Maths/aptitude questions help.

[PH4NT0MBL4DE]

I have applied for an entry level It tech job and now have to complete a logic and aptitude test. I cant even do the sample questions! Just out of curiosity could some of you ocuk geniusis work out these questions and explain how you work it out?

A few examples:

1. In a certain company, 30 percent of the men and 20 percent of the women attend night school. If 40
percent of all employees are men, what percent of all the employees attend night school?

a.15 b.24 c.35 d.44 e.none

2. The length of the shadow of a flagpole was found to be 72 metres. The shadow of a 3-metre picket
fence in line with the flagpole was 4 metres. What is the height of the flagpole?

a. 54 metres b. 63 metres c. 27 metres d. 84 metres e. none

3. The sum of both digits, of either of two two-digit numbers, in whatever order the digits are written, is 9. The square of either of the digits of either number, minus the product of both digits, plus the
square of the other digit is the number 21. The numbers are _______?

a. 36, 63 b. 81, 18 c. 27, 72 d. 45, 54 e. none

Thanks

 

[Dis86]

Perhaps you're not suited for the job?

 

[dowie]

I think Dis86 is right - someone else solving or telling you the answers for those sample questions isn't going to help very much.

The first one is just straight forward percentages - 30% of 40% and 20% of 60%

the second - think of a triangle

the last - the first statement applies to all the options, you could (but don't really need to) work through all possibilities for the second statement - both need to be true and you can see straight away that some won't fit

 

[Avenged7Fold]

I would look at some basic maths lessons for the sake of your own confidence and understanding if you are failing these questions and want a role there.

Weird but i find myself agreeing with Dis and Dowie for not the first time today!

 

[Dis86]

Weird but i find myself agreeing with Dis and Dowie for not the first time today!

Pft, you say that like it's a bad thing.

 

[dowie]

Weird but i find myself agreeing with Dis and Dowie for not the first time today!

 

[jonessa]

How old is the OP?

 

[exhashdotdot]

I think people will be more willing to help you if you at least attempt to solve the questions.

 

[Avenged7Fold]

I think people will be more willing to help you if you at least attempt to solve the questions.

Yup, attempt the question and at least people can show you where you are going wrong or explain what you are stuck on.

 

[esoteric]

This guy may be an IT genius, the next Bill Gates, but we'll never know because of some irrelevant questions pertaining to the job were an obstacle.

 

[adolf hamster]

Spoiler: As others have said- have a good crack at them first before reading

1. b- 24
calculation: [0.3*0.4]+[0.2*0.6] gives 0.24, multiply by 100 to get 24%

2. b- 54m
calculation:
x/72=3/4
x=[3*72]/4
x=54m

3. d-45,54

calculation:
a+b=9
b=9-a

a²-ab+b²=21
therefore

a²-a(9-a)+(9-a)²=21
a²-9a+a²+81-9a-9a+a²=21
3a²-27a+81=21
3a²-27a+60=0
from this you do your standard "guessing" of the product and sum, or use the good ol' (-b±(b²-4ac)^0.5)/2a
in this case we can guess 15 and 12:

(3a²-12a)(-15a+60)=0
3a(a-4)-15(a-4)=0
(3a-15)(a-4)=0

which tells us a is either 5 or 4
substituting back into b=9-a gives us 4 or 5 depending on which value of a we take
ergo the answer, which tbh would probably be quicker to guess by just plugging in the numbers to see which option worked, is d

that third one, if it's a timed test, looks like one of those "handling pressure" questions designed for a certain section to be nigh on impossible to complete within time. they want to see if you:
a.get to the first long question, and spend all your time trying to do it
b.skip the first long question, do all the easy questions then go back to the long one
c.wing it and hazard a guess, even if it's wrong

 

[dowie]

that third one, if it's a timed test, looks like one of those "handling pressure" questions designed for a certain section to be nigh on impossible to complete within time. they want to see if you:
a.get to the first long question, and spend all your time trying to do it
b.skip the first long question, do all the easy questions then go back to the long one
c.wing it and hazard a guess, even if it's wrong

I think that is overthinking it a bit - I don't see the last one as particularly long winded - can be solved as quickly as the others:

Spoiler

this was my though process I hinted at in post 3

you see at first glance that all of them fit the first condition
you know 8^2 is 64 and 7^2 is 49 - both too large for the second condition so eliminate both of those options and just work out the other two quickly
36 - 18 + 9 = 27
25 - 20 + 16 = 21
and you get your answer: d

 

[Tealc]

Just answer none for all of them.

 

[PH4NT0MBL4DE]

Firstly i would like to thank the few people who took the time to answer and explain the questions.

I just want to explain that i had already decided before creating this thread that this job isnt for me. I had already tried to answer the questions on my own but i just cant get my head around it.

I fail to see how an entry level It tech job needs this level of Maths. The salary is only 15k a year. a lot of you guys are making out that this is basic maths. I disagree. I have only done upto GCSE level maths which i would class as basic and never encountered anything to this level.

I asked as i was curious and wanted to better my own knowledge not to cheat my way into a job.

 

[Dis86]

It really is GCSE level - it's just a compilation of topics you would have learned. Basic percentages and a bit of number manipulation.

 

[balky12]

1 = B
2 = A
3 = E

I think? if so what do I win?

 

[dowie]

sorry, you got the last one wrong balky

 

[dowie]

I fail to see how an entry level It tech job needs this level of Maths. The salary is only 15k a year. a lot of you guys are making out that this is basic maths. I disagree. I have only done upto GCSE level maths which i would class as basic and never encountered anything to this level.

This is below GCSE level tbh..

it is just an aptitude test and requires some basic numeracy to attempt it - they maybe find this more useful as a way of screening entry level candidates they intend to train up themselves. I mean does it matter if one guy knows a bit of SQL or has some basic vendor certificate and some other candidate doesn't? Entry level skills are easy enough to train, testing for people's raw ability is perhaps more useful if a company perhaps has their own in house training program etc..

 

[PH4NT0MBL4DE]

On question 1. Why do you multiply the two percentages for men and the two for the women?

 

[SlyReaper]

I fail to see how an entry level It tech job needs this level of Maths. The salary is only 15k a year. a lot of you guys are making out that this is basic maths. I disagree. I have only done upto GCSE level maths which i would class as basic and never encountered anything to this level.

Sorry for being harsh, but if that's true, then GCSEs really aren't worth the paper they're written on. That maths was very basic. The last one was written in an unnecessarily confusing way, but it only takes a minute to unpick its meaning - you don't even need to know quadratic equations, because it's multiple choice, you can just try each option until one works. If I'm employing someone for any kind of technical role, even entry level IT support, I would expect them to be able to work those out without too much trouble.