1) Direct Calculation
When the digits of b are all smaller than the digits of a, the calculation can be done
digit by digit. For example, evaluate 862 − 41 simply by subtracting 1 from 2 in the
units place, and 4 from 6 in the tens place: 821.

2) Indirect Calculation
When the above situation does not apply, the problem can sometimes be modified:
If only one digit in b is larger than its corresponding digit in a, diminish the offending
digit in b until it is equal to its corresponding digit in a. Then subtract further the
amount b was diminished by from a. For example, to calculate 872 − 92, turn the
problem into 872 − 72 = 800. Then subtract 20 from 800: 780.

If more than one digit in b is larger than its corresponding digit in a, it may be easier
to find how much must be added to b to get a. For example, to calculate 8192 − 732,
we can add 8 to 732 (resulting in 740), then add 60 (to get 800), then 200 (for 1000).
Next, add 192 to arrive at 1192, and, finally, add 7000 to get 8192. Our final answer is
7460.

3) Look-ahead Borrow Method

This method can be used to subtract numbers left to right, and with a little practice it
can dramatically speed up mental subtraction.

One place at a time is handled, left to right.

Example:

4075
- 1844
------

Thousands: 4 – 1 = 3, look to right, 075 < 844, need to borrow.

3 – 1 = 2, say "Two thousand"

Hundreds: 0 – 8 = negative numbers not allowed here,

10 – 8 = 2, 75 > 44 so no need to borrow, say "two hundred"

Tens: 7 – 4 = 3, 5 > 4 so no need to borrow, say "thirty"

Ones: 5 – 4 = 1, say "one"

This gives 2231 as the answer.

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Multiplication
Calculating products: a × b

Multiplying by 2
In this case, the product can be essentially calculated digit by digit. This is not exactly
the case because it is possible to have a remainder, but if there is a remainder, it is
always 1, which simplifies things greatly. Still, the product must be calculated from
right to left: 2 × 167 is by 4 with a remainder, then a 2 (so 3) with another remainder,
then a 2 (so 3). Thus, we get 334.

Multiplying by 5
To multiply a number by 5, first multiply that number by 10, and then divide it by 2.
The following algorithm is a quick way to produce this result:

First, append a zero to right side of the desired number. Next, starting from the
leftmost numeral, divide by 2 and append each result in the respective order to form a
new number; fraction answers should be rounded down to the nearest whole number.

For example, if you intended to multiply 176 by 5, you would first append a zero to
176 to make 1760. Next, divide 1 by 2 to get .5, rounded down to zero. Divide 7 by 2
to get 3.5, rounded down to 3. Divide 6 by 2 to get 3. Zero divided by two is simply
zero. The resulting number is 0330.

The final step involves adding 5 to the number that follows any single numeral in this
new number that was odd before dividing by two; this is better understood through the
example. In the original number, 176, the first place is 1, which is odd. Therefore, we
add 5 to the numeral after the first place in our newly constructed number (0330),
which is 3; 3+5=8. The numeral in the second place of 176, 7, is also odd. Therefore
the number-place after the corresponding numeral in the constructed number (0830) is
increased by 5 as well; 3+5=8. The numeral in the third place of 176, 6, is even,
therefore the final number, zero, in our answer is not changed. That final answer is
0880. The leftmost zero can be omitted, leaving 880. So 176 times 5 equals 880.

Multiplying by 9
Since 9 = 10 − 1, to multiply by 9, multiply the number by 10 and then subtract the
original number from this result. For example, 9 × 27 = 270 − 27 = 243.

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Multiplying two 2 digit numbers between 11 and 19

To easily multiply 2 digit numbers together between 11 and 19 you can use this
simple grid method.

Consider the calculation 1a x 1b.

xx = a + b
yy = a x b

This can be visualized as:

1 0 0
x x 0
0 y y

So, for example the calculation 17 x 16 can be visualized as:

1 0 0
1 3 0
0 4 2

Adding the columns in the grid gives the answer 272, like this…

1 0 0
1 3 0
0 4 2
2 7 2

Multiplying Any 2 digit Numbers Together

To easily multiply any 2 digit numbers together a simple algorithm is as follows:

ab * cd

100*(a*c) + 10*(b*c) + 10*(a*d) + b*d

For example, 23 * 47 can be reduced to

800 (which is 2 * 4 * 100)

120 (which is 3 * 4 * 10)
140 (which is 7 * 2 * 10)
21 (which is 7* 3)

Adding these gives 1081.

You will need to practice these methods a few times to become proficient, but they
can save significant time answering numeric calculation and estimation questions.

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Fractions

A fraction is a number of the form a/b, where a and b are integers.

The a is called the numerator of the fraction, and b is called the denominator.

For example, 3
5 is a fraction that has 3 as its numerator and 5 as its denominator.

This can be thought of as 3 divided by 5.

If the numerator and denominator of the fraction are both multiplied by the same
integer, the resulting fraction will be equivalent. If the numerator and the denominator
of the above fraction are multiplied by 5 then this gives 15/25.

Therefore 53 = 15
25
.
Adding, Subtracting and Comparing Fractions
To add two fractions with the same denominator, you simply add the
numerators and keep the denominator the same.

3
5 + 1
5 = 4
5

If the denominators are not the same, you need to make them the same before doing
the addition. To do this, you need to get the ‘lowest common denominator’.

In mathematics, the lowest common denominator (abbreviated LCD) is the lowest

common multiple of the denominators of a set of fractions. That is, it is the smallest
(non-zero) number that is a multiple of the denominators.

For instance, the LCD of ½ and ¼ is 4 because the lowest common multiple of 2 and
4 is 4. Remember, the denominator says what the numerator is ‘divided by’. Any
number divided by 4 will be lower than if it were divided by 2. Therefore 4 is the
lowest common denominator.

Likewise the LCD of ½ and 13 is 6, because the smallest (non-zero) number that is a
multiple of 2 and 3 is 6. Using the LCD (or any multiple of it) as a denominator,
enables addition, subtraction or comparison of fractions, for example:

since .

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Subtracting Fractions
The process for subtracting fractions is, in essence, the same as that of adding them:
find a common denominator, and change each fraction to an equivalent fraction with
the chosen common denominator. The resulting fraction will have that denominator,
and its numerator will be the result of subtracting the numerators of the original
fractions. For instance,

Multiplying Fractions
To multiply two fractions, multiply the two numerators and multiply the two
denominators (the denominators need not be the same). For example:

¾*½ = 3
8

Multiplying Fractions by Whole Numbers

If you have a quarter of a cake, and you multiply the amount by three, then you end
up with three quarters. We can write this numerically as follows:

As another example, suppose that five people work for three hours out of a seven hour
day (i.e. for three sevenths of the work day). In total, they will have worked for 15
hours (5 x 3 hours each), or 15 sevenths of a day. Since 7 sevenths of a day is a whole
day, 14 sevenths is two days, then in total, they will have worked for 2 days and a
seventh of a day. Numerically:

Multiplying Fractions by Fractions

Consider the cake example again; if you have a quarter of a cake, and you multiply
the amount by a third, then you end up with a twelfth of the cake. In other words, a
third of a quarter (or a third times a quarter), is a twelfth. This is because each quarter
is split into three pieces, and four quarters times three makes 12 parts (or twelfths).
We can write this numerically as follows:

When fractions are multiplied by fractions, simply multiply the two numerators (the
top numbers), and multiply the two denominators (the bottom numbers). For example:

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Dividing Fractions
To divide one fraction by another, first invert the fraction you are dividing by,
and then proceed as in multiplication. For example:

¾ / ½ = ¾ * 2/1 = 6/4 = 1 ½

Mixed Numbers and Improper Fractions

In the example above, an expression such as 1 ½ is called a mixed number. It means
1 plus 1/2. For instance, you could have two entire cakes and three quarters of another
cake. The whole and fractional parts of the number are written next to each other: 2 +
¾ = 2 ¾.

Whenever you are asked to perform calculations with mixed numbers, you may find it
easier to convert the mixed number to an improper fraction.

An improper fraction can be thought of as another way to write a mixed number; in

the "2 ¾" example above, imagine that the two entire cakes are each divided into
quarters. Each entire cake contributes 44 to the total, so 44 + 44 + ¾ = 114 is another
way of writing 2 ¾.

A mixed number can be converted to an improper fraction in three steps:

1. Multiply the whole part times the denominator of the fractional part.
2. Add the numerator of the fractional part to that product.
3. The resulting sum is the numerator of the new (improper) fraction, and the
new denominator is the same as that of the mixed number.

Similarly, an improper fraction can be converted to a mixed number:

1. Divide the numerator by the denominator.

2. The quotient (without remainder) becomes the whole part and the remainder
becomes the numerator of the fractional part.
3. The new denominator is the same as that of the original improper fraction.

If you are asked to solve the following for example: 7 18 – 2 ¾

a. Convert 7 18 to an improper fraction 578

b. Convert 2 ¾ to an improper fraction 114
c. Determine the LCD – which is 8
d. Convert 114 to 228
e. Calculate 578 – 228 = 358
f. Convert 358 to 4 83
g. Therefore 7 18 – 2 ¾ = 4 83

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Decimals
All numbers can be expressed in decimal form using base 10. A decimal point is used,
and the place value for each digit corresponds to a power of 10, depending on its
position relative to the decimal point. For example, the number 62.437 has 5 digits,
where:

“6” is the “tens” digit; the place value for “6” is 10.
“2” is the “units” digit; the place value for “2” is 1.
“4” is the “tenths” digit; the place value for “4” is 1/10.
“3” is the “hundredths” digit; the place value for “3” is 1/100
“7” is the “thousandths” digit; the place value for “7” is 11000
.
Therefore, 82.537 is a short way of writing 60 + 2 + 0.4 + 0.03 + 0.007.

This numeration system has implications for the basic operations. For addition
and subtraction, you must always remember to line up the decimal points:

For example: 126.5 + 68.231 = 194.731 can be written with the decimal points
aligned as:

1 2 6 . 5
6 8 . 2 3 1
1 9 4 . 7 3 1

To multiply decimals, it is not necessary to align the decimal points. To determine the
correct position for the decimal point in the product, you simply add the number of
digits to the right of the decimal points in the decimals being multiplied. This sum is
the number of decimal places required in the product.

For example: 15.381 * 0.14 = 2.15334

In this example the first number has 3 decimal places, the second number has 2
decimal places, and therefore the product must have 5 decimal places.

To divide a decimal by another, such as 62.744 ÷ 1.24, first move the decimal point in
the divisor to the right until the divisor becomes an integer, then move the decimal
point in the dividend the same number of places.

This gives 6274.4 ÷ 124

This procedure determines the correct position of the decimal point in the quotient
(as shown). The division can then proceed as normal.

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Conversion of Decimals and Fractions

Conversion from a given decimal to an equivalent fraction is straightforward.
Since each place value is a power of ten, every decimal can be converted easily
to an integer divided by a power of ten. For example,

84.1 = 841/10
9.17 = 917/100
0.612 = 612/1000

The last example can be reduced to lowest terms by dividing the numerator
and denominator by 4, which is their greatest common factor.

The greatest common factor of two non-zero integers, is the largest positive integer
that divides both numbers without remainder.

So, 612/4 = 153 and 1000/4 = 250. Therefore 0.612 = 153/250.

Any fraction can be converted to an equivalent decimal. Since the fraction

a/b means a divided by b, we can divide the numerator of a fraction by its
denominator to convert the fraction to a decimal.

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Percentage
Percentage is a way of expressing numbers as fractions of 100 and is often denoted
using the percent sign, "%". For example, "45.1%" (read as "forty five point one
percent") is equal to 0.451.

Percentages are used to express how large one quantity is in terms of another quantity.
The first quantity is then usually a part of or a change in the second quantity. For
example, an increase of $ 0.15 on a price of $ 2.50 is an increase by a fraction of
0.15/2.50 = 0.06. Expressed as a percentage, this is therefore an increase by 6%.

Percentages May be Relative

Due to inconsistent usage, it is not always clear from the context what a percentage is
relative to. When speaking of a "10% rise" or a "10% fall" in a quantity, the usual
interpretation is that this is relative to the initial value of that quantity; for example, a
10% increase on an item initially priced at $200 is $20, giving a new price of $220; to
many people, any other usage is incorrect.

In the case of interest rates, however, it is a common practice to use the percent
change differently: suppose that an initial interest rate is given as a percentage like
10%. Suppose the interest rate rises to 15%. This could be described as a 50%
increase, measuring the increase relative to the initial value of the interest rate.

However, many people say in practice "The interest rate has risen by 5%". To counter
this confusion, the unit "percentage points" is sometimes used when referring to
differences of percentages. So, in the previous example, "The interest rate has
increased by 5 percentage points" would be an unambiguous expression that the rate
is now 15%.

With changes, percentage can be of any positive value. For example, a 100% growth
is synonymous with doubling; a growth of 100% starting from 200 units is 200 units,
increasing the total to 400.

Percentages and Cancellations

A common error when using percentages is to imagine that a percentage increase is
cancelled out when followed by the same percentage decrease. A 50% increase from
100 is 100 + 50, or 150. A 50% reduction from 150 is 150 – 75, or 75. The end result
is smaller than the 100 we started out with. This phenomenon is due to the change in
the "initial" value after the first calculation. In this example, the first initial value is
100, but the second is 150.

In general, the net effect is: (1 + x) (1 – x) = 1 – x2, that is a net decrease proportional
to the square of the percentage change.

To use a specific example, stock brokers came to understand that even if a stock has
sunk 99%, it can nevertheless still sink another 99%. Also, if a stock rises by a large
percentage, the trader still loses all of the stock's value if the stock subsequently drops
100%, meaning it has a zero value.

