Thinking Skills

Ryujin: “This is disappointing. For sure, sellers on Amazon are scammers!”

Which of the following sentences shows the mistake Ryujin has made?

A. Ryujin justifies her claim, solely because many people also have the same opinion.

B. Ryujin may have made a mistake in her order on Amazon.

C. Ryujin’s claim must be accepted because no one else can prove otherwise.

D. Ryujin has drawn a broad conclusion from a single experience of hers.

Micromanaging is a management style in which the tasks and processes carried out by the employees are overly monitored and controlled by the manager. This is a negative type of management where the manager always complains, is never satisfied, asks for frequent updates, and becomes overly involved in their employees’ work, which often slows down progress. These managers often give tasks that are unnecessary to make it seem like they’re doing something and in order to validate their superiority. These managers have an unhealthy ego and have a lack of trust and respect towards their employees. Because of this approach, employees often feel unmotivated to work, which is apparent in the outputs they give. 

Which of the following statements best concludes the argument?

Archie would like to book tickets to a detective exhibition. When he checks the website to find the date of the exhibition, he sees the following message:

“The day of the exhibition comes three days after the day that comes two days after the day that comes immediately after the day that comes two days after Monday.”

On what day is the exhibition held?

The X Academy conducted a reading competition with eight students. Each of them was handed two books that they needed to read as fast as they could. Whoever finishes both books at the shortest time wins. Below are the number of hours and minutes they’ve spent finishing reading the two books.

Who is the fastest reader among all 8 students?

A. Anthony

B. Isaac

C. Judah

D. Asher

Gru: “Stealing the moon is the most evil act because it would make me the greatest villain!”

Which of the following sentences best shows the mistake Gru has made?

A man has 53 socks in his drawer (21 blue socks, 15 black socks, and 17 red socks). A storm caused a power outage, and he is completely in the dark, so he can’t see.

How many socks should he take out to be certain he has at least one pair of black socks?

At a certain university, the following information is given:

• 70% of the students studied maths.
• 60% of the students studied French.

What percentage of students studied only maths?

Find out from amongst the four alternatives as to how the pattern would appear when the transparent sheet is folded at the dotted line.

A perfectionist is someone who strives for flawlessness and refuses to accept anything short of perfection. Perfectionists are highly critical of themselves and the work they give. In the workplace, perfectionists are considered assets because of the high-quality outputs they produce. They have high standards and often exceed expectations. Because of this, companies believe that perfectionists are ideal employees. 

Which of the following statements, if true, best weakens the argument?

• The average of three numbers is 29.
• The average of two of these numbers is 38.

What is the third number?

Samiel is an Australian fan of Harry Potter. During summer break, he decided to go to London to visit some of the places where the movies of the franchise were filmed. Tourists are required to buy tickets to gain access to the filming locations. Samiel plans to visit the sets on the following days of December: 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, and 12.

The rates are as follows:

If Samiel wants to spend the least amount of money, how much would he have to pay in total?

Tyla: “I need to finish reading this book because I saved up for this.”

Which of the following sentences shows the mistake Tyla has made?

Rude people are often considered the loneliest. Happiness is a foreign concept to them, which is also something that people around them hardly feel when they’re present. They go through life as though hostility and aggression are the only ways to deal with people. They often come from a place of negativity and create issues where there should be none in the first place. They are the ones who think that saying “thank you” or “please” still requires effort and practice. That being said, one rude person is enough to ruin someone’s entire day. 

Which of the following statements, if true, best strengthens the argument?

Charlie is carrying a bag of potatoes. The bag of potatoes weighs 5kg if you divide 20 kg by half its weight. 

How much does the bag of potatoes weigh?

In a car dealership, the number of cars on display is equal to 16 divided by a quarter of the number of cars displayed.

How many cars are displayed?

Twitter is a microblogging service, which means that it is designed for sharing short text posts and audio and video clips. Twitter is widely used for real-time conversations due to the ease with which people can share information with millions of other users around the world. Twitter has been a part of the collective record for more than a decade, whether it involves individuals tweeting about their favourite sports teams or public figures using the platform to reach a large audience.

