SR Beat the Skitz Mission Impossible Challenge

Jared is a seasoned police officer who has just finished testifying in a high-profile criminal case. The court reporter, Karen, was in charge of transcribing all the testimony given in the courtroom. Karen was highly skilled at her job, as she needed to keep up with the fast-paced dialogue and capture every word accurately. During the trial, Jared gave important testimony that provided crucial evidence to support the prosecution’s case. 

After the proceedings, Karen approaches Jared and expresses her gratitude for his hard work.

Karen: “Your testimony was the only evidence presented in the trial.”

Jared: “Therefore your transcriptions were the sole reason for the prosecution’s success.”

Which among the options best describes the flaw in Jared’s statement?

To ensure that no one else can read their notes, best friends Shara and Randy use a grid code when writing messages. The grid looks like this:

For example, the word BYE could be coded as B3D2D3.

If Randy wants to ask Shara “ARE YOU HOME?”, how should he encode it?

The environment is the sum total of all the natural resources, living and nonliving things that surround us and influence our daily lives. It is crucial for our survival and well-being, as it provides us with clean air, water, and food. Unfortunately, the environment has been facing numerous challenges, such as air and water pollution, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and climate change. These problems are largely caused by human activities, such as industrialization, urbanisation, and transportation. Thus, not allowing humans to do activities involving the environment is the best course of action.

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

Five students were named the five highest scorers for the midterm exams. The average of their total scores for each subject will be the basis for their final score. The scores for each subject for the five students are shown in the table.

Which pie chart best represents the final scores of the students?

The education system is a crucial component of any society, as it shapes the future of individuals and communities. It plays a vital role in preparing students for the challenges and opportunities of adulthood, and helps to instil a sense of knowledge, values, and skills. A well-functioning education system can foster critical thinking, creativity, and a love of learning, and provide students with the tools they need to succeed in life. However, education systems are not perfect, and there is often room for improvement. Issues such as underfunding, unequal access to quality education, and a lack of resources can all have a negative impact on the quality of education. Therefore, education systems must be responsive, flexible, and inclusive.

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

Mobile phones use the following keys for forming words when sending text messages.

To form the word RED, for instance, requires 7 to be pressed three times, 3 to be pressed twice, then 3 to be pressed once more.

How many times does the key ‘5’ is pressed when the word ‘LOOK’ is typed?

Scarlet was an avid coffee drinker and always made sure to start her day with a freshly brewed cup. 

One day, she noticed that the cable that connected her coffee maker to the power outlet was frayed and damaged. She was worried that the cable would pose a fire hazard, so she immediately unplugged the coffee maker and decided to purchase a replacement cable. Scarlet searched online for the right type of cable and finally found one that was compatible with her coffee maker. She placed an order and eagerly awaited the arrival of the new cable. When it finally arrived, she quickly replaced the old frayed cable with the new one.

Scarlet: “I only unplugged the coffee maker because I thought it was a fire hazard, but in reality it was just a minor issue.”

Which among the options best describes the flaw in Scarlet’s statement?

The data below shows the number of people applying for a scholarship at a university.

A sculpture is placed in a glass box and displayed in a museum as shown in the diagram below. The sculpture can be viewed from all sides. Which one of the following is not a possible view from one of the sides of the glass box?

Arianese is a language. Here are some sentences in Arianese together with their English translations:

• Pr ld me pwmdjebjd -> It is my favourite.
• Lim thd unebsmrud. -> You are fantastic.
• Kthe mbtc ligy. -> I love this song.

Here is a sentence in Arianese:

• Lim thd me ligy.

Which English sentence conveys its correct meaning?

Shown in the table below is the travel data of Adrian.

The average distance between two times is equivalent to the distance travelled for half an hour for the same span of time.

How far did Adrian travel from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm?

Paul found a new way to send a message to his brother Matthew. Instead of using the normal alphabetical letters, he uses the keyboard keys to write a message. Below is a guide to Paul’s new messaging system:

For example, if Paul wants to send Matthew “HELLO”, he would type “JWCCE”

Paul is planning to send this message to Matthew: “WHERE ARE YOU ”

How will Paul communicate his message to Matthew?

Outer space exploration has been a source of wonder and fascination for humanity for centuries. Beyond the fascination, however, lies a wealth of knowledge, resources, and opportunities that can have a profound impact on our future. Therefore, people should only focus on explorations outside the planet to gain more knowledge.

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

Below are two identical boxes. Also, below is a picture of three of these boxes placed in a line. What are the shapes on the end faces, face 1 and face 2?

Finn was a promising young wrestler who was determined to make a name for himself in the sport. He spent countless hours in the gym, honing his skills and building his strength. One of his favourite training tools was a heavy punching bag that he used to work on his striking power and hand speed. He would often spend hours punching and kicking the bag, gradually increasing the intensity of his strikes as he grew stronger.

One day, Finn was practising his strikes when he noticed that the punching bag was starting to show signs of wear and tear.

Finn: “I can’t give up now. I don’t want all my time and effort to go to waste. This punching bag still works though.”

Which among the options best describes the flaw in Finn’s statement?

Vettel is participating in an F1 race with 10 car racers in total. Vettel started in 7th place. During the race, he overtook some cars and found himself somewhere in the top half of the competitors. After some laps, the leading car and the car in 4th place spun out and got disqualified. After that, Vettel passed 2 more cars then got overtaken by 1 car at the last minute.

What was the result of the F1 race?

