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501CHALLENGINGLOGIC ANDREASONINGPROBLEMS

501CHALLENGINGLOGIC ANDREASONINGPROBLEMS2nd Edition NEWYORK

Copyright 2005 LearningExpress, LLC.All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:501 challenging logic & reasoning problems.p. cm.—(LearningExpress skill builders practice)Includes bibliographical references.ISBN 1-57685-534-11. Logic—Problems, exercises, etc. 2. Reasoning—Problems, exercises, etc.3. Critical thinking—Problems, exercises, etc. I. LearningExpress (Organization)II. Title: 501 challenging logic and reasoning problems. III. Series.BC108.A15 2006160'.76—dc222005057953Printed in the United States of America9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Second EditionISBN 1-57685-534-1For information or to place an order, contact LearningExpress at:55 Broadway8th FloorNew York, NY 10006Or visit us at:www.learnatest.com

ContentsINTRODUCTIONviiQUESTIONS1ANSWERS99v

IntroductionThis book—which can be used alone, with other logic and reasoning texts of your choice, or in combination with LearningExpress’s Reasoning Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day—will give you practicedealing with the types of multiple-choice questions that appear on standardized tests assessing logic,reasoning, judgment, and critical thinking. It is designed to be used by individuals working on their own and byteachers or tutors helping students learn, review, or practice basic logic and reasoning skills. Practice on 501 logicand reasoning questions will go a long way in alleviating test anxiety, too!Maybe you’re one of the millions of people who, as students in elementary or high school, never understoodthe necessity of having to read opinion essays and draw conclusions from the writer’s argument. Or maybe younever understood why you had to work through all those verbal analogies or number series questions. Maybe youwere one of those people who could never see a “plan of attack” when working through logic games or critical thinking puzzles. Or perhaps you could never see a connection between everyday life and analyzing evidence from aseries of tedious reading passages. If you fit into one of these groups, this book is for you.First, know you are not alone. It is true that some people relate more easily than do others to number seriesquestions, verbal analogies, logic games, and reading passages that present an argument. And that’s okay; we allhave unique talents. Still, it’s a fact that for most jobs today, critical thinking skills—including analytical and logical reasoning—are essential. The good news is that these skills can be developed with practice.Learn by doing. It’s an old lesson, tried and true. And it’s the tool this book is designed to give you. The 501logic and reasoning questions that follow will provide you with lots of practice. As you work through each set ofquestions, you’ll be gaining a solid understanding of basic analytical and logical reasoning skills—all without memorizing! The purpose of this book is to help you improve your critical thinking through encouragement, nofrustration.vii

– INTRODUCTION – An Over viewWorking on Your OwnIf you are working alone to improve your logic skills orprepare for a test in connection with a job or school,you will probably want to use this book in combinationwith its companion text, Reasoning Skills Success in 20Minutes a Day, 2nd Edition, or with some other basicreasoning skills text. If you’re fairly sure of your basiclogic and reasoning abilities, however, you can use 501Challenging Logic and Reasoning Problems by itself.Use the answer key at the end of the book notonly to find out if you got the right answer, but also tolearn how to tackle similar kinds of questions nexttime. Every answer is explained. Make sure you understand the explanations—usually by going back to thequestions—before moving on to the next set.501 Challenging Logic and Reasoning Problems isdivided into 37 sets of questions:Sets 1–4: Number SeriesSets 5–6: Letter and Symbol SeriesSets 7–8: Verbal ClassificationSets 9–11: Essential PartSets 12–17: AnalogiesSets 18–19: Artificial LanguageSet 20: Matching DefinitionsSet 21: Making JudgmentsSet 22: Verbal ReasoningSets 23–27: Logic ProblemsSets 28–31: Logic GamesSets 32–37: Analyzing ArgumentsTutoring OthersThis book will work well in combination with almostany analytical reasoning or logic text. You will probably find it most helpful to give students a brief lessonin the particular operation they’ll be learning—number series, verbal classification, artificial language,logic problems, analyzing arguments—and then havethem spend the remainder of the session actuallyanswering the questions in the sets. You will want tostress the importance of learning by doing and ofchecking their answers and reading the explanationscarefully. Make sure they understand a particular set ofquestions before you assign the next one.Each set contains between 5–20 questions,depending on their length and difficulty. The book isspecifically organized to help you build confidence asyou further develop your logic and reasoning skills.501 Challenging Logic and Reasoning Problems beginswith basic number and letter series questions, and thenmoves on to verbal classification, artificial language,and matching definition items. The last sets containlogic problems, logic games, and logical reasoningquestions. By the time you reach the last question,you’ll feel confident that you’ve improved your criticalthinking and logical reasoning abilities. Additional ResourcesHow to Use This BookAnswering the 501 logic and reasoning questions in thisbook will give you lots of practice. Another way toimprove your reasoning ability is to read and study onyour own and devise your own unique methods ofattacking logic problems. Following is a list of logic andreasoning books you may want to buy or take out of thelibrary:Whether you’re working alone or helping someonebrush up his or her critical thinking and reasoningskills, this book will give you the opportunity to practice, practice, practice!viii

