Impossible numeracy test at interview

bristol_pilot

I wonder if b was 1.6 (not 1.4) i.e. half of d. And I wonder if there was also a printing error whereby the middle '+' should have been a division symbol. :rolleyes:

The test would almost make sense then.

I've never seen a numeracy test which is simply a matter of adding up some very large numbers, very strange.

wontfallforit

bristol_pilot wrote: »

I've never seen a numeracy test which is simply a matter of adding up some very large numbers, very strange.

The crux of the question was probably to see whether or not the candidates knew what do do with brackets, rather than the adding-up element. Still relatively straightforward though...if the company could print the questions properly!

EL.Smith

wontfallforit wrote: »

In what format were you given the answer? Before the end of the test? After? On a computer screen? On paper? Because something's seriously amiss.

It was on paper (we were given a calculator). The questions were on one sheet, including the different numbers that 'b' and 'd' could be. The answer sheet was presented like a spreadsheet (columns and rows), one row was completed (ie. their example). The other rows had to be filled in using the formula where numbers 'b' and 'd' varied each time.

Question 2 then followed on by asking which was the highest and lowest, Question 3 then asked if each number increased by 2.5% what would the new figures be. So you had to work out the answers to question 1 before you could move on to the next question.

mikey72

The numbers are roughly right, but the scale is wrong.
Was it a pure maths question, or did it have units in it?
eg weight, speed, distance etc?

Mattjimf

bristol_pilot wrote: »

I wonder if b was 1.6 (not 1.4) i.e. half of d. And I wonder if there was also a printing error whereby the middle '+' should have been a division symbol. :rolleyes:

The test would almost make sense then.

I think this might be the situation, in print, if the printing isn't great a + sign can be mistaken for the division sign ([STRIKE]:[/STRIKE]).

Anihilator

Maybe they wanted to check whether any of the candidates had the initiative to ask for a calculator.

Many companies like people who look for improvement or challenge problems.