Smartphones have undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, becoming an integral part of our daily lives. The advancements in smartphone technology have been nothing short of remarkable, bringing about a new era of connectivity, convenience, and innovation. Thus, its latest update is the best update in the history of gadgets.

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

Emily has a flower stand at a market. The available colours of the flowers she has are blue, red, yellow, and purple.

Emily’s friend, Lily, visited her stand one day. She bought twice as many red flowers as the blue ones, 20 yellow flowers, and some purple flowers. In total, she brought 100 flowers.

Lily decided to resell the flowers she bought. She was able to sell 40% of the blue flowers, 12 of the purple flowers, half as many yellow flowers as the blue ones sold, and all of the red flowers. 

How many purple flowers is she left with if she has 16 yellow flowers remaining?

Orly used the binary number system of coding to send a message to his wife Evelyn. If the message “ACHIEVED” is written as 01000011 01001111 01000111 01001101 01100011 01010000 01100011 01000100

What is the code for DECEIVE?

Research has shown that children who spend too much time in front of screens are at a higher risk of developing problems with obesity, poor posture, and poor sleep habits. They may also be more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and behavioural problems. Moreover, children who spend too much time on screens may have trouble forming meaningful relationships with others, and may have difficulty with communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills. Thus, children should be prohibited from using gadgets.

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

The code for an even-positioned letter in the alphabet is 6, and the code for an odd-positioned letter is 7.

 What is the code for the word “ALTERNATE”?

Ara wants to track her savings each month. Listed below is the amount of her savings per month.

Which month was missed based on the graph?

Leticia had been working in the culinary industry for over a decade. She was known for her innovative dishes and her precise knife skills. She took great pride in her work, and her kitchen was always spotless. 

One day, Leticia noticed that her trusty kitchen knife, which she had been using for years, was starting to dull. Despite its age and wear, Leticia was attached to the knife and found comfort in using a tool that she knew so well.

Leticia: “I can’t bring myself to replace it. It holds so many memories and has become such a big part of my cooking.”

Which among the options best describes the flaw in Leticia’s statement?

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?

Two letters must be placed in each set of brackets so that they form a word when tacked to the letters on the left and another word when placed in front of the letters on the right. The letters placed in the brackets must produce a six-letter word when read downwards in pairs.

RE (_ _) DS

NE (_ _) BE

VA (_ _) EN

What word can be formed?

Olive conducted a survey about her classmates’ most favourite teacher. The surveyees rated the teachers from 1-10, with ten being the highest. The survey results are shown in the table below:

Who is the most favourite among the students if scores 1-4 are considered 0?

Alea uses similar passwords for her five email accounts. All of her passwords consist of 8 characters. She knows that the password for her Email #5 account has exactly one different character from the passwords of her other accounts. Her passwords are shown below:

• Email 1: LpdM&ev=
• Email 2: Lprm&ev=
• Email 3: Lpdm+ev=
• Email 4: Lpdm&eg=

What is Mia’s Email #5 password?

Food demand will more than double by 2050. This will certainly increase the quantity of garbage generated by food and its plastic packaging, hence placing poorer countries under enormous strain to manage waste disposal. To address environmental challenges, we need more sustainable materials that can be recycled or biodegraded. Even now, there has been an increase in the use of plant-based polymers.

Which among the statements, if true, best strengthens the argument?

People should just use public transit as often as possible instead of driving their own cars.

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

Indigenous groups have been shown to have a strong link with nature. They have developed their systems of adapting and predicting the changes of the seasons over 65,000 years. Still, people should not listen to them since only scientists are credible when talking about seasons and the environment.

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

Ivy said, “I want to go swimming this weekend because it’s a national holiday in Australia and I’ll have time to unwind. However, it was reported recently that there has been an increase in drowning cases during holidays among Australian citizens. I don’t want to risk it, so I’ll go to the beach some other time and spend my holiday at home instead.”  

Which of the following best describes the flaw in the above argument?

Mom went to the mall to get some supplies. She has 2 hours before Dad comes to fetch her. Mom chose to stay at the grocery store for 45 minutes because she needed to visit the bookstore, the shoe section, and the women section. 

How much time should she devote equally to the remaining 3 areas before Dad picks her up?

Allen, Kate, Shanaia, Kook, Marilyn, and Jacques are sitting around a circular table in the school cafeteria facing the centre. 

Jacques is on the right of Marilyn and opposite Allen.

Shanaia is between Allen and Kate.

Which of the following is possible?

Mobile phones use the following keys for forming words when sending text messages.

To form the word RED, for instance, requires 7 to be pressed three times, 3 to be pressed twice, then 3 to be pressed once more.

Message: “Bring the pizza to my place tonight”

Which key is pressed the most times together to form the message above?

In 1928, scientist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, which was heralded as a scientific achievement. Since then, scientists have found a plethora of other antibiotics, saving billions of lives. On the other hand, bacteria are getting more resistant to these therapies. Human overuse and abuse of antibiotics are two factors contributing to this.

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

Jack: “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been trained to play chess competitively. However, I noticed that every time I get ready for a game, my head starts to ache. I have a game scheduled for tomorrow, so I should tell my mum to prepare headache medicine”

Which of the following best describes the flaw in the above argument?

Three songs — Perfect, Happy, and Beautiful — are played during an art culmination event held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Each song is played at least once during the event but never more than once on a given day. On each day at least one song is played. Songs are played one at a time. The following conditions apply:

• On Friday Happy is played, and no song is played after it on that day.
• On Saturday either Perfect or Beautiful, but not both, is played, and no song is played after it on that day.
• On Sunday either Perfect or Happy, but not both, is played, and no song is played after it on that day.

