NYC - Civil Service Exam Civil Service Logical and Deductive Reasoning 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A city clerk must file 5 reports: F, G, H, I, and J. Report J must be filed first. Report G must be filed immediately after Report F. Report F must be filed before Report H. Report H must be filed before Report I. Which of the following is a valid filing order?
- J, F, G, H, I (Correct answer)
- J, H, F, G, I
- J, F, H, G, I
- J, G, F, H, I
Correct answer: J, F, G, H, I
In option A (J, F, G, H, I): J is first ✓, G comes immediately after F ✓, F is before H ✓, and H is before I ✓. Option B places H before F, violating the F-before-H rule. Option C places H immediately after F instead of G. Option D places G before F, violating the 'G immediately after F' rule.
Question 2: All NYC Transit Authority employees must complete a background check. All employees who complete a background check receive a security clearance badge. Officer Chen is an NYC Transit Authority employee. Which conclusion must be true?
- Officer Chen is a union member
- Officer Chen has a security clearance badge (Correct answer)
- All security clearance badge holders are NYC Transit Authority employees
- Officer Chen has passed a physical fitness exam
Correct answer: Officer Chen has a security clearance badge
The chain of logic is: All Transit Authority employees → complete background check → receive a security clearance badge. Since Officer Chen is a Transit Authority employee, Chen must have a badge. Options A and D introduce facts not stated. Option C reverses the logic (having a badge does not mean you are a Transit employee — others could also have badges).
Question 3: In a civil service written exam, 9 candidates competed. Candidate Williams scored lower than exactly 5 other candidates. What is Williams' rank from highest to lowest?
- 4th
- 5th
- 6th (Correct answer)
- 7th
Correct answer: 6th
If exactly 5 candidates scored higher than Williams, then 5 people are ranked above Williams. That places Williams in position 6 (1st through 5th are the 5 higher scorers). The remaining 3 candidates scored below Williams.
Question 4: Review the pattern: 4, 12, 36, 108, 324, ___. What is the next number?
- 648
- 972 (Correct answer)
- 1,296
- 1,458
Correct answer: 972
Each term is multiplied by 3 to get the next term: 4×3=12, 12×3=36, 36×3=108, 108×3=324, 324×3=972. This is a geometric sequence with a common ratio of 3.
Question 5: A NYC civil service rule states: 'Any employee absent more than 3 consecutive days without prior notice must submit a physician's note upon return.' Employee Torres was absent 5 consecutive days without prior notice. Which conclusion must be true?
- Torres will be formally disciplined
- Torres must submit a physician's note upon return (Correct answer)
- Torres was suffering from an illness
- Torres will forfeit accrued leave time
Correct answer: Torres must submit a physician's note upon return
The rule creates a direct conditional: absent more than 3 days without notice → must submit a physician's note. Torres meets the condition (5 days, no notice), so the consequence must follow. Options A, C, and D are not stated by the rule — they may or may not be true but cannot be concluded from the given information alone.
Question 6: Some NYC Housing Authority employees are certified building inspectors. All certified building inspectors have completed mandatory safety training. No employee who has completed safety training is exempt from annual performance reviews. Which conclusion must be true?
- All NYC Housing Authority employees have completed safety training
- Some NYC Housing Authority employees are exempt from annual performance reviews
- Some NYC Housing Authority employees are not exempt from annual performance reviews (Correct answer)
- All safety training completers are NYC Housing Authority employees
Correct answer: Some NYC Housing Authority employees are not exempt from annual performance reviews
The chain: some NYCHA employees are certified inspectors → those inspectors completed safety training → those who completed safety training are NOT exempt from reviews. Therefore, at least some NYCHA employees (the certified inspectors) are not exempt from annual reviews. Option A overgeneralizes 'some' to 'all.' Option B contradicts the third premise. Option D reverses the logic of the second premise.
NYC - Civil Service Exam Civil Service Logical and Deductive Reasoning 1
A city clerk must file 5 reports: F, G, H, I, and J.
Report J must be filed first.
Report G must be filed immediately after Report F.
Report F must be filed before Report H.
Report H must be filed before Report I.
Which of the following is a valid filing order?