Verbal reasoning: Practice 3 (Advanced)

Evaluate causal claims, changing denominators and eligibility conditions in two fictional passages.

Instructions for this set

Use only the supplied passage. Choose True, False or Cannot say. No outside knowledge is needed. Foundation practice shares three questions per passage; intermediate and advanced sets share five.

No calculator is required. Locate the exact supporting clause. Separate a contradiction from missing evidence, and keep populations and time periods consistent.

Answer keys and reasoning checked 20 October 2026. These checks do not establish psychometric validity.

Feedback mode has no time limit or negative marking. The optional timed challenge allows 20 minutes and uses the scoring shown on its rules screen. Those settings are not official assessment rules.

Practise with feedback Optional timed challenge

  1. A fictional US helpdesk compared a routing pilot in June with its usual system in May. June had 900 requests and May had 600. In each month, 80% were resolved within one day. June’s requests included a larger proportion of password resets. Staff numbers were unchanged, but total staff hours were not recorded. The report did not compare resolution times within individual request types and did not claim that the pilot caused an improvement.

    1. June had the same number of requests resolved within one day as May.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-1889b029-518 · Report this question

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    Answer: B. False

    The equal 80% rates apply to different totals. May had 480 such requests and June had 720, so the claim of equal counts is contradicted by the supplied figures.
  2. 2. The routing pilot reduced total staff hours per resolved request.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-a12da57-515 · Report this question

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    Answer: C. Cannot say

    Staff counts were unchanged, but total hours were not recorded. Different hours and request mixes permit different hours-per-resolution results; the proposed reduction is undecided.
  3. 3. June had more requests resolved within one day than May.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-463362a8-506 · Report this question

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    Answer: A. True

    Applying the stated rates gives 900 × 80% = 720 in June and 600 × 80% = 480 in May. A constant rate does not prevent the corresponding count from increasing.
  4. 4. The report established that the routing pilot caused better performance within every request type.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-8b8cf0d0-548 · Report this question

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    Answer: B. False

    The report did not compare times within individual request types and did not claim a causal improvement. It therefore did not establish the type-by-type causal finding stated here.
  5. 5. Password resets were resolved faster in June than in May.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-ad690f30-507 · Report this question

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    Answer: C. Cannot say

    The passage reports a larger share of password resets but no type-specific resolution comparison. Password resets could have become faster or slower without settling the overall figures.

  6. In a fictional Indian research programme, an application was eligible if and only if it was received by 30 June and included both a project summary and a supervisor endorsement. Some eligible applications were not funded because the budget was limited. Every funded project received written confirmation. Applicants without funding could request feedback. An eligible application from Team L was not funded. Team M received written confirmation, but the passage does not say whether written confirmation was also sent for other purposes.

    6. Team L’s application was received by 30 June and included both required documents.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-bd358e6d-627 · Report this question

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    Answer: A. True

    Eligibility is defined by an if-and-only-if rule. Team L was eligible, so it satisfied all three stated requirements despite not receiving funding.
  7. 7. Every eligible application received funding.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-e4770dd1-589 · Report this question

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    Answer: B. False

    The passage explicitly says some eligible applications were not funded and names Team L as one. Eligibility and receiving funding must be kept separate.
  8. 8. Team M definitely received funding.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-c98baa54-580 · Report this question

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    Answer: C. Cannot say

    Every funded project gets confirmation, but confirmation for other purposes is left open. Team M could be funded or could have received another kind of written confirmation.
  9. 9. At least one eligible application did not receive funding.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-6a4664a8-603 · Report this question

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    Answer: A. True

    Team L is explicitly eligible and unfunded; the passage also states that some eligible applications were not funded. Either clause establishes the claimed existence.
  10. 10. An application received after 30 June could meet the stated eligibility rule.
    1. True
    2. False
    3. Cannot say

    Reference: q-12a82db1-622 · Report this question

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    Answer: B. False

    The rule makes timely receipt necessary as well as sufficient alongside the documents. A late application fails that necessary condition, regardless of its contents.

Review your method

Return to the verbal reasoning lesson and identify the reasoning step behind each mistake before repeating the set.

Choose your practice difficulty

Difficulty labels describe the steps needed in these teaching sets; they are not validated ability bands. Start with foundation practice and move on after you can explain your method.

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