Which one of the following could be a complete and accurate description of the order in which the songs are played at the event?

Even in houses without a television, primary school-aged children in metropolitan India have become passionate and frequent watchers of television. As a result, there has been an alarming fall in newspaper readership.

If the information above is true, whose reasoning is correct?

Carl: “Digitising newspapers results in increasing the readership.”

Jason: “A team of experts should be sent to India to study the impact of TV on the readership of newspapers.”

“Mental age” has long justified labelling children with specific intellectual problems, such as being “mentally behind” when compared to other kids within the same age bracket. With the introduction of inclusive education, child rights campaigners are now advocating for its abolition in schools. It is now the educator’s responsibility to teach these youngsters the necessary learning skills so that they can compete with other pupils who are fortunate enough to be in regular settings.

Which among the statements, if true, best strengthens the argument?

Danny, an orange vendor, would like to monitor how much of his orange supply stack up in the last five remaining months before the ber months. The graph below shows the number of unsold oranges for each month.

If he had 20 unsold oranges in the month of March, which table below shows the data of the number of oranges he orders to resupply and the number of oranges sold for each month?

A sudoku puzzle is shown below where instead of numbers, shapes are used. The rules of this puzzle are as follows:

Rule 1 – Each row must contain each of the four shapes, without repetitions.

Rule 2 – Each column must contain each of the four shapes, without repetitions.

Rule 3 – The shape can only occur once in each block (2 by 2 block).

By identifying the arrangement of the shapes in the whole 4 by 4 grid, which shape should be placed within the box marked with a question mark?

An artist has a large project coming up this year, so he calculated how much it would cost to purchase the necessary materials. The total cost of each material is shown in the table below.

They transferred the data to a pie chart but put one of the lines of the pie chart in the wrong place.

The lines between which variables must be incorrect?

Julie always changes the password of her personal computer to keep her brother from using the computer to play video games. She usually uses difficult codes as passwords to make it difficult for her brother to find out the current password of the PC. Her brother knows that she only changes her password in such a way that her current password has exactly one character different from the previous three passwords.

Given below are the three previous passwords that her brother found out.

JB10dL7

JB14dP7

AB14dL7

Which among the options below is the possible current password of Julie’s PC?

Chen, a music gear store owner, counted the number of supplies of microphones he had left. The table below shows the quantity of each type of microphone in his supplies.

If Jant walks to school every day, he will save money on fuel.

If the above statement is true, which of the following statements must also be true?

Pre-workout supplements are marketed as being able to enhance your workout by increasing energy, boosting metabolism, and improving muscle growth. They’re usually taken as a tablet or consumed as a drink around 30-45 minutes before a workout. But lack of research makes it difficult for consumers to understand how effective they really are – and whether they do what they claim.

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

Statements:

I. Some calculators are phones.

II. All scales are rulers.

III. No ruler is a phone.

Conclusions: 

I. All rulers can be calculators.

II. All scales can be calculators.

Which among the following conclusions follow?

In a shape-making factory, shapes are assigned with numbers according to their INITIAL position in a certain arrangement. To form new arrangements, their assigned numbers will be rearranged according to the desired final arrangement.

Example: 

Given the image below:

Which numbers among the options below should be placed in the green box to generate this final arrangement?

Given how most hospitals are costly and inaccessible for many, checking up on one’s symptoms to a doctor may not be easy. Therefore, consulting the internet through credible medical websites about one’s symptoms is more cost-efficient.

Which among the statements, if true, best weakens the argument?

A scientific discovery holds the prospect of altering brainpower to better mirror the mechanisms through which a computer sorts information. This means that rather than attempting to make computers more human-like, humans will strive to become more like computers.

If all of the above statements are true, then which of the following can also be true?

The television programs geared toward women are jam-packed with a range of recipes and domestic advice. The products stated above may also be found in a large section of women’s magazines.

If the information above is true, whose reasoning is correct?

Jam: “Women are not interested in other things.”

Kai: “An average woman’s primary interest lies at home and especially in the kitchen.”

Astronauts should not be sent to Mars due to the significant threat of radiation. Exposure can cause damage to the chromosomes, reduced white blood cell counts, and weakened immunity. While short-term effects may fade within 24-36 hours, long-term consequences can last a lifetime. Although Mars offers many opportunities for discovery, astronaut health must take priority.

Which of the following statements, if true, best strengthens the argument that astronauts should not be sent to Mars?

The piece of cardboard shown below folds to form a house for use with a model railway. The other side of the cardboard is black, which forms the inside of the house.

1. All parrots are birds.
2. All parrots are animals.
3. Some animals are parrots.

Which of the following conclusions logically follows from the statements above?

I. All birds are parrots.

II. Some birds are animals.

III. Some animals are not birds.

IV. All animals are parrots.

During their group meeting prior to their school’s science fair, students Felice, Mary, and Ronea were suspected of having made a crucial mistake in doing their project. Their head coach, Mr. Brian, knew that two of them were guilty. When facing the threat of disqualification, each of the students made a statement. While one of them is lying, two of them are not.

Felice – “Mary is not guilty”

Mary – “I am guilty”

Ronea – “Mary is guilty”

Which of the following statements must be true?

The Running Men, composed of Roman, Randy, Thadeus, Thomas, and Talla, had a friendly foot race to see who among them could sprint the fastest prior to their marathon this weekend.

