Numerical Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning
REASONING QUESTIONS
18 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Adding Fractions
5 + 3
7 5
5 + 3 = 25 + 21 = 46 = 1 11
7 5 35 35 35
Crossbow Method:
The CROSS looks like a multiplication sign and it tells you which
numbers to multiply together.
One arm is saying ‘multiply the 5 by the 5’, and the other arm is
saying ‘multiply the 7 by the 3’.
Subtracting Fractions
4 - 2
7 5
4 - 2 = 20 - 14 = 6
=
7 5 35 35
Multiplying Fractions
2 × 4
3 7
2 × 4 = 8
3 7 21
Arrow Method:
Multiplying fractions is easy. Draw an arrow through the two top
numbers and the two bottom numbers (as shown above) and then
multiply – simple!
Dividing Fractions
3 ÷ 1
7 3
3 ÷ 3 = 3 × 3 = 9 =1 2
7 1 7 1 7 7
Simplifying Fractions
24 = 12 = 4
30 15 5
Simplifying Fractions:
There are a few steps to follow in order to correctly simplify
fractions.
What is
3 of 700?
7
How to work it out:
• 700 ÷ 7 × 3 = 300.
OR
• 3 ÷ 7 x 100 = 300.
EXAMPLE NUMERICAL REASONING QUESTIONS 21
Percentages
1 = 0.1 = 10%
10
How to turn fractions into decimals, and decimals into
percentages:
• To change 0.1 into a percentage, you would move the decimal
point two places to the right, so it becomes 10%.
• To convert 1⁄ 10 into a decimal, you would divide both numbers.
For example, 1 ÷ 10 = 0.1.
• To convert 10% into a decimal, you move the decimal point two
places to the left. For example, to convert 10% into a decimal,
the decimal point moves two spaces to the left to become 0.1.
22 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Volume
9cm
9cm
Volume: 18cm
Areas / Perimeters
6cm 11cm
13cm
5cm
Perimeter:
Add all the sizes of each side.
• 6 + 6 + 13 + 13 = 38 cm
EXAMPLE NUMERICAL REASONING QUESTIONS 23
Angles
Symmetry
Simplifying Equations
Simplify 5w - 6x - 2w - 1x
(5w) (- 6x) (- 2w) (- 1x)
(5w - 2w) = 3w
(-6x - 1x) = -7x
3w -7x
Number Sequences
Ratios
Ben has some sweets. He is going to share them with his two
friends. Ben has 24 sweets and is going to share them in the ratio
of 4 : 2 : 2.
So one person will have 12 sweets and the two other people will
get 6 sweets.
26 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Prime Numbers
2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19
23 29 31 37 41 43 47 53
59 61 67 71 73 79 83 89
A prime number is a number that can only be divided by 1 and
itself.
Factors
Factors are numbers that can be divided into the original number.
For example, 6 has the factors of 1 and 6, 2 and 3.
Factors of 12:
• Factors are all the numbers that can go into the number.
So, 1 × 12 = 12
2×6
3×4
So in ascending order, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12 are all factors of the
number 12.
Multiples
D D D
S T S T S T
Ten-Thousandths
Ten Thousands
Decimal Point
Thousandths
Hundredths
Thousands
Millionths
Hundreds
Millions
Tenths
Ones
Tens
28 Numerical Reasoning Tests
7 is recorded as 07
0 7 8 9 9
1 2 7 7
2 0 2 2 7 7 7 8 9 9 9 9
3 0 1 2 2 4 5 6 6
4 1 1 3 7
This number is 36
5
Mean
• To work out the mean of a set of data, you add up all the
numbers and then divide the total value by the total amount of
numbers.
Mode
• The mode is easily remembered by referring to it as the ‘most’.
What number occurs most throughout the data?
Median
• Once the data is in ascending order, you can then work out
what number is the median. In other words, what number is in
the middle? If no number is in the middle, use the two numbers
that are both in the middle; add them up and divide by 2.
Range
• In ascending order, the range is from the smallest number to
the biggest number.
