Logical Reasoning Flashcards

An officer's report states: 'Whenever road conditions are icy, speed limits are reduced.' Today the speed limit was not reduced. What can be logically concluded?

Answer: Road conditions were not icy today

Contrapositive of 'icy roads → reduced limits' is 'no reduced limits → no icy roads,' so conditions were not icy.

Officers are ranked as Cadet, Officer, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain. Which analogy best fits: Cadet is to Officer as Officer is to ___?

Answer: Sergeant

Cadet is one rank below Officer, so Officer is one rank below Sergeant — the same one-step advancement relationship.

A CHP station handles 240 calls in 8 hours. If call volume doubles on holidays, how many calls would the station handle in a 10-hour holiday shift?

Answer: 600

Normal rate = 30 calls/hour; doubled = 60 calls/hour; 60 × 10 hours = 600 calls.

Five patrol vehicles are parked in a row. Car 3 is between Car 2 and Car 4. Car 1 is to the left of Car 2. Car 5 is to the right of Car 4. Which car is in the far left position?

Answer: Car 1

The order from left to right is Car 1, Car 2, Car 3, Car 4, Car 5, placing Car 1 at the far left.

A witness says: 'I saw the suspect run north, then turn east.' The suspect was last seen heading toward the river. If the river runs north-south, where is the river relative to where the suspect turned east?

Answer: East of the turn point

The suspect turned east and headed toward a north-south river, meaning the river must be to the east of the turn point.

Which of the following arguments contains a logical flaw?

Answer: All accidents here happen at night, so this one must have happened at night too

This argument commits the fallacy of affirming the conclusion — 'all accidents happen at night' doesn't mean every accident must; it only means accidents have only occurred at night so far.

Officer Davis earns $6,000/month. After a 15% raise, what is her new monthly salary?

Answer: $6,900

15% of $6,000 is $900; adding it to the base gives $6,900.