Irish Numerical Reasoning study guide
Irish Numerical Reasoning · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Irish Numerical Reasoning assessment is a multiple-choice test used by employers and assessment providers in Ireland to gauge how quickly and accurately a candidate can work with numbers under time pressure. It is typically encountered at the screening stage for graduate schemes, trainee roles, civil and public service competitions, banking, insurance and shared-service functions, where the job involves interpreting figures rather than simply calculating them. The Irish Numerical Reasoning study guide has 6 sections and about 1,640 words.
01Number Series and Sequences
A number series question gives a list of numbers built by a rule and asks for the next term, a missing term, or a wrong term. Candidates need to recognise the common rule families: constant difference (arithmetic), constant ratio (geometric), alternating or two-interleaved series, differences that themselves grow by a fixed amount (second differences), squares and cubes with or without a small offset, and products or sums of the two previous terms.
291 words, about 1 min02Arithmetic Word Problems
These questions dress simple arithmetic in words: sharing costs, ages, mixtures of quantities, ticket totals, remaining balances, and multi-step shopping. The arithmetic is easy; the difficulty is translation.
290 words, about 1 min03Percentages, Ratios and Proportions
You need fluency with percentage increase and decrease, finding the original amount after a change, successive percentage changes, percentage points versus percent, and ratio sharing. A ratio a:b splits a total into a+b parts; each part equals total ÷ (a+b).
260 words, about 1 min04Data Interpretation from Tables and Charts
You will be shown a table or chart with several rows, columns, or categories, and asked to compute totals, differences, averages, ratios, or percentage shares. The skills are reading accurately, locating the right cell, and performing the required operation without being distracted by irrelevant figures.
274 words, about 1 min05Speed, Distance, Time and Work-Rate Problems
Core relations: distance = speed × time, so speed = distance ÷ time and time = distance ÷ speed. For work-rate, if a worker completes a job in t hours, the rate is 1/t jobs per hour; combined rates add.
260 words, about 1 min06Approximation and Estimation
Some questions ask for an approximate answer or expect you to choose between close options quickly. The skill is rounding numbers to convenient values so the arithmetic becomes mental, while keeping the error small enough to identify the correct option.
265 words, about 1 min