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CRITICAL REASONING
(6 questions)
1) In Los Angeles, a political candidate who buys saturation radio advertising will get maximum name recognition.
What does the statement above logically convey?
(a) Radio advertising is the most important factor in political campaigns in Los Angeles.
(b) Maximum name recognition in Los Angeles will help a candidate to win a higher
percentage of votes cast in the city.
(c) Saturation radio advertising reaches every demographically distinct sector of the
voting population in Los Angeles.
(d) For maximum name recognition a candidate need not spend on media channels other
than radio advertising.
(e) A candidate’s record of achievement in the Los Angeles area will do little to affect his
or her name recognition there.
2) A newly discovered disease is thought to be caused by a certain bacterium.
However, a recently released research notes that the bacterium thrives in the presence of
a certain virus, implying that it is actually the virus that causes the new disease.
Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument above?
(a) In the absence of the virus, the disease has been observed to follow infection by the
bacterium.
(b) The virus has been shown to aid the growth of bacterium, a process which often leads
to the onset of the disease.
(c) The virus alone has been observed in many cases of the disease.
(d) In cases where the disease does not develop, infection by the bacterium is usually
preceded by infection by the virus.
(e) Onset of the disease usually follows infection by both the virus and the bacterium.
3) The local high school students have been clamoring for the freedom to design their
own curricula. Allowing this would be as catastrophic as allowing 3-year- olds to choose
their own diets. These students have neither the maturity nor the experience to equal that
of the professional educators now doing the job. Which of the following statements, if true, would most strengthen the argument above?
(a) High school students have less formal education than those who currently design the
curricula.
(b) 3-year- olds do not, if left to their own devices, choose healthful diets.
(c) The local high school students are less intelligent than the average teenager.
(d) Individualized curricula are more beneficial to high school students than are the
standard curricula, which are rigid and unresponsive to their particular strengths and
weaknesses.
(e) The ability to design good curricula develops only after years of familiarity with
educational life.
4) The rate of violent crime in this state is up 30% from last year. The fault lies entirely in
our court system: Recently our judges’ sentences have been so indulgent that criminals
can now do almost anything without fear of a long prison term.
The argument above would be weakened if it were true that:
(a) 85% of the other states in the nation have lower crime rates than does this state.
(b) White-collar crime in this state has also increased by over 25% in the last year.
(c) 35% of the police in this state have been laid off in the last year due to budget cuts.
(d) Polls show that 65% of the population in this state opposes capital punishment.
(e) The state has hired 25 new judges in the last year to compensate for deaths and
retirements.
5) Because of a serious recent drought in Florida during the orange-growing season, the
price of oranges will be three times higher than the usual price. This will drive up the cost
of producing orange juice, pushing up the prices for the consumer.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
(a) The recent drought was not as severe as scientists predicted.
(b) States other than Florida also supply oranges to juice manufacturers.
(c) Other ingredients are used in the production of orange juice.
(d) Last year the price of oranges was lower than the average price over the last years.
(e) The price of oranges will eventually be $0.58 per crate.
6) All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.
From which of the options below can the statement above be most properly inferred?
(a) Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, the he or she is German.
(b) Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
(c) If a German is an idealist, the he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not
Marx.
(d) Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
(e) Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German philosopher, the he or she is
an idealist.
DATA SUFFICIENCY
(5 questions)
Directions: Each of the items below consists of a question followed by two statements, labeled (1) and (2).
You must determine whether the information provided by the numbered statements is sufficient to answer
the question asked. In addition to the information provided in the numbered statements, you should rely on
your knowledge of mathematics and ordinary facts (such as the number of minutes in an hour).
On your answer sheet, write down:
a. if statement (1), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (2) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
b. if statement (2), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (1) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
c. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER
statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question;
d. if EITHER statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question; and
e. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question.
7) Let x and y be positive integers. Is 2x/y an integer?
(1) (2x+2)/y is an integer
(2) y/x is an integer
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Directions (same as previous): Each of the items below consists of a question followed by two statements,
labeled (1) and (2). You must determine whether the information provided by the numbered statements is
sufficient to answer the question asked. In addition to the information provided in the numbered statements,
you should rely on your knowledge of mathematics and ordinary facts (such as the number of minutes in an
hour).