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Numerical Estimation Questions

Numerical estimation questions test your ability to make quick estimates of the
answers to fairly straightforward numerical questions. To score well on these
questions you will need to make quick approximations of the answer. You must avoid
the trap of working out the answer exactly, which will take up too much time and
prevent you from answering enough questions to get a good score.

Numerical estimation is vital in many craft and technical jobs where the ability to
quickly and accurately estimate material quantities is essential. The speed at which
you can answer these questions is the critical measure, as most people could achieve a
very high score given unlimited time in which to answer. You can therefore expect
25-35 questions in 10 minutes or so.

Even though numerical estimation questions appear straightforward, it can take some
time to develop the optimum compromise between speed and accuracy. Before you
attempt to answer each question, look at the range of answers available and ask
yourself how accurate your estimate needs to be. For example, is an order of
magnitude sufficient or does the answer need to be worked out to the nearest whole
number?

If you are out of practice with arithmetic, then try re-learning the times tables up to 12
and practice rough and ready multiplication, division and percentage calculations.
Practice can improve your test scores for all types of aptitude tests but numerical
estimation is one area where it can really make a difference, so try as many examples
as you can.

These sample numerical estimation questions are directly applicable to tests used to
select for craft and technical jobs. However, the ability to make quick estimates is a
useful skill to have even if you are sitting a graduate or professional level test as it
will enable you to roughly check your answers to data interpretation questions.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Estimation Test 1: 35 Questions

Instructions: You need to estimate the answers to these questions, as you do not have time
to calculate them precisely. Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the
letter on the right which is nearest to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 347 + 198 = ? 650 550 580 590 600 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 3,509 + 3,492 = ? 7000 7200 7100 7250 6950 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 989 + 413 + 498 = ? 2,600 900 1,100 1,900 3,200 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 304 + 201 + 359 = ? 800 950 850 900 970 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 89 + 21 + 48 + 32 = ? 190 170 290 230 220 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 3,987 – 3,007 = ? 7,000 1,270 1,180 790 980 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 9,601 – 481 = ? 9,200 9,100 8,100 9,000 8,050 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 1,890 – 301 = ? 1,500 1,700 1,200 1,600 1,640 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 7,814 – 3,010 = ? 4,400 3,900 4,800 4,200 5,800 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 989 – 99 + 3,202 = ? 3,400 3,200 4,100 3,100 4,500 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 69 × 70 = ? 490 4,650 5,000 4,800 4,600 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 41 × 121 = ? 4,100 4,200 500 5,100 4,900 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 5.8 × 6.1 × 9.8 = ? 480 250 560 350 260 A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 5.5 × 4 × 3.8 = ? 60 70 80 100 110 A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 313 × 2.03 = ? 710 660 530 690 630 A B C D E
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 905 ÷ 49 = ? 18 14 13 15 12 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 8,017 ÷ 390 = ? 200 150 50 15 20 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 1,207 ÷ 72 = ? 20 16 140 160 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 1,447 ÷ 12.3 = ? 100 150 120 140 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 4,916 ÷ 711 = ? 11 5 14 7 4 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 45% of 363 = ? 180 110 160 175 190 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 62% of 987 = ? 610 670 560 640 680 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 33% of 3,574 930 1180 900 1100 1400 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 5% of 97,326 460 4400 5000 4500 4800 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 11.5% of 78,754 7000 8000 9000 9500 8500 A B C D E

A B C D E
26) 1 + 1
1
4
1
5 ×3 1
2 =? 8 5 7 4 6 A B C D E

A B C D E
27) 1 3
5 +2 4
5
×7 1
2 =? 27 23 20 18 25 A B C D E

A B C D E
28) 3 3
16 × 12 7
8
=? 30 40 50 60 45 A B C D E

A B C D E
3
29) 5 × 3
8
3
16 =? 20 16 19 21 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
30) 3 1
16 ×6 =? 1
8
25 24 23 19 22 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
31) If one ream of paper costs $3.95 how much would 12 reams cost?

A B C D E
$47.00 $37.00 $36.00 $44.00 $45.00 A B C D E

32) John starts work at 8:45 am and finishes at 5:15 pm. He has 90
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 29 days?

A B C D E
180 200 220 240 260 A B C D E

33) A restaurant bill is made up as follows: $212.43 for starters,

$128.52 for main courses and $78.96 for deserts, plus a 17%
service charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$400 $420 $440 $490 $460 A B C D E

34) A rectangular solid is 19 inches high, 19 inches wide and 19

inches long. What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
7,000 7,500 8,000 8,500 9,000 A B C D E

35) A cylindrical solid is 40 inches high, and has a diameter of 2

inches. What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
100 120 140 160 180 A B C D E

End of Numerical Estimation Test 1

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Estimation Test 2: 35 Questions

Instructions: You need to estimate the answers to these questions, as you do not have time
to calculate them precisely. Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the
letter on the right which is nearest to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 249 + 364 = ? 450 500 550 600 650 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 3,905 + 4,204 = ? 8,700 9,000 7,000 8,100 8,500 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 618 + 390 = ? 1100 1000 980 990 970 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 106 + 317 + 339 = ? 700 740 760 790 720 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 29 + 41 + 38 + 31 = ? 130 120 160 110 140 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 4,998 – 2,005 = ? 2,900 2,950 3,000 2,850 3,150 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 8,441 – 739 = ? 7,700 7,300 7,500 7,400 7,750 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 1,689 – 402 = ? 1,250 1,290 1,180 1,165 1,300 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 6,786 – 2,280 = ? 4,650 5,000 4,100 4,500 4,400 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 714 – 88 + 7,459 = ? 8,250 7,750 7,900 7,950 8,100 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 12 × 68 = ? 820 730 770 740 790 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 39 × 119 = ? 3,600 3,700 4,500 4,000 3,200 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 4.9 × 7.1 × 4.9 = ? 165 190 155 170 150 A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 5.5 × 8 × 2.9 = ? 130 110 155 160 90 A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 618 × 4.17 = ? 2,600 360 250 2,400 210 A B C D E
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 448 ÷ 51 = ? 6 9 11 12 10 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 4,442 ÷ 348 = ? 13 10 17 18 5 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 1,408 ÷ 71 = ? 16 15 20 17 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 1,201 ÷ 11.3 = ? 1,000 140 12 100 120 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 5,907 ÷ 298 = ? 50 60 15 20 40 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 45% of 721 = ? 375 350 325 300 270 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 62% of 9,988 = ? 6,200 5,500 6,000 5,800 6,100 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 33% of 8,980 3,300 3,000 2,700 2,600 3,900 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 5% of 21,111 = ? 990 1,500 1,005 1,050 1,550 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 11.5% of 81,854 = ? 9,410 8,900 9,000 9,800 9,900 A B C D E

A B C D E
7
26) 2 + 1
8
3
16 +3 1
2 =? 9 12 6 12 5 12 8 12 7 12 A B C D E

A B C D E
27) 2 3
5 +1 4
5
+7 17
20
=? 14 11 10 15 12 A B C D E

A B C D E
28) 1 3
16 +9 7
8
=? 14 11 10 15 12 A B C D E

A B C D E
29) 14 – 8 3
8
3
16 =? 6 5 4 3 7 A B C D E

A B C D E
30) 7 1
16 ×3 1
2 =? 20 12 23 24 12 22 12 21 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
31) If one ream of paper costs $4.45 how much would 9 reams cost?

A B C D E
$39 $40 $44 $38 $37 A B C D E

32) John starts work at 7:45 am and finishes at 5:45 pm. He has 90
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 10 days?

A B C D E
66 80 85 90 75 A B C D E

33) A restaurant bill is made up as follows: $192.88 for starters,

$212.71 for main courses and $76.16 for deserts, plus a 5% service
charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$500 $550 $600 $650 $450 A B C D E

34) A rectangular solid is 12 inches high, 3 inches wide and 5 inches

long. What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
150 200 250 180 230 A B C D E

35) A cylindrical solid is 8 inches high, and has a diameter of 4 inches.

What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
40 50 60 70 80 A B C D E

End of Numerical Estimation Test 2

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Estimation Test 3: 35 Questions

Instructions: You need to estimate the answers to these questions, as you do not have time
to calculate them precisely. Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the
letter on the right which is nearest to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 475 + 222 = ? 650 700 750 800 850 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 4,115 + 3,918 = ? 7,750 6,750 7,250 8,000 8,250 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 796 + 512 + 987 = ? 2,300 2,000 2,200 2,100 1,900 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 708 + 497 + 111 = ? 1,550 1,500 1,700 1,400 1,300 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 48 + 29 + 32 + 21 = ? 110 150 140 160 130 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 7,879 – 1,790 = ? 8,200 6,000 9,600 9,000 8,600 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 7,701 – 806 = ? 7,200 6,900 7,900 5,900 8,000 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 2,924 – 318 = ? 2,350 2,550 2,600 2,400 2,650 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 5,412 - 1,900 = ? 3,500 3,400 3,200 3,300 3,000 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 618 – 86 + 3,089 = ? 3,200 3,100 3,400 3,500 3,600 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 59 × 71 = ? 480 4,200 4,800 420 4,900 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 68 × 122 = ? 8,000 820 8,050 8,300 800 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 3.8 × 6.2 × 10.4 = ? 250 260 270 280 290 A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 5.5 × 7 × 3.9 = ? 190 180 170 160 150 A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 717 × 3.03 = ? 3,200 1,800 2,400 2,200 3,000 A B C D E
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 361 ÷ 48 = ? 6 7 12 8 12 8 14 9 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 6,013 ÷ 197 = ? 50 45 60 30 40 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 1,408 ÷ 34 = ? 80 40 60 20 15 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 1,819 ÷ 8.9 = ? 370 400 200 300 350 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 4,898 ÷ 124 = ? 20 25 30 35 40 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 45% of 132 = ? 50 60 70 80 90 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 62% of 722 = ? 350 400 550 450 300 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 33% of 12,104 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 5% of 40,019 = ? 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 11.5% of 49,775 = ? 4,500 5,700 6,500 7,700 8,700 A B C D E

A B C D E
26) 2 1
16 +7 1
5 +3 1
2 =? 16 11 15 14 13 A B C D E

A B C D E
27) 2 3
5 +4 4
5
+1 1
2 =? 6 7 8 9 10 A B C D E

A B C D E
28) 6 3
16 +9 7
8
=? 15 16 17 18 19 A B C D E

A B C D E
29) 15 – 4 3
8
7
16 =? 11 12 10 14 13 A B C D E

A B C D E
30) 6 4
×2 =? 1
8
12 15 19 17 21 A B C D E
5

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
31) If a ream of paper costs $7.47 how much would 11 reams cost?

A B C D E
$75 $70 $90 $60 $80 A B C D E

32) John starts work at 8:00 am and finishes at 4:45 pm. He has 90
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 10 days?

A B C D E
72 62 78 60 70 A B C D E

33) A restaurant bill is made up as follows: $312.55 for starters,

$512.52 for main courses and $278.96 for deserts, plus a 10%
service charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$1,250 $1,050 $1,200 $1,150 $1,100 A B C D E

34) A rectangular solid is 5.5 inches high, 9.5 inches wide and 10
inches long. What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
540 560 460 480 520 A B C D E

35) A cylindrical solid is 9 inches high, and has a diameter of 6 inches.

What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
115 80 75 95 105 A B C D E

End of Numerical Estimation Test 3

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Estimation Test 4: 35 Questions

Instructions: You need to estimate the answers to these questions, as you do not have time
to calculate them precisely. Answer as many questions as you can in 10 minutes. Circle the
letter on the right which is nearest to the correct answer. Do not use a calculator.

A B C D E
1) 3,506 + 198 = ? 3,800 3,700 3,650 3,750 3,770 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 7,709 + 4,421 = ? 13,000 11,500 11,000 12,000 12,500 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 588 + 608 + 981 = ? 2,600 2,500 2,200 2,400 2,100 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 914 + 988 + 407 = ? 2,300 2,600 2,500 2,700 2,400 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 57 + 51 + 28 + 19 = ? 160 120 170 180 150 A B C D E

A B C D E
6) 9,104 – 4,997 = ? 6,000 5,000 5,100 4,100 4,000 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 6,695 – 579 = ? 5,900 5,800 6,100 5,100 5,500 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 4,880 – 369 = ? 4,200 4,500 4,300 4,400 4,100 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 8,120 – 5,611 = ? 3,600 2,800 2,700 2,500 2,600 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 512 – 88 + 2,180 = ? 3,600 2,800 2,700 2,500 2,600 A B C D E

A B C D E
11) 48 × 51 = ? 3,600 2,800 2,700 2,500 2,600 A B C D E

A B C D E
12) 28 × 83 = ? 1,800 3,200 2,300 1,300 830 A B C D E

A B C D E
13) 6.9 × 4.9 × 7.1 = ? 2,000 160 200 220 190 A B C D E

A B C D E
14) 5.5 × 6 × 1.8 = ? 55 65 45 60 50 A B C D E

A B C D E
15) 508 × 5.91 = ? 1,800 3,200 2,300 1,300 3,000 A B C D E
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
A B C D E
16) 918 ÷ 94 = ? 15 22 10 25 20 A B C D E

A B C D E
17) 6,987 ÷ 129 = ? 20 50 40 30 35 A B C D E

A B C D E
18) 2,409 ÷ 31 = ? 80 44 31 55 120 A B C D E

A B C D E
19) 2,398 ÷ 11.8 = ? 110 300 60 120 200 A B C D E

A B C D E
20) 9,978 ÷ 509 = ? 10 20 30 40 50 A B C D E

A B C D E
21) 45% of 409 = ? 260 150 180 240 220 A B C D E

A B C D E
22) 62% of 308 = ? 200 160 250 110 150 A B C D E

A B C D E
23) 33% of 21,013 = ? 8,000 11,000 9,000 7,000 5,000 A B C D E

A B C D E
24) 5% of 79,899 = ? 3,000 2,000 4,000 2,500 3,500 A B C D E

A B C D E
25) 11.5% of 38,160 = ? 3,000 2,000 4,000 2,500 3,500 A B C D E

A B C D E
26) 5 1
40 +1 4
5
+3 1
2 =? 9 11 11.5 12.5 10.5 A B C D E

A B C D E
27) 1 3
5 +2 4
5
+9 1
2 =? 12 11 18 10 14 A B C D E

A B C D E
28) 12 3
16 + 14 7
8
=? 31 27 25 30 29 A B C D E

A B C D E
29) 15 – 6 3
8
3
16 =? 9 8 11 6 7 A B C D E

A B C D E
30) 7 1
16 ×7 =?1
8
65 70 50 40 60 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Circle Answer
31) If three reams of paper cost $12.66 how much would 20 reams
cost?

