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IPI/BIV Aptitude Test study materials
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IPI/BIV Aptitude Test practice questions

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Question 1Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which SI base unit is used to express electric current?

  1. Watt
  2. Ohm
  3. Volt
  4. Ampere Correct answer.

Explanation

The ampere is one of the seven SI base units and measures electric current directly. Volt, ohm, and watt are all derived units defined through combinations of base units such as ampere, metre, kilogram, and second.

Question 2Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A force of 20 N acts on a mass of 4 kg. What is the resulting acceleration?

  1. 24 m/s²
  2. 0.2 m/s²
  3. 5 m/s² Correct answer.
  4. 80 m/s²

Explanation

Newton's second law states that force equals mass times acceleration, so acceleration equals force divided by mass. Dividing 20 N by 4 kg gives 5 m/s².

Question 3Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which particle carries a negative elementary charge?

  1. Electron Correct answer.
  2. Neutron
  3. Proton
  4. Photon

Explanation

The electron carries a charge of about −1.602 × 10⁻¹⁹ coulomb, which is the elementary negative charge. Protons carry the equal positive charge, neutrons are neutral, and photons carry no charge at all.

Question 4Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

What does the abbreviation CPU stand for in computing?

  1. Central Processing Unit Correct answer.
  2. Central Peripheral Unit
  3. Computer Power Unit
  4. Core Program Utility

Explanation

The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is the component that executes instructions and coordinates the other parts of a computer. The other expansions are invented phrases that do not correspond to standard terminology.

Question 5Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which chemical element has the symbol Fe?

  1. Iron Correct answer.
  2. Francium
  3. Lead
  4. Fluorine

Explanation

Fe derives from the Latin word ferrum and is the symbol for iron. Fluorine uses F, lead uses Pb from plumbum, and francium uses Fr.

Question 6Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

What is the value of 15% of 240?

  1. 36 Correct answer.
  2. 40
  3. 24
  4. 30

Explanation

Fifteen percent equals 0.15, and multiplying 0.15 by 240 yields 36. Alternatively, ten percent of 240 is 24 and five percent is 12, which sum to 36.

Question 7Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which gas makes up the largest share of Earth's atmosphere by volume?

  1. Oxygen
  2. Argon
  3. Carbon dioxide
  4. Nitrogen Correct answer.

Explanation

Nitrogen accounts for roughly 78 percent of the atmosphere by volume. Oxygen follows at about 21 percent, while argon and carbon dioxide together make up less than one percent.

Question 8Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

In a right triangle, the side opposite the right angle is called what?

  1. Hypotenuse Correct answer.
  2. Adjacent leg
  3. Median
  4. Opposite leg

Explanation

The hypotenuse is by definition the side opposite the right angle and is always the longest side of a right triangle. The two remaining sides are the legs.

Question 9Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A car travels 150 km in 2.5 hours. What is its average speed?

  1. 75 km/h
  2. 60 km/h Correct answer.
  3. 375 km/h
  4. 50 km/h

Explanation

Average speed equals total distance divided by total time. Dividing 150 km by 2.5 h gives 60 km/h.

Question 10Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which statement describes the function of a diode in a circuit?

  1. It converts alternating current into a higher frequency.
  2. It stores charge in an electric field.
  3. It amplifies the voltage of a signal.
  4. It allows current to flow mainly in one direction. Correct answer.

Explanation

A diode conducts readily in forward bias and blocks current in reverse bias, so it acts as a one-way valve. This property underlies rectification and reverse-polarity protection.

Question 11Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

In a series circuit, two resistors of 6 Ω and 3 Ω are connected to a 9 V source. What current flows?

  1. 3 A
  2. 0.5 A
  3. 1 A Correct answer.
  4. 2 A

Explanation

In a series circuit resistances add, giving a total of 9 Ω. Applying Ohm's law, I = U / R = 9 V / 9 Ω = 1 A.

Question 12Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

What is the pH of a neutral aqueous solution at 25 °C?