EXAMPLE NUMERICAL REASONING QUESTIONS 29
Percentage Increase
To work out the percentage increase of a set of data, you need to
remember this formula:
Percentage Decrease
To work out the percentage decrease of a set of data, you need
to remember this formula:
M M M
D V D V D V
Upper quartile
Lower quartile Median
Highest value
Lowest value
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
• From the above box and whisker plot, the value of each are as
follows:
o Lowest value = 12
o Lowest quartile = 14
o Median = 16
o Upper quartile = 18
o Highest value = 22
• The use of box and whisker plots are to help evaluate a set of
data and determine the range and quartiles of information.
EXAMPLE NUMERICAL REASONING QUESTIONS 31
Hectares
Work out the area of the shape. Write your answer in hectares.
100cm
400cm
300cm
500cm
Hectares
The important thing to remember when dealing with hectares, is to
use this information as a guideline:
Example
For the above example, to work out the area of the shape in
hectares, you need to work out the area of the shape first, and
then convert the centimetres into metres.
Velocity Graphs
12
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time
Equation Correspondence
Answer = C
Powers
4¹¹.
Gradients
Negative gradients
Exchange Rate
• If you had to exchange £200 into euros which had the exchange
rate of 1.1.46, you would multiply how much you want to
exchange (£200) by the exchange rate (1.46).
• So, 200 x 1.46 = 292 euros.
EXAMPLE NUMERICAL REASONING QUESTIONS 35
Compound Interest
Compound Interest
For example, if you financed a car and had to pay 4.6% interest
per year for 3 years, including compound interest, based on the
rate of £560.
30 men take a dip in a swimming pool 40m long and 30m broad. If
the average displacement of water by a man is 4m³, what will the
rise in the water level be?
Question 1
12 x 4
Question 2
329 + 234
Question 3
10% of 1,000
Question 4
500 ÷ 4
Question 5
3
/4 of 60
Question 6
£5.34 + 169p
40 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Question 7
30 x 5
Question 8
25% of 250
Question 9
43,234 - 1,495
Question 10
23.5 + 5
Question 11
42.4 + 234.7
Question 12
£3.47 + £83.43
NUMERICAL PREP (MENTAL ARITHMETIC) 41
Question 13
288 ÷ 4
Question 14
40% of £900
Question 15
3
/5 of 700
Question 16
18 x 3
Question 17
50 x 8
Question 18
429,485 + 3.586
42 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Question 19
75 x 5
Question 20
0.45 + 13.6
Question 21
/5 of 25,000
1
Question 22
82 + 45 + 19
Question 23
5,000 - 82
Question 24
3
/4 of 150,000
NUMERICAL PREP (MENTAL ARITHMETIC) 43
Question 25
860 ÷ 20
Question 26
£39.47 - £19.04
Question 27
70% of 450
Question 28
2x2x4
Question 29
28 x 2
Question 30
9x9+3
44 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Q1. 48
Q2. 563
Q3. 100
Q4. 125
Q5. 45
Q6. £7.03
Q7. 150
Q8. 62.5
Q9. 41,739
Q10. 28.5
Q11. 277.1
Q12. 86.90
Q13. 72
Q14. 360
Q15. 420
Q16. 54
Q17. 400
Q18. 433,071
Q19. 375
Q20. 14.05
Q21. 5,000
Q22. 146
Q23. 4,918
Q24. 112,500
Q25. 43
Q26. £20.43
Q27. 315
NUMERICAL PREP (MENTAL ARITHMETIC) 45
Q28. 16
Q29. 56
Q30. 84
NUMERICAL PREP
(WARM UP)
48 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Question 1
A charity arranges a bike race. 120 people take part. 1/3 of the people
finish the race in under half an hour. How many people did not finish
the race in under half an hour?
Answer
Question 2
What is 3/5 of 700?
Answer
Question 3
There are 4,000 millilitres of water contained in the jug. If 1 litre is
equivalent to 1,000 millilitres, how many litres of water are there?
