New Jersey Civil Service Exam Logical and Deductive Reasoning 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A civil service rule states: 'Probationary employees cannot vote on union matters.' Leon is a probationary employee. Which conclusion is valid?
- Leon can vote on union matters with supervisor approval
- Leon cannot vote on union matters (Correct answer)
- Leon can vote only on non-salary union matters
- The rule applies only to full-time employees
Correct answer: Leon cannot vote on union matters
The rule explicitly prohibits probationary employees from voting on union matters, and Leon is probationary.
Question 2: An analyst finds that whenever Budget Line A increases, Budget Line B decreases by the same amount. If Line A increases by $5,000, what happens to Line B?
- Line B increases by $5,000
- Line B decreases by $5,000 (Correct answer)
- Line B stays the same
- Line B decreases by $10,000
Correct answer: Line B decreases by $5,000
The established pattern is that B decreases by the same amount A increases, so a $5,000 increase in A means a $5,000 decrease in B.
Question 3: Which argument has the same logical structure as: 'All birds have feathers. A penguin is a bird. Therefore, a penguin has feathers.'?
- Some cars are fast. This car is blue. Therefore, this car is fast.
- All mammals breathe air. A whale is a mammal. Therefore, a whale breathes air. (Correct answer)
- Dogs bark. Cats meow. Therefore, all animals make sounds.
- Some trees are tall. This tree is a tree. Therefore, this tree is tall.
Correct answer: All mammals breathe air. A whale is a mammal. Therefore, a whale breathes air.
Both arguments follow the All-A-are-B, X-is-an-A, therefore-X-is-B syllogism structure.
Question 4: A queue has five people: P, Q, R, S, T. P is ahead of Q. T is behind S. R is between P and S. Who is last in line?
- P
- Q
- T (Correct answer)
- S
Correct answer: T
The order is P, R, S with Q behind P and T behind S, placing T at the end.
Question 5: A rule says documents must be reviewed if they are older than 3 years OR marked 'priority.' Document X is 2 years old and not marked priority. Must it be reviewed?
- Yes, because it may become old soon
- No, it meets neither condition for review (Correct answer)
- Yes, all documents require review
- Only a supervisor can decide
Correct answer: No, it meets neither condition for review
Document X is not older than 3 years and is not marked priority, so neither condition triggering mandatory review is met.
Question 6: In a logical sequence, what replaces the '?': 2, 5, 11, 23, ?
- 35
- 47 (Correct answer)
- 46
- 44
Correct answer: 47
Each term is found by doubling the previous term and adding 1: 2×2+1=5, 5×2+1=11, 11×2+1=23, 23×2+1=47.
Question 7: A memo states only managers and directors may approve overtime. Officer Rivera approves overtime. What can be logically concluded?
- Rivera is an officer who broke the rule or is also a manager/director (Correct answer)
- Rivera is definitely a director
- Rivera must be reprimanded
- The overtime approval is invalid
Correct answer: Rivera is an officer who broke the rule or is also a manager/director
Since only managers and directors may approve overtime, Rivera either violated the rule or holds a manager/director role in addition to the officer title.
New Jersey Civil Service Exam Logical and Deductive Reasoning 4
A civil service rule states: 'Probationary employees cannot vote on union matters.' Leon is a probationary employee.
Which conclusion is valid?