  1. 0
  2. 14
  3. 10
  4. 7 Correct answer.

Explanation

At 25 °C the ion product of water gives equal hydrogen and hydroxide concentrations of 10⁻⁷ mol/L, corresponding to pH 7. Values below 7 are acidic and above 7 are basic.

Question 13Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which process converts a liquid into a gas at a temperature below its boiling point?

  1. Sublimation
  2. Freezing
  3. Evaporation Correct answer.
  4. Condensation

Explanation

Evaporation occurs at the liquid surface at temperatures below the boiling point, when molecules with sufficient kinetic energy escape. Boiling, by contrast, occurs throughout the liquid at a specific temperature.

Question 14Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A binary search is applied to a sorted array of 1000 elements. Approximately how many comparisons are needed in the worst case?

  1. 500
  2. 10 Correct answer.
  3. 100
  4. 1000

Explanation

Binary search halves the search interval each step, so the worst-case count is about log₂ of the number of elements. Since 2¹⁰ is 1024, roughly 10 comparisons suffice for 1000 elements.

Question 15Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which quantity is conserved in an isolated system according to the first law of thermodynamics?

  1. Entropy
  2. Pressure
  3. Energy Correct answer.
  4. Temperature

Explanation

The first law of thermodynamics is a statement of energy conservation: the internal energy change equals heat added minus work done. Entropy is governed by the second law and generally increases in isolated systems.

Question 16Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which data structure follows the last-in, first-out principle?

  1. Queue
  2. Hash table
  3. Stack Correct answer.
  4. Linked list

Explanation

A stack removes the most recently added element first, which is the last-in, first-out rule. Push and pop operations both act at the same end of the structure.

Question 17Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A project task takes 12 days with 3 workers. Assuming equal productivity and no overhead, how long does the same task take with 4 workers?

  1. 16 days
  2. 9 days Correct answer.
  3. 6 days
  4. 4 days

Explanation

Total work is 12 days × 3 workers = 36 worker-days. Dividing by 4 workers gives 9 days, illustrating inverse proportionality between workers and time.

Question 18Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which part of a eukaryotic cell is the main site of ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation?

  1. Mitochondrion Correct answer.
  2. Golgi apparatus
  3. Ribosome
  4. Lysosome

Explanation

The inner mitochondrial membrane hosts the electron transport chain and ATP synthase, which together generate most cellular ATP. The other organelles perform protein synthesis, packaging, and degradation respectively.

Question 19Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A metal rod expands when heated. Which statement best explains this behaviour?

  1. The mass of the rod decreases.
  2. The number of atoms in the rod increases.
  3. The atoms themselves grow larger.
  4. The average spacing between atoms increases. Correct answer.

Explanation

Thermal expansion occurs because increased vibrational energy pushes atoms slightly further apart on average, increasing the material's dimensions. The atoms do not change size and their number stays constant.

Question 20Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which statement correctly distinguishes accuracy from precision in measurement?

  1. Accuracy describes closeness to the true value; precision describes repeatability. Correct answer.
  2. Precision applies only to digital instruments.
  3. Both terms mean the same thing in metrology.
  4. Accuracy describes repeatability; precision describes closeness to the true value.

Explanation

Accuracy reflects how close a measured value lies to the true value, while precision reflects how closely repeated measurements agree with one another. A set of readings can be precise yet inaccurate if a systematic bias is present.

Question 21Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which logical operation yields true only when both inputs are true?

  1. NOT
  2. AND Correct answer.
  3. OR
  4. XOR

Explanation

The AND operation outputs true only if every input is true. OR outputs true when at least one input is true, NOT inverts a single input, and XOR outputs true when the inputs differ.

Question 22Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A sample of gas at constant temperature has its volume halved. What happens to its pressure?

  1. It halves.
  2. It doubles. Correct answer.
  3. It quadruples.
  4. It stays the same.

Explanation

Boyle's law states that at constant temperature the product of pressure and volume is constant. Halving the volume therefore doubles the pressure.

