Sample Verbal Reasoning Questions

Verbal reasoning questions are not designed to measure your facility with the English. They are designed to test your ability to take a series of facts expressed in words and to understand and manipulate the information to solve a specific problem.

Employers use verbal reasoning questions to gain an insight into whether you have the key intellectual skills that are the foundation for success in a managerial position. Consequently, these questions are usually restricted to graduate and management level tests.

Sample Verbal Reasoning Questions

1. Pedro goes either hunting or fishing every day. If it is snowing & 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:
    
   1. If it is not sunny and it is snowing then Pedro goes hunting.
   2. If it is windy and Pedro does not go hunting then it is not snowing.
   3. If it is windy and not sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
   4. If it is windy and sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
   5. If it is snowing and sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
       
2. The cost of manufacturing tractors in Korea is twenty percent less than the cost of manufacturing tractors in Germany. Even after transportation fees and import taxes are added, it is still cheaper to import tractors from Korea to Germany than to produce tractors in Germany.
   
   Which of the following assertions is best supported by this information?
    
   1. Labor costs in Korea are twenty percent below those in Germany.
   2. Importing tractors into Germany will eliminate twenty percent of the manufacturing jobs in Germany.
   3. The costs of transporting a tractor from Korea to Germany is more than twenty percent of the cost of manufacturing the tractor in Korea.
   4. The import taxes on a tractor imported from Korea to Germany is less than twenty percent of the cost of manufacturing the tractor in Germany.
   5. It takes twenty percent less time to make a tractor in Korea than it does in Germany.
       
3. In 1695 about 11,400 doctors who had treated plague sufferers died 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. Expressing the difference between the numbers of deaths among doctors who had treated plague sufferers and doctors who had not treated plague suffers as a percentage of the total number of deaths.
   2. Examining the death rates for doctors in the years before and after 1695.
   3. Separating deaths due to natural causes during the treatment of plague suffers from deaths caused by other causes.
   4. Comparing death rates per thousand members of each group rather than comparing total numbers of deaths.
   5. The figures quoted may vary by plus or minus ten percent from the actual figures.
       
4. There are 900 bottles to be filled. Jim and Molly working independently but at the same time take 30 minutes to fill the bottles. How long should it take Molly working by herself to fill the bottles?
   
   Statement 1 -
   Molly fills half as many bottles as Jim.
   
   Statement 2 -
   Jim would take 45 minutes by himself.
   
   Which of the statements above make it possible to answer the question.
    
   1. Statement 1 alone is sufficient, but statement 2 alone is not sufficient.
   2. Statement 2 alone is sufficient, but statement 1 alone is not sufficient.
   3. Both statements together are sufficient, but neither statement alone is sufficient.
   4. Each statement alone is sufficient.
   5. Statements 1 and 2 together are not sufficient.
       
5. Of the teams competing in the world archery championships, twenty percent are from Europe. Half as many are from the United States and one twentieth are from Africa. What fraction of teams are from neither Europe, the US or Africa.
    
   1. 13/20
   2. 15/20
   3. 13/15
   4. 17/20
   5. 13/17

Answer to sample verbal Reasoning questions.

It is not always easy to assess whether someone has the ability to interpret information in an analytical way and to make sound judgments based on their conclusions. This is particularly true if individuals are applying for their first management job and do not have a track record of successful decision making. Critical reasoning questions require you to demonstrate your ability to make logical decisions and even to recognize that insufficient data has been provided for a definitive answer to be reached, as would be the case in many real-life situations.

Download sample verbal Reasoning questions.

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