Mixed Deck — All PSEE Topics Flashcards

A project requires 3 employees working 8 hours a day for 10 days. If 4 employees are assigned instead at the same daily hours, how many days will it take?

Answer: 7.5 days

Total work = 3 × 8 × 10 = 240 hours. With 4 employees: 240 ÷ (4 × 8) = 7.5 days.

Priority coding: P1=same day; P2=within 2 days; P3=within 5 days; P4=within 10 days. A P2 request is received Monday morning. What is the latest response deadline?

Answer: Wednesday

P2 = respond within 2 days. Monday + 2 business days = Wednesday.

The phrase 'per annum' means:

Answer: Per year

Per annum is a Latin phrase meaning 'for each year' or annually, commonly used in government salary and budget documents.

Choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

Answer: The director, however, did not approve the proposal.

'However' used as a conjunctive adverb in the middle of a sentence must be set off by commas on both sides.

A coworker consistently takes long lunch breaks, causing you to cover their work. What is the MOST appropriate first step?

Answer: Address the issue directly and professionally with your coworker first

Addressing issues directly with a coworker in a professional manner is the appropriate first step before escalating to management or HR.

Phone extension list: Legal = 4421; Finance = 4432; HR = 4443; IT = 4454; Communications = 4465. An employee needs to reach HR. Which number do they dial?

Answer: 4443

HR = 4443 per the extension list.

What is an 'appropriation' in government budgeting?

Answer: Congressional authorization to spend money

An appropriation is a legislative act authorizing the executive branch to spend a specified amount of money for a designated purpose.

Required format: YYYY-MM-DD/CODE/SEQ. A clerk enters: 2026-04-06/HR/0042. Which alternative entry has an error?

Answer: 2026-04-06/HR/0024

Option B transposes '0042' to '0024' — the last two digits are reversed.

In records management, 'retention schedule' refers to:

Answer: The policy specifying how long records must be kept

A retention schedule is a policy that specifies how long different types of government records must be maintained before they can be disposed of.

Report: 'Employee engagement scores increased from 62% to 67% between 2021 and 2023. The biggest gains were in workload management (+9%) and career development (+7%). Satisfaction with pay remained unchanged at 55%.' Which inference is best supported?

Answer: Overall engagement improved despite no improvement in pay satisfaction.

Overall engagement rose from 62% to 67% even though pay satisfaction did not change, supporting the inference that other factors drove the improvement.

In a government office, incoming mail marked 'PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL' should be:

Answer: Delivered unopened to the addressee

Mail marked 'Personal and Confidential' must be delivered unopened directly to the named addressee to protect their privacy and security.

What comes next in the series? 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, ___

Answer: 64

Perfect squares: 1², 2², ..., 7²=49, 8²=64.

You are given broad instructions on a project and after two days realize you may be heading in the wrong direction. What is the appropriate action?

Answer: Check in with your supervisor to confirm your approach before investing more time.

Checking in early when direction is uncertain prevents wasted effort and demonstrates initiative.

Think about the subsequent series: 23, …, 31, 37. What number is missing?

Answer: 29

The sequence 23, ..., 31, 37 consists of prime numbers. A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself. The prime number that comes directly after 23 and before 31 is 29. Therefore, 29 is the missing number in the sequence.

Either the report was filed on time or it is overdue. The report is not overdue. What can be concluded?

Answer: The report was filed on time.

This is a disjunctive syllogism: either A or B. Not B. Therefore A. The report was filed on time.

Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?

Answer: It's a beautiful morning in the office.

'It's' is the contraction of 'it is,' so option B is correct; 'its' without an apostrophe is the possessive form.

Choose the correctly spelled word from the options below.

Answer: Occurrence

'Occurrence' is spelled with double 'c' and double 'r': o-c-c-u-r-r-e-n-c-e.

Which U.S. government body is responsible for overseeing the federal budget?

Answer: All of the above play roles

The CBO analyzes budget options, OMB prepares the President's budget, and GAO audits government spending — all three oversee different aspects of the federal budget.

You notice that a process you follow daily wastes significant time and could be improved. What is the most appropriate action?

Answer: Document the issue and suggest the improvement to your supervisor.

Documenting the inefficiency and bringing it to a supervisor's attention is the appropriate way to contribute to continuous improvement in the public service.

You finish your assigned tasks one hour before the end of your shift. What is the most appropriate action?

Answer: Inform your supervisor and ask if there are additional tasks that need attention

Checking with your supervisor when additional time is available demonstrates initiative and commitment to the team's goals.