Question 23Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A dataset contains the values 4, 8, 6, 10, and 2. What is its median?

  1. 8
  2. 10
  3. 6 Correct answer.
  4. 4

Explanation

Ordering the values gives 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and the middle value of five ordered data points is the third. That value is 6, which is the median.

Question 24Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A block slides down a frictionless incline of 30°. Taking g as 9.8 m/s², what is its acceleration along the incline?

  1. 17 m/s²
  2. 8.5 m/s²
  3. 9.8 m/s²
  4. 4.9 m/s² Correct answer.

Explanation

On a frictionless incline only the component of gravity along the slope accelerates the block, equal to g·sin θ. With θ = 30°, sin 30° = 0.5, so the acceleration is 4.9 m/s².

Question 25Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A program contains a loop that runs n times, and inside it a nested loop that also runs n times. What is the time complexity?

  1. O(n log n)
  2. O(n)
  3. O(n²) Correct answer.
  4. O(2ⁿ)

Explanation

The inner loop executes n times for each of the n outer iterations, giving n × n operations in total. The dominant term is therefore n², so the complexity is O(n²).

Question 26Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which SI base unit is used to express the amount of a substance?

  1. The mole Correct answer.
  2. The kelvin
  3. The ampere
  4. The candela

Explanation

The mole is the SI base unit for amount of substance and is defined by a fixed number of elementary entities, namely the Avogadro constant. The other units measure luminous intensity, thermodynamic temperature and electric current respectively, so they cannot express chemical amount.

Question 27Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which type of chemical bond is formed by the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions?

  1. Metallic bonding
  2. Ionic bonding Correct answer.
  3. Hydrogen bonding
  4. Covalent bonding

Explanation

Ionic bonding arises when electrons are transferred from one atom to another, producing cations and anions that attract each other electrostatically. Covalent bonds instead share electrons, while metallic bonding involves delocalised electrons and hydrogen bonding is a weaker intermolecular interaction.

Question 28Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which organelle is responsible for modifying, sorting and packaging proteins for secretion in a eukaryotic cell?

  1. The Golgi apparatus Correct answer.
  2. The ribosome
  3. The lysosome
  4. The mitochondrion

Explanation

The Golgi apparatus receives proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum and modifies, sorts and packages them into vesicles destined for secretion or other compartments. Ribosomes synthesise the proteins, lysosomes carry out intracellular digestion, and mitochondria produce most of the ATP.

Question 29Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which term describes the rate of change of velocity with respect to time?

  1. Acceleration Correct answer.
  2. Momentum
  3. Impulse
  4. Displacement

Explanation

Acceleration is defined as the change in velocity divided by the time interval over which it occurs, so it is the rate of change of velocity. Displacement is a change in position, momentum is mass times velocity, and impulse is force multiplied by time.

Question 30Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which number system uses only the digits 0 and 1?

  1. Octal
  2. Binary Correct answer.
  3. Hexadecimal
  4. Decimal

Explanation

The binary system is base 2, so each digit position can take only the values 0 or 1. Octal uses digits 0 to 7, decimal uses 0 to 9, and hexadecimal uses 0 to 9 plus the letters A to F.

Question 31Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which statistical measure is most affected by a single extreme outlier in a dataset?

  1. The arithmetic mean Correct answer.
  2. The median
  3. The interquartile range
  4. The mode

Explanation

The arithmetic mean sums all values and divides by their count, so one very large or very small value shifts the result substantially. The median and mode depend on position or frequency rather than magnitude, and the interquartile range ignores the extreme tails of the distribution.

Question 32Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which type of software is an operating system?

  1. System software Correct answer.
  2. Utility software
  3. Application software
  4. Firmware stored in ROM

Explanation

An operating system is classified as system software because it manages hardware resources and provides services on which application programs run. Application software performs user tasks, firmware is low-level code embedded in hardware, and utility software is a supporting category of programs such as disk tools.

