Logic - Civil Service Exam

Comprehensive Review Material: Answering Logic Questions

Introduction

  • Purpose: This guide aims to help learners understand and solve logic questions typically found in analytical ability tests.
  • Scope: Focus on questions involving spatial and relational logic, using everyday scenarios such as distances, rankings, and comparisons.

1. Understanding Logic Questions

  • Definition: Logic questions require you to use reasoning skills to analyze information and deduce relationships or order among a set of elements.
  • Types:
    • Spatial Relationships: Determine the physical order or proximity based on given distances or arrangements.
    • Hierarchical Relationships: Establish rank or sequence based on attributes like age, speed, height, etc.

2. Strategies for Solving Logic Questions

  • Reading Carefully: Pay close attention to the specifics of the relationships or distances mentioned.
  • Sketching Diagrams: For spatial problems, draw a simple diagram to visualize the relationships.
  • Making Lists: For hierarchical relationships, listing out the elements in order can help visualize their order or ranking.
  • Elimination: Use the process of elimination on multiple-choice questions to narrow down the possible answers.

3. Step-by-Step Approach to Logic Problems

  • Identify the elements: Note all the elements involved in the problem (e.g., people, objects).
  • Determine fixed relationships: Identify any relationships that are explicitly given and are unchangeable.
  • Infer hidden relationships: Use the given information to deduce any indirect relationships or sequences.
  • Apply logical deductions: Use logical reasoning to fill in gaps between known and unknown elements.

4. Example Problem and Solution

  • Problem: “Alice, Bob, and Charlie are in line for a concert. Alice is somewhere ahead of Bob. Charlie is behind Alice but ahead of Bob. Who is in the middle?”
  • Diagram:
    • A > B
    • A > C > B
  • Analysis: Since Alice is ahead of both Bob and Charlie, and Charlie is between Alice and Bob, Charlie is the middle person.
  • Answer: Charlie

5. Practice Problems

  • Include a set of 5-10 practice problems similar to the example provided.
  • Offer detailed solutions and reasoning for each problem to reinforce learning.

6. Tips and Tricks

  • Focus on Keywords: Look for terms like “between,” “behind,” “taller than,” which indicate the nature of the relationships.
  • Check Consistency: Ensure that all deduced relationships are consistent with each other throughout your analysis.
  • Practice Regularly: Regular practice can help improve speed and accuracy in recognizing patterns and solving problems.

Conclusion

  • Summarize the skills needed to tackle logic questions effectively and encourage ongoing practice with different types of logic problems.

Practice Test on Logic - Civil Service Exam

Question 1:
Four friends received four pizzas. Their coach stated that the extra pizza belongs to the fastest runner.
Alan is faster than Bill. Bill is slower than Cindy. Dan is slightly faster than Bill. Who gets the extra pizza?
Choices:
A. Bill
B. Cindy
C. Alan
D. Dan
Answer: C. Alan
Solution:
Alan is faster than Bill and Dan. Cindy is faster than Bill but slower than Alan, making Alan the fastest. Therefore, Alan gets the extra pizza.

 

Question 2:
Lana is faster than Lila, but slower than Lisa. Lisa is the slowest of them all.
Is the second sentence correct?
Choices:
A. Yes, because Lisa is not the fastest.
B. No, because Lisa is the fastest of them all.
C. No, because Lisa is in between Lana and Lila.
D. No, because all of them are equal in speed.
Answer: B. No, because Lisa is the fastest of them all.
Solution:
The first sentence indicates that Lisa is faster than both Lana and Lila, contradicting the second sentence that claims Lisa is the slowest.

 

Question 3:
H runs faster than J. K runs slower than J, but faster than I. Who is the second slowest runner?
Choices:
A. H
B. J
C. K
D. I
Answer: C. K
Solution:
H is faster than both J and I. J is faster than K but slower than H, making K faster than I but slower than both H and J. Thus, K is the second slowest.

 

Question 4:
A runs faster than C. B runs slower than C, but faster than D. Who is the second slowest runner?
Choices:
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
Answer: B. B
Solution:
A is faster than both C and D. C is faster than B but slower than A, making B faster than D but slower than both A and C. Thus, B is the second slowest.

 

Question 5:
Rita is older than Manuel. Carlos is older than Manuel but younger than Rita. Who is the youngest?
Choices:
A. Rita
B. Manuel
C. Carlos
D. Cannot be determined
Answer: B. Manuel
Solution:
Given that Rita is older than Manuel, and Carlos is older than Manuel but younger than Rita, it places Manuel as the youngest. Manuel is younger than both Carlos and Rita.