On your answer sheet, write down:
a. if statement (1), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (2) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
b. if statement (2), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (1) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
c. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER
statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question;
d. if EITHER statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question; and
e. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question.
8) Consider n consecutive positive integers. Let S be the sum of these
numbers. Is S odd?
(1)S/n is an odd integer
(2) n is odd
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Directions (same as previous): Each of the items below consists of a question followed by two statements,
labeled (1) and (2). You must determine whether the information provided by the numbered statements is
sufficient to answer the question asked. In addition to the information provided in the numbered statements,
you should rely on your knowledge of mathematics and ordinary facts (such as the number of minutes in an
hour).
On your answer sheet, write down:
a. if statement (1), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (2) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
b. if statement (2), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (1) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
c. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER
statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question;
d. if EITHER statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question; and
e. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question.
9) Consider a sequence composed by 24 nonzero integers. The first and the second terms
in the sequence are arbitrary. All other terms are calculated by taking the product of the
previous two. How many numbers in this sequence are negative?
(1) The third term is positive (2) The forth term is negative
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Directions (same as previous): Each of the items below consists of a question followed by two statements,
labeled (1) and (2). You must determine whether the information provided by the numbered statements is
sufficient to answer the question asked. In addition to the information provided in the numbered statements,
you should rely on your knowledge of mathematics and ordinary facts (such as the number of minutes in an
hour).
On your answer sheet, write down:
a. if statement (1), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (2) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
b. if statement (2), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (1) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
c. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER
statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question;
d. if EITHER statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question; and
e. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question.
10) A salesman sold 20 watches. Each watch was made either of silver or gold and,
independently, they had either an analogic or a digital display. How many analogic silver
watches did he sell?
(1) He sold 5 digital watches (2) He sold 3 analogic gold watches
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Directions (same as previous): Each of the items below consists of a question followed by two statements,
labeled (1) and (2). You must determine whether the information provided by the numbered statements is
sufficient to answer the question asked. In addition to the information provided in the numbered statements,
you should rely on your knowledge of mathematics and ordinary facts (such as the number of minutes in an
hour).
On your answer sheet, write down:
a. if statement (1), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (2) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
b. if statement (2), BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question, but statement (1) by itself is not
sufficient to answer the question;
c. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are sufficient to answer the question, but NEITHER
statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question;
d. if EITHER statement BY ITSELF is sufficient to answer the question; and
e. if statements (1) and (2) TAKEN TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question.
11) Twelve representatives must be picked from a pool of n students who attend a certain
class. If m of the students haven’t shown up today, how many different sets of
representatives could be picked from the students who came today?
(1) If one less student had shown up, it would be possible to create 13 different sets (2) n=m+12
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
PROBLEM SOLVING
(4 questions)
Directions: Solve the problems and choose the best answer.
12) Company X have 40% of the stock in the ABC corporation. Company Y owns 15.000 shares. Company Z owns all the shares not owned by companies X
or Y. How many shares of stock does company X own if company Z has 25% more shares than company X?
(a) 45.000
(b) 50.000
(c) 60.000
(d) 75.000
(e) 90.000
Directions: Solve the problems and choose the best answer.
13) In the figure, car A and car B begin traveling at the same time, around a
circular racetrack. Both cars start from the same point, the START location at the figure. Car A travels counterclockwise and car B travels clockwise. Theirs
first meet happens after car A travels 40 miles/hour for 2.5 hours and car B travels 6.4 miles/hour for 4 hours. What is the approximate diameter of the
circular racetrack (in miles)? Use 3.14 for Π.
(a) 20
(b) 40
(c) 46.4
(d) 116
(e) 125
Directions: Solve the problems and choose the best answer.
14) Variables x and y are non-zero integers. If x = 2y3 /z what happens to z
when x is halved and y is doubled?
(a) z is not changed
(b) z is halved
(c) z is doubled
(d) z is multiplied by 4
(e) z is multiplied by 16
Directions: Solve the problems and choose the best answer.
15) R represents a set of four prime numbers that are different. If the sum of
the numbers in R is even and y is a member of R, what is the least possible value for y?
(a) 2
(b) 3
(c) 4
(d) 5
(e) 7
ANSWER KEY:
Question Answer Question Answer
1 A 9 C
2 B 10 C
3 A 11 A
4 B 12 D
5 C 13 B
6 D 14 C
7 D 15 B
8 D