Randy was able to beat three people

No one came after Thadeus

Talla came immediately after Randy

Roman ranked first

What is the ranking of the whole group?

Some towels are blankets. Some blankets are pillows. All pillows are cotton.

I. Some pillows are blankets

II. Some cottons are towels

III. All towels are cotton

IV. Some cottons are blankets

Which of the following statements must be true?

Therese has a three-digit code for her phone.

• The second digit is one more than the first digit.
• The third digit is the sum of the first and second digits.
• The first digit is 2.

What is Therese’s three-digit code?

During a Sydney-wide high school quiz bowl contest, Jan, Mark, and Vhan were competing for the championship spot of the tournament. They all had 5 rounds and commenced with the following results:

Every 1st place is worth 5 points; 2nd place for 4 points; and 3rd place for 2 points.

What is the minimum score needed for one among all contestants to be guaranteed the win if the sixth round is the last round and that the winner is decided by adding all the points they have garnered within six rounds?

Julius and Erving were trying to figure out how fast their father’s horse could accelerate. They raced the horse to the farm field, approximately 155 km away. The test race for the horse took them 120 minutes.

Julius: “The horse accelerated to 75 km/hr.”

Erving: “The horse accelerated to 80 km/hr.”

Which of the following statements is true?

Mordecai wants to prank text his friend, Daenerys, at night.

Mobile phones use the following keys for forming words when sending text messages.

To form the word RED, for instance, it requires 7 to be pressed three times, 3 to be pressed twice, and then 3 to be pressed once more.

Mordecai sent this message to Daenerys: “PEEKABOO”

Which pair of keys each has an odd number of total presses individually?

Three students – Ralph, George, and Alek were suspected of eating inside the science laboratory. Science Lab Teacher Hesedh knows that 2 of them are guilty. When faced with the prohibition to enter for 2 days, they made the following statements:

Ralph: George is not guilty.

George: Alek is guilty.

Alek: I am guilty.

However, only 2 of the three are telling the truth; the other 1 is lying.

Which of the following statements must be true?

Matthew: “I bet there are 318 graduates who had one medal only.”

Ang: “I think there are 308 graduates who had one medal only.”

Which of the following statements is true?

Scholarly students, according to experts, are great inventors. Some Scholarly students have A+ grades at school. A few of all Scholarly students wake up early. Scholarly students are energetic and confident.

If the information in the box is true, whose reasoning is correct? 

Roxanne: “If you have A+ grades, then you must be a Scholarly student.”

Levi: “Some Scholarly students wake up early, and all of them are energetic.”

If a person is a lawyer, then they are excellent at physics.

If the above statement is true, which of the following must also be true?

John claims that if a person jogs every morning, they will definitely become a marathon champion. 

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

Vicky wants to buy 12 strawberry milkshakes for all her friends. There are 4 shops that sell strawberry milkshakes in the metro. The prices of strawberry milkshakes in each shop are shown in the table below.

Vicky wishes to buy all the strawberry milkshakes in one store to avoid the inconvenience of going from one store to another. But Vicky wants to buy from the most expensive shop to ensure that the strawberries used are fresh. Which shop should Vicky buy her strawberry milkshakes from?

Friendships, where people have mutual care and affection between them, inspires personal growth and happiness. When two individuals, for instance, have created a deep bond, they feel the urge to look out for each other, even going as far as making sacrifices. Many people claim that this kind of relationship brings them a great feeling of security.

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

Recent UN data on food insecurity paints a bleak picture of a growing international problem: global hunger is not only getting worse. Similar to this, CARE, a global humanitarian organisation, projects that in 2021, 150 million more women than men will be food insecure. Despite improvements since 2015, the world’s food security has declined, with 150 million more people going hungry, the majority of whom are women and children, since 2019.

Which of the following statements best concludes the argument?

Everything that runs has feet. Noses run. Therefore, noses have feet.

Which of the following best expresses the flaw in the argument above?

Jacob and Andre are both vying for the position of presidency for the upcoming Supreme Student Council elections. They both presented their plans of action in order to give the students a glimpse of who to vote for. Jacob said in his public speech that his platform of extending school break times would allow students to have adequate rest to participate and excel in class.

Andre: “Students should not believe Jacob. He doesn’t even come from a family with experienced leadership, unlike me, so how can he effectively implement his platform?”

Which of the following best expresses the flaw in Andre’s argument above?

A net with different sides is shown below.

If the net were folded into a cube, which of the following would be a possible output?

Keisler wants to tile his kitchen floor and is trying to decide between his four favourite tiles. However, only one of them is suitable for the job, as three of them won’t cover the floor without leaving numerous gaps. 

Which one is suitable for the job?

Three different shapes are shown below.

Which one of the following arrangements can be made by putting these three shapes together?

Ana is planning to host a pool party at the weekend with her classmates. She wants to purchase 40 bottles of orange juice for everyone to enjoy. While shopping at the mall, she found some stores that sell the orange juice she needs to buy.

Jan: “If you think about it, the priciest shop is $160 more than the cheapest shop.”

Endrina: “The second cheapest shop is Tang.”

Who among the two is correct?

Jackie was curious about what factors students consider when selecting a college course. After conducting an online survey this summer, she was able to collate the data below.

She transferred the data to a pie chart, but put one of the lines of the pie chart in the wrong place.

The lines between which variables must be incorrect?

As the general manager of the Mall of Arabia, Mark gathered data on the total number of customers that visited the sportswear stores they had for the day.