Answer
Question 4
What is the missing angle?
b˚
30˚ 50˚
Answer
NUMERICAL PREP (WARM UP) 49
Question 5
What is 120 multiplied by 13?
Answer
Question 6
Find 60% of £45.
Answer
Question 7
How many lines of symmetry does this shape have?
Answer
Question 8
A packet of biscuits weighs 120 g. Find the weight of 9 packets of
biscuits.
A B C D
1080 kg 1880 g 1080 g 108 kg
50 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Question 9
A square field has a perimeter of 72cm. What is the area of the square
field?
Answer
Question 10
What is 24/48 in its simplest form?
Answer
Question 11
Look carefully for the pattern, and then choose which pair of numbers
comes next.
5 7 9 11 13 15 17 … …
A B C D
18, 19 19, 21 19, 20 21, 23
Question 12
Look carefully for the pattern, and then choose which pair of numbers
comes next.
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 … …
A B C D
12, 18 13, 21 15, 23 13, 22
NUMERICAL PREP (WARM UP) 51
Question 13
Liz has £12.00. Steph has £8.50.
What is the ratio of Liz’s money to Steph’s money, in its simplest form?
Answer
Question 14
A newspaper includes 16 pages of sport and 8 pages of TV. What is
the ratio of sport to TV? Give your answer in its simplest form.
Answer
Question 15
Multiply 6 by 7 and then divide by 3.
Answer
Question 16
Divide 120 by 4 and then multiply it by 5.
Answer
Question 17
What is 9/11 of 88?
Answer
52 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Question 18
An English class of 28 have just sat a mock Exam. The exam has 2
sections – Literature and Language. It takes approximately 6 minutes
to mark the Literature section and 7 minutes to mark the Language
section. Another 2 minutes is given on each exam to check the work
again. How long in hours and minutes does it take to mark the English
mock exam?
A B C D
6 hours 5 hours 9 hours
7 hours
and 45 minutes and 25 minutes and 10 minutes
Question 19
What is 0.9 as a percentage?
A B C D
0.009% 0.9% 9% 90%
Question 20
Simplify x + 8x − 3x.
A B C D
5x 6x 7x 12x
Question 21
Using the rule of BIDMAS, work out 23.7 – 2.5 x 8.
Answer
NUMERICAL PREP (WARM UP) 53
Question 22
There are 20 buttons in a bag. 12 are red, 5 are green and the rest are
white. A button is chosen at random. Work out the probability that it is
white.
Answer
Question 23
On a school trip at least 1 teacher is needed for every 8 students. Work
out the minimum number of teachers needed for 138 students.
Answer
Question 24
Translate the triangle so that point A moves to point B. Draw your
translation on the graph.
B
54 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Question 25
Rotate the triangle 90° clockwise so that point A moves to point B.
Draw your rotation on the graph.
Question 26
The school day starts at 08:45. They have 15 minutes form time and
then a 25 minute assembly before the first lesson starts. What time
does the first lesson start?
Answer
Question 27
A cinema has 27 rows of seats, 28 seats in each row. Tickets are £8
each.
The cinema has sold tickets for every seat apart from 5. Estimate how
much, to the nearest hundred, the cinema will make, based on the
information provided.
Answer
NUMERICAL PREP (WARM UP) 55
Question 28
How many grams are there in 2.5 kilograms?
A B C D
0.0025g 250g 2005g 2500g
Question 29
What is the value of 9 in 5.92?
A B C D
9/10 1/9 1/90 9/100
Question 30
The scatter graph shows the number of driving lessons and the number
of tests taken to pass by 10 people.
What proportion of the 10 people passed on their first test?
7
5
Number of tests to pass
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75
Number of driving lessons
Answer
56 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Q1. 80
EXPLANATION = 120 (total number of people) ÷ 3 = 40. This is equal
to 1/3. Therefore: 40 x 2 = 80 (this gives you 2/3 - which is the number of
people who didn't finish the race in under half an hour).
Q2. 420
EXPLANATION = 700 ÷ 5 x 3 = 420.
