UCAT Decision Making 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A budget of $12,000 is split among three departments: Research gets 50%, Operations gets 30%, and Admin gets the rest. How much does Admin receive?
- $1,200
- $2,400 (Correct answer)
- $3,600
- $4,800
Correct answer: $2,400
Admin gets 100% − 50% − 30% = 20%; 20% of $12,000 = $2,400.
Question 2: A patient asks their doctor not to tell their spouse about a terminal diagnosis. The doctor should:
- Tell the spouse because they have a right to know
- Respect patient confidentiality and not disclose without consent (Correct answer)
- Disclose to the spouse only if the patient becomes incapacitated
- Involve a hospital ethicist before making any decision
Correct answer: Respect patient confidentiality and not disclose without consent
Confidentiality is a core medical principle; information belongs to the patient and cannot be shared without consent except in specific legal or safety circumstances.
Question 3: No mammals can photosynthesize. Dolphins are mammals. Which argument form does this represent?
- Inductive reasoning
- Deductive syllogism (Correct answer)
- Abductive reasoning
- Analogical reasoning
Correct answer: Deductive syllogism
This is a classic deductive syllogism — a valid conclusion follows necessarily from two true premises.
Question 4: A study claims people who own cats have lower blood pressure than those who don't. A critic argues that calmer people are more likely to own cats. This critique describes:
- Recall bias
- Confounding (Correct answer)
- Selection bias
- Hawthorne effect
Correct answer: Confounding
Confounding occurs when a third variable (calm temperament) is associated with both the exposure (cat ownership) and the outcome (blood pressure).
Question 5: A scheduler must assign 4 tasks (W, X, Y, Z) sequentially. X must come before Z. Y must be last. W must come immediately before X. Which order is valid?
- W, X, Z, Y (Correct answer)
- X, W, Z, Y
- Z, W, X, Y
- W, Z, X, Y
Correct answer: W, X, Z, Y
W must immediately precede X, X must precede Z, and Y must be last — so W, X, Z, Y satisfies all constraints.
Question 6: A hospital reduces waiting times from 45 minutes to 36 minutes. What is the percentage reduction?
- 15%
- 20% (Correct answer)
- 25%
- 30%
Correct answer: 20%
Percentage reduction = (45 − 36) / 45 × 100 = 9 / 45 × 100 = 20%.
Question 7: A medical student witnesses a senior doctor dismiss a patient's pain complaint without examination. The best immediate action is to:
- Confront the senior doctor in front of the patient
- Stay silent to avoid conflict with a senior colleague
- Politely advocate for the patient and suggest a brief examination (Correct answer)
- Report the doctor to the GMC immediately
Correct answer: Politely advocate for the patient and suggest a brief examination
Advocating for the patient while remaining professional is appropriate — it addresses patient welfare without escalating prematurely.
UCAT Decision Making 5
A budget of $12,000 is split among three departments: Research gets 50%, Operations gets 30%, and Admin gets the rest.
How much does Admin receive?