Free Epic Skills Assessment: Verbal Reasoning Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The term "deliberately planned endeavor to strengthen an organization's relevance and viability" (OD) describes this process. Kurt Lewin, a German-American psychologist, was one of the first to apply social psychology, group dynamics, and social research to the workplace. He developed the idea of organizational growth. Since its inception, organizational development has become a well-liked and widely used technique for organizational transformation. The fundamental tenets of the OD philosophy are largely humanistic, emphasizing enhancing organizational performance through employee empowerment.
- Pragmatism
- Humanism (Correct answer)
- Egalitarianism
- Objectivism
Correct answer: Humanism
The passage explicitly states that 'The fundamental tenets of the OD philosophy are largely humanistic, emphasizing enhancing organizational performance through employee empowerment.' This directly identifies humanism as the core philosophy underpinning organizational development, focusing on human potential and well-being within the workplace.
Question 2: According to international agricultural research alliance researchers, climate change may soon cause millions of people in underdeveloped nations to rely on bananas as their primary food source. Growing essential foods like potatoes, maize, and wheat is difficult due to rising temperatures and unstable weather, which reduce the agricultural yields of these staples. However, bananas have a much better chance of surviving in tropical settings prone to high temperatures and unpredictable weather. It might not be a feasible food staple for all emerging countries, but in the next years, it might become more crucial for the economies of many of them.
- Wheat
- Barley (Correct answer)
- Maize
- Potato
Correct answer: Barley
The passage explicitly lists 'potatoes, maize, and wheat' as essential foods whose agricultural yields are reduced by rising temperatures and unstable weather. Among the given options, 'Barley' is not mentioned in the text as one of these staples facing cultivation difficulties due to climate change.
Question 3: Kopi Luwak, often known as civet coffee, is an expensive brand of coffee available today. It originates in Indonesia. The fact that this particular kind of coffee is created using the same coffee beans that Asian palm civets consume makes it special. The civet also eats the indigestible coffee bean inside the coffee berry for its mushy pulp. However, proteolytic enzymes penetrate the bean as it travels through the civet's digestive system, shortening peptides and boosting the amount of free amino acids, enhancing the coffee bean's flavor. Similarly, Kopi Luwak can be sold for up to $3,000 per kilogram due to the costly and time-consuming procedure of looking for civet droppings.
- Removes coffee bean peptides
- Increases number of coffee bean peptides
- Shortens coffee bean peptides (Correct answer)
- Lengthens coffee bean peptides
Correct answer: Shortens coffee bean peptides
The passage explicitly states that as the coffee bean passes through the civet's digestive system, 'proteolytic enzymes penetrate the bean... shortening peptides and boosting the amount of free amino acids.' This directly answers how the civet's digestive process affects the coffee bean's peptides, leading to enhanced flavor.
Question 4: A group of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table are rare earth elements or rare earth metals. Despite their moniker, rare earth elements are common in the Earth's crust, with cerium as abundant as copper. Rare earth refers to these elements because they are infrequently discovered in amounts large enough to make mining profitable. Despite only possessing 23% of the world's proven stocks of these metals, the People's Republic of China supplies over 90% of rare earth elements. Due to environmental worries, depleting reserves, and issues with industry regulation, China has been slowly reducing its export quotas for rare earth elements, which could result in shortages of these materials in the future. What does not account for China's decreased shipments of rare earth elements?
- Difficulties with regulation
- Environmental issues
- International competition (Correct answer)
- Reserve depletion
Correct answer: International competition
The passage lists three reasons for China's reduced export quotas: 'environmental worries, depleting reserves, and issues with industry regulation.' International competition is not mentioned as a factor contributing to China's decreased shipments of rare earth elements, making it the correct answer for what does *not* account for the decrease.
Question 5: One of the largest moons in the solar system, Europa is the sixth closest moon to the planet Jupiter. The scant atmosphere of Europa, which is mostly made of oxygen, is somewhat smaller than that of the Earth's moon. Europa's water-covered surface is one of the smoothest in the solar system. According to scientists, Europa is a strong candidate for extraterrestrial life because it may have an ocean of liquid water beneath its surface. As with plate tectonics on Earth, it is also projected that heat energy from tidal flexing may keep the oceans liquid and drive geological activity. What qualifies Europa as a possible location for extraterrestrial life?
- Atmosphere comprised of oxygen
- Geological Activity
- Smooth ice water surface
- Ocean below its surface (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Ocean below its surface
The text explicitly states that 'According to scientists, Europa is a strong candidate for extraterrestrial life because it may have an ocean of liquid water beneath its surface.' This direct statement identifies the subsurface ocean as the primary reason for its potential to harbor life.
Question 6: In the United States, the Mojave Desert can be found in parts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. The Mohave tribe of Native Americans named the desert, which has the classic topology of a basin and range. The Mojave Desert is typically between 2000 and 5000 feet in elevation and receives fewer than 300 millimeters of rain annually. Depending on the season, the desert encounters temperature extremes at both ends of the spectrum. In the winter, higher elevations may see temperatures as low as -18 °C. It is the hottest area in the US during the summer, when temperatures reach over 49 °C. How much precipitation occurs in the Mojave Desert annually?
- 330 mm
- 300 mm
- 30 mm
- Cannot say (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Cannot say
The passage states that the Mojave Desert 'receives fewer than 300 millimeters of rain annually.' While it gives an upper limit, it does not provide an exact or average amount of precipitation. Therefore, based solely on the provided text, the precise annual precipitation cannot be determined, making 'Cannot say' the correct answer.
Question 7: The fall of the Japanese asset price bubble resulted in the 1991–2000 economic downturn, dubbed "the lost decade" in Japan. Japan's economy grew quickly in the 1970s and 1980s, which fueled expectations that Japan would eventually achieve superpower status. But irregularities in the Japanese economy fed a lot of speculative activity from Japanese businesses. Low-interest rates and high property values encourage substantial borrowing and significant investment in local and foreign stocks. The finance ministry recognized that this was an asset bubble, though, and raised interest rates as a result. This precipitated a stock market meltdown and the eventual burst of the Japanese asset price bubble. What economic circumstances led to Japan's high levels of borrowing?
- Low Interest rates, high property prices (Correct answer)
- High Interest rates, high property prices
- Low Interest, low property prices
- High Interest rates, low property prices
Correct answer: Low Interest rates, high property prices
The passage explicitly states that 'Low-interest rates and high property values encourage substantial borrowing and significant investment in local and foreign stocks.' This sentence directly identifies the combination of low interest rates and high property prices as the economic circumstances that fueled high levels of borrowing in Japan.
Free Epic Skills Assessment: Verbal Reasoning Questions and Answers
The term "deliberately planned endeavor to strengthen an organization's relevance and viability" (OD) describes this process.
Kurt Lewin, a German-American psychologist, was one of the first to apply social psychology, group dynamics, and social research to the workplace.
He developed the idea of organizational growth.
Since its inception, organizational development has become a well-liked and widely used technique for organizational transformation.
The fundamental tenets of the OD philosophy are largely humanistic, emphasizing enhancing organizational performance through employee empowerment.
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- careers.epic.com — Exam format · verified Oct 2026