Texas Civil Service Exam Logical and Deductive Reasoning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: All city inspectors must pass a background check. Ramon passed a background check. What can be logically concluded?
- Ramon is a city inspector
- Ramon may or may not be a city inspector (Correct answer)
- Ramon is not a city inspector
- Ramon will become a city inspector
Correct answer: Ramon may or may not be a city inspector
Passing the background check is a necessary condition for inspectors, but passing it does not confirm Ramon is one.
Question 2: In a filing system, folders are arranged: Red comes before Blue, Blue comes before Green, and Yellow comes after Green. Which folder is filed last?
- Red
- Blue
- Green
- Yellow (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Yellow
The sequence is Red → Blue → Green → Yellow, making Yellow the last folder.
Question 3: A supervisor states: 'If an officer is late three times, disciplinary action follows.' Officer Chen received disciplinary action. What must be true?
- Chen was late three times
- Chen was late at least once
- Chen may have been late three or more times, or another rule applied (Correct answer)
- Chen was never late
Correct answer: Chen may have been late three or more times, or another rule applied
Disciplinary action could stem from multiple causes; the rule only guarantees action follows lateness, not the reverse.
Question 4: Five applicants — F, G, H, I, J — are ranked 1 through 5. F ranks higher than G. H ranks lower than I. J ranks between F and H. G ranks 4th. What is F's rank?
- 1st (Correct answer)
- 2nd
- 3rd
- 5th
Correct answer: 1st
Since G is 4th and F ranks higher than G, F must be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd; placing J between F and H with H below I forces F to 1st.
Question 5: Which argument contains a logical flaw? 'Our department has never had a misconduct complaint, therefore our officers never act improperly.'
- It is a valid deductive argument
- It confuses absence of complaints with absence of misconduct (Correct answer)
- It uses a correct analogy
- It is an inductive argument with strong evidence
Correct answer: It confuses absence of complaints with absence of misconduct
Absence of complaints does not prove absence of misconduct; incidents may go unreported.
Question 6: A patrol schedule repeats every 4 days: Day 1-North, Day 2-South, Day 3-East, Day 4-West. If today is Day 3, what zone is patrolled 9 days from now?
- North
- South (Correct answer)
- East
- West
Correct answer: South
9 days after Day 3 is Day 12; 12 mod 4 = 0 maps to the 4th position in the cycle, which is West.
Question 7: An investigator concludes: 'Witnesses A and B both lied, so the entire witness pool is unreliable.' This is an example of:
- Valid deduction
- Hasty generalization (Correct answer)
- Modus ponens
- Hypothetical syllogism
Correct answer: Hasty generalization
Drawing a broad conclusion about all witnesses from only two cases is a hasty generalization.
Texas Civil Service Exam Logical and Deductive Reasoning 2
All city inspectors must pass a background check.
Ramon passed a background check.
What can be logically concluded?