Logical and Deductive Reasoning Flashcards

Read the following passage and answer the question. **Passage:** 'The city's policy on the use of official vehicles is explicit. Vehicles are to be used for official city business only and must be returned to the municipal depot by 6:00 PM daily. Any use of a vehicle after 6:00 PM requires pre-approved overtime authorization from a department head. The policy strictly prohibits using vehicles for personal errands, such as shopping or commuting to an employee's home, at any time. All trips must be recorded in the vehicle's logbook.' Which of the following scenarios describes a direct violation of the policy?

Answer: A sanitation supervisor, while driving between two job sites, uses a city vehicle to pick up their personal dry-cleaning.

The policy strictly prohibits using vehicles for personal errands. Picking up personal dry-cleaning is a personal errand and therefore a direct violation, regardless of whether it occurred during a trip between work sites.

Read the following passage and answer the question. **Passage:** 'To qualify for the Urban Gardener Grant, an applicant must meet three conditions. First, the proposed garden must be located on a vacant city-owned lot. Second, the applicant must be a registered neighborhood association. Third, the association must submit a detailed maintenance plan that is approved by the Department of Parks.' If a neighborhood association was awarded an Urban Gardener Grant, which of the following must be true?

Answer: The garden is located on a city-owned lot that was previously vacant.

The passage states that one of the three mandatory conditions for receiving the grant is that the garden is on a vacant city-owned lot. Therefore, if an association received the grant, this condition must have been met. The other options are not mentioned as requirements.

Read the following passage and answer the question. **Passage:** 'The process for resolving a non-emergency citizen complaint is as follows: A complaint is first logged by the 311 call center and assigned a case number. Next, it is electronically routed to the appropriate city agency. The agency then has 48 hours to acknowledge receipt of the complaint. After acknowledgment, the agency conducts an investigation and proposes a resolution.' If an agency is currently investigating a complaint, what can be logically concluded?

Answer: The 311 call center has assigned the complaint a case number.

According to the passage, a complaint is logged and given a case number *before* it is routed to the agency for acknowledgment and investigation. Therefore, if the investigation is underway, the initial step of logging it and assigning a number must have already occurred.

Read the following passage and answer the question. **Passage:** 'A new municipal ordinance states: If a residential street is scheduled for repaving, 'No Parking' signs must be posted at least 72 hours prior to the start of work. If signs are posted less than 72 hours in advance, any vehicles parked on the street may not be ticketed or towed. This rule applies only to residential streets; commercial zones follow a different 24-hour notification rule.' Work crews are scheduled to repave Elm Street, a residential street, starting on a Thursday morning. They post 'No Parking' signs on the preceding Tuesday morning. According to the ordinance, what is the status of a car parked on Elm Street on Wednesday night?

Answer: The car cannot be ticketed or towed.

The signs were posted on Tuesday morning for work starting Thursday morning. This is only 48 hours of notice, which is less than the required 72 hours for a residential street. The ordinance explicitly states that if the notice is less than 72 hours, vehicles may not be ticketed or towed.

Read the following passage and answer the question. **Passage:** 'In an effort to reduce paperwork and improve efficiency, the Human Resources department announced that all employee timesheets will now be submitted digitally. This change is expected to significantly decrease the time supervisors spend on payroll approval, allowing them to focus on their core management duties. The department projects a 20% increase in supervisory efficiency as a result.' The department's projection relies on which of the following assumptions?

Answer: Supervisors find the current paper-based payroll approval process to be a significant part of their workload.

The projection that efficiency will increase by 20% is based on the assumption that the time saved is significant. If supervisors currently spend very little time on payroll, eliminating that task would not result in a large efficiency gain. Therefore, the argument assumes the task is currently a major time-consumer.

Read the following passage and answer the question. **Passage:** 'An analysis of the city's public libraries was conducted. The report showed that the Central Library has a larger collection of books than the North Branch library. The report also stated that the South Branch library has a smaller collection of books than the North Branch library.' Based only on the information in the passage, which of the following statements must be true?

Answer: The Central Library has the largest collection of the three libraries.

The passage establishes a clear ranking of book collection size. We know: Central > North. We also know: North > South. By combining these two facts, we can deduce the complete order: Central > North > South. Therefore, the Central Library must have the largest collection of the three.