New Jersey Civil Service Logical and Deductive Reasoning 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?

Accepted Answer

Maria, who has five years of service, a rating of 'Exceeds Expectations,' and has attended one other training course this year.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

The sanitation department's new street sweeper must have a GPS tracking device installed.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

It cannot be logically determined if the Parks department requires new software.

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

The timing of the meetings is the direct cause of the decrease in productivity.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

A purchase order will not be sent to the purchasing agent if funds are not available.

Answer

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.

New Jersey Civil Service Exam Practice Test

New Jersey Civil Service Exam Practice Test

New Jersey Civil Service Logical and Deductive Reasoning Questions and Answers