Mark created a bar chart representation of the data he has gathered. 

Which of the following bar charts best represents the data in the table?

Jake was tasked to tally the total number of customers that went into the Fully Booked Bookstore for the whole day. For the market research purposes of the business, he kept a tally based on their age. The results can be seen below.

Which of the following pie charts best represents the total number of people per age range for the whole day?

Morisette aimed to keep track of her daily spending for school. As part of implementing this resolution of hers, she made a bar graph as a representation of her spending for the whole week.

Which of the following data best matches the bar chart?

Demarie will be celebrating her birthday next month. As of now, she is already planning her birthday party celebration to be held at her parents’ lake house. She was able to list down the following things she needs for the party: 12 Balloons, 1 Birthday Cake, 5 Large Trays of Food, and 21 pieces of party hats.

What is the difference between the options with the priciest total and the cheapest total?

If the friends end up with 20, 25 and 15 respectively. What rock paper scissors did Troy win?

“Only trained divers can be licensed to navigate deep waters.”

If the information above is true, which of the following is also true?

Jen’s supervisor, Alex Hormozi, always reminds her that restrooms should be cleaned on a regular basis. “Not cleaning the restroom on a regular basis will cause the accumulation of dirt, bacteria, germs, and horrible odour to form inside. If you don’t listen, we will contract infections and diseases as a result of the dirty restroom,” he warned Jen.

Which of the following best describes the flaw in the above argument?

The UK government has reversed course on the COVID vaccine requirement for healthcare workers. Employees in the health and social care fields will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination in order to keep their jobs. The reason is that it is no longer proportionate.

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

A bunch of underpaid employees were staging a protest against their employer.

It was payday, but the money in their payslip was too low for the work they have accomplished. They have been working at the same company for years and their paychecks never seemed to grow with the trend in the cost of living. In fact, it decreased. They came to the conclusion that their employer, Mrs. Riggs, was engaging in unfair labour practices in order to increase her wealth.

Mrs. Riggs decided to face the protesters.

Mrs. Riggs: “You whine about your paycheck? You don’t even have a college diploma.”

Which of the following sentences shows the mistake Mrs. Riggs has made?

In Metroland, a 9-inch pizza and a pitcher of iced tea cost $5.50. In Soveny, a 10% sugar tax on the iced tea increases the total meal price to $5.70. The pizza price is the same in both places.

What is the price of the pizza?

Forcing people into professions they don’t want will almost always result in a poor fit between candidate and job in terms of knowledge, abilities, experience, and drive. Neither employers nor consumers will be pleased. The “Way to Work” approach will be detrimental to the economy as well. It has been proven that it will lower economic efficiency and productivity.

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

In most jewellery stores, the person assessing exquisite diamonds is also the person selling them, which explains why an assessor may claim that a diamond is of higher quality than it is. However, because all diamonds sold at Crystal Cove have written certification, you can be assured of a fair price when buying a diamond from Crystal Cove.

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

Four competitors in a callisthenics competition will receive up to 10 points in each round. The results for the first two rounds are shown in the table below:

In the second and final round, one competitor wants to win the competition outright. 

What is the minimum score they need in the second round to guarantee they have the most points overall?

Missy is arranging her five action figures by size. Soldier Boy is smaller than Fairymane. Magic Man is smaller than Soldier Boy. Lioness is bigger than Magic Man but smaller than Fairymane. Heracles is smaller than Lioness. 

Which two action figures might possibly be the second biggest in the group?

While many have called for a change to phase out cursive writing in the curriculum, others say it actually teaches important skills. Learning cursive writing is said to improve motor and cognitive functions in children. The process of writing cursive is effective at teaching children hand-eye coordination. It also teaches children to concentrate, as they need to pay close attention to the details in writing cursive fonts.

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

The inflation rate of countries during the pandemic has considerably risen. This made the prices of basic commodities increase to stellar heights and the negative effect of such change was greatly felt by the poor sector. To fix this problem, countries should print more money to help people in buying their needs.

Assuming all are true, which among the choices below best weakens the statement above?

Climate activism is what happens when people from all over the world come together to put pressure on national and business leaders to take action to safeguard a liveable future. Climate activists can affect people’s perceptions of the fossil fuel business by using negative connotations. In an era of climate change denial, XR’s 2022 plan marks a turning point for the organisation, with its focus changing from direct action to social media-led campaigns and digital activism.

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

Jerome and Alice go to the same class. They were on their way home when Jerome asked Alice if she saw Selena in class a while ago. She then said that she hadn’t seen her. She thinks Selena skipped school today.

Jerome: “So, she really isn’t at school today. I’m definitely sure she’s on a family trip.”

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

When a person finds themselves unsatisfied with their career, they must not quit. Instead, they ought to seek distractions from their misery. Quitting would simply be a waste of the energy and resources they have already invested in it. If they just bear with it, they might even see the fruits of their labour. Staying with the first career path they chose would be better because it shows grit and determination.

Which of the following best expresses the flaw of the argument?

One morning, Mary felt so disoriented and dizzy that she thought it would be better to just stay home and rest rather than go to school. However, she remembered that she was supposed to present a report along with her laboratory partner that day. She asked her father, Joseph, what she should do.

Her father gave her some medicine and told her to go to school immediately.

