MOCK INTERVIEW 2015

PSYCHOMETRIC TEST

Time Allowed:
The test paper is 11 pages (including instructions and blank page)

TOTAL: 30 MARKS
Section 1: 5 marks
Section 2: 5 marks
Section 3: 20 marks
Section 1 and 2 consists of five multiple choice questions each.
Answer all 10 multiple choice questions on the multiple choice answer sheet
provided. Each question is worth 1 mark, for a total of 10 marks.
Section 3 consists of six problems, some requiring working out.
Answer all six problems in the examination booklet provided. There is no need for an
exact answer, only your approach to the question. Each question will be marked
differently depending on method, for a total of 20 marks.

Name:
Degree:
Year:
1

Section 1: Situational Judgement

1. You are a department manager and you have recently thought of a new procedure that
you believe would improve the work process. Some of the employees in your department
agree with the change and some do not. One of your employees openly criticises the idea
to your director.
What would you do and why? Choose ONE option. (1 mark)
A. You decide not to respond to the critics in order to avoid unnecessary conflict.
B. You reprimand the employee for going over your head to the director and work to
promote your idea with even more enthusiasm.
C. You meet the employee for a talk and explain that bypassing your authority is
unacceptable.
D. Employees' trust in their manager is important so you decide to implement only some
of the changes to keep my employees satisfied.
2. At a marketing meeting with your supervisor and the senior marketing manager you find
yourself in the midst of a conflict between them. You know that the two do not get along
professionally and that they are in constant disagreement. They are now arguing about
strategies for a new campaign, and are asking you to pick a side.
What would you do and why? Choose ONE option. (1 mark)
A. You accept the idea of the senior marketing manager. Since she is more senior she
has more influence on your status in the company and therefore it is politically wiser
to support her.
B. You accept the idea of your supervisor. Since he is directly above you, he has more
influence on your daily routine in the company and therefore it is politically wiser to
support him.
C. You weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each side and decide
accordingly without getting involved in their personal conflict.
D. You believe that getting involved in this dispute would be detrimental to you as both
sides are superior to you. Therefore, you refuse to pick a side saying that both
strategies are equally successful.

3. The company you work for is experiencing financial difficulties. You have thought of a
creative solution that will enable it to recruit more clients. However, the downside is that
the company will have to let go a stable, loyal but not so profitable client (due to a conflict
of interest). Two out of three marketing people agree with you while your manager does
not because she believes this is too risky.
What would you do and why? Choose the ONE option. (1 mark)
A. You trust your manager's judgement and withdraw your proposition. There's no point
in going against her better judgement.
B. You present a document to your manager systematically detailing the advantages of
your proposition and its contribution to the company. If she keeps insisting, you'll
support her decision.
C. You implement your proposition despite the manager's resistance. Since you have a
lot of faith in this proposition, you decide to trust your judgement and go behind her
back this once for the benefit of the company.
D. You confront your manager on the issue and insist that she accept your proposal.
You are positive that you are right. You have the marketing people to back you and
will not give up until you convince your manager otherwise.

4. You've been working in the same place for the past three years and have managed to
work your way up. Lately, you have been feeling that you have reached your potential in
the company so you start pursuing options for advancing your career in other companies.
You are now in the midst of negotiations for a new position. Rumours that you are leaving
have spread in your current work place.
What would you do and why? Choose ONE option. (1 mark)
A. Since the rumour is already out, you update all your acquaintances in the
organisation that you are in the midst of negotiations for a new position. This may
even encourage your directors to promote you within the company.
B. Since it is only a rumour, you don't update anyone until you actually hand in your
notice. Nothing has been decided yet.
C. Since the rumour is already out and you will probably leave, you invest a little less in
your work and a bit more in attaining the new position.
D. Because the rumour is out you update your manager and only him about your
intention of leaving. Since you are still an employee there, you keep working
normally.

5. A co-worker is undermining you. Currently, he is at a less senior position than you in the
company and hasn't been working there for long. However, he is better educated than
you and is also considered a fast learner. You know from a third party that he is
interested in taking over some of your responsibilities.
What would you do and why? Choose ONE option.
A. You wait to see how things develop; at the moment this information is merely
hearsay.
B. You call your co-worker in for a talk. You explain that cooperation is an essential
feature of any workplace and tell him you believe both of you can learn from one
another. If he refuses to understand you take more serious steps.
C. You do not want to take any chances with such issues. You report the matter to your
supervisor and advise him to consider replacing your co-worker.
D. Since you do not want to make a "big deal" out of the issue, you ask a third party to
intimate to your co-worker that his behaviour is unacceptable.

