PROBLEM SOLVING TEST - SAMPLE

MECA Academy 2009

Mark your answers on the attached ANSWER SHEET
Category (A)
1. The drawings show a sheet of paper which has been folded. The dashed lines indicates the whole
sheet, each drawing represent a single fold. The black square shows where a hole was punched.
Where do the holes appear when the sheet is unfolded?

2. Which option has been taken from the same column as the key?
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A B C D
3A,2A,6D 3A,5A,6D 3A,5A,3D 3A,2A,6C
3.
4.
5. Which figure completes the statement?
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Category (B)
6. A certain animal in the zoo has consumed 39 pounds of food in six days. If it continues to eat
at the same rate, in how many more days will its total consumption be 91 pounds?
A B C D E
12 14 10 9 8
7. A dress on sale in a shop is marked at $D. During the discount sale its price is reduced by
15. Staff is allowed a further 10 reduction on the discounted price. If a staff member buys
the dress what will she have to pay in terms of D?
A B C D E
0.75D 0.76D 0.765D 0.775D 0.805D
8. How many numbers between 200 and 400 begin or end with 3?
A B C D E
60 100 110 120 130
9. Aya works 8 hours per day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 6 hours per day on
Tuesday and Thursday. She does not work on Saturday and Sunday. She earns $324 per week.
How much does she earn in dollars per hour?
A B C D E
11 10 9 8 7
10. A machine puts c caps on bottles in m minutes. How many hours will it take to put caps on b
bottles?
A B C D E
60bm/c bm/60c bm/c 60b/cm b/60cm
11. 6 people meet for a business lunch. Each person shakes hands once with each other person
present. How many handshakes take place?
A B C D E
30 21 18 15 10
12. Your MP-3 player will hold all of the songs from 5 of your favorite CDs. If you leave the
songs grouped by CD, how many different orders can you arrange the 5 CD sets on your player?
A B C D E
60 120 180 240 Not given
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13. The cost of a flat in Spain is 1000 Euros per square meter, with a separate charge of 20,000
euros per garage parking space. In addition, there is a 2 up charge per square meter per floor
above the 5
th
floor, due to the benefit of less street noise. Calculate the cost of a 140 m2 flat on the
8
th
floor that has 2 garage spaces.
A B C D E
148,400 f 190,800 f 188,400 f 180,000 f Not given
14. Half the people on a bus get off at each stop after the first, and no one gets on after the first
stop. If only one person gets off at stop number 7, how many people got on at the first stop?
A B C D E
128 64 32 16 8
15. Helpers are needed to prepare for the fete. Each helper can make either 2 large cakes or 35
small cakes per hour. The Kitchen is available for 3 hours and 20 large cakes and 700 small
cakes are needed. How many helpers are required?
A B C D E
10 15 20 25 30
Category (C)
The table above shows the number of nanotechnology papers published by leading US
universities over a six year period. Use this information to answer the following questions.
16. How many papers were published by researchers at Yale in 2002?
A B C D E
50 55 60 65 70
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17. In what year did researchers at Stanford publish most papers?
A B C D E
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
18. In what year did researchers at Duke and Yale first publish the same number of papers?
A B C D E
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
19. In what year did researchers at Princeton publish more papers than those at Harvard?
A B C D E
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
20. Which university published the second highest number of papers over the period?
A B C D E
Harvard Prince Yale Duke Stanford
Category (D)
But man is not destined to vanish. He can be killed, but he cannot be destroyed, because his soul
is deathless and his spirit is irrepressible. Therefore, though the situation seems dark in the
context of the confrontation between the superpowers, the silver lining is provided by amazing
phenomenon that the very nations which have spent incalculable resources and energy for the
production of deadly weapons are desperately trying to find out how they might never be used.
They threaten each other, intimidate each other and go to the brink, but before the total hour
arrives they withdraw from the brink.

21. The main point from the author's view is that?
A Man's soul and spirit can not be destroyed by superpowers.
B Man's destiny is not fully clear or visible.
C Man's soul and spirit are immortal.
D Man's safety is assured by the delicate balance of power in terms of nuclear weapons.
E Human society will survive despite the serious threat of total annihilation.
22. The phrase 'Go to the brink' in the passage means
A Retreating from extreme danger.
B Declare war on each other.
C Advancing to the stage of war but not engaging in it.
D Negotiate for peace.
E Commit suicide.
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23. In the author's opinion
A Huge stockpiles of destructive weapons have so far saved mankind from a catastrophe.
B
Superpowers have at last realized the need for abandoning the production of lethal
weapons.
C Mankind is heading towards complete destruction.
D
Nations in possession of huge stockpiles of lethal weapons are trying hard to avoid actual
conflict.
E There is a Silver lining over the production of deadly weapons.
24. 'Irrepressible' in the second line means
A Incompatible.
B Strong.
C Oppressive.
D Unrestrainable.
E Unspirited.
25. A suitable title for the above passage is
A Destruction of mankind is in evitable.
B Man's desire to survive inhibits use of deadly weapons.
C Mounting cost of modern weapons.
D Threats and intimidation between super powers.
E Cowardly retreat by man.
Category (E)
26. Yehya 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?
A If it is not sunny and it is snowing then Pedro goes hunting.
B If it is windy and Pedro does not go hunting then it is not snowing
C If it is windy and not sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
D If it is windy and sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
E If it is snowing and sunny then Pedro goes hunting.
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27. If 1udy comes to the party then sally leaves the party. If sally leaves then either Christine or
Clara asks Philip to dance. If Philip asked to dance by either Christine or Clara, and Sally leaves
the party, Philip accepts. If Philip is asked to dance by either Christine or Clara, and Sally does
not leave the party, Philip does not accept
If Sally does not leave the party, which of the following statements can be logically deduced from
the information above?
A Christine asks Philip to dance.
B Clara asks Philip to dance.
C 1udy does not come to the party.
D Philip dances with either Christine or Clara.
E Philip leaves the party.
28. 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?
A Labor costs in Korea are twenty percent below those in Germany.
B
Importing tractors into Germany will eliminate twenty percent of the manufacturing jobs
in Germany.
C
The Costs of transportation a tractor from Korea to Germany is more than twenty percent
of the cost of manufacturing the tractor in Korea.
D
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.
E It takes twenty percent less time to make a tractor in Korea than it does in Germany.
29. Oil filters are packed in individual boxes which are then packed into a larger cubic transport
boxes. How many transport boxes of oil filters will fit into the cargo area of a lorry?
Statement 1: Each transport box measures 50cm x 50cm x 50cm.
Statement 2: The length and the breadth of the cargo area 10m and 3m.
Which of the statements above make it possible to answer the question?
A Statement 1 alone is sufficient, but statement 2 alone is not sufficient.
B Statement 2 alone is sufficient, but statement 1 alone is not sufficient.
C Both statements together are sufficient, but neither statement alone is sufficient.
D Each statement alone is sufficient.
E Statements 1 and 2 together are not sufficient.
30. 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?
A B C D E
13/20 15/20 13/15 17/20 13/17
Good Luck
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