Joseph: “If you do not go to school today, you will miss your report. If you miss it, your laboratory partner will likely get mad at you and tell the teacher you’re an irresponsible student. The teacher might believe them and soon, you will have to do all your laboratory assignments all alone and it will be more difficult to get a good grade. I do not want that to happen to you, so I advise you to go” 

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

One particular news station reported that many crimes occur at night because the criminals think they are less likely to get caught in the dark. Thus, it is imperative for parents to keep a curfew for their children to avoid the risk of being victimised.

Janet heard this news report and scoffed.

Janet: “Many people work and socialise at night. Do they want the world to just stop functioning when the sun sets? It’s ridiculous to be apprehensive- we invented lights and electric systems for a reason.”

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

5 Badminton Players decided to have a competition to see who could break the shuttlecock first. 

No one came after Shawn

Paulette beat 2 people

Doyle is in 2nd place

Monica came before Doyle

Where did Lee finish?

Citizens believe education to be a right and not a privilege. Thus, there is strong demand and pressure on the government to ensure that there are minimal barriers to accessing higher education. This led to many countries creating state universities and funding scholarships to ensure that finances don’t become a hindrance to learning.

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

A fleet of UFOs was observed, and pictures were 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?

A sculpture is placed in a glass box and displayed in a museum as shown in the diagram below. The sculpture can be viewed from all sides. Which one of the following is a possible view from one of the sides of the glass box?

Tessie, a supermarket assistant, was in the Produce Section of the grocery store.

Customers who passed by that aisle would always ask about which food items to purchase to kickstart their vegan journey. Kyle, a customer, asked which food items were not sourced from dairy, eggs, honey, and any other items that derive from animal products, such as leather and silk. Kyle has loads of information about veganism because he has done extensive research about it.

This wasn’t the first time Tessie received this kind of question. She would eventually give the same reply she used to tell all those who asked about it.

Tessie: “Vegans are no different from vegetarians. Vegetarians don’t eat meat. The terms are mere fancy synonyms.”

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

The following chart shows the number of dresses and suits sold last week. Dresses cost $350, while Suits sell for $400 each. Dresses are represented by dark grey lines, while suits are represented by lighter grey lines.

On which day did the dress shop earn the most money?

If Manuel drives fast, he will reach the destination early.

If the above statement is true, which of the following statements must also be true?

Glyzel and Mika both love Barbie dolls. All kids who love Barbie dolls are caring. Most of the kids that love barbie dolls are smart. Glyzel and Mika are both caring and creative.

If the information in the box is true, whose reasoning is correct?

Liam: “If a kid is smart, then she must be playing barbie dolls.”

Harry: “All kids that are caring love barbie dolls.”

The chart below shows the number of total enrollees in different schools throughout five years.

In which years did the Medical School have fewer enrollees compared to Law School and Dentistry combined?

Fey has a part-time job to put herself through college. She saves up a part of her earnings to serve as emergency funds for scholastic expenses. The table shows how much money she has saved for the past six months and the expenses incurred.

Which of the following charts best shows the amount of money left at the end of each month?

Tony and his friends have organised a mini-triathlon competition in their neighbourhood. However, due to inconsistent planning, the distances were provisional and participants were unsure how to prepare. At the advent of the competition, the participants had to swim 500 metres, bike for 4 kilometres, and run for 8 kilometres.

Which of the charts below represents the distance covered at each leg of the triathlon?

The chart below shows the population of five different animals in Yellowstone Park over the course of five years.

Which animal showed the biggest difference in population size?

Camilla Cabello’s personal special code for her phone password uses this rule in encoding words:

Each letter in a word is shifted two steps backward in the alphabet (C → A, B → Z, etc.)

BREATH is coded as ZPCYRF, and AGENDA is coded as YECBLB

How would you code the word POLITICAL?

Instead of using normal alphabetical letters to communicate, Alexandria uses the keyboard keys to write a message. Below is a guide to Shekinah’s new messaging system:

Alexandria wants to send her co-worker a message: “PLAY FOOTBALL NOW”

How will the message be encoded?

What a child can do is mostly determined by their talent, and polishing it helps them grow and develop. Talent-development classes improve a child’s growth, but they’re costly and time-consuming, so parents aren’t required to enrol their children, especially if they are already busy with their studies.

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

Every person with less than $1,000 in salary will have tax exemptions.

If the above statement is true, which of the following must also be true?

If someone is mathematically inclined, then they are excellent in statistics.

If the above statement is true, which of the following must also be true?

Kyla wants to make pots. For her to make pots, Kyla has to practise the fundamentals of pottery. In order to practise the fundamentals of pottery, she needs to attend pot-making training for at least one week. For her to have such training, she has to pay for a subscription. It costs $20 to pay for a subscription.

If the information in the box is true, whose reasoning is correct? 

Sarah: If Kyla paid for a subscription, and attended pot-making training once,  then she could make pots.

Marie: If Kyle can already make pots, then she must have attended pot-making training.

Dragons are terrifying to look at. Some dragons are large. Some dragons breathe fire. Some dragons may sometimes be calm and gentle.

If the information in the box is true, whose reasoning is correct? 

George: “A few dragons are large, yet not all of them are gentle.”

Giordan: “If a species can breathe fire, then it is a dragon.”

Steven has a unique method of delivering messages using symbols. He uses a combination of dots, lines, and triangles rather than letters to write messages. Shown below is the guide for the said method.

One Sunday morning, Christa went for a walk with her dog. Christa happened to pass by the Savoir Toy Store and saw a banner that said they recently released their best doll so far. 

When Christa saw her classmates standing in line outside, waiting to buy the newest doll, she hurriedly went home and told her dad about it.