A B C D E
$80 $85 $100 $120 $95 A B C D E

32) John starts work at 5:45 am and finishes at 3:15 pm. He has 90
minutes of breaks. How many hours does he work in 16 days?

A B C D E
210 160 100 130 75 A B C D E

33) A restaurant bill is made up as follows: $82.43 for starters,

$128.52 for main courses and $48.96 for deserts, plus an 18%
service charge. How much is the bill?

A B C D E
$400 $190 $300 $260 $240 A B C D E

34) A rectangular solid is 3.3 inches high, 3.3 inches wide and 24
inches long. What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
400 190 300 260 230 A B C D E

35) A cylindrical solid is 10 inches high, and has a diameter of 6

inches. What is its volume in cubic inches?

A B C D E
280 600 200 60 48 A B C D E

End of Numerical Estimation Test 4

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Answers to Numerical Estimation Tests 1-4

Question Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4

1) B D B B
2) A D D D
3) D B A C
4) C C E A
5) A E E E
6) E C B D
7) B A B C
8) D B C B
9) C D A D
10) C E E E
11) D A B D
12) E C D C
13) D D A D
14) C A E D
15) E A D E
16) A B B C
17) E A D B
18) B C B A
19) C D C E
20) D D E B
21) C C B C
22) A A D A
23) B B E D
24) E D B C
25) C A B C
26) A E E E
27) A E D E
28) B B B B
29) B A A A
30) D C B C
31) A B E B
32) B C A D
33) D A C C
34) A D E D
35) B B B A

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Reasoning Questions

Information is provided that requires you to interpret it and then apply the appropriate
logic to answer the questions. In other words, you need to work out how to get the
answer rather than what calculations to apply. Sometimes the questions are designed
to approximate the type of reasoning required in the workplace.

The questions will often use number series questions which represent the most
popular type of numerical reasoning questions. Numerical reasoning questions are
very commonly used in graduate and managerial selection. You can usually expect
15-20 questions in 20-30 minutes.

Numerical reasoning is an increasingly popular way of assessing candidates during

the job selection process. Many people who have been out of the education system for
a while or who don’t use maths on a day-to-day basis feel intimidated by these types
of test. The important thing to remember is that you don’t need to have studied
mathematics to a high level to do well in these tests. They are primarily tests of
reasoning ability and the math needed is invariably straightforward. Although you
may need to get back up to speed with percentages, ratios, proportions, fractions and
decimals.

You will usually be allowed to use a calculator for these types of question and
investing in one which can handle fractions and percentages is a good idea. You
should also try to work through a few numerical computation practice papers to get
back into swing of these types of calculation.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Reasoning Test 1: 22 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

Identify the missing number at the end of the series.

A B C D E
1) 3, 11, 19, 27, ? 33 35 37 39 41 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 3, 6, 11, 18, ? 24 25 26 27 28 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 516, 497, 478, 459, ? 436 440 438 452 442 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 316, 323, 332, 343, ? 356 357 358 351 359 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 662, 645, 624, 599, ? 587 566 589 575 570 A B C D E

Identify the missing number within the series.

A B C D E
6) 33, ?, 19, 12, 5 31 26 29 27 24 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 11, 19, ?, 41, 55 31 29 26 39 34 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 98, 94, ?, 70, 38 89 85 86 87 88 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 86, ?, 79, 75, 72, 68 82 80 85 84 83 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 20, 30, 25, 35, ?, 40 45 35 25 30 50 A B C D E

11) Identify the missing number.

7 4 49 16
5 6 25 ?

A B C D E
41 36 35 18 37 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

12) Identify the missing number.

4 14 11 31
35 26 73 ?

A B C D E
51 56 45 55 52 A B C D E

13) Identify the missing number.

7 8 20 1
5 6 2 ?

A B C D E
3 16 25 48 17 A B C D E

14) Identify the missing number.

41 44 72 78
36 66 62 ?

A B C D E
120 122 130 132 98 A B C D E

15) Identify the missing number.

5 20 100 3 24
20 80 400 12 ?

A B C D E
86 96 16 106 56 A B C D E

16) Identify the missing number.

8 ? 6 9 7
5 7 3 6 4

A B C D E
16 14 11 10 9 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

17) It costs a manufacturer X dollars per component to make the first 1,000 components.
All subsequent components cost X÷3 each. When X = $1.50 How much will it cost
to manufacture 4,000 components?

A B C D E
$3,500 $3,000 $4,000 $3,250 $4,500 A B C D E

18) A train travelling at 60 mph enters a tunnel that is 5 miles long. The train is one mile
long. How many minutes does it take for the whole train to pass through the tunnel?

A B C D E
7 4 10 5 6 A B C D E

19) In the Shelbyville election, the Republican candidate received one and a half times as
many votes as the Democrat candidate. The Democrat candidate received one third
more votes than the Independent candidate. 900 votes were cast for the Independent
candidate. How many votes were cast for the Republican candidate?

A B C D E
900 1,400 1,600 1,000 1,800 A B C D E

20) Anna and John both drive to their new home 400 miles away. Anna drives the family
car at an average speed of 60 mph. John drives the removal truck at an average speed
of 50 mph. During the journey, Anna stops for a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes, John
stops for half as long. What is the difference in minutes between their arrival times?

A B C D E
60 55 40 90 80 A B C D E

21) A total of 800 copies of a CD were sold. 60% were sold at 50% discount, 20% were
sold at 30% discount and the remainder were sold at the full price of $8.95. What was
the approximate total revenue in dollars?

A B C D E
4,679 4,579 4,779 4,499 4,521 A B C D E

22) In a survey, 3/16 of people said that they preferred to use self-service gas stations.
5/8 said that they preferred not to pump their own gas. The remaining 75 respondents
said that they had no clear preference. How many people preferred self service?

A B C D E
75 125 100 133 150 A B C D E

End of Numerical Reasoning Test 1

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Reasoning Test 2: 22 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

Identify the missing number at the end of the series.

A B C D E
1) 3, 9, 15, 21, ? 30 27 25 28 29 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 4, 13, 21, 28, ? 37 36 31 34 33 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 798, 777, 756, 735, ? 712 711 720 710 714 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 2, 5, 9, 14, 20, ? 23 29 27 25 28 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 20, 16, 12.8, 10.24, ? 7.39 8.19 8.55 8.00 7.29 A B C D E

Identify the missing number or letter within the series.

A B C D E
6) 16, 18, 21, ?, 30 27 28 22 25 26 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 97, 94, ?, 79, 67, 52 88 86 70 81 82 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 21, ?, 8, 5, 3, 2 12 14 13 17 11 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) ?, 125, 64, 27, 8, 1 298 200 175 216 210 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) Q, S, ?, Z T U V W X A B C D E

11) Identify the missing number.

7 12 12 17
22 17 ? 22

A B C D E
24 36 32 38 27 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

12) Identify the missing number.

13 34 50 ?
91 62 25 100

A B C D E
25 75 34 91 62 A B C D E

13) Identify the missing number.

6 12 14 20
1 7 9 ?

A B C D E
14 21 12 18 15 A B C D E

14) Identify the missing number.

3 6 4 7
6 6 7 ?

A B C D E
11 9 8 6 4 A B C D E

15) Identify the missing number.

14 28 74 98 154
7 14 37 49 ?

A B C D E
76 59 77 80 88 A B C D E

16) Identify the missing number.

3 2 6 2 7
4 9 1 1 ?

A B C D E
12 9 5 8 7 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

17) Anna drives to her sisters at an average speed of 60 mph and then drives home again
at an average speed of 30 mph, what is her average speed in mph for the whole trip?

A B C D E
50 40 45 48 37 A B C D E

18) A bank offers 4% per annum interest which is calculated and added at the end of the
year. Another bank offers 10% per annum which is also calculated and added every
year. What is the difference in dollars on a deposit of $1000 after two years?

A B C D E
128.40 12.80 126.10 26.10 124.80 A B C D E

19) Tom, Dick and Harry own stock in their company in the ratio 4:5:6. If the total value
of the stock is $45,000, What value of stock would Harry need to give Tom for all
three to own the stock equally?

A B C D E
$3,000 $4,000 $3,200 $3,500 $5,000 A B C D E

20) Anna and John both drive to their new home 600 miles away. Anna drives the family
car at an average speed of 65 mph. John drives the removal truck at an average speed
of 50 mph. During the trip, Anna stops for a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes, John
stops for 90 minutes. What is the difference in minutes between their arrival times?

A B C D E
91 131 129 116 15 A B C D E

21) A total of 600 copies of a CD were sold. 55% were sold at 45% discount, 20% were
sold at 25% discount and the remainder were sold at the full price of $9.95. What was
the approximate total revenue in dollars?

A B C D E
$4,662 $3,660 $3,866 $3,992 $4,192 A B C D E

22) In a survey, 243 people were asked if they preferred butter, margarine or new Tastee
low fat spread. The ratio of people who preferred Tastee to margarine was 7:2. Two
thirds of the whole sample preferred butter. How many people preferred Tastee?

A B C D E
122 121 71 63 77 A B C D E

End of Numerical Reasoning Test 2

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Reasoning Test 3: 22 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

Identify the missing number at the end of the series.

A B C D E
1) 7, 11, 15, 19, ? 22 23 24 25 26 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 11, 16, 26, 41, ? 58 60 59 61 66 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, ? 62 63 64 65 66 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 97, 94, 88, 79, 67, ? 52 50 49 47 44 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 72, 63, 54, 45, ? 32 33 36 39 35 A B C D E

Identify the missing number or letter within the series.

A B C D E
6) 195, ?, 180, 170, 165 192 188 185 190 182 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 3, 5, 15, 17, 27, ?, 39 31 29 25 35 30 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 54, ?, 28, 18, 10, 4 36 35 37 41 40 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) 1, 3, ?, 9, 27, 243 4 3 5 6 7 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) T, ? R, N, P U T V W N A B C D E

11) Identify the missing number.

3 9 4 8
81 3 ? 4

A B C D E
124 128 64 48 28 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

12) Identify the missing number.

34 40 45 1
10 6 0 ?

A B C D E
13 51 26 44 8 A B C D E

13) Identify the missing number.

3 6 2 6
1 8 1 ?

A B C D E
2 4 6 8 10 A B C D E

14) Identify the missing number.

41 48 33 40
62 55 ? 47

A B C D E
59 55 62 54 51 A B C D E

15) Identify the missing number.

3 17 6 14 10
5 5 25 ? 7

A B C D E
13 12 25 17 3 A B C D E

16) Identify the missing number.

2 6 44 8 10
15 19 ? 21 23

A B C D E
72 66 73 57 55 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

17) It costs a manufacturer X dollars per component to make the first 500 components.
All subsequent components cost X÷5 each. When X = $4.50 How much will it cost
to manufacture 4,000 components?

A B C D E
$5,600 $4,600 $5,400 $5,200 $5,450 A B C D E

18) A bank offers 10% per annum interest which is calculated and added at the end of the
year. Another bank offers 10% per annum which is calculated and added every six
months. What is the difference on a deposit of $800 after one year?

A B C D E
$2.00 $2.60 $2.40 $2.20 $4.00 A B C D E

19) Components X,Y and Z are ordered in the ratio 1:5:4. How many Z components will
be in an order for 8000 components?

A B C D E
3,200 1,600 6,400 4,600 1,800 A B C D E

20) Anna and John both receive stock as part of their remuneration. Anna receives $400
worth plus a bonus of 12%. John receives $300 worth plus a bonus of 20%. What is
the difference between the values of the two bonuses?

A B C D E
$12.00 $10.00 $20.00 $14.00 $11.50 A B C D E

21) A total of 1600 copies of a CD were sold. 30% were sold at 55% discount, 10% were
sold at 30% discount and the remainder were sold at the full price of $7.95. What was
the approximate total revenue in dollars?

A B C D E
10,369 10,569 10,569 10,234 10,669 A B C D E

22) Anna bought $4,000 of company stock. She sold 75% of it when the value doubled,
and the remainder at four times the purchase price. What was her total profit?

A B C D E
$4,000 $6,750 $6,000 $6,500 $5,000 A B C D E

End of Numerical Reasoning Test 3

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Numerical Reasoning Test 4: 22 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

Identify the missing number at the end of the series.

A B C D E
1) 5, 12, 19, 26, ? 31 33 35 34 37 A B C D E

A B C D E
2) 11, 16, 26, 41, ? 51 56 61 66 46 A B C D E

A B C D E
3) 100, 96, 91, 85, ? 74 75 77 78 79 A B C D E

A B C D E
4) 5, 12, 26, 47, ? 66 65 60 70 75 A B C D E

A B C D E
5) 0, 4, 9, 13, 18, ? 22 20 24 21 25 A B C D E

Identify the missing number within the series.

