Texas Civil Service Exam Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Texas Civil Service Exam facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. A fire ladder is 85 feet long and leans against a building at a 70° angle from the ground. Using sin(70°) ≈ 0.94, approximately how high does the ladder reach? → 80 feet
2. A Texas civil service rule prohibiting discrimination in employment most directly implements which federal law? → Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
3. Which option correctly uses a comma after an introductory clause? → Before the shift ended, the supervisor reviewed all reports.
4. Which of the following best describes a 'bearing' in navigation? → A direction measured as degrees clockwise from north
5. Which leadership style is most appropriate when supervising highly experienced employees who require little direction? → Delegative, because experienced and competent employees can work with greater autonomy
6. A city in Texas with a population of 10,000 or more that operates a police department must adopt civil service rules under which law? → Texas Local Government Code Chapter 143
7. What is the purpose of a job task analysis in civil service employment? → To identify the specific tasks, knowledge, and abilities required for a position
8. A report states that crime in a district fell from 840 incidents last year to 714 this year. What is the percentage decrease? → 15%
9. On a topographic map, contour lines that are spaced very close together indicate: → A steep terrain feature
10. An investigator has 6 hours to review case files. Each file takes 45 minutes. How many complete files can be reviewed in the allotted time? → 8
11. Which of the following sequences is in correct alphabetical order? → Davis, Dawson, Day, Dean
12. Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct and most clearly written for an official report? → After reviewing all proposals, the committee has made its decision.
13. A circuit has two resistors in parallel: one 4-ohm and one 12-ohm resistor. What is the total resistance? → 3 ohms
14. Complete the following number series: 5, 8, 12, 17, 23, ___ → 30
15. A pulley system uses one fixed and one movable pulley. If you pull the rope 4 feet, how far does the load rise? → 2 feet
16. A Texas civil service commission typically consists of how many members? → 3
17. A fuel tank holds 60 gallons. A vehicle gets 18 miles per gallon. How far can it travel on a full tank? → 1,080 miles
18. Which Texas statute governs civil service for firefighters and police officers in cities with populations over 10,000? → Texas Local Government Code Chapter 143
19. An employee earns $22.50 per hour and receives 1.5× pay for overtime hours beyond 40. If they work 48 hours in a week, what is their total gross pay? → $1,170
20. A department's expenses for January through April were $14,200, $13,800, $15,600, and $14,400. What is the average monthly expense? → $14,500
21. If a fire truck holds 500 gallons of water and uses 35 gallons per minute, approximately how many minutes of water supply does it carry? → 14 min
22. A department's electricity bill was $980 in January and decreased by 15% in February. What was the February bill? → $833
23. Under Chapter 143, which of the following is an example of conduct that constitutes a violation warranting disciplinary action? → Engaging in political activity prohibited by the chapter
24. Which word correctly completes the sentence: 'The officer _____ the suspect's alibi before making an arrest.' → verified
25. If only employees with Level 3 clearance can access File Room B, and the file room was accessed, what can be deduced? → The person who accessed it had Level 3 clearance
26. A police department has 480 officers. If 1 in every 6 is assigned to the detective division, how many detectives are there? → 80
27. When a municipal civil service commission is established under Chapter 143, how many commissioners must be appointed? → 3
28. When a supervisor delegates a task to an employee, which of the following remains the supervisor's responsibility? → Accountability for the overall outcome of the delegated task
29. A city's crime rate dropped from 480 incidents per month to 372 incidents per month. What is the percent decrease? → 22.5%
30. A deductive argument is considered VALID when: → Its conclusion follows necessarily from its premises