9/24/2018 Numerical Reasoning - Don't Fall For Any Trap | EU Training

Numerical Reasoning - Don't Fall For Any

Trap
TIPS AND TRICKS (/RESOURCES/TIPS-AND-TRICKS) 26 APR 2012

Test packages (/tags/test-packages) Preparation tools (/taxonomy/term/258)

numerical reasoning (/tags/numerical-reasoning)

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Recently we have received many requests from EU Training’s users asking for expert
tips or methodology on how to quickly solve the various test types, such as abstract,
numerical or verbal reasoning. 

While the best way to learn about the methodology of succeeding at these tests is via
the live and recorded training webinars, we hereby show you the next part in our
series on EU test methodology.

NUMERICAL REASONING SAMPLE

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When it comes to numerical reasoning, there are a myriad things to watch out for and
consider when taking the test. For this article, we are going to concentreate on two
things:

• how to avoid spending time on calculating values you won’t actually use

• how not to fall for the traps set by the test designer

Let’s consider the following question based on the table above.

If the table were ordered by percentage increase in per capita usage between 2005
and 2010, which country would be in the middle?

1. Your first task: data interpretatation

Extract the information you need from the table. Your first instinct may tell you the
following:

„The question is about per capital figures, so obviously we will need the population
figures for both 2005 and 2010.”

If you re-read the question and the table headers, you will, however, realise that this
is not the case. The electricity consumption values given for the four years are already
given per person, so there is no need for the population figure to be used. We couldn’t
even rely on it, because the populations are only provided for 2005.
 

2. Your second task: quick calculation

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„We now need to calculate the increases in the per person consumption figures
between 2005 and 2010 for all 5 countries.”

This is certainly a valid way to continue. But let us take the extra second and consider
whether it is necessary. Remember, the question does not ask about the actual
increase percentages, only about which country would be in the middle if the
countries were ordered by this criterion.

By simply looking at the figures, we can determine, without calculation, that:

• Latvia will clearly be at the top, as its increase was largest when compared to the
base value (.3 on 3.1 kWh)

• Austria and Serbia will clearly be at the bottom (we can’t know the exact order
without a calculator, but we don’t need this information) because their increase was
the smallest (.1 on 4 and 2.9 kWh respectively)

This means that we are left with Georgia and Norway to consider, and we are looking
for the country with the smaller increase of these two, as that is the one that will be
in the middle.

Again, we could perform the actual calculations and compare the two numbers, or we
can re-inspect the numbers and notice, again, something interesting.
 

3. First impressions may mislead you

The per person increase in both countries was 0.2 kWh, so at first glance it would be
very hard to decide between the two. But let’s realise that the smaller increase, then,
will be the one that happened over the strongest basis. Why?

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Consider this related example:

Both companies A and B increased their profits by 10,000 EUR.

Company A increased it from 10,000 EUR to 20,000 EUR.

Company B increased it from 100,000 EUR to 110,000 EUR.

Expressed as percentage increase in profits, Company A clearly fared better as its

profit increased by 100% (it doubled) while Company A only manged a meager 10%
increase.

By analagy, we can conclude that the smaller percentage increase must have
happened in Norway by virtue of the fact that the same 0.2 kWh increase took place
over 4.9 kWh, as opposed to 3.0 kWn in the case of Geargia.

The correct answer, then, would be Norway.

 

4. Conclusions & tips

• always take a few seconds to clearly determine exactly which parts of the table you
will absolutely need to use (just because the questions talks about per capita figures,
you don’t necessarily need to use the population numbers)

• related to the above, always read the table headers (this is how we know we were
already given the per person figures)

• always make sure that you don’t perform superfluous calculations (remember how
we excluded Austria, Serbia and Latvia without performing actual calculations)
 

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Interested in learning more?

Check our FREE Beginners Guide and Pro Tips Webinar on Numerical Reasoning
(https://eutraining.eu/products/administrator/webinars)

3 Steps To Get E-tray Ready (/content/3-steps-get-e-tray-ready)

The results of the Pre-Selection Exams for the 2018 EPSO AD5 Generalist competition are out.
With only 3 weeks till the E-tray Exams kick-off there isn't too much time to prepare, so it's
important to hit the ground running fast. The good news is we can help you get E-tray ready in
record speed.

NEWS (/RESOURCES/NEWS) 20 SEP 2018

IT'S OUT! 2018 EPSO AD5 Pre-Selection Exam Results (/content/its-

out-2018-epso-ad5-pre-selection-exam-results)
EPSO released the greatly anticipated Pre-Selection exam results for the 2018 EPSO AD5
competition. Congratulations to those that made it through to the E-tray round of the
competition! 

NEWS (/RESOURCES/NEWS) 19 SEP 2018

NEW EPSO E-Tray Simulations Added (/content/new-epso-e-tray-

simulations-added)

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Not only has EU Training fully reviewed and updated its existing E-tray Exercise simulations to
match the changes imposed by EPSO last year, but 7 NEW practice E-tray Exercises have also
been added to the database! Of these 3 have been translated into French as well.

NEWS (/RESOURCES/NEWS) 18 SEP 2018

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