A B C D E
6) ?, 14, 12, 11, 11, 12 14 17 18 15 16 A B C D E

A B C D E
7) 11, 30, ?, 68, 87, 106 50 52 40 49 47 A B C D E

A B C D E
8) 68, 72, 75, ?, 82, 86 80 78 77 81 79 A B C D E

A B C D E
9) ?, 30, 35, 25, 30, 20 40 45 25 20 30 A B C D E

A B C D E
10) 54, 40, 28, ?, 10, 4 24 16 18 14 15 A B C D E

11) Identify the missing number.

4 8 8 16
16 12 ? 24

A B C D E
30 32 36 28 34 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

12) Identify the missing number.

22 22 44 1
13 3 6 ?

A B C D E
14 44 13 9 22 A B C D E

13) Identify the missing number.

7 8 20 ?
5 6 2 3

A B C D E
0 1 6 4 7 A B C D E

14) Identify the missing number.

41 48 33 40
62 55 54 ?

A B C D E
55 62 42 49 47 A B C D E

15) Identify the missing number.

3 12 90 24 9
7 28 210 ? 21

A B C D E
48 65 56 52 54 A B C D E

16) Identify the missing number.

1 1 1 3 ?
2 1 0 2 2

A B C D E
0 1 2 3 4 A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

17) It costs a manufacturer X dollars per component to make the first 3,000 components.
All subsequent components cost one quarter of X each. When X = $2.70 How much
will it cost to manufacture 4,000 components?

A B C D E
$7,875 $8,770 $8,795 $8,705 $8,700 A B C D E

18) A bank offers 6% per annum interest which is calculated and added at the end of the
year. Another bank offers 10% per annum which is calculated and added every six
months. What is the difference on a deposit of $100 after one year?

A B C D E
$4.00 $4.05 $4.10 $4.15 $4.25 A B C D E

19) In the Shelbyville election, the Republican candidate received three times as many
votes as the Democrat candidate. The Democrat candidate received one quarter less
votes than the Independent candidate. 1200 votes were cast for the Independent
candidate. How many votes were cast for the Republican candidate?

A B C D E
2,700 3,200 2,000 2,600 2,200 A B C D E

20) Anna and John both drive to their new home 280 miles away. Anna drives the family
car at an average speed of 70 mph. John drives the removal truck at an average speed
of 60 mph. During the journey, Anna stops for a total of 1 hour and 10 minutes, John
stops for half as long. What is the difference in minutes between their arrival times?

A B C D E
5 10 12 15 25 A B C D E

21) A train travelling at 66 mph enters a tunnel that is 4.75 miles long. The train is three
quarters of a mile long. How many minutes does it take for the whole train to pass
through the tunnel?

A B C D E
8 5 14 16 10 A B C D E

22) Tom, Dick and Harry own shares in their company in the ratio 3:5:7. If the total value
of the shares is $10,500. What value of shares would Harry need to give Tom for all
three to own the shares equally?

A B C D E
$1,800 $700 $1,400 $1,200 $1,000 A B C D E

End of Numerical Reasoning Test 4

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Answers to Numerical Reasoning Tests 1-4

Question Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4

1) B B B B
2) D D D C
3) B E B D
4) A C A E
5) E B C A
6) B D C B
7) B A B D
8) C C E E
9) A D B A
10) D C E C
11) B E B B
12) D A D D
13) A E A B
14) B B D E
15) B C A C
16) D C D B
17) B B C B
18) E A A E
19) E A A A
20) C D A A
21) B E D B
22) A D C C

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning – Understanding Number Sequences
These questions require you to find the missing number in a sequence of numbers.
This missing number may be at the beginning or middle but is usually at the end.

1. Find the next number in the series

4 8 16 32 --

A) 48 B) 64 C) 40 D) 46

2. Find the next number in the series

4 8 12 20 --

A) 32 B) 34 C) 36 D) 38

3. Find the missing number in the series

54 49 -- 39 34

A) 47 B) 44 C) 45 D) 46

4. Find the first number in the series

-- 19 23 29 31

A) 12 B) 15 C) 16 D) 17

These number sequences can be quite simple like the examples above. However, you
will often see more complex questions where it is the interval between the numbers
that is the key to the sequence.

5. Find the next number in the series

3 6 11 18 --

A) 30 B) 22 C) 27 D) 29

6. Find the next number in the series

48 46 42 38 --

A) 32 B) 30 C) 33 D) 34

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning
These simple number sequences usually consist of four visible numbers plus one
missing number. This is because the test designer needs to produce a sequence into
which only one number will fit. The need to avoid any ambiguity means that if the
number sequence relies on a more complex pattern then there will need to be more
visible numbers. For example;

7. Find the missing number in the series

4 3 5 9 12 17 --

A) 32 B) 30 C) 24 D) 26

8. Find the missing numbers in the series

5 6 7 8 10 11 14 -- --

A) 19 B) 17 C) 15 D) 16

9. Find the missing numbers in the series

1 -- 4 7 7 8 10 9 --

A) 6 B) 3 C) 11 D) 13

Answers
1. B – The numbers double each time
2. A – Each number is the sum of the previous two numbers
3. B – The numbers decrease by 5 each time
4. D – The numbers are primes (divisible only by 1 and themselves)
5. C – The interval, beginning with 3, increases by 2 each time
6. B – The interval, beginning with 2, increases by 2 and is subtracted each time
7. D – Each number is the sum of the previous and the number 3 places to the left
8. C A – There are 2 simple interleaved sequences 5,7,10,14,19 and 6,8,11,15
9. A D – There are 2 simple interleaved sequences 1,4,7,10,13 and 6,7,8,9

To solve these number sequence questions efficiently, you should first check the
relationship between the numbers themselves looking for some simple arithmetic
relationship. Then look at the intervals between the numbers and see if there is a
relationship there. If not, and particularly if there are more than 4 numbers visible,
then there may be two number sequences interleaved.

You will occasionally find multiplication, division, or powers used in these

sequences, but test designers tend to avoid them as these operations soon lead to large
numbers which are difficult to work out without a calculator.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning – Understanding Letters of the Alphabet as Numbers
Another type of sequence question which appears in these tests involves the
substitution of letters of the alphabet for numbers. For example A=1, B=2 etc. It may
seem strange to consider these as numerical reasoning questions but they actually
work in the same way once you have changed them back into numbers.

1. Find the next letter in the series

B E H K --

i) L ii) M iii) N iv) O

2. Find the next letter in the series

A Z B Y --

i) C ii) X iii) D iv) Y

3. Find the next letter in the series

T V X Z --

i) Y ii) B iii) A iv) W

Answers
1. iii – There are two letters missing between each one, so N is next
2. i – There are 2 interleaved sequences A,B,C and Z,Y, so C is next
3. ii – Miss a letter each time and ‘loop’ back, so B is next

Because arithmetic operations cannot be performed on letters there is less room for
ambiguity in these questions. This means that interleaved sequences can be used with
fewer visible letters than in questions that use numbers. Question 17 for example can
use 2 interleaved sequences even though only four letters are visible. This would be
very difficult to achieve with numbers.

It is implicit in these ‘alphabetic sequence’ questions that the sequence ‘loops’ back
around and starts again. See question 18. It is important to recognize this as it is not
usually stated explicitly – you are just expected to know it.

If you see more than one of these questions in a test then it is almost certainly worth
taking the time to write out the letters of the alphabet with their ordinal numbers
underneath. You can then treat these questions in a similar way to number sequence
questions. This can save a lot of time overall and avoids simple mistakes.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Explanations – Numerical Reasoning Test 1

1) The numbers in this series increase by 8 each time. therefore the next number is 35.

2) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 2 each time – 3,5,7,
etc. This will produce a difference of 9 between 18 and the next number in the series,
which is therefore 27.

3) The numbers in this series decrease by 19 each time. Therefore the next number is
440.

4) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 2 each time –
7,9,11, etc. This will produce a difference of 13 between 353 and the next number in
the series, which is therefore 356.

5) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by -4 each time: -17,-
21,-25, etc. This will produce a difference of -29 between 599 and the next number in
the series, which is therefore 570.

6) The numbers in this series decrease by 7 each time. Therefore the second number is
26.

7) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 2 each time –
8,10,12, 14. The third number in the series is therefore 29.

8) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by -4, -8, -16, -32. The
third number in the series is therefore 86.

9) The difference between the numbers in this series alternates between -4 and -3. The
second number in the series is therefore 82.

10) There are two number series here, the first is 20, 25, 30 and the second is 30, 35,
40. Signs that you need to consider two series are firstly six or more numbers and
secondly, numbers in the series do not all increase or decrease.

11) The numbers in the box on the right are the squares of those in the corresponding
box on the left. 7/49, 4/16, 5/25. Therefore the answer must be 36 which is the square
of 6.

12) The numbers in the box on the right are ((n * 2) + 3) where n is the number in the
corresponding box on the left. Therefore the answer must be ((26 * 2) + 3) = 55.

13) The numbers in the boxes on the left adds up to 26. The answer must be 3 to make
the numbers in the boxes on the right add up to 26.

14) The numbers in the box on the right are ((n * 2) - 10) where n is the number in the
corresponding box on the left. Therefore the answer must be ((66 * 2) - 10) = 122.

15) The numbers on the bottom row are four times those on the top row. Therefore the
missing number is 4 * 24 = 96.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

16) The numbers on the bottom row are three less than those on the top row.
Therefore the missing number is 7 + 3 = 10

17) The first 1000 components are $1.50 each which gives $1,500. The 3000
subsequent components cost $0.50 each which gives $1,500. Therefore the run of
4000 components will cost $3,000.

18) The train is travelling at a speed of one mile per minute, so the front of the train
will exit the tunnel in 5 minutes. At this point there is still one mile of train in the
tunnel since the train is one mile long. This will take a further one minute to clear the
tunnel. Therefore the total time taken is six minutes.

19) If 900 votes were cast for the Independent candidate then the Democratic
candidate must have received (900 + 300) 1200 votes. The Republican candidate must
have received (1200 + 600) 1800 votes.

20) If Anna covers 400 miles in at an average speed of 60 mph then she must have
driven for a total of 6 hours and 40 minutes. If she stops for 1 hour and 20 minutes
then her total journey time is 8 hours. If John covers 400 miles in at an average speed
of 50 mph then he must have driven for a total of 8 hours. If he stops for 40 minutes
then his total journey time is 8 hours and 40 minutes. Therefore there is a 40 minute
difference in their arrival times.

21) Of the 800 CDs sold:

20% or 160 were sold at $8.95 = $1432

20% or 160 were sold at $6.26 = $1001
60% or 480 were sold at $4.47 = $2145

Therefore the total revenue was $4578

22) The proportion of the sample who preferred not to pump their own gas was 5/8
which is the same as 10/16. Add to this 3/16 which is the proportion of the sample
that prefers to pump their own gas. This means that 13/16 of the people who replied to
the survey expressed a preference. This means that 3/16 (or 75 people) did not. The
question states that 3/16 of the sample preferred to use self service and we know that
3/16 = 75 people, therefore 75 people preferred self-service.

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Explanations - Numerical Reasoning Test 2

1) The numbers in this series increase by 6 each time. Therefore the next number is
27.

2) The difference between the numbers in this series decreases by 1 each time: 9, 8, 7,
etc. This will produce a difference of 6 between 28 and the next number in the series,
which is therefore 34.

3) The numbers in this series decrease by 21 each time. Therefore the next number is
714.

4) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 1 each time: 3, 4, 5,
6, etc. This will produce a difference of 7 between 20 and the next number in the
series, which is therefore 27.

5) The difference between the numbers in this series is (minus) the number divided by
5. For example 20/5 = 4. 20-4 = 16. Then 16/5 = 3.2. 16-3.2 = 12.8. To obtain the
final number in the series 10.24/5 = 2.04. Therefore subtract 2.05 from 10.24 to give
8.19.

6) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 1 each time: 2, 3, 4,
5, etc. This will produce a difference of 4 between 21 and the next number in the
series, which is therefore 25.

7) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by -3 each time: -3, -6,
-9, etc. Therefore the third number in the series is 88.

8) Subtract each number from the previous one to get the next in the series. For
example, 8-5=3, 5-3=2, etc. The second number in the series is 13 since 21-13 = 8.

9) The numbers in this series are descending cubes of 6,5,4,3,2,1.

10) The interval between letters increases by 1 each time, so V is the third in the
series.

11) The numbers in the box on the right are (n + 5) where n is the number in the
corresponding box on the left. Therefore the answer must be (22 + 5) = 27.

12) The numbers in the boxes on the left add up to 200. The answer must be 75 to
make the numbers in the boxes on the right add up to 200.

13) The numbers in the box on the right are (n + 8) where n is the number in the
corresponding box on the left. Therefore the answer must be (7 + 8) = 15.

14) The numbers in the bottom left and top right of each group of 4 are multiplied and
the answer is written in the top left and bottom right square. One the left 6 * 6 = 36
and on the right 7 * 7 = 49. Therefore the answer is 9. Note that even though logically
7 could be an answer, it is not one of the answer options – so you need to think a bit
more laterally.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

15) The number in the top row is divided by 2 to give the number in the bottom row.
Therefore the answer is 77.

16) The top row and the bottom row must add up to 20. Therefore the answer is 5.
Note that the presence of two adjacent 1’s in the bottom row beneath different
numbers offers a strong hint that the relationship can not be between corresponding
numbers in the top and bottom rows.