END OF SECTION 1

Section 2: Verbal Reasoning

1. Companies wishing to increase their growing pace occasionally use the method of
franchising which provides a new owner with the permit to use their business identity and
in return to purchase products exclusively from the company. However most companies
will aim to minimise the use of this method and often prefer the expansion of the
companies' own branches. Companies who have previously used franchising learnt the
essential need to monitor the business operation of the franchised branch. Difficulties
arise from franchisees and companies disagreeing on business policies such as customer
care, service delivery efficiency and quality of human interaction. Inadequate attention to
the monitoring of franchisees on the part of the companies is typically the cause of
subsequent problems.
Service delivery efficiency has reduced companies' will to franchise. (1 mark)
A. True
B. False
C. Cannot say

2. In 1695 about 11,400 doctors who had treated plague suffers and about 23,670 doctors
who had not treated plague sufferers died. On the basis of these figures, it can be
concluded that it was more dangerous for doctors not to participate in the treatment of
plague sufferers than it was for them to participate in it.
Which of the following statements would cast most doubt on the conclusion above?
(1 mark)
A. Expressing the difference between the numbers of deaths among doctors who had
treated plague sufferers and doctors who had not treated plague sufferers as a
percentage of the total number of deaths.
B. Examining he death rates for doctors in the years before and after 1695.
C. Separating deaths due to natural causes during the treatment of plague sufferers
from deaths caused by other causes.
D. Comparing death rates per thousand members of each group rather than comparing
total number of deaths.
E. The figures quoted may vary by plus or minus 10% from the actual figures.
3. If Judy comes to the party then Sally leaves the party. If Sally leaves hen either Christine
or Clara ask Brendon to dance. If Brendon is asked to dance by either Christine or Clara
and Sally leaves the party, Brendon accepts. If Brendon is asked to dance by either
Christine or Clara and Sally does not leave the party, Brendon does not accept.
If Sally does not leave the party, which one of the following statements can be logically
deduced from the information above? (1 mark)
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Christine asks Brendon to dance.

Clara asks Brendon to dance.
Judy does not come to the party.
Brendon dances with either Christine or Clara.
Brendon leaves the party.

4. There are two valves at the bottom of a water tank which allow the tank to be drained. If
both valves are opened, how long will it take before the tank is empty?
Statement 1 If only valve 1 is opened, the tank will be empty in 10 minutes.
Statement 2 If only valve 2 is opened, the tank will be empty in 20 minutes.
Which of the statements above make it possible to answer the question? (1 mark)
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Statement 1 alone is sufficient, but statement 2 alone is not sufficient.

Statement 2 alone is sufficient, but statement 1 alone is not sufficient.
Both statements together are sufficient, but neither statement alone is sufficient.
Each statement alone is sufficient.
Statements 1 and 2 together are not sufficient.

5. Pedro goes either hunting or fishing every day. If it is snowing and windy, then Pedro
goes hunting. If it is sunny and not windy then Pedro goes fishing. Sometimes it can be
snowing and sunny.
Which of the following statements must be true?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

If
If
If
If
If

it
it
it
it
it

is not sunny and it is snowing then Pedro goes hunting.

is windy and Pedro does not go hunting then it is not snowing.
is windy and not sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
is windy and sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
is snowing and sunny then Pedro goes hunting.

END OF SECTION 2

Section 3: Problem Solving

1. How many potatoes (kg) does McDonalds sell in a year in Australia? (2 mark)

2. Is there anything interesting about the following sequence of numbers? (2 mark)

8, 11, 5, 4, 9, 1, 7, 6, 10, 3, 12, 2, 0

3. You are given 12 balls and a scale. Of the 12 balls, 11 are identical and 1 weighs
EITHER slightly more or less. How do you find the ball that is different using the scale
only three times AND tell if it is heavier or lighter than the others? (4 marks)

4. Four employees from a firm need to cross a bridge at night to get to a meeting. They
have only one flashlight and 17 minutes to get there. The bridge must be crossed with the
flashlight and can only support two bankers at a time. The Analyst can cross in 1 minute,
the Associate can cross in 2 minutes, the VP can cross in 5 minutes and the Consultant
takes 10 minutes to cross. How can they all make it to the meeting in time? (4 marks)

5. You have 100 balls (50 black balls and 50 white balls) and 2 buckets. How do you divide
the balls into the two buckets so as to maximize the probability of selecting a black ball if
1 ball is chosen from 1 of the buckets at random? (4 marks)

6. Imagine you are the owner of a pet store. If you put one canary per cage, you have one
bird top many. If you put in two canaries per cage, you have one cage too many. How
many cages and canaries do you have? (4 marks)

END OF TEST

BLANK PAGE

MULTIPLE CHOICE ANSWER SHEET

Section 1:
Q1 A
Q2 A
Q3 A
Q4 A
Q5 A

B
B
B
B
B

C
C
C
C
C

D
D
D
D
D

E
E
E
E
E

Section 2:
Q1 A
Q2 A
Q3 A
Q4 A
Q5 A

B
B
B
B
B

C
C
C
C
C

D
D
D
D
D

E
E
E
E
E

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SOLUTIONS
Section 1: Situational Judgement
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

