FCTC Numerical Reasoning 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A fire department's budget increased from $2,400,000 to $2,760,000. What is the percentage increase?
- 12%
- 13%
- 15% (Correct answer)
- 18%
Correct answer: 15%
(2,760,000 − 2,400,000) ÷ 2,400,000 × 100 = 360,000 ÷ 2,400,000 × 100 = 15%.
Question 2: A pump operates at 1,500 GPM (gallons per minute). If a fire requires 600 GPM, what fraction of pump capacity is being used?
- 1/3
- 2/5 (Correct answer)
- 3/5
- 2/3
Correct answer: 2/5
600 ÷ 1,500 = 2/5 of capacity.
Question 3: A firefighter completes a training course in 2 hours 45 minutes. A second firefighter takes 15% longer. How long does the second firefighter take?
- 3 hours 3 min
- 3 hours 9 min 45 sec (Correct answer)
- 3 hours 9 min
- 3 hours 15 min
Correct answer: 3 hours 9 min 45 sec
165 min × 1.15 = 189.75 minutes = 3 hours 9 min 45 seconds.
Question 4: A fire truck travels 8 miles to a scene at an average speed of 48 mph. How many minutes does the trip take?
- 8 minutes
- 10 minutes (Correct answer)
- 12 minutes
- 15 minutes
Correct answer: 10 minutes
Time = 8 ÷ 48 hours = 1/6 hour = 10 minutes.
Question 5: A department has 240 firefighters. If 35% are assigned to daytime shifts, how many firefighters work at night or on other shifts?
- 84
- 120
- 144
- 156 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 156
35% of 240 = 84 on daytime; 240 − 84 = 156 on other shifts.
Question 6: A nozzle pressure reading drops from 120 psi to 96 psi. By what percentage did the pressure decrease?
- 16%
- 20% (Correct answer)
- 24%
- 25%
Correct answer: 20%
(120 − 96) ÷ 120 × 100 = 24 ÷ 120 × 100 = 20%.
Question 7: If a hose line loses 5 psi of pressure for every 100 feet of length, how much pressure is lost over 350 feet?
- 15 psi
- 17.5 psi (Correct answer)
- 20 psi
- 25 psi
Correct answer: 17.5 psi
5 ÷ 100 × 350 = 17.5 psi of friction loss.
FCTC Numerical Reasoning 5
A fire department's budget increased from $2,400,000 to $2,760,000.
What is the percentage increase?