17) It is not 45 mph. Imagine that Anna’s sister lives 60 miles away. The outward
journey will take 1 hour. The return journey will take 2 hours (60 miles at 30 mph).
Anna has been travelling for 3 hours and has covered 120 miles. Her average speed is
therefore (120/3 = 40 mph). Note that this is true however far she drives.

18) At the bank paying 4%, the amount will be $1040 ($1000 * 1.04) at the end of the
first year and $1081.60 ($1040 * 1.04) at the end of the second year. At the bank
paying 10% the amount will be $1100 ($1000 * 1.10) at the end of the first year and
$1210 ($1100 * 1.10) at the end of the second year. Therefore the difference will be
$128.40.

19) The stock is owned in the ratio 4:5:6 and the total value is $45,000.
To work out the value of their holdings add 4+5+6 = 15.
Divide $45,000 by 15 = $3,000. You can then calculate that
Tom owns $12,000 (4 * $3,000)
Dick owns $15,000 (5 * $3,000)
Harry owns $18,000 (6 * $3,000)

Therefore Harry would need to give Tom $3,000 worth of stock for all three to own
$15,000 worth.

20) If Anna covers 600 miles in at an average speed of 65 mph then she must have
driven for a total of 554 minutes. If she stops for 2 hour and 20 minutes then her total
journey time is 694 minutes. If John covers 600 miles in at an average speed of 50
mph then he must have driven for a total of 720 hours. If he stops for 90 minutes then
his total journey time is 810 minutes. Therefore there is a 116 minute difference in
their arrival times.

21) Of the 600 CDs sold:

25% or 150 were sold at $9.95 = $1,492

20% or 120 were sold at $7.46 = $895
55% or 330 were sold at $5.47 = $1,805

Therefore the total revenue was $4,192

22) If two thirds of the sample of 243 preferred butter, then 81 (243/3) people
preferred either margarine or Tastee. The Tastee and margarine are preferred in the
ratio 7:2 and the total number preferring either is 81, then to work out the numbers of
each add 7+2 = 9. Divide 81 by 9 = 9. You can then calculate that the number of
people preferring Tastee will be (7 * 9 =) 63.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Explanations - Numerical Reasoning Test 3

1) The numbers in this series increase by 4 each time. Therefore the next number is
23.

2) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 5 each time – 5, 10,
15, etc. This will produce a difference of 20 between 41 and the next number in the
series, which is therefore 61.

3) The numbers in this series increase by 7 each time. Therefore the next number is
63.

4) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 3 each time: -3, -6, -
9, -12 etc. This will produce a difference of -15 between 67 and the next number in
the series, which is therefore 52.

5) The numbers in this series increase by -9 each time. Therefore the next number is
36.

6) The difference between the numbers in this series alternates between -5 and -10.
Therefore the second number in the series is 190.

7) The difference between the numbers in this series alternates between 2 and 10.
Therefore the sixth number in the series is 29.

8) Each number in the series is a multiple of the two preceding numbers. The third
number in the series will be 3 since 1 * 3 = 3. Whenever you see a large increase in
the numbers in a series (for example, 9, 27, 243) this indicates that multiplication of
the numbers themselves or of their differences defines the series.

9) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 1 each time: -19, -
20, -21, -22. The third number in the series is therefore 110.

10) The interval between the letters alternates between incrementing by 4 and
decrementing by 2. Therefore the second letter is ‘P’.

11) The number in the bottom left square is the product of the other three numbers.

12) The numbers in the boxes on the left add up to 90. The answer must be 44 to
make the numbers in the boxes on the right add up to 90.

13) The numbers in the top boxes are multiplied to give the numbers in the bottom
boxes – one digit per box. 3 * 6 = 18 (written as 1 and 8). Therefore the answer is 2
since 12 (written 1 and 2) is the product of 2 times 6.

14) Starting from the box on the top left, move clockwise adding 7 each time. The
answer is 54 which is 47 +7.

15) The numbers in the top row add up to 50. Therefore the answer must be 13 to
make the numbers in the bottom row add up to 50. Note that the presence of two

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning
adjacent 5’s in the bottom row beneath different numbers offers a strong hint that the
relationship can not be between corresponding numbers in the top and bottom rows.

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16) The numbers on the bottom row are 13 more than those on the top row. Therefore
the missing number is 44 + 13 = 57.

17) The first 500 components are $4.50 each which gives $2,250. The 3500
subsequent components cost $0.90 each which gives $3,150. Therefore the run of
4000 components will cost $5,400.

18) At the bank paying 10% interest calculated each year, the amount will be $880
($800 * 1.10) at the end of the first year. At the bank paying 10% per annum added
every 6 months, the amount will be $840 ($800 * 1.05) at the end of the first six
months and $882 ($840 * 1.05) at the end of the year. Therefore the difference will be
$2.00.

19) The components are ordered in the ratio 1:5:4 and the total order is for 8,000.
To work out the numbers of each add 1+5+4 = 10.
Divide $8,000 by 10 = 800. You can then calculate that the number of Z components
will be (800 * 4 =) 3,200.

20) Anna receives a bonus of ($400 * 0.12 =) $48. John receives a bonus of ($300 *
0.20 =) $60. The difference between their bonuses is therefore $12.

21) Of the 1600 CDs sold:

60% or 960 were sold at $7.95 = $7632

10% or 160 were sold at $5.56 = $889
30% or 480 were sold at $3.57 = $1713

Therefore the total revenue was $10,234

22) Anna sold 75% of her stock when it was worth $8000. So she took $6000 cash,
leaving her with $2000 worth of stock, which she had purchased for $1000. When this
stock increased in value to $4000 she sold it and added this to the first $6000 giving
her $10,000 in cash. Subtracting the initial $4000 coat of the stock, Anna has made
$6,000.

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Explanations - Numerical Reasoning Test 4

1) The numbers in this series increase by 7 each time. Therefore the next number is
33.

2) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 5 each time – 5, 10,
15, etc. This will produce a difference of 25 between 41 and the next number in the
series, which is therefore 66.

3) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 1 each time: -4, -5, -
6, etc. This will produce a difference of -7 between 85 and the next number in the
series, which is therefore 78.

4) The difference between the numbers in this series increases by 7 each time: 7, 14,
21, etc. This will produce a difference of 28 between 47 and the next number in the
series, which is therefore 75.

5) The difference between the numbers in this series alternates between 4 and 5.
Therefore the last number in the series is 22.

6) The difference between the numbers in this series follow the sequence: -3, -2, -1, 0,
+1, etc.

7) The numbers in this series increase by 19 each time. Therefore the third number is
49.

8) The difference between the numbers in this series alternates between 4 and 3.
Therefore the fourth number in the series is 79.

9) The difference between the numbers in this series alternates between -5 and -10.
Therefore the first number in the series is 40.

10) The difference between the numbers in this series decreases by 2 each time: -14, -
12, -10, -8, etc. The fourth number in the series is therefore 18.

11) Starting from the box on the top left, move clockwise adding the number in the
first box each time. The answer is 32 which is 24 + 8.

12) The numbers in the boxes on the left add up to 60. The answer must be 9 to make
the numbers in the boxes on the right add up to 60.

13) The numbers in the boxes on the left add up to 26. The answer must be 1 to make
the numbers in the boxes on the right add up to 26.

14) Starting from the box on the top left, move clockwise adding 7 each time. The
answer is 47 which is 40 + 7.

15) The numbers which are one above the other are read as fractions then they are all
equal. Therefore the correct answer is 56.

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16) The numbers in the bottom row add up to 7. Therefore the answer must be 1 to
make the numbers in the top row add up to 7. Note that the presence of three 1’s in the
top row beneath different numbers offers a strong hint that the relationship can not be
between corresponding numbers in the top and bottom rows.

17) The first 3000 components are $2.70 each which gives $8,100. The 1000
subsequent components cost $0.67 each which gives $670. Therefore the run of 4000
components will cost $8,770.

18) At the bank paying 6%, the amount will be $106 ($100 * 1.06) at the end of the
first year. At the bank paying 10% the amount will be $105 ($100 * 1.05) at the end
of the first six months and $110.25 ($105 * 1.05) at the end of the year. Therefore the
difference will be $4.25.

19) If 1200 votes were cast for the Independent candidate then the Democratic
candidate must have received (1200 * 0.75) 900 votes. The Republican candidate
must have received (900 * 3) 2700 votes.

20) If Anna covers 280 miles in at an average speed of 70 mph then she must have
driven for a total of 4 hours. If she stops for 1 hour and 10 minutes then her total
journey time is 310 minutes. If John covers 280 miles in at an average speed of 60
mph then he must have driven for a total of 4 hours and 40 minutes. If he stops for 35
minutes then his total journey time is 315 minutes. Therefore there is a 5 minute
difference in their arrival times.

21) The simplest way to approach this question is to add the length of the train to the
length of the tunnel as this gives the distance that the train needs to travel to clear the
tunnel. This is 5.5 miles. Travelling at 66 mph the train will travel this distance in
(5.5/66 = 0.08333 hours) which equals 5 minutes.

22) The stock is owned in the ratio 3:5:7 and the total value is $10,500.
To work out the value of their holdings add 3+5+7 = 15.
Divide $10,500 by 15 = $700. You can then calculate that
Tom owns $12,000 (3 * $2,100)
Dick owns $15,000 (5 * $3,500)
Harry owns $18,000 (7 * $4,900)

Therefore Harry would need to give Tom $1,400 worth of stock for all three to own
$15,000 worth.

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Data Interpretation Questions

The ability to interpret data presented in tables, graphs and charts is a common
requirement in many management and professional jobs. If you are applying for a job
which involves analysis of or decision-making based on numerical data then you can
expect to have to answer data interpretation questions.

Data interpretation problems usually require two basic steps. First, you have to read a
chart or graph in order to obtain certain information. Then you have to apply or
manipulate the information in order to obtain an answer. These questions often use
very specific illustrations, for example the question may present financial data.
However, an understanding of finance will not be needed to answer the question.
These types of question are commonly used in graduate and managerial selection and
you can usually expect 20-25 questions in 20-30 minutes.

Data Interpretation questions are very widely used to assessing candidates for
graduate and management level jobs. Many people who have been out of the
education system for a while or who don’t use interpret graphs, pie charts, scatter
diagrams and tables of data on a day-to-day basis may feel overawed by these types of
question. The important thing to remember is that you don’t need to have studied
mathematics to a high level to succeed. These questions are primarily tests of
interpretation and the math needed is invariably straightforward.

You will usually be allowed to use a calculator for these types of question and
investing in one which can handle fractions and percentages is a good idea. You
should also try to work through a few numerical computation practice papers to get
back into swing of these types of calculation.

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Data Interpretation Test 1: 25 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

The table above shows the unit sales of the TT950 motorcycle in six European
countries over a six month period. These motorcycles are imported into each country
by a main dealer. Use this information to answer the following questions.

1) What percentage of the overall total was sold to the German importer?

A B C D E
22.0 25.4 25.8 24.1 24.6 A B C D E

2) What percentage of the overall total was sold in May?

A B C D E
24.1 25.6 27.1 17.8 20.3 A B C D E

3) Which month showed the biggest increase in total sales from the previous month?

A B C D E
Feb Mar Apr May Jun A B C D E

4) What percentage of the monthly total was sold to the biggest importer in February?

A B C D E
24.7 23.1 36.5 51.1 15.1 A B C D E

5) What is the average number of units per month imported into Italy over the first four
months of the year?

A B C D E
22 23 24 25 26 A B C D E

6) What percentage of total imports is accounted for by the three smallest importers?

A B C D E
37.1 14.8 40.0 36.6 35.1 A B C D E

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The table above shows imports for three types of steel over a six month period. Use
this information to answer the following questions.

7) Which month showed the largest decrease in total imports over the previous month?

A B C D E
Feb Mar Apr May Jun A B C D E

8) What was the total value of sheet steel (in $) imported over the 6 month period?

A B C D E
56,750 75,300 55,552 42,370 44,750 A B C D E

9) What was the percentage of scrap steel imported in the 6 month period?

A B C D E
37.5 35.2 36.1 31.2 38.3 A B C D E

10) What was the difference (in thousands of tons) between coil steel and sheet steel
imports in the first 3 months of the year?

A B C D E
10 16 18 19 20 A B C D E

11) What was the approximate ratio of sheet steel and coil steel imports in the first 3
months of the year?

A B C D E
11:9 8:9 7:11 3:8 7:4 A B C D E

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The table above shows the number of nanotechnology papers published by leading US
universities over a six year period. Use this information to answer the following
questions.

12) How many papers were published by researchers at Yale in 2002?

A B C D E
50 55 60 65 70 A B C D E

13) In what year did researchers at Stanford publish most papers?

A B C D E
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 A B C D E

14) In what year did researchers at Duke and Yale first publish the same number of
papers?

A B C D E
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 A B C D E

15) In what year did researchers at Princeton publish more papers than those at Harvard?

A B C D E
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 A B C D E

16) Which university published the second highest number of papers over the period?

A B C D E
Harv. Prince Yale Duke Stan. A B C D E

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The pie charts above show the percentage of students in each faculty at North West
University and the number of non-US students in the Arts faculty. These percentages
have been rounded to the nearest whole number. There are a total of 1049 students in
the Arts faculty. Use this information to answer the following questions.

17) What percentage of students in the Arts faculty are non-US students?

A B C D E
14% 9% 30% 11% 15% A B C D E

18) How many students are there in the Engineering faculty?

A B C D E
420 410 390 440 400 A B C D E

19) How many students are there at the university?

A B C D E
4650 4560 4640 4450 4460 A B C D E

20) If six percent of Science students are Asian. How many Asian students are there
studying Science?

A B C D E
48 66 120 57 43 A B C D E

21) There are 34 European medical students. What percentage of the faculty does this
represent?

