Ohio Civil Service Exam Clerical Aptitude 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A clerk needs to file documents for clients named Harris, Harrington, Hart, and Harrison. In what order should they be filed alphabetically?
- Harris, Harrington, Harrison, Hart
- Harrington, Harrison, Harris, Hart (Correct answer)
- Harrington, Harris, Harrison, Hart
- Hart, Harrington, Harrison, Harris
Correct answer: Harrington, Harrison, Harris, Hart
Alphabetical filing compares letters position by position: Harrington comes before Harris (i vs. s at position 8), Harrison before Harris, and Hart last.
Question 2: Which of the following numbers is NOT in ascending order?
- 1,245 / 1,425 / 1,524 / 1,542
- 3,001 / 3,010 / 3,100 / 3,110
- 7,862 / 7,826 / 7,892 / 7,928 (Correct answer)
- 2,134 / 2,143 / 2,314 / 2,341
Correct answer: 7,862 / 7,826 / 7,892 / 7,928
In option C, 7,826 comes after 7,862 but is smaller, so the sequence is not ascending.
Question 3: A state office receives 480 pieces of mail per day. If a clerk can process 60 pieces per hour, how many hours will it take to process the daily mail?
- 6 hours
- 7 hours
- 8 hours (Correct answer)
- 9 hours
Correct answer: 8 hours
480 ÷ 60 = 8 hours to process the full day's mail.
Question 4: When proofreading, a clerk finds the phrase 'the the report.' What type of error is this?
- Spelling error
- Punctuation error
- Repeated word error (Correct answer)
- Capitalization error
Correct answer: Repeated word error
A repeated word error occurs when the same word appears consecutively by mistake.
Question 5: A clerk is transcribing phone messages and hears the number '5-5-5-0-1-2-3.' How should this be written?
- 555-0123 (Correct answer)
- 5550-123
- 55-50-123
- 5-550-123
Correct answer: 555-0123
Standard U.S. phone number format for a 7-digit local number is written as 555-0123.
Question 6: Which word is spelled correctly?
- Recieve
- Neccessary
- Accommodate (Correct answer)
- Seperate
Correct answer: Accommodate
'Accommodate' is spelled correctly; the others misspell 'receive,' 'necessary,' and 'separate.'
Question 7: An office uses a color-coded filing system where red = urgent, yellow = pending, and green = completed. A clerk misfiled a completed document under the red category. What is the most immediate consequence?
- The document will be permanently lost
- Staff may treat a completed item as urgent (Correct answer)
- The filing cabinet will be overfilled
- The document will be automatically rerouted
Correct answer: Staff may treat a completed item as urgent
Misfiling a completed document as urgent causes staff to waste time treating resolved matters as requiring immediate action.
Ohio Civil Service Exam Clerical Aptitude 2
A clerk needs to file documents for clients named Harris, Harrington, Hart, and Harrison.
In what order should they be filed alphabetically?