POST Basic Math and Reasoning 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Three witnesses describe a vehicle's speed as 45 mph, 50 mph, and 55 mph. What is the median reported speed?
- 45 mph
- 48 mph
- 50 mph (Correct answer)
- 55 mph
Correct answer: 50 mph
When arranged in order, the middle value of 45, 50, 55 is 50 mph.
Question 2: A detective drives from the precinct to a crime scene (12 miles) and back, then to the courthouse (7 miles). How many total miles did the detective travel?
- 26 miles
- 31 miles (Correct answer)
- 33 miles
- 38 miles
Correct answer: 31 miles
12 + 12 + 7 = 31 miles total.
Question 3: A department has 240 officers. If 1 in 6 is assigned to traffic duty, how many officers handle traffic?
- 35
- 40 (Correct answer)
- 45
- 48
Correct answer: 40
240 ÷ 6 = 40 officers on traffic duty.
Question 4: An officer's shift starts at 0600 and ends at 1430. How long is the shift?
- 7 hours
- 7.5 hours
- 8 hours
- 8.5 hours (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 8.5 hours
From 0600 to 1430 is 8 hours and 30 minutes, which equals 8.5 hours.
Question 5: A crime map shows incidents increasing from 40 per month to 52 per month. What is the percentage increase?
- 20%
- 25%
- 30% (Correct answer)
- 35%
Correct answer: 30%
(52 - 40) ÷ 40 × 100 = 12 ÷ 40 × 100 = 30%.
Question 6: An officer seizes $1,250 in cash from three suspects: one had $600, another had $375. How much did the third suspect have?
- $265
- $275 (Correct answer)
- $285
- $295
Correct answer: $275
$1,250 - $600 - $375 = $275 from the third suspect.
Question 7: A patrol schedule requires 5 officers per shift and runs 3 shifts daily. How many officer-shifts are needed per week?
- 95
- 100
- 105 (Correct answer)
- 110
Correct answer: 105
5 × 3 × 7 = 105 officer-shifts per week.
POST Basic Math and Reasoning 5
Three witnesses describe a vehicle's speed as 45 mph, 50 mph, and 55 mph.
What is the median reported speed?