Selective Practice Tests

Sample questions

Three questions from exam set 1. In a real paper these are timed and nothing is revealed until you submit; here you can open the answer straight away.

Mathematical Reasoning · sample 1

A rectangle is cut along the dotted lines into four identical squares in a row.

The perimeter of the whole rectangle is 60 cm.
What is the perimeter of one of the small squares?
  1. A: 30 cm
  2. B: 12 cm
  3. C: 24 cm
  4. D: 15 cm
  5. E: 28 cm
Show the answer and working

Answer: 24 cm

Working: The rectangle is 4 squares long and 1 square high, so its perimeter is 4 + 4 + 1 + 1 = 10 sides of a square, that is 10 x side = 60 cm. One side is 6 cm, so one square has perimeter 4 x 6 = 24 cm.

Thinking Skills · sample 2

Gabriella says that zoos should be banned, because it is wrong to keep wild animals in captivity. She says animals should have the right to live in their natural habitats.
Which one of these statements, if true, most weakens the argument?
  1. A: Modern zoos try to give animals exercise and things to do.
  2. B: Some species would have died out completely if they had not been bred in zoos.
  3. C: Zoos let people see wild animals without travelling to another country.
  4. D: Wild animals kept in small spaces can behave in very distressed ways.
Show the answer and working

Answer: Some species would have died out completely if they had not been bred in zoos.

Working: Gabriella's case rests on animals being better off in the wild. If some species would not exist at all without zoos, then for those species captivity is what made survival possible, which undercuts her principle.

Mathematical Reasoning · sample 3

In the two prices below, each ■ stands for a missing digit.
$70.2■$68.5■
What is the greatest possible difference between the two prices?
  1. A: $1.97
  2. B: $2.15
  3. C: $2.69
  4. D: $1.70
  5. E: $1.79
Show the answer and working

Answer: $1.79

Working: To make the difference as large as possible, make the first price as large as it can be ($70.29) and the second as small as it can be ($68.50). The difference is $1.79.

Try a full paper

Exam set 1 is free: four timed papers, marked, with every worked solution.

Try exam set 1 free