C
C
B
D
B

Section 2: Verbal Reasoning

1. Cannot say - The text explains that service delivery efficiency is a cause for
disagreement between franchisees and companies, but it doesnt mention
whether this is why companies are reluctant to franchise.
2. D
3. C
4. C
5. B

Section 3: Problem Solving

1. Like most of these questions, it's less about how much you know about
McDonald's or potatoes, but rather how you approach the problem.
Start by estimating the number of restaurants in the region. As for potatoes per
restaurant, you could estimate the number of orders of fries or hash browns every
day, and the number of potatoes that go into each order, and the number of
potatoes in a kilo. Hope you're good at mental maths!
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, McDonald's used more than 200 million
kg of potatoes in 2013 in the Australia.

2. The digits are in alphabetical order. (Eight, eleven, five, four, nine, one, seven, six,
ten, three, twelve, two, zero)

3. Weigh 4 vs 4 (1st Weighing). If they are identical then you know that all of 8 of
these are normal balls. Take 3 normal balls and weigh them against 3 of the
unweighed balls (2nd Weighing). If they are identical, then the last ball is
different. Take 1 normal ball and weigh against the different one (3rd
Weighing). Now you know if the different ball is heavier or lighter.
If, on the 2nd weighing, the scales are unequal then you now know if the
different ball is heavier (if the 3 non-normal balls were heavier) or lighter (if the 3
non-normal balls were lighter). Take the 3 non-normal balls and weigh 1 against
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the other (3rd Weighing). If they are equal then the third ball not weighed is the
different one. If they are not equal then either the heavier or lighter ball is
different depending on if the 3 non-normal balls were heavier or lighter in
the 2nd Weighing.
If, on the 1st Weighing, the balls were not equal then at least you know that the 4
balls not weighed are normal. Next, take 3 of the normal balls and 1 from the
heavier group and weigh against the 1 ball from the lighter group plus the 3 balls
you just replaced from the heavier group (2nd Weighing). If they are equal then
you know that the different ball is lighter and is 1 of the 3 not weighed. Of these
3, weigh 1 against 1 (3rd Weighing) If one is lighter, that is the different ball,
otherwise, the ball not weighed is different and lighter.
If, on the 2nd weighing from the preceding paragraph, the original heavier
group (containing 3 normal balls) is still heavier, then either one of the two balls
that were NOT replaced are different. Take the one from the heavier side and
weigh against a normal ball (3rd Weighing). If it is heavier, it is different, and
heavier otherwise the ball not weighed is different and lighter. If, on the 2nd
weighing, the original lighter side is now heavier, then we know that one of the 3
balls we replaced is different. Weigh one of these against the other (3rd
Weighing). If they are equal, the ball not weighed is different and
heavier. Otherwise, the heavier ball is the different one (and is heavier).
4. First, the Analyst takes the flashlight and crosses the bridge with the
Associate. This takes 2 minutes. The Analyst then returns across the bridge with
the flashlight taking 1 more minute (3 minutes passed so far). The Analyst gives
the flashlight to the VP and the VP and Consultant cross together taking 10
minutes (13 minutes passed so far). The VP gives the flashlight to the Associate,
who recrosses the bridge taking 2 minutes (15 minutes passed so far). The
Analyst and Associate now cross the bridge together taking 2 more
minutes. Now, all are across the bridge at the meeting in exactly 17
minutes. Note, that instead of investment bankers, youll often see the same
question using members of musical bands (usually either the Beatles or U2).
5. Just to be perfectly clear, you are assuming that one of the two buckets is chosen
at random and then one of the balls from that bucket is chosen at random. You
want to put 1 black ball in 1 of the buckets and all of the other 99 balls in the other
bucket. This gives you just slightly less than a 75% change of having a black ball
chosen. The math works as follows: Theres a 50% chance of selecting the
bucket containing 1 ball with a 100% chance of selecting a black ball from that
bucket. And a 50% chance of selecting the bucket containing 99 balls with a
~49.5% (49/99) chance of selecting a black ball from that bucket. Total probability
of selecting a black ball is (50% % 100%) + (50% * 49.5%) = 74.7%.

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6. Four canaries and three cages. If you put one canary in each cage, you have an
extra bird without a cage. However, if you put two canaries in each cage then you
have two canaries in the first cage, two canaries in the second cage and an extra
cage.

Algebraically:
C = number of canaries
L = number of cages
CL=1
L (C 2) = 1
From the first equation:
L=C1
(C 1) (C 2) = 1
2C 2 C = 2
C=4
L=41=3
L = 3 and C = 4

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