New Jersey Civil Service Logical and Deductive Reasoning Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A municipal agency has the following criteria for employees to qualify for a specialized training course: 1) Must have at least two years of continuous service. 2) Must have a performance rating of 'Exceeds Expectations' in their most recent review. 3) Must not have attended more than one other training course in the same calendar year. Which of the following employees is eligible for the course?
- David, who has three years of service, a rating of 'Exceeds Expectations,' and has attended two other training courses this year.
- Brian, who has one year of service, a rating of 'Exceeds Expectations,' and has attended no other training courses this year.
- Carla, who has four years of service, a rating of 'Meets Expectations,' and has attended one other training course this year.
- Maria, who has five years of service, a rating of 'Exceeds Expectations,' and has attended one other training course this year. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Maria, who has five years of service, a rating of 'Exceeds Expectations,' and has attended one other training course this year.
Maria is the only employee who meets all three required criteria. David is ineligible because he attended too many other courses. Brian is ineligible due to insufficient years of service. Carla is ineligible because her performance rating is too low.
Question 2: Consider the following statements: 1. All vehicles in the city's fleet must have a GPS tracking device installed. 2. The sanitation department's new street sweeper is a vehicle in the city's fleet. Which of the following conclusions can be logically drawn from these statements?
- All vehicles with GPS tracking devices belong to the sanitation department.
- The sanitation department's new street sweeper must have a GPS tracking device installed. (Correct answer)
- No vehicles outside of the city's fleet have GPS tracking devices.
- The sanitation department only has one new street sweeper.
Correct answer: The sanitation department's new street sweeper must have a GPS tracking device installed.
This is a simple deductive argument. If all fleet vehicles require a GPS (Premise 1) and the street sweeper is a fleet vehicle (Premise 2), then it logically follows that the street sweeper must have a GPS. The other options make assumptions or reverse the logic presented in the premises.
Question 3: A new internal policy states, 'If a department requires new software, a formal request must be submitted to the IT department for security review.' Last week, the Parks department submitted a formal request to the IT department for a security review. What can be concluded from this information?
- The Parks department requires new software.
- The IT department has approved the Parks department's request.
- It cannot be logically determined if the Parks department requires new software. (Correct answer)
- The Parks department is the only department that submitted a request.
Correct answer: It cannot be logically determined if the Parks department requires new software.
The rule is 'If software is required (P), then a request must be submitted (Q).' The information given is that a request was submitted (Q). This is known as the fallacy of 'affirming the consequent.' We cannot logically conclude that P is true just because Q is true. The department might have submitted the request for another reason, or perhaps as a preliminary inquiry.
Question 4: A department manager states, 'Since we began holding staff meetings on Monday mornings, overall team productivity for the week has decreased. Therefore, to increase productivity, we must stop holding Monday morning meetings.' The manager's conclusion is flawed because it assumes that:
- Monday morning meetings are inherently inefficient.
- Team productivity is difficult to measure accurately.
- Employees dislike Monday morning meetings.
- The timing of the meetings is the direct cause of the decrease in productivity. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The timing of the meetings is the direct cause of the decrease in productivity.
This conclusion commits a 'post hoc ergo propter hoc' (after this, therefore because of this) logical fallacy. It incorrectly assumes that because one event followed another, the first event must have caused the second. There could be other factors entirely that are causing the decrease in productivity.
Question 5: A procedure for processing purchase orders is as follows: First, the order is submitted by a department head to the finance office. Second, the finance office verifies that the funds are available. Third, if funds are available, the order is sent to the purchasing agent. Finally, the purchasing agent executes the purchase. Which of the following statements is logically correct based on this procedure?
- An order is executed by the purchasing agent before the finance office verifies funds.
- The purchasing agent verifies the availability of funds.
- A purchase order will not be sent to the purchasing agent if funds are not available. (Correct answer)
- The department head executes the final purchase.
Correct answer: A purchase order will not be sent to the purchasing agent if funds are not available.
The procedure explicitly states that the order is sent to the purchasing agent only *if* funds are available. Therefore, if funds are not available, the condition for that step is not met, and the order will not be forwarded to the agent. The other options contradict the specified sequence of events.
Question 6: A state regulation reads: 'All public libraries must provide free internet access. Only facilities that are designated as official public libraries are required to offer this service.' Based on this regulation, which of the following can be inferred?
- If a facility offers free internet access, it must be a public library.
- No community centers are allowed to provide free internet access.
- A building that does not provide free internet access cannot be an official public library. (Correct answer)
- All state-run facilities are considered public libraries.
Correct answer: A building that does not provide free internet access cannot be an official public library.
This is the contrapositive of the first statement. If the original statement 'If it is a public library, then it must provide free internet' is true, then the contrapositive 'If it does not provide free internet, then it cannot be a public library' must also be true. The other options make invalid logical leaps.
New Jersey Civil Service Logical and Deductive Reasoning Questions and Answers
A municipal agency has the following criteria for employees to qualify for a specialized training course: 1) Must have at least two years of continuous service. 2) Must have a performance rating of 'Exceeds Expectations' in their most recent review. 3) Must not have attended more than one other training course in the same calendar year.
Which of the following employees is eligible for the course?