A B C D E
14% 18% 12% 16% 15% A B C D E

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The table above shows the number of people who responded to a survey about their
favourite style of music. Use this information to answer the following questions.

22) What percentage of respondents under 31, indicated that Blues is their favourite style
of music?

A B C D E
7.1 7.5 8.3 14.1 7.2 A B C D E

23) What percentage of respondents aged 21-30 indicated a favourite style other than
Rock music?

A B C D E
64% 60% 75% 36% 46% A B C D E

24) What percentage of the total sample indicated that Jazz is their favourite style of
music?

A B C D E
6% 8% 22% 4% 12% A B C D E

25) What is the ratio of respondents who prefer Rock to those who prefer Jazz in the 21-
30 age group?

A B C D E
1:3 3:2 3:1 2:3 1:1 A B C D E

End of Data Interpretation Test 1

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Data Interpretation Test 2: 25 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

The table above shows production figures for three models of Sport Utility Vehicles
(SUVs) over 2 years. Use this information to answer the following questions.

1) What was the total number of vehicles produced in Q4 2004?

A B C D E
43,000 40,000 38,000 47,000 36,000 A B C D E

2) What percentage of vehicle production in Q2 2005 is accounted for by the

SportRanger?

A B C D E
50% 40% 20% 30% 60% A B C D E

3) What was the approximate ratio of SportRangers to LandRangers produced in the

final quarter of 2005?

A B C D E
3:1 3:2 1:3 2:3 4:3 A B C D E

4) What percentage of total LandRanger production took place in 2004?

A B C D E
45% 68% 65% 55% 60% A B C D E

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The table above shows the sales of meat from Home Farm to the restaurants that it
supplies directly. Use this information to answer the following questions.

5) Which month showed the largest increase in total quantity of meat sold over the
previous month?

A B C D E
Jan Feb Mar Apr May A B C D E

6) What was the total value of lamb sold over the 5 month period?

A B C D E
$5,200 $5,700 $6,600 $5,400 $5,300 A B C D E

7) What percentage of the total quantity of meat sold over the 5 month period was beef?

A B C D E
32.2% 33.6% 29.2% 28.4% 34.4% A B C D E

8) What percentage of the total value of meat sold over the 5 month period was pork?

A B C D E
30.4% 29.6% 31.7% 30.6% 29.4% A B C D E

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The table above shows the number of students admitted to North West University
over a three year period. The pie chart shows the relative percentages of foreign
students admitted to the faculty of science in 2004. All percentages have been
rounded to the nearest whole number. Use this information to answer the following
questions.

9) If 23% of the students joining the faculty of science in 2004 were foreign, how many
Canadian students joined the faculty that year?

A B C D E
22 14 11 21 7 A B C D E

10) What percentage of students joined the arts faculty over the three year period?

A B C D E
13.2% 11.7% 12.6% 6.3% 4.3% A B C D E

11) The relative percentage of Chinese students joining the faculty of science doubled in
2005 but the percentage of foreign students remained at 45%. How many Chinese
students joined the faculty in 2005?

A B C D E
46 36 63 40 48 A B C D E

12) How many students joined the Business and Computing faculties in 2003 and 2004?

A B C D E
1,001 1,113 1,133 1,108 1,100 A B C D E

13) If 55% of the students joining the faculty of science were male, how many female
students were admitted over the three year period?

A B C D E
303 290 298 300 294 A B C D E

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The table above shows the number of products sold by region and the price and
margin on each product. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
Use this information to answer the following questions.

14) How many MXP21 units were sold in the Central region?

A B C D E
1147 844 1087 1177 114 A B C D E

15) What was the value of sales for the MXP34 in the Western region?

A B C D E
18,172 18,272 18,372 18,568 18,472 A B C D E

16) How many more MXP45 units were sold in the Western Region compared to the
Central region?

A B C D E
155 177 287 180 185 A B C D E

17) What was the total value of sales of the MXP21 unit across all 3 regions?

A B C D E
85,512 85,126 86,216 81,602 85,612 A B C D E

18) What was the total profit made on the MXP66 unit across all 3 regions?

A B C D E
13,109 13,209 13,009 13,029 13,019 A B C D E

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The table above shows the sales figures for 3 different types of switches over 3
months. Use this information to answer the following questions.

19) What is the unit cost of switch type ZXC53?

A B C D E
$11 $13 $12 $15 $17 A B C D E

20) How many ZXC43 units could be expected to sell in April?

A B C D E
45 32 40 48 56 A B C D E

21) What was the total revenue generated by sales of the ZXC63?

A B C D E
$880 $780 $860 $760 $680 A B C D E

22) What is the approximate ratio of unit sales of the ZXC53 and ZXC63 over the three
month period?

A B C D E
3:1 1:3 2:3 3:2 2:1 A B C D E

23) What percentage of the total revenue was generated in February?

A B C D E
28% 29% 33% 30% 27% A B C D E

24) An order for 9 ZXC43 switches and 8 ZXC53 switches could not be processed in
time to be added to the March figures. How much revenue would this have added?

A B C D E
$224 $242 $248 $239 $226 A B C D E

25) If the unit price of the ZXC43 falls by 20% in April, but the number of units sold
doubles, How much revenue will this generate?

A B C D E
$1,440 $1,152 $1,252 $1,240 $1,140 A B C D E

End of Data Interpretation Test 2

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Data Interpretation Test 3: 25 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

The table above shows the number of calls completed by call centre agents in a month
on behalf of two clients. Maltman are charged $1.20 per inbound call and $1.40 per
outbound call. Healey are charged 20% more. Out bound calls take an average of 12
minutes. Inbound calls take an average of 8 minutes. Use this information to answer
the following questions.

1) Approximately how much will client Maltman be billed for the month?

A B C D E
$3,948 $3,946 $3,932 $3,892 $3,776 A B C D E

2) Approximately how much will client Healey be billed for the month?

A B C D E
$2,798 $2,700 $2,698 $2,708 $2,308 A B C D E

3) Approximately how many hours did Charlotte spend on the phone during the month?

A B C D E
77 87 84 80 110 A B C D E

4) What percentage of the Maltman bill is due to inbound calls?

A B C D E
26% 28% 29% 31% 24% A B C D E

5) What is the approximate ratio of inbound calls taken by Kai to calls taken by Mandi?

A B C D E
1:3 2:3 3:2 1:2 2:1 A B C D E

6) Approximately what fraction of the total time spent on the telephone by all of the
agents was spent taking inbound calls for client Maltman?

A B C D E
1 1 1 1 1 A B C D E
16 4 8 5 20

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The table above shows agricultural imports for the island of South Cerney for a period
of five months. Use this information to answer the following questions.

7) How many tons of rice were imported over the 5 month period?

A B C D E
144 141 138 139 137 A B C D E

8) What was the total value of wheat imports, in dollars, over the 5 month period?

A B C D E
27,456 27,742 27,656 26,446 26,446 A B C D E

9) What was the average tonnage of rice imported per month over the whole period?

A B C D E
27.4 22.9 24.4 28.2 30.2 A B C D E

10) What was the average value of potatoes imported per month over the whole period?

A B C D E
$3,448 $3,648 $3,728 $3,348 $3,655 A B C D E

11) Approximately what fraction of the total tonnage of imports is rice?

A B C D E
1 1 1 2 3 A B C D E
5 4 3 5 10

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The table above shows the total sales figures for three models of SUV. It also shows
the percentage of customers who specified additional equipment when buying from
the dealer network. Use this information to answer the following questions.

12) How many customers specified cruise control when ordering a FreeRanger?

A B C D E
5,320 2,566 4,861 2,861 5,402 A B C D E

13) How much total revenue, in millions of dollars, did Alloy Wheels generate for
FreeRanger sales?

A B C D E
1.41 1.28 1.30 1.36 11.20 A B C D E

14) How much profit (margin), in millions of dollars, can be attributed to Body Kits
fitted to the SportRanger?

A B C D E
0.49 1.48 4.80 0.36 0.21 A B C D E

15) How much profit (margin), in millions of dollars, can be attributed to Cruise Control
fitted to the FreeRanger?

A B C D E
0.61 0.48 0.21 4.80 3.60 A B C D E

16) How much extra profit would be generated if dealers doubled the number of Body
Kits fitted when they sold a FreeRanger?

A B C D E
$2,268 $4,534 $1,130 $1,238 $226 A B C D E

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The table above shows the numbers of passengers flying from New York to four
European capital cities by low cost airline SleazyJet. These numbers have been
rounded to the nearest thousand. Use this information to answer the following
questions.

17) How many passengers travelled in Quarter 4 2004?

A B C D E
46,000 44,000 43,000 45,000 42,000 A B C D E

18) What was the ratio of passengers travelling to London and Paris in Q2 2004?

A B C D E
2.2:1 1.8:1 2:1 0.75:1 1:2 A B C D E

19) How many more passengers travelled to Rome in Q2 2005 than in the same quarter
the previous year?

A B C D E
5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 A B C D E

20) Approximately, what fraction of passengers who travelled in Q4 2005 flew to Berlin?

A B C D E
1 1 1 1 1 A B C D E
8 4 7 5 15

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The table above shows the amount spent by Ace Marketing Consultancy to promote
their clients. ‘Marketing’ spend does not include the time of any Ace employees, this
is billed separately as ‘Personnel’. Use this information to answer the following
questions.

21) Approximately how much was spent by on brochures for Aardvark Cellular?

A B C D E
$4,994 $4,774 $4,632 $4,694 $4,624 A B C D E

22) If Ace charges their clients cost price plus 20%, how much will they bill Aardvark
Cellular for their website?

A B C D E
$1,536 $1,174 $1,744 $1,280 $1,474 A B C D E

23) If flyers for Aardvark Cellular cost $150 per thousand. Approximately, how many
thousand have been produced?

A B C D E
23 20 17 14 18 A B C D E

24) Approximately what percentage of Ace Marketing’s total business is for Aardvark
Cellular?

A B C D E
49% 57% 50% 54% 56% A B C D E

25) Approximately what percentage of Ace Marketing’s total business is accounted for
by their three smallest clients?

A B C D E
18% 17% 20% 16% 22% A B C D E

End of Data Interpretation Test 3

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Data Interpretation Test 4: 25 Questions

Instructions: Answer as many questions as you can in 20 minutes. Circle the letter on the
right which corresponds to the correct answer. You can use a calculator.

The table above shows the specializations of North West Medical School graduates in
2005. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. One hundred and
nineteen students graduated that year. Use this information to answer the following.

1) How many students decided to specialize in immunology?

A B C D E
9 11 14 7 15 A B C D E

2) One twelfth of the students who chose to specialize in family practice plan to work
abroad. How many is this?

A B C D E
7 8 5 9 3 A B C D E

3) What is the approximate ratio of students specializing in sports medicine, emergency

medicine and family practice?

A B C D E
6:4:10 1:4:5 2:8:10 3:2:10 3:2:5 A B C D E

4) If seven students changed their specialization from family practice to paediatrics,

approximately what fraction of students would then be specializing in paediatrics?

A B C D E
1 1 1 1 1 A B C D E
8 4 7 5 15

5) If the ratio of male to female students specializing in sports medicine is 2:1, how
many female students does this represent?

A B C D E
6 5 12 18 10 A B C D E

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The table above shows the annual sales of WineBrokers.com, a small online wine
merchant. Use this information to answer the following questions.

6) What was the average number of cases sold per year over the four year period?

A B C D E
1010 1005 985 995 990 A B C D E

7) What is the approximate value of rose wine sold over the four year period in
thousands of dollars?

A B C D E
134 129 131 125 127 A B C D E

8) What is the difference in the value of red wine sales between 2002 and 2003?

A B C D E
$2,320 $3,220 $2,330 $2,360 $2,280 A B C D E

9) If white wine increased in price by 10% from 2005 to 2006, what would be the
approximate average cost per case over the five year period?

A B C D E
$133 $136 $143 $126 $138 A B C D E

10) What percentage of total cases of wine sold over the four year period were rose?

A B C D E
26.3% 23.6% 26.6% 29.6% 27.6% A B C D E

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The table above shows the total number of warranty claims for three types of sports
utility vehicle. The reason for each claim is shown as a percentage along with the
industry average for this type of vehicle. Use this information to answer the following
questions.

11) How many LandRanger warranty claims involved transmission problems?

A B C D E
135 140 153 145 122 A B C D E

12) How many more warranty claims were made for the SportRanger than the
FreeRanger due to electrical problems?

A B C D E
315 350 305 330 210 A B C D E

13) If warranty claims for the FreeRanger matched the industry average, how many
bodywork claims would have been made?

A B C D E
157 150 155 160 165 A B C D E

14) If 28,000 LandRangers were sold, what percentage of the total were the subject of a
warranty claim due to engine failure?

A B C D E
0.25% 0.54% 0.74% 0.84% 1.85% A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

The table above shows the unit sales of the TT950 motorcycle in six European
countries over a six month period. These motorcycles are imported into each country
by a main dealer. Use this information to answer the following questions.

15) What percentage of the overall total was sold to the Spanish importer?

A B C D E
18% 12% 15% 17% 14% A B C D E

16) What percentage of the overall total was sold in February?

A B C D E
18% 12% 16% 17% 14% A B C D E

17) Which month showed the biggest increase in total sales from the previous month?

A B C D E
Feb Mar Apr May Jun A B C D E

18) What percentage of the monthly total was sold to the biggest importer in May?

A B C D E
17% 22% 16% 27% 24% A B C D E

19) What is the average number of units per month imported into the UK over the first
four months of the year?

A B C D E
41.75 43.35 44.75 40.65 43.25 A B C D E

20) What percentage of total imports is accounted for by the three biggest importers?