Question 33Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which quantity is a vector, having both magnitude and direction?

  1. Temperature
  2. Force Correct answer.
  3. Speed
  4. Mass

Explanation

Force is a vector because a complete description requires both its magnitude and the direction in which it acts. Speed, mass and temperature are scalars, fully specified by a magnitude alone.

Question 34Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A solution contains 0.25 mol of solute dissolved in enough water to make 500 mL of solution. What is its molar concentration?

  1. 2.0 mol/L
  2. 0.50 mol/L Correct answer.
  3. 0.25 mol/L
  4. 0.125 mol/L

Explanation

Molarity equals moles of solute divided by volume in litres. Here 500 mL is 0.5 L, so 0.25 mol divided by 0.5 L gives 0.50 mol/L.

Question 35Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A machine lifts a 40 kg load vertically by 5 m in 4 s. Taking g as 10 m/s², what is its useful output power?

  1. 200 W
  2. 2000 W
  3. 800 W
  4. 500 W Correct answer.

Explanation

The work done against gravity is mgh, which is 40 × 10 × 5 = 2000 J. Power is work divided by time, so 2000 J over 4 s gives 500 W.

Question 36Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A sum of 2000 is invested at 5% annual interest compounded yearly. What is the value after 2 years?

  1. 2200
  2. 2100
  3. 2205 Correct answer.
  4. 2420

Explanation

Compound interest multiplies the principal by 1.05 each year, so 2000 × 1.05² = 2000 × 1.1025 = 2205. Simple interest would give only 2200 because it ignores interest earned on the first year's interest.

Question 37Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A byte consists of 8 bits. How many distinct values can a single byte represent?

  1. 256 Correct answer.
  2. 128
  3. 512
  4. 64

Explanation

Each bit has two possible states, so 8 independent bits give 2⁸ = 256 distinct combinations. These are commonly interpreted as the integers 0 to 255.

Question 38Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A database table has a column declared as a primary key. Which property is guaranteed for that column?

  1. Every value in it must be a text string
  2. Every value in it is unique and not null Correct answer.
  3. Every value in it is automatically encrypted
  4. Every value in it is stored in ascending order

Explanation

A primary key enforces both uniqueness and the absence of null values, so each row can be identified by that column alone. Storage order, data type and encryption are independent of the primary-key constraint.

Question 39Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A network device forwards data packets between different IP networks using routing tables. Which device performs this function?

  1. A repeater
  2. A router Correct answer.
  3. A switch
  4. A hub

Explanation

A router examines destination IP addresses and consults routing tables to forward packets between separate networks. Hubs and repeaters merely regenerate signals within one segment, and switches forward frames within a local network using MAC addresses.

Question 40Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

An object is placed 30 cm in front of a converging lens with a focal length of 10 cm. Where is the image formed?

  1. 30 cm on the opposite side of the lens
  2. 10 cm on the same side as the object
  3. 15 cm on the opposite side of the lens Correct answer.
  4. 20 cm on the same side as the object

Explanation

Using the thin-lens equation, 1/f = 1/v − 1/u with u = −30 cm and f = 10 cm gives 1/v = 1/10 − 1/30 = 1/15, so v = 15 cm. The positive sign places a real image on the opposite side of the lens from the object.

Question 41Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A population of bacteria doubles every 3 hours. Starting from 500 cells, how many cells are present after 12 hours, assuming no deaths?

  1. 2000
  2. 6000
  3. 8000 Correct answer.
  4. 4000

Explanation

Twelve hours contain four doubling periods of 3 hours each, so the population is multiplied by 2⁴ = 16. Multiplying 500 by 16 gives 8000 cells.

Question 42Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

In propositional logic, which expression is equivalent to the negation of the conjunction of A and B?

  1. A implies B
  2. not A and not B
  3. A or B
  4. not A or not B Correct answer.

Explanation

De Morgan's law states that the negation of A and B is equivalent to not A or not B. Negating a conjunction turns it into a disjunction of the negated operands.

