Texas Civil Service Mathematical Reasoning Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A city's public works department had a budget of $1,200,000 last year. For the current year, the budget was increased by 8%. What is the department's budget for the current year?
- $1,208,000
- $1,296,000 (Correct answer)
- $96,000
- $1,104,000
Correct answer: $1,296,000
To find the new budget, first calculate the amount of the increase, which is 8% of $1,200,000. This is calculated as 1,200,000 * 0.08 = $96,000. Then, add this increase to the original budget: $1,200,000 + $96,000 = $1,296,000.
Question 2: A planning department requires 2 staff members for every 75 building permits processed per month. If the department processed 600 permits last month, how many staff members were required?
- 8
- 12
- 16 (Correct answer)
- 24
Correct answer: 16
This is a ratio problem. First, determine how many sets of 75 permits are in the total of 600. Divide 600 by 75, which equals 8. Since 2 staff members are needed for each set of 75 permits, multiply 8 by 2. This results in 16 staff members required.
Question 3: An administrative clerk can file 90 records per hour, while a trainee can file 60 records per hour. If they work together, approximately how long will it take them to file a batch of 750 records?
- 8.3 hours
- 5.0 hours (Correct answer)
- 12.5 hours
- 3.0 hours
Correct answer: 5.0 hours
First, find the combined work rate of the two individuals. The clerk files 90 records/hour and the trainee files 60 records/hour, so their combined rate is 90 + 60 = 150 records per hour. To find the time it will take to file 750 records, divide the total number of records by their combined rate: 750 / 150 = 5 hours.
Question 4: A municipal garage has a total of 60 vehicles, consisting of sedans, trucks, and vans. There are three times as many sedans as vans, and 10 more trucks than vans. How many vans are in the garage?
- 15
- 30
- 20
- 10 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 10
Let 'V' represent the number of vans. The number of sedans is 3V, and the number of trucks is V + 10. The total is 60, so the equation is V + 3V + (V + 10) = 60. Combine the terms: 5V + 10 = 60. Subtract 10 from both sides: 5V = 50. Divide by 5: V = 10. There are 10 vans.
Question 5: The city maintains a rectangular park that is 200 feet long and 150 feet wide. The Parks Department needs to apply fertilizer, and one bag of fertilizer covers 5,000 square feet. How many bags of fertilizer are needed to cover the entire park?
- 5
- 7
- 6 (Correct answer)
- 30
Correct answer: 6
First, calculate the area of the park by multiplying its length and width: Area = 200 feet * 150 feet = 30,000 square feet. Next, divide the total area by the coverage of one bag of fertilizer: 30,000 sq ft / 5,000 sq ft per bag = 6 bags.
Question 6: A report shows the number of citizen complaints filed per quarter for a city department: Quarter 1: 45, Quarter 2: 60, Quarter 3: 52, Quarter 4: 47. What was the average number of complaints filed per quarter?
- 51 (Correct answer)
- 204
- 49.5
- 52
Correct answer: 51
To find the average, first sum the total number of complaints: 45 + 60 + 52 + 47 = 204. Then, divide the total by the number of quarters, which is 4. So, 204 / 4 = 51. The average number of complaints per quarter was 51.
A city's public works department had a budget of $1,200,000 last year.
For the current year, the budget was increased by 8%.
What is the department's budget for the current year?