A B C D E
61.6% 62.3% 63.2% 64.8% 66.9% A B C D E

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

The table above shows the number of students admitted to North West University
over a three year period. The pie chart shows the relative percentages of foreign
students admitted to the faculty of science in 2004. All percentages have been
rounded to the nearest whole number. Use this information to answer the following
questions.

21) If 25% of the students joining the faculty of science in 2004 were foreign, how many
Mexican students joined the faculty that year?

A B C D E
10 11 12 13 14 A B C D E

22) What percentage of students joined the law faculty over the three year period?

A B C D E
1.7% 1.8% 3.8% 2.3% 6.8% A B C D E

23) The relative percentage of British students joining the faculty of science doubled in
2005 but the percentage of foreign students remained at 25%. How many British
students joined the faculty in 2005?

A B C D E
18 12 14 15 16 A B C D E

24) How many students joined the Engineering and Science faculties in 2003 and 2004?

A B C D E
644 532 638 660 624 A B C D E

25) If 65% of the students joining the faculty of science were male, how many female
students were admitted over the three year period?

A B C D E
340 233 244 433 343 A B C D E

End of Data Interpretation Test 4

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Answers to Data Interpretation Tests 1-4

Question Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4

1) B C C B
2) D B D C
3) C A E D
4) A E A D
5) C B D A
6) E B D D
7) B E B C
8) C C A A
9) D C D B
10) E D B E
11) A A E C
12) D D E A
13) C D D B
14) A A A B
15) C D B C
16) C B A C
17) D E A C
18) B C B D
19) B B E A
20) D E C D
21) E C D B
22) B A A D
23) A C B E
24) E D D C
25) C B C B

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning
Numerical Data Interpretation Advice

You are usually allowed to use a calculator in Data Interpretation tests and the type of
calculator that you use can help or hinder you enough to make a difference to your
scores. Specifically, the calculator you use should:

1) Have a large keypad as this will minimise keying errors.

2) Have percentage and memory functions.
3) Not be over complex with several functions assigned to each key.
4) Be of the type which displays the last few figures which have been input and
any associated operators (+-*/ etc). This means that you can check your input
at a glance if you think that you may have made a keying error.
5) Be familiar to you. That is you should have used it on a few practice papers
before the real test.

You can buy a suitable calculator for a couple of pounds or dollars, which is a trivial
amount of money when it can save you valuable minutes, not to mention frustration,
in the final test.

Remember that the calculations that you need to make in these tests are always
straightforward. You do not need advanced math to obtain a good score. What you do
need is to keep a cool head, read the question carefully and be methodical.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Explanations - Data Interpretation Test 1

1) A total of 296 units were sold to the German importer out of a total of 1166 units.
The percentage is calculated as: (296/1166) * 100 = 25.38%

2) A total of 208 units were sold in May out of a total of 1166 units. The percentage is
calculated as: (208/1166) * 100 = 17.83%

3) To answer this question as quickly as possible you should scan the figures in the
monthly totals row. The question asks which month showed the biggest increase – so
you can ignore any months where there was a decrease or where the increase is
obviously insignificant. This leaves Jan-Feb and Mar-Apr. You need to make 2
calculations subtracting the January figure from the February figure and the March
figure from the April figure. This gives 14 and 27 respectively, which means that
April showed the biggest increase. Note how scanning the figures first cuts down on
the number of calculations you need to make. This not only saves time but decreases
the chances of making a simple mistake with the calculations.

4) Scanning down the February column, you can see the Germany was the biggest
importer in February with 47 units. The monthly total for February was 190 units. The
percentage is calculated as (47/190) * 100 = 24.7%

5) The number of units imported into Italy over the first 4 months of the year was: 22,
24, 24, and 26. Adding these gives 96 and dividing by 4 gives an average of 24.

6) Scan the Total column to find the three smallest importers. Add the totals for Spain,
Belgium and Italy, which gives 89+177+144 = 410. The percentage of the overall
total is calculated as (410/1166) * 100 = 35.1%

7) You will need to add the figure for each of the three types of steel to get a total for
each month. This gives

Jan 102
Feb 102
Mar 99
Apr 101
May 102
Jun 103

Therefore the month which showed the largest decrease over the previous month was
March. Sometimes just scanning the data is enough to see the answer to a question
like this one, but in this case actually calculating the answer would be the safest
option.

8) The total tonnage of sheet steel was 40+37+36+36+34+34 = 217 thousand tons.
Since the average value over the six month period was $256 per ton. This means that
the total value of sheet steel imported was 217 * 256 = $55,552

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

9) You will need to calculate the tonnage of each type of steel over the six month
period as follows:

Coil 30+31+32+34+36+38 = 201

Sheet 40+37+36+36+34+34 = 217
Scrap 32+34+31+30+32+31 = 190

The percentage of scrap steel is given by (190/(201+217+290)) * 100 = 31.2%

10) You will need to calculate the tonnage of each type of steel over the three month
period as follows:

Coil 30+31+32 = 93
Sheet 40+37+36 = 113

Therefore the difference is 10 thousand tons.

11) Looking at the working for the previous question you can see that the totals are:

Coil 93 thousand tons

Sheet 113 thousand tons

Therefore the ratio is 113:93 or approximately 11:9

One of the key lessons to learn from answering questions of this type is to write down
your intermediate results and working-out. You will often find that you can save time
in subsequent questions if you do this.

12-16) These questions are all very straightforward. Don’t be put off by data
presented in an unusual way; this chart is nothing more than a bar graph without the
columns. The keys that tell you which symbol represents which university are also
easily confused – so be methodical and double check your answer. You should also
read each question carefully and underline words like ‘first’ in question 14 and
‘second highest’ in question 16.

17) Read the text carefully and make sure that you are clear exactly what each of
these pie-charts is showing you. For example, the chart on the right shows the number
of Non-US arts students. It does not show the number of art students or the percentage
of Non-US arts students – both of these would be easy mistakes to make if you just
scanned the text instead of reading it carefully.

There are a total of 79+21+6+2+4 = 112 Non-US arts students.

The text states that there are a total of 1049 students in the arts faculty.
Therefore (112/1049) * 100 = 10.67% of the students are Non-US students.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

18) The text states that there are a total of 1049 students in the arts faculty. This
represents 23% of the total number of students according to the pie-chart on the left.

This means that there are 1049/23 * 100 = 4560 students in total at the university.

Nine percent of students are in the Engineering faculty, and (4560/100) * 9 = 410

19) The answer is given in the working-out of the previous question. Make sure that
whenever you calculate a figure from the data that you make a note of it. This can
save you valuable time in later questions or of you lose track of your progress in
during a question.

20) You already know that there are 4560 students in total at the university. Since
21% of them are studying science there must be (4560/21) * 100 = 957 science
students. If six percent of science students are Asian then (957/100) * 6 = 57 Asian
science students.

21) The total number of students studying medicine is (4560/100) * 5 = 228

If 34 are from Europe then this represents (34/228) * 100 = 14.9%

22) This question is concerned only with respondents under 31 years old. The number
who indicated that Blues was their favourite style was 5 (2+3) out of a total of 66
(33+33). Therefore (5/66) * 100 = 7.5%

23) This question is concerned only with respondents 21 to 30 years old. Since 12 out
of 33 respondents in this group prefer Rock, then 21 must prefer other styles. Note
that working it out this way minimises the number of calculations you need to make.

Therefore (21/33) * 100 = 63.6% of respondents 21 to 30 years old prefer a style other
than Rock.

24) The total number who prefer Jazz is 1+4+11 = 16. The total sample size is
33+33+68 = 134. Therefore (16/134) * 100 = 11.9% of the total sample prefer Jazz.

25) The number who prefer Rock is 12 and the number who prefer Jazz is 4. This
gives a ratio of 12:4 which can also be expressed as 3:1 (divide both figures by 4).

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Explanations - Data Interpretation Test 2

1) The number of vehicles produced in Q4 2004 was as follows:

LandRanger 11,000
FreeRanger 14,000
SportRanger 13,000

This gives a total of 38,000 vehicles.

2) The number of vehicles produced in Q2 2005 was as follows:

LandRanger 9,000
FreeRanger 16,000
SportRanger 17,000

This gives a total of 42,000 vehicles. The SportRanger accounted for 17,000 of these,
therefore the percentage is (17,000/42,000) * 100 = 40%

3) The number of vehicles produced in Q4 2005 was as follows:

LandRanger 6,000
SportRanger 20,000

Therefore the approximate ratio of SportRanger to LandRanger is 3:1

4) The number of LandRangers produced was as follows:

2004 Q1 12,000
Q2 14,000
Q3 13,000
Q4 11,000 Total for 2004 = 50,000
2005 Q1 10,000
Q2 9,000
Q3 8,000
Q4 6,000 Total for 2005 = 33,000

There were a total of 83,000 LandRangers produced over the period of which 50,000
were produced in 2004. This gives a percentage of (50,000/83,000) * 100 = 60%

5 – 8) The questions based on this graph illustrate the value of scanning the all of the
questions before attempting the first one. All of the questions refer to total quantities
over the 5 month period and you will save significant time if you write the numerical
total of each column directly above it. This will take a few seconds to do, but will
save time overall, as well as minimising the chances of making an error reading the
figures from the graph.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

5) Monthly total meat sales are as follows:

Jan 960 Kg
Feb 1020 Kg
Mar 990 Kg
Apr 930 Kg
May 950 Kg

This means the largest increase in total meat sales was in February.

6) The total weight of lamb sold over the period was:

260+320+300+300+340 = 1520 Kg
This was sold for an average of $3.75 per Kg.
Therefore 1520 * $3.75 = $5,700

7) The total weight of beef sold over the period was:

400+330+330+340+270 = 1670 Kg

The total weight of all meat sold over the period was:
960+1020+990+930+950 = 4850 Kg

This gives a percentage of (1670/4850) * 100 = 34.4%.

8) The total weight of lamb sold over the period was:

260+320+300+300+340 = 1520 Kg
1520 Kg * $3.75 = $5,700

The total weight of beef sold over the period was:

400+330+330+340+270 = 1670 Kg
1670 Kg * $4.20 = $7,014

The total weight of pork sold over the period was:

300+370+360+290+340 = 1660 Kg
1660 Kg * $3.56 = $5,909

This gives a total sales value of $5,700+$7,014+$5.909 = $18,623.

Therefore the percentage of the total attributable to pork was:
(5,909/18,603) * 100 = 31.7%

9) The number of foreign students joining the faculty of science in 2004 was 23% of
220 = 51
Of this 51 students 22% were Canadian, therefore 11 Canadian students joined the
faculty that year.

10) The total number of students joining the arts faculty was 212+208+187 = 607.
The total number of students joining the university was 3198+3235+3225 = 9658.
The percentage of students joining the arts faculty was (607/9658) * 100 = 6.3%

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

11) If the relative percentage of Chinese students doubled in 2005 then 44% of the
students joining the faculty would be Chinese. The percentage of foreign students
remained at 45%, so (232/100) * 45 = 104 foreign students joined the faculty.
Therefore, (104/100) * 44 = 46 Chinese students joined the faculty in 2005.

12) 315+342+219+232 = 1108 students joined the business and computing faculties in
2003/2004.

13) The total number of students admitted to the faculty of science over the 3 year
period was 214+220+232 = 666 of whom 45% were female.
Therefore (666/100) * 45 = 298 female students were admitted to the faculty of
science over the 3 year period.

14) (2732/100) * 42 = 1147 MXP21 units were sold in the central region.

15) (2814/100) * 30 = 844 MXP34 units were sold in the western region.
Therefore the value of sales was 844 * $22 = $18,568

16) (2814/100) * 16 = 450 MXP45 units were sold in the western region.
(2732/100) * 10 = 273 MXP45 units were sold in the central region.
Therefore (450 – 273 =) 177 more MXP45 units were sold in the western region.

17) The sales of the MXP21 was as follows:

Eastern 23% of 1268 = 292 units

Western 30% of 2814 = 844 units
Central 42% of 2732 = 1147 units

This gives a total sales value of 2283 units at $37.50 per unit = $85,612

18) The sales of the MXP66 was as follows:

Eastern 10% of 1268 = 127 units

Western 24% of 2814 = 675 units
Central 16% of 2732 = 437 units

This gives a total sales value of 1239 units at $21.00 per unit = $26,019
The profit margin was 50%; therefore the total profit was $13,009

19) The unit cost of switch ZXC53 is 585/45 = $13

20) If the present trend continues then 56 (48 + 8) units of the ZXC43 should be sold
in April.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

21) Total revenue generated by the ZXC63 is 240+280+340 = $860.

22) The total sales over the three months were as follows:
ZXC53 135
ZXC63 44

This approximates to a ratio of 3:1

23) Total revenues per month were:

Jan 1305
Feb 1465
Mar 1645

This gives a total sales value of $4415 of which $1465 was generated in February.
Therefore (1465/4415) * 100 = 33% of the revenue was generated in February.

24) The items on the unprocessed order would cost:

ZXC43 $15 per unit * 9 = $135
ZXC53 $13 per unit * 8 = $104

Therefore this order would have added $239.

25) The unit price of the ZXC43 would fall to ($15 * 0.8 =) $12
Since 96 are sold the additional revenue would be $1152

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Explanations - Data Interpretation Test 3

1) Client Maltman will be charged as follows:

Inbound Calls 867 * $1.20 = $1040

Outbound Calls 2066 * $1.40 = $2892

Adding these figures means that they will be charged a total of $3932

2) Client Healy will be charged as follows:

Inbound Calls 278 * $1.44 = $400

Outbound Calls 1374 * $1.68 = $2308

Adding these figures means that they will be charged a total of $2708.