– INTRODUCTION –REASONINGCRITICAL THINKINGReasoning Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day(2nd Edition) by LearningExpressCritical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction byAnne Thomson (Routledge)Attacking Faulty Reasoning: A Practical Guide toFallacy-Free Arguments by T. Edward Damer(Wadsworth)Thinking Critically: Techniques for Logical Reasoning by James H. Kiersky and Nicholas J.Caste (Wadsworth)Critical Thinking by Alec Fisher (CambridgeUniversity Press)Brainplay: Challenging Puzzles & ThinkingGames by Tom Werneck (Sterling)Challenging Critical Thinking Puzzles byMichael A. Dispezio and Myron Miller(Sterling)Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User-FriendlyManual by Sherry Diestler (Prentice Hall)ANALOGIES501 Word Analogy Questions by LearningExpressAnalogies for Beginners by Lynne Chatham(Dandy Lion Publications)Cracking the MAT (3rd Edition) by MarciaLerner (Princeton Review)LOGICEssential Logic: Basic Reasoning Skills for theTwenty-First Century by Ronald C. Pine(Oxford University Press)Increase Your Puzzle IQ: Tips and Tricks forBuilding Your Logic Power by Marcel Danesi(Wiley)Amazing Logic Puzzles by Norman D. Willis(Sterling)Challenging Logic Puzzles by Barry R. Clarke(Sterling)ix

QuestionsReady to test your mental abilities? Your 501 challenging logic and reasoning problems begin on thenext page. They’re grouped together in sets of 5–20 questions with a common theme. You can workthrough the sets in order or jump around, whichever you choose. When you finish a set, check youranswers beginning on page 99.1

– QUESTIONS – Set 14. Look at this series: 544, 509, 474, 439, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 404b. 414c. 420d. 445(Answers begin on page 99.)Start off with these simple series of numbers. Numberseries questions measure your ability to reason withoutwords. To answer these questions, you must determinethe pattern of the numbers in each series before you willbe able to choose which number comes next. Thesequestions involve only simple arithmetic. Althoughmost number series items progress by adding or subtracting, some questions involve simple multiplicationor division. In each series, look for the degree anddirection of change between the numbers. In otherwords, do the numbers increase or decrease, and byhow much?5. Look at this series: 201, 202, 204, 207, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 205b. 208c. 210d. 2116. Look at this series: 8, 22, 8, 28, 8, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 9b. 29c. 32d. 341. Look at this series: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, . . . What number should come next?a. 11b. 12c. 13d. 147. Look at this series: 80, 10, 70, 15, 60, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 20b. 25c. 30d. 502. Look at this series: 58, 52, 46, 40, 34, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 26b. 28c. 30d. 328. Look at this series: 36, 34, 30, 28, 24, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 20b. 22c. 23d. 263. Look at this series: 40, 40, 47, 47, 54, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 40b. 44c. 54d. 619. Look at this series: 22, 21, 23, 22, 24, 23, . . .What number should come next?a. 22b. 24c. 25d. 262

– QUESTIONS –10. Look at this series: 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 7b. 10c. 14d. 1516. Look at this series: 7, 10, 8, 11, 9, 12, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 7b. 10c. 12d. 1311. Look at this series: 31, 29, 24, 22, 17, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 15b. 14c. 13d. 1217. Look at this series: 14, 28, 20, 40, 32, 64, . . .What number should come next?a. 52b. 56c. 96d. 12812. Look at this series: 21, 9, 21, 11, 21, 13, . . .What number should come next?a. 14b. 15c. 21d. 2318. Look at this series: 1.5, 2.3, 3.1, 3.9, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 4.2b. 4.4c. 4.7d. 5.113. Look at this series: 53, 53, 40, 40, 27, 27, . . .What number should come next?a. 12b. 14c. 27d. 5319. Look at this series: 5.2, 4.8, 4.4, 4, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 3b. 3.3c. 3.5d. 3.614. Look at this series: 2, 6, 18, 54, . . . What number should come next?a. 108b. 148c. 162d. 21620. Look at this series: 2, 1, 12 , 14 , . . . What numbershould come next?a.b.c.d.15. Look at this series: 1,000, 200, 40, . . . Whatnumber should come next?a. 8b. 10c. 15d. 2031 31 82 81 1 6

– QUESTIONS – Set 224. 18 21 25 18 29 33 18a. 43 18b. 41 44c. 37 18d. 37 41e. 38 41(Answers begin on page 101.)This set contains additional, and sometimes moredifficult, number series questions. Again, each question has a definite pattern. Some of the number seriesmay be interrupted by a particular number thatappears periodically in the pattern. For example, inthe series 14, 16, 32, 18, 20, 32, 22, 24, 32, the number32 appears as every third number. Sometimes, thepattern contains two alternating series. For example,in the series 1, 5, 3, 7, 5, 9, 7, the pattern is add 4, subtract 2, add 4, subtract 2, and so on. Look carefully forthe pattern, and then choose which pair of numberscomes next. Note also that you will be choosing fromfive options instead of four.25. 9 11 33 13 15 33 17a. 19 33b. 33 35c. 33 19d. 15 33e. 19 2126. 2 8 14 20 26 32 38a. 2 46b. 44 50c. 42 48d. 40 42e. 32 2621. 84 78 72 66 60 54 48a. 44 34b. 42 36c. 42 32d. 40 34e. 38 3227. 28 25 5 21 18 5 14a. 11 5b. 10 7c. 11 8d. 5 10e. 10 522. 3 8 13 18 23 28 33a. 39 44b. 38 44c. 38 43d. 37 42e. 33 3828. 9 12 11 14 13 16 15a. 14 13b. 18 21c. 14 17d. 12 13e. 18 1723. 20 20 17 17 14 14 11a. 8 8b. 11 11c. 11 14d. 8 9e. 11 829. 75 65 85 55 45 85 35a. 25 15b. 25 85c. 35 25d. 85 35e. 25 754