CCTST Numeracy & Quantitative Reasoning 3

Question 1

A politician states: 'Our city's test scores rank in the top 10 nationally.' The city has 500 school districts nationwide. How many districts rank at or above this city?

Accepted Answer

50

Answer

Top 10% of 500 districts = 50 districts, meaning up to 50 districts rank at or above the city.

Question 2

A research report states 'the correlation between ice cream sales and drowning rates is r = 0.9.' What is the most critical thinking–appropriate interpretation?

Accepted Answer

Both variables likely increase in summer due to hot weather

Answer

A high correlation indicates association, not causation; a third variable (hot weather/summer) most plausibly explains both trends.

Question 3

If you flip a fair coin 10 times and get heads all 10 times, what is the probability of getting heads on the 11th flip?

Accepted Answer

0.5

Answer

Each coin flip is an independent event; past outcomes do not affect future ones, so the probability remains 0.5.

Question 4

A company reports a 300% increase in profits. If profits were $10,000 last year, what are they now?

Accepted Answer

$40,000

Answer

A 300% increase means adding 300% of $10,000 (=$30,000) to the original, giving $10,000 + $30,000 = $40,000.

Question 5

A chart shows that Country A has 2,000 doctors for 1 million people, and Country B has 1,000 doctors for 400,000 people. Which has more doctors per capita?

Accepted Answer

Country B

Answer

Country A: 2,000/1,000,000 = 0.002; Country B: 1,000/400,000 = 0.0025, so Country B has more doctors per capita.

(CCTST) California Critical Thinking Skills Test Practice Test

(CCTST) California Critical Thinking Skills Test Practice Test

CCTST Numeracy & Quantitative Reasoning 3