Question 43Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A CPU has a clock frequency of 2 GHz. How long does one clock cycle last?

  1. 2 ns
  2. 5 ns
  3. 0.5 ns Correct answer.
  4. 0.2 ns

Explanation

The cycle time is the reciprocal of the clock frequency, so 1 divided by 2 × 10⁹ Hz gives 0.5 × 10⁻⁹ s, which is 0.5 ns. Higher frequencies therefore correspond to shorter cycles.

Question 44Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A spring obeys Hooke's law with a constant of 200 N/m. How much elastic potential energy is stored when it is stretched by 0.1 m?

  1. 20 J
  2. 2 J
  3. 0.5 J
  4. 1 J Correct answer.

Explanation

Elastic potential energy is half the spring constant times the square of the extension, so 0.5 × 200 × 0.1² = 1 J. Using the extension rather than its square would give the incorrect value of 20 J.

Question 45Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A company's revenue rises from 80 000 to 100 000 over one year. What is the percentage increase?

  1. 12.5%
  2. 20%
  3. 25% Correct answer.
  4. 80%

Explanation

The increase is 20 000, and percentage change is the increase divided by the original value, so 20 000 / 80 000 = 0.25, or 25%. Dividing by the new value instead would give the incorrect 20%.

Question 46Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Which statement correctly describes the difference between a process and a thread in an operating system?

  1. A thread always runs on a separate physical CPU core
  2. A thread shares the address space of its process, while a process has its own separate address space Correct answer.
  3. A process shares its address space with other processes, while a thread has its own
  4. A process cannot contain more than one thread

Explanation

Threads are execution units within a single process and share that process's memory and resources, which makes communication fast but requires synchronisation. Separate processes have independent address spaces, so they are isolated from one another by the operating system.

Question 47Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A sample of an ideal gas is compressed adiabatically and reversibly. Which statement about the process is correct?

  1. The entropy of the gas decreases during the process
  2. No heat is exchanged and the gas temperature rises Correct answer.
  3. The internal energy of the gas remains unchanged
  4. Heat flows out of the gas while its temperature stays constant

Explanation

In an adiabatic process no heat crosses the boundary, so Q is zero. Work done on the gas therefore raises its internal energy, and for an ideal gas that means the temperature rises. A reversible adiabatic process is also isentropic, so entropy stays constant rather than falling.

Question 48Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A recursive function solves a problem of size n by making two recursive calls on inputs of size n/2 and doing constant work outside the calls. What is its time complexity?

  1. O(n log n)
  2. O(n²)
  3. O(log n)
  4. O(n) Correct answer.

Explanation

The recurrence T(n) = 2T(n/2) + O(1) fits the master theorem case where the number of subproblems equals the branching factor of the halving. The work therefore grows linearly, giving O(n), as seen in algorithms that traverse every element once.

Question 49Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

A 95% confidence interval for a population mean is computed from a sample. Which interpretation is statistically correct?

  1. The sample mean lies inside the interval with 95% probability
  2. There is a 95% probability that the true mean lies inside this particular interval
  3. If the sampling procedure were repeated many times, about 95% of the intervals constructed would contain the true mean Correct answer.
  4. 95% of the sample values lie inside the interval

Explanation

The confidence level describes the long-run performance of the procedure: across repeated samples, roughly 95% of the intervals built this way capture the fixed but unknown population mean. Once a particular interval is computed, the true mean either lies in it or does not, so no probability attaches to that single interval.

Question 50Fachwissen / Technical Subject Knowledge

Two fair six-sided dice are rolled. What is the probability that the sum of the faces is 8?

  1. 5/36 Correct answer.
  2. 1/9
  3. 7/36
  4. 1/6

Explanation

There are 36 equally likely ordered outcomes. The pairs summing to 8 are (2,6), (3,5), (4,4), (5,3) and (6,2), giving five favourable outcomes and a probability of 5/36.