Q3. 4
EXPLANATION = there are 1,000 millilitres in 1 litre.That means 4,000
millilitres, would be equivalent to 4 litres.
Q4. 100°
EXPLANATION = the angle makes a straight line. A straight line
contains angles which add up to 180°.
Q5. 1,560
EXPLANATION = 120 x 13 = 1,560.
Q6. £27
EXPLANATION = £45 ÷ 100 x 60 = £27.
Q7. 0
EXPLANATION = this shape is a parallelogram, and these shapes do
not contain a line of symmetry. No matter where you draw the reflection
line, the shape cannot be reflected symmetrically.
Q8. C = 1,080 g
EXPLANATION = 120 x 9 = 1,080 g. Pay attention to the measurements;
the question is in grams (g), so therefore your answer should also be in
grams, unless stated otherwise.
NUMERICAL PREP (WARM UP) 57
Q10. ½
EXPLANATION = 24/48, both numbers can be divided by 24. It goes into
24 once, and goes into 48 twice. Therefore it gives the fraction of ½.
Q11. B = 19, 21
EXPLANATION = this is a series of repetition. The regular series adds
2 to every number.
Q12. B = 13, 21
EXPLANATION = this is a Fibonacci number sequence. The sequence
follows the pattern of adding the two previous numbers together in
order to get the next number. For example, the 8 is found by adding the
5 and the 3 together, and so forth.
Q13. 24:17
EXPLANATION = both amounts are in pounds. We have to convert
both amounts into pence. £12.00 = 1200p. £8.50 = 850p. Now the ratio
is 1200:850. Both sides are divisible by 50. Dividing both sides by 50
gives 24:17. So the ratio is 24:17.
Q14. 2:1
EXPLANATION = the answer is 2:1. You can divide both sides of 16:8
by 8.
Q15. 14
EXPLANATION = 6 x 7 = 42 ÷ 3 = 14.
Q16. 150
EXPLANATION = 120 ÷ 4 = 30 x 5 = 150.
58 Numerical Reasoning Tests
Q17. 72
EXPLANATION = 88 ÷ 11 = 8 x 9 = 72.
Q18. C = 7 hours
EXPLANATION = total time spent marking one exam = 6 minutes
(Literature) + 7 minutes (Language) + 2 minutes (checking) = 15
minutes. So, 28 exams will take = 15 (minutes) x 28 (exams) = 420
minutes. Converted into hours and minutes = 7 hours.
Q19. D = 90%
EXPLANATION = 0.9 x 100 = 90%.
Q20. B = 6x
EXPLANATION = x + 8x = 9x. So, 9x – 3x = 6x.
Q21. 3.7
EXPLANATION = this question asks you to use the method of BIDMAS:
• 2.5 x 8 = 20.
• 23.7 – 20 = 3.7
Q22. 3 or 3/20
EXPLANATION = 20 – 12 – 5 = 3. So your chances of picking a white
button is 3 out of a possible 20.
Q23. 18
EXPLANATION = 138 ÷ 8 = 17.25. You need one teacher for every
8 students, therefore you would need 18 members of staff in order to
cater for 138 students.
B
NUMERICAL PREP (WARM UP) 59
Q26. 09:25
EXPLANATION = 08:45 add 15 minutes (form time) = 9 o’clock. 9
o’clock add 25 minutes (assembly time) = 09:25.
Q27. £6,000
EXPLANATION = 27 rows of 28 seats = 756 – 5 (that are empty) = 751.
751 (number of seats) x £8 = £6,008. To the nearest hundred = £6,000.
Q28. D = 2,500g
EXPLANATION = there are 1,000g in 1 kilogram. Therefore, 2,500g is
equivalent to 2.5 kg (2.5 x 1,000 = 2,500g).
Q29. A = 9/10
EXPLANATION = we use decimal points to distinguish whole parts
from separate parts (tenths, hundredths, thousandths, etc.). A tenth is
1
/10 of a unit, therefore the 9 represents 9 tenths of part of a unit.