Which of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the argument?

Lucy: “Why did they allow her to be the organiser?”

Louie: “Indeed. She might make everything modernised causing the old ones to just go home and never attend any of our future parties. Also, they might not accept us as family members ever again.”

Which of the following sentences show the mistake Louie has made?

Captain Jack Sparrow needs to buy 18 new spears for his crew. These spears will be used for their next adventure to the Bermuda Triangle. Captain Sparrow only wants to buy from one shop. 

How much will Captain Jack Sparrow pay if goes for the most expensive option?

Anna: “I’m so happy for you, Elsa! You wouldn’t have been able to control your powers if we hadn’t gotten into that fight. It’s funny how the world works.”

Which of the following sentences best shows the mistake Anna has made?

A fleet of UFOs was observed, and pictures taken of them at the same time from different places: one looking from the north and the other looking from the east. 

What is the largest number of UFOs that could be in the fleet?

Three friends – Bianca, Enid, and Tyler – joined the Mario Kart race. Before the race commenced, Luigi found his kart with no wheels. The friends were the suspects, and two are guilty. When faced with the consequence of being disqualified from the race, they made the following statements:

Bianca: “Tyler is guilty.”

Enid: “Bianca is guilty.”

Tyler: “Bianca’s wrong. I am not not guilty.”

However, only two of them are telling the truth. The other one is lying. 

Which of the following must be true?

Television commercials are the most common type of TV advertising. In Asia, most product commercials are presented through a sentimental storyline. For example, McDonald’s was once advertised through a story about a sad friendship. In that ad, two best friends parted ways for good since they got into different colleges after primary school. The memories they cherished the most as they navigated forward with their lives are the times they spent eating their favourite meals at McDonald’s together. Although this form of advertising does not directly advertise the products involved, it highlights the stories that customers experience with those products. This is considered an effective tactic for brand awareness.

Which of the following statements, if true, best strengthens the argument?

The following words have been translated from artificial language:

• “Hikj dheep” means “happy wife”
• “Sdcd cdge” means “long pots”
• “Der defgtvhuk” means “beautiful tea”

Which word could mean “tea pots”?

Only those who have more than 2 years of experience in teaching are allowed to get a masters degree in teaching.

Assuming the given statement is true, which of the following statements must also be true?

A blind man only has black or white socks. In his drawer, he has a total of 4 socks.

• He took out two socks.
• The chances he had taken a pair of white socks is ½.

What are the chances that he had taken a pair of black socks?

It is still a common occurrence in some parts of the world that men and women receive considerably different amounts of money for doing essentially the same work. However, female artists face a double punch when it comes to pay disparity. According to an Australian study done in the year 2020, it was found that incomes of female artists were 30% less than those of male artists. This is true even after accounting for variations in factors like working hours, education and training, time spent caring for children, and so on. This unfair scheme, which women pervasively face in the arts industry, must be eradicated. 

Which of the following statements best encapsulates the argument?

The following chart shows the fuel consumption in kilometres per litre for five different car manufacturers. The cost of fuel is 1.5 USD/Litre.

You have 59 cubic blocks. You would like to construct the largest possible cube from the blocks.

What is the minimum number of blocks needed to be taken away in order to construct a solid cube with no blocks left over?

Creating a New Year’s resolution is a tradition observed by a certain number of people all over the world. It’s a practice where one resolves or makes conscious efforts to change unfavourable habits, continue positive traits, or accomplish personal goals. However, many believe that New Year’s resolutions create pressure and unwanted expectations right at the beginning of the year. Failing to execute or achieve the resolutions thereafter might cause mental and emotional distress to a person. Therefore, if people wish to start their new year right, they should avoid setting New Year’s resolutions. 

Which of the following statements, if true, best weakens the argument?

The following table shows the annual profit for four different companies and the amount of employees they employ.

Mike: “He doesn’t deserve to be the rank one because he’s a loner and has not been here since the start of the school year.”

Which of the following sentences show the mistake Mike has made?