3) Charlotte spent the following time on the phone:

Inbound Calls 45+78 = 123 * 8 minutes = 16.4 hours

Outbound Calls 368+98 = 466 * 12 minutes = 93.2 hours

Therefore Charlotte spent approximately 110 hours on the phone.

4) Client Maltman are billed as follows:

Inbound Calls 867 * $1.20 = $1040

Outbound Calls 2066 * $1.40 = $2892

Therefore (1040/3932) * 100 = 26% of their bill is attributable to inbound calls.

5) Kai takes (180+11) 191 inbound calls. Mandi takes (275+112) 387. Therefore the
ratio is approximately 1:2

6) The total time spent by all of the agents was as follows:

Inbound Calls 867+278 = 1145 * 8 minutes = 9160 minutes

Outbound Calls 2066+1374 = 3440 * 12 minutes = 41280 minutes

The time spent on inbound calls for Maltman was 867 * 8 = 6936 minutes.

This equates to 6936/(9160+41280) = 0.13 which is approximately 1/8.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Questions 7-11) This question illustrates the importance of making notes and keeping
a record of your working out as you go. If you record the totals of each import as you
work through the questions then this will save you valuable time. Remember that data
interpretation questions are usually straightforward, these questions test your ability to
work quickly, methodically and to maintain your concentration as much as they test
your understanding of visually presented data.

7) Monthly tonnage of rice imported was as follows:

Jan 26
Feb 27
Mar 27
Apr 30
May 31

This gives a total of 141 tons.

8) Monthly tonnage of wheat imported was as follows:

Jan 40
Feb 37
Mar 36
Apr 29
May 34

This gives a total of 176 tons at $156 per ton.

Therefore the total value of wheat imports was $27,456

9) The average tonnage of rice was 141/5 = 28.2 tons per month

10) Monthly tonnage of potatoes imported was as follows:

Jan 34
Feb 33
Mar 33
Apr 25
May 27

This gives a total of 152 tons at $120 per ton.

The total value of potato imports was $18,240.
Divide by 5 to give $3,648 average value per month.

11) Total tonnages imported over the 5 months are as follows:

Rice 141
Wheat 176
Potatoes 152

This means that the total tonnage of imports was 469 tons of which 141 tons were of
rice. Therefore (141/469 = 0.3) which is 3/10 – not 1/3.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

12) Fifty percent of the 10,804 FreeRanger customers (5,402) specified cruise control.

13) Sixty percent of the 10,804 FreeRangers sold (6,482) were fitted with alloy
wheels. Therefore the total revenue generated was 6,482 * $210 = $1.36 million.

14) Sixty percent of the 7,762 SportRangers sold (4,657) were fitted with body kits.
The total revenue generated was 4,657 * $350 = $1.63 million. The profit margin on
this is 30%, therefore (1.63/100) * 30 = ) $0.49 million.

15) Fifty percent of the 10,804 FreeRanger customers (5,402) specified cruise control.
The total revenue generated was 5,402 * $220 = $1.19 million. The profit margin on
this is 40%, therefore (1.19/100) * 40 = ) $0.48 million.

16) Twenty percent of the 10,804 FreeRangers sold (2,161) were fitted with body kits.
The total revenue generated was 2,161 * $350 = $756,000. The profit margin on this
is 30%, therefore (756,000/100) * 30 = ) $2,268. If dealers doubled the number sold
then the additional profit would be $2,268.

17) The number of passengers travelling in Q4 2004 was:

London 11,000
Paris 14,000
Rome 13,000
Berlin 8,000

This gives a total of 46,000.

18) The number of passengers travelling in to London Q2 2004 was 18,000.

The number of passengers travelling in to Paris Q2 2004 was 10,000.
This equates to a ratio of 1.8:1.

19) The number of passengers travelling in to Rome Q2 2004 was 12,000.

The number of passengers travelling in to Rome Q2 2005 was 13,000.
Therefore 1,000 more passengers travelled in Q2 2005.

20) The number of passengers travelling in Q4 2005 was:

London 10,000
Paris 14,000
Rome 20,000
Berlin 7,000

This gives a total of 51,000 of whom 7,000 were travelling to Berlin.

This equates to (7,000/51,000 = 1/7.

21) Twenty two percent of $21,340 was spent on brochures for Aardvark Cellular.
This equates to (21340/100) * 22 = $4,694.

22) Six percent of $21,340 was spent on the website for Aardvark Cellular. This
equates to (21340/100) * 6 = $1,280. If Ace add 20% then they will bill Aardvark for
$1,280 * 1.2 = $1,536.
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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

23) Fourteen percent of $21,340 was spent on flyers for Aardvark Cellular. This
equates to (21340/100) * 14 = $2,987. If flyers cost $150 per thousand then
approximately (2987/150 =) 20,000 have been produced.

24) The total value of Ace’s business is $41,427 (marketing) plus $40,614 (personnel)
which gives $82,041. Aardvark Cellular account for (21,340+22,749 =) $44,089.
This equates to (44,089/82,041) * 100 = 54%.

25) The total value of Ace’s business is $41,427 (marketing) plus $40,614 (personnel)
which gives $82,041. Since we know that Aardvark account for 54% of the business,
the quickest way to work out how much the three smallest clients account for is to
calculate how much Blue Arrow accounts for ($21,659 which is 26%), add this to the
54% to give 80%, which leaves 20% to be accounted for by the smallest three.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Explanations - Data Interpretation Test 4

1) Nine percent of 119 students decided to specialize in immunology. This equates to

(119/100) * 9 = 11 students.

2) Forty eight percent of 119 students (119/100) * 48 = 57 specialized in family

practice. One twelfth of these equates to 57/12 = 5 who planned to work abroad.

3) The ratio of students specializing in each is (15:11:48) which approximates to

3:2:10.

4) Thirteen percent of 119 students (119/100) * 13 = 15 specialized in paediatrics. If 7

students joined them then there would be 22 students studying it. This equates to
22/119 = 0.18 which is approximately 1/5.

5) Fifteen percent of 119 students (119/100) * 15 = 18 specialized in sports medicine.

If the ratio of male to female students is 2:1 then the actual numbers of students must
be 10 male and 5 female.

6) The number of cases of all types of wine sold over the 4 years was 3,980. This
gives an average (3980/4) of 995 cases per year.

7) The approximate value of rose wine sold over the period is as follows:

2002 260 cases at $112 per case = $29,120

2003 280 cases at $121 per case = $33,880
2004 280 cases at $122 per case = $34,160
2005 280 cases at $122 per case = $34,160

This gives a total value of approximately $131,000.

8) In 2002, 380 cases of red wine were sold at $138 per case = $52,440.
In 2003, 370 cases of red wine were sold at $148 per case = $54,760.
Therefore the difference in value was $2,320.

9) If white wine increase by 10% in 2006, it would cost $145 * 1.1 = $159.50 per
case. The average cost over 5 years would be approximately
(115+125+135+145+159.50)/5 = $136 per case.

10) The volume sales of wine over the 4 years were as follows:

Rose 1100 cases

Red 1470 cases
White 1410 cases

This gives a total of 3980 cases, of which 1100 were rose. This equates to
(1100/3980) * 100 = 27.6%

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

11) Thirty percent of the 512 LandRanger claims involved transmission problems.
This equates to (512/100) * 30 = 153 claims.

12) The number of warranty claims made in each instance was as follows:
SportRanger 1762 claims 35% electrical = (1762/100) * 35 = 616
FreeRanger 1004 claims 30% electrical = (1004/100) * 30 = 301

There were 315 more claims made for the Sportranger.

13) The industry average for bodywork claims is 15%. If this percentage of the 1004
FreeRanger claims were made then that would equate to (1004/100) * 15 = 150
claims.

14) Thirty percent of the 512 LandRanger claims involved engine failure. This
equates to (512/100) * 30 = 153 claims. If 28,000 LandRangers were sold then the
percentage which suffered engine failure was (153/28000) * 100 = 0.54%.

15) A total of 177 units were sold to the Spanish importer out of a total of 1166 units.
The percentage is calculated as: (177/1166) * 100 = 15%.

16) A total of 190 units were sold in February out of a total of 1166 units. The
percentage is calculated as: (190/1166) * 100 = 16%.

17) To answer this question as quickly as possible you should scan the figures in the
monthly totals row. The question asks which month showed the biggest increase – so
you can ignore any months where there was a decrease or where the increase is
obviously insignificant. This leaves Jan-Feb and Mar-Apr. You need to make 2
calculations subtracting the January figure from the February figure and the March
figure from the April figure. This gives 14 and 27 respectively, which means that
April showed the biggest increase. Note how scanning the figures first cuts down on
the number of calculations you need to make. This not only saves time but decreases
the chances of making a simple mistake with the calculations.

18) Scanning down the May column, you can see the Germany was the biggest
importer in February with 56 units. The monthly total for May was 208 units. The
percentage is calculated as (56/208) * 100 = 27%

19) The number of units imported into the UK over the first 4 months of the year was:
40, 44, 36, and 47. Adding these gives 167 and dividing by 4 gives an average of
41.75.

20) Germany is the biggest importer with 296 units out of a total of 1166. Followed
by the UK which imports 260 units and France which imports 200. Together this
makes 756 units. This equates to a percentage of (756/1166)* 100 = 64.8%

21) The number of foreign students joining the faculty of science in 2004 was 25% of
220 = 55. Of these 55 students 20% were Mexican, therefore 11 Mexican students
joined the faculty that year.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

22) The total number of students joining the law faculty was 74+74+73 = 221.
The total number of students joining the university was 3198+3235+3225 = 9658.
The percentage of students joining the law faculty was (221/9658) * 100 = 2.3%

23) If the relative percentage of British students doubled in 2005 then 28% of the
students joining the faculty would be British. The percentage of foreign students
remained at 25%, so (232/100) * 25 = 58 foreign students joined the faculty.
Therefore, (58/100) * 28 = 16 British students joined the faculty in 2005.

24) 106+98+214+220 = 638 students joined the Engineering and Science faculties in
2003/2004.

25) The total number of students admitted to the faculty of science over the 3 year
period was 214+220+232 = 666 of whom 35% were female.
Therefore (666/100) * 35 = 233 female students were admitted to the faculty of
science over the 3 year period.

End of Data Interpretation Test 4

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

Preparing Yourself for Selection Tests

Psychometric testing can take place at any stage in the recruitment process, but are
usually used to screen candidates prior to the first interview. Some organisation prefer
to use them later on, for example, prior to a second interview or short-listing, or at
several times throughout the whole selection process.

Many organizations use verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning tests as a matter of
routine irrespective of the precise demands of the job. Others apply psychometric
testing in ways that are directly relevant to the job. For example, you may only have
to take numerical reasoning tests if the job you're applying for requires good
numerical skills.

After they have received candidates résumés the organization will screen them against
the job specification, discarding those where the qualifications or experience are
judged to be insufficient. The remaining candidates will each be sent a letter telling
them:

• Test date,
• Time,
• Place of the test,
• Format,
• Duration
• If there are breaks
• Types of tests
• Items that will be supplied
• Materials you need to bring
• Whether the test is paper based, PC-based or palm-top computer.

To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to prepare for the test and that nobody is
going to be upset or surprised when they see the test paper, sample questions will be
sent out 1-2 weeks before interviews. As part of the recruitment process, you should:

1. Be briefed about the purpose of the test before taking it

2. Have the results of the test provided to you in a private feedback session
3. Be informed of organizational policy about distribution and storage of the
results.

When you receive this letter, if you have any special requirements you must notify the
test centre immediately. This would include disabled access and any eyesight or
hearing disability you may have. Large text versions of the test should be available for
anyone who is visually impaired and provision for written instructions should be
made for anyone with a hearing disability.

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

What You Can Expect on the Day

Tests usually take place in a dedicated room with desks are laid out in rows and there
may be up to 25 other candidates. You will be provided with all of the materials you
need including pencils and pocket calculators, you may even be inputting your test
directly into a PC. The latter has advantages for the employer the results are available
immediately, it is a cost-effective method to test and can be presented along with a
computer generated analysis for feedback to the candidate.

Before the test begins you can expect the test administrator will you how the tests will
be run to ensure it is as fair as possible for all of the candidates.:
1. Provide a thorough explanation of what you will be required to do.
2. Timing of the tests and whether or not they will remind you of time left.
3. You will also be given the opportunity to ask any questions you have before
the test begins.

During the tests if you mark your answers on the wrong answer sheet then you must
inform the administrator so that this can be taken into account. It is extremely
important to read your instructions and questions carefully..

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 Psychometric Success – Numerical Reasoning

When the Test Begins

There are a few tips which you can use to help you gain control of your nerves on the
day of the test.

Listen carefully to the instructions you are given and ask

LISTEN
for clarification if you need it.
Check that your PC and all your equipment is in good
CHECK
working order.
Read the questions carefully and underline key words to
READ
keep you focused.
IDENTIFY Clearly identify those questions you want to go back to.
Keep your attention firmly on your test paper and don’t
FOCUS
be distracted by any other candidates.
Keep to your own unique pace developed during your
PACE
practice sessions, maximising your accuracy.

If you feel that you cannot finish the test in the allotted time, don’t panic, some tests
are designed to be impossible to finish. If you deviate from your optimum pace you
will only under-perform. The only change that you should make is to guess at
questions that you know you find more difficult. This will give you more time to
focus on those questions you are strong in.

If, on the other hand, you realize as the test progresses that you will finish with time to
spare; do not deviate from your optimum pace. If you want to return to any questions
clearly mark so you can quickly find them again. This will avoid you wasting time
trying to find them, which would be better spent working out or guessing the answer.

Good Luck!

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