Christa: “Daddy, I need you to buy me the newest doll. I heard that this doll is the best product that Savoir has ever released so far. All my classmates are waiting in line to have it!”

Which of the following best expresses the flaw in the argument above?

Dwayne made use of two flags to communicate a message to his friend during their boy scout camp. Here is a complete guide to their messaging system:

Dwayne needs to send the message: CHRISTMAS

How will Dwayne send his message?

The doorway to Narnia has a keypad lock with a six-digit code.

The fourth digit is the second digit added with one.

The last digit is the first prime number.

The first digit is the first positive even number.

The second digit is the sum of the first digit and the last digit.

The third digit is the difference between the second digit and three.

What could be the six-digit code for the door to open?

Tyson creates golden swords for a weaponry shop. Each of them needs around three and a half bars of gold and a plank of wood to make it. Last year, Tyson was able to manufacture 142 golden swords.

How many bars of gold did Tyson use last year?

Michelle has 7 cubic bricks. Each brick has a different letter on each face. The letters on each brick are:

Brick 1: QWJKLA

Brick 2: CBVONM

Brick 3: LRIQOK

Brick 4: UTRHSM

Brick 5: EOKLIJ

Brick 6: NQWRFM

Brick 7: ESDMBP

Which one of the following can Michelle not spell out with her bricks?

Three students – Micah, Hya, and Jess were suspected of stealing Trish’s backpack during lunch. Miss Amie, their adviser, knows that one of them is guilty. When faced with a five-day suspension, they made the following statements:

Micah: Jess is guilty.

Hya: Micah is not guilty.

Jess: I am not guilty. 

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

Which of the following statements must be true if Jess is not guilty?

There have been an increasing number of reports of juvenile crimes that have victimised young individuals in recent months. Authorities also say that most of these incidents happen at night. This has alarmed government officials in terms of the safety and security of most young individuals. It was later decided by the senate that they would impose a law that would enact curfews from 8 PM – 4 AM for teenagers up to 18 years of age. During the said time, teenagers are not allowed to be in the streets. Otherwise, they would be penalised according to the law. This was deemed the best solution to reduce juvenile crimes.

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

Over the years, children have become more involved in social media sites such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. These platforms provide entertainment to these young individuals, making it enticing and addicting at times. As children are still developing and growing, the various influences that social media has to offer can help them become knowledgeable of the things around them. For instance, social media influencers can talk about their advocacies on environmentalism online. These influences are what children need to be more aware of the issues of the world around them, making their immersion in social media a necessity.

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

AI art refers to any medium of art that makes use of AI technology to produce images, symbols, and visuals with just the use of descriptive words. A user only has to write down what they want from art in order for an AI machine to create it. The way AI does this is by sampling various images around the internet that relate to the descriptive words given to them. This has sparked controversy among traditional artists, who claim that their own artworks are stolen with the prevalence of AI art. It turns out that AI machines could also sample artworks made by artists and use them for a new AI art piece. Protests have been launched online to condemn the use of AI art.

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

Ms. Ligaya, the head coach of the Australian national volleyball team, promised that the players on their roster who did not compete in the Australasian Cup last winter will be guaranteed to play for the World Cup in Morocco this summer.

Henry: “I already played for the entirety of the Australasian Cup. We even became champions with my last-minute clutch point in the final round. I’m sure I’m not going to be able to play in the World Cup anymore.”

Which one of the following sentences shows the mistake Henry has made?

Everyone is keen on getting their hands on the latest release from Apple this month, the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Unlike any other iPhones that were previously released, the iPhone 14 Pro Max 48 megapixel camera captures the best quality photos and videos. This is the dream phone for those who want to post aesthetic pictures and selfies on Instagram.

Yuen: “The iPhone 14 Pro Max is revolutionary, as everyone says. A day does not go by that I don’t hear anyone mention how they like the new phone release. It’s because of this traction that we should definitely get ourselves one of those phones.”

Which of the following best expresses the flaw in Joshua’s argument above?

The prices for Dreamworld’s entrance tickets are shown in the table below.

Krielle will need a ticket for the following days of the month: 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, and 21.

How much is the cheapest valid combination Krielle could use?

Kyla wants to participate in Taylor Swift’s month-long masterclasses. She wants to be there from March 3,4,5,6,7,9,10 and 11. Since Kyle is on a tight budget, she wishes to buy the cheapest combination of tickets available for the masterclasses.

How much is the cheapest ticket combination?

Spike Lee owns a shoe store and has recently recorded the number of sales he earned each month. Below is the breakdown of his recent sales over a span of five months. He also segmented the sales based on the brands of shoes sold.

Kim Atienza wants to recreate his favourite Subway sandwich combo at the comfort of his home. He shopped at a local grocery to get the ingredients he needed – a loaf of bread, two bottles of salad dressing, four tomatoes, and three pounds of ground meat. He was torn between which brands to choose for the items he needed for his sandwich.

If Kim chose the pricier options, how much would he have saved had he chosen the cheaper ones?

Christiano Ronaldo conducted a survey among his Portuguese fans in regards to who they wish team Portugal would face against during the FIFA World Cup 2022. Below are the results of his survey.

Which of the following data sets best matches the bar chart?

A student council was deciding who they would elect as their new secretary for the entire school year. They held a school-wide votation. Below is the list of the candidates and the number of votes they garnered.

Which of the following bar charts BEST represents the data in the table?

