Reasoning and Problem Solving
What the test measures
Reasoning items test whether you can draw only the conclusions that actually follow. Expect conditional statements, syllogisms, ordering and scheduling puzzles, and questions asking which assumption a conclusion depends on. Formal logic is not required, but you must distinguish a valid inference from a reasonable-sounding one.
Traps that show up
- Affirming the consequent. From "If it is a K9 unit, it is certified" you may not conclude "If it is certified, it is a K9 unit."
- Denying the antecedent. From the same statement you may not conclude "It is not a K9 unit, so it is not certified."
- The valid move is the contrapositive. "Not certified, therefore not a K9 unit" does follow.
- Quantity words. All, some, none are precise. "Some" means at least one and possibly all; do not read it as "some but not all."
- Reversed ordering. In sequencing puzzles, track who is before whom, not just who is mentioned.
- Solving more than asked. Often the question asks what must be true, not what could be.
Rule of thumb
For any conditional, write the statement and its contrapositive side by side. If an answer choice matches neither, it is almost certainly a distractor.
Worked example
"All K9 units are certified. