NYC Civil Service Logical and Deductive Reasoning Questions and Answers

Question 1

Read the following passage and answer the question.

**Passage:**
'The city's policy on the use of official vehicles is explicit. Vehicles are to be used for official city business only and must be returned to the municipal depot by 6:00 PM daily. Any use of a vehicle after 6:00 PM requires pre-approved overtime authorization from a department head. The policy strictly prohibits using vehicles for personal errands, such as shopping or commuting to an employee's home, at any time. All trips must be recorded in the vehicle's logbook.'

Which of the following scenarios describes a direct violation of the policy?

Accepted Answer

A sanitation supervisor, while driving between two job sites, uses a city vehicle to pick up their personal dry-cleaning.

Answer

A department head takes a city vehicle to an all-day conference and returns it to the depot at 5:45 PM.

Answer

An inspector drives a city car to a work-related training seminar and stops at a fast-food drive-thru for lunch on the way back to the office.

Answer

An employee receives written approval from their department head to keep a vehicle overnight to respond to an early morning emergency call.

Question 2

Read the following passage and answer the question.

**Passage:**
'To qualify for the Urban Gardener Grant, an applicant must meet three conditions. First, the proposed garden must be located on a vacant city-owned lot. Second, the applicant must be a registered neighborhood association. Third, the association must submit a detailed maintenance plan that is approved by the Department of Parks.'

If a neighborhood association was awarded an Urban Gardener Grant, which of the following must be true?

Accepted Answer

The garden is located on a city-owned lot that was previously vacant.

Answer

The association has more than 50 members.

Answer

The maintenance plan includes planting at least five different types of vegetables.

Answer

The association has previously received grants from the city.

Question 3

Read the following passage and answer the question.

**Passage:**
'The process for resolving a non-emergency citizen complaint is as follows: A complaint is first logged by the 311 call center and assigned a case number. Next, it is electronically routed to the appropriate city agency. The agency then has 48 hours to acknowledge receipt of the complaint. After acknowledgment, the agency conducts an investigation and proposes a resolution.'

If an agency is currently investigating a complaint, what can be logically concluded?

Accepted Answer

The 311 call center has assigned the complaint a case number.

Answer

The complaint has already been resolved.

Answer

The citizen who filed the complaint has been contacted by the agency.

Answer

The agency has determined the complaint is valid.

Question 4

Read the following passage and answer the question.

**Passage:**
'A new municipal ordinance states: If a residential street is scheduled for repaving, 'No Parking' signs must be posted at least 72 hours prior to the start of work. If signs are posted less than 72 hours in advance, any vehicles parked on the street may not be ticketed or towed. This rule applies only to residential streets; commercial zones follow a different 24-hour notification rule.'

Work crews are scheduled to repave Elm Street, a residential street, starting on a Thursday morning. They post 'No Parking' signs on the preceding Tuesday morning. According to the ordinance, what is the status of a car parked on Elm Street on Wednesday night?

Accepted Answer

The car cannot be ticketed or towed.

Answer

The car can be ticketed but not towed.

Answer

The car can be towed but not ticketed.

Answer

The car can be both ticketed and towed.

Question 5

Read the following passage and answer the question.

**Passage:**
'In an effort to reduce paperwork and improve efficiency, the Human Resources department announced that all employee timesheets will now be submitted digitally. This change is expected to significantly decrease the time supervisors spend on payroll approval, allowing them to focus on their core management duties. The department projects a 20% increase in supervisory efficiency as a result.'

The department's projection relies on which of the following assumptions?

Accepted Answer

Supervisors find the current paper-based payroll approval process to be a significant part of their workload.

Answer

All employees have access to a computer to submit their timesheets.

Answer

The digital system will not experience any technical failures.

Answer

Employees will be paid more quickly with the new digital system.

Question 6

Read the following passage and answer the question.

**Passage:**
'An analysis of the city's public libraries was conducted. The report showed that the Central Library has a larger collection of books than the North Branch library. The report also stated that the South Branch library has a smaller collection of books than the North Branch library.'

Based only on the information in the passage, which of the following statements must be true?

Accepted Answer

The Central Library has the largest collection of the three libraries.

Answer

The South Branch library is the newest of the three libraries.

Answer

The North Branch library has more visitors than the South Branch library.

Answer

The Central Library and the South Branch library have similar numbers of books.