Giannis wants to visit DC Land for most of his summer vacation. He also plans to include with him his son, Luka. He planned to visit there from August 3 to 12, consecutively. Giannis wants to figure out the cheapest ticket combinations he could have from the available tickets that are sold per head.

How much is the cheapest ticket combination for Giannis and his son?

Chloe made an experiment on the effects of wiregrass extract in Ascaris that can be found in pigs. The graph below depicts the effects of wiregrass extract on five worms, with added ten percent solution applied to each worm.

They transferred the data to a pie chart but put one of the lines of the pie chart in the wrong place.

The lines between which variables must be incorrect?

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

If Sandra reads her handouts, she will pass the exam.

If the above statement is true, which of the following statements must also be true?

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and Apple iPhone14 Pro are both smartphones. All smartphones can send text messages. Most smartphones are wireless. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and Apple iPhone14 Pro both take good pictures and are wireless.

If the information in the box is true, whose reasoning is correct?

Naomi: “If a phone is wireless, it must be a smartphone.”

Mia: “If a phone can send text messages, then it must be a smartphone.”

Taking the plunge to launch one’s own business requires a certain amount of courage. To succeed, you will need to step outside of your comfort zone and experiment with new things. With that, people should start a business despite the large amount of work required and the degree of risk involved, since the potential for profits is great.

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

Tyla didn’t eat her lunch for a month to save money. She made use of her savings to buy a limited-edition Twilight Midnight book. However, as she read the book, she was dissatisfied with the plot.

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?

Thea wants to buy a new set of coloured pencils. Each set contains 15 coloured pencils. The table below shows the shops that sell coloured pencils and their corresponding prices.

Which shop should she buy the coloured pencils from if she wants to spend as little as possible?

In a cosplay convention of 300 participants, 182 came dressed as anime characters and 93 had video channels where they posted cosplay tutorials.

Which of the following must be true?

Learning exercises both the mind and the body. It exposes you to new experiences, educates your brain to solve problems, and keeps neural networks healthy. These components are beneficial to one’s health. By educating yourself and trying new things, you’ll realise you can adapt and develop, keeping you open to new opportunities. This is the reason why parents should require their children to learn new skills every month in order for them to be the best they can be, particularly in school.

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

There are three chicken wing flavour variations on WingStop: Honey Mustard, Smokey BBQ, and Garlic Parmesan.

Their manager, Kristelle, asked a total of 98 customers about their 2 most liked flavour variations. 

She found that:

• People who like garlic parmesan do not like honey mustard. 
• All people who like smokey bbq also like garlic parmesan. 
• Most people who like honey mustard also like smokey bbq.
• No customer liked all three flavours.

If Abigail likes garlic parmesan, which of the following must be true?

Belle and Mercy want to use a code to send secret messages to each other. In the code, each letter of the alphabet is represented by a one-digit number as follows:

For example, the word BELL would be written in the code as 4-5-1-1.

To test the system, Mercy writes four words about the ocean in the code and sends them to Belle. Belle tries to decode them, and gets the following answers:

FISH

CLAM 

KELP 

TIDE 

Belle is confident she has 3 of these words correct, but she is unsure about the other one.

Which word is Belle unsure about?

Dennis, the transferee student, doesn’t have any friends yet. He is always alone. During his free time, he goes to the library to read books. When the list of honour students was released, he was ranked first place.

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?

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?

Aya wants to bake a cake for grandfather’s birthday. The list of ingredients and their corresponding prices are given in the table below.

Which shop is being represented by the pie chart?

Nelson wants to attend the Westlife Concert. The concert will be a nine-day concert: 1,2,3,5,7,8,9,10, and 11. The ticket prices are given below.

Nelson wants to attend the concert for five days and spend as little as possible.

What days should he attend the concert?

Five friends living in the same house planned to have a night out. One by one, they used the bathroom to take a bath. The clues for the sequence of their turns are as follows:

• Gigi went after Sally.
• Krish went before Gigi and Sally.
• Michelle is the second user. 
• Ness went before Michelle. 

Who is the fourth bathroom user?

Oliver wants to build his own restaurant. Building a restaurant requires a huge amount of money and business permits. To acquire business permits, money is needed. If a person does not have enough money, he or she is allowed to borrow from a bank as long as the person’s monthly salary or income is at least 12.5% of the amount he is borrowing. A person would only have a salary or income if he or she either works or already owns a business.

If the information above is true, whose reasoning is correct?

Marissa: “All people who are working want to build their own business.”

Roldan: “If I want to build my own business, I need a huge amount of money.”

Two letters must be placed in each set of brackets so that they form a word when tacked to the letters on the left and another word when placed in front of the letters on the right. The letters placed in the brackets must produce an eight-letter word when read downwards in pairs.

HE (_ _) LY

HO (_ _) AR

AU (_ _) NK

CO (_ _) CH

What word can be formed?

Rolly, a fisherman, wants to sell his fishes for an affordable price. Four fish markets offered their prices to him. Shown in the table below are their offers.

His total expenses was $1,800 and he wants his profit to be 10% of his total expenses. 

Which shop should he sell his fish to?

Elsa feeds her dogs according to their weights. The table below shows the weights of her dogs.

Which pie chart represents her allocations for her dogs’ foods?

Mica’s grandmother will be celebrating her birthday next week. Therefore, she prepared the decorations and music for the upcoming event and showed her ideas to her family members. Mica is one who always goes for what’s trendy to keep the atmosphere fresh. This preference is apparent in her initial preparations. 

Her cousins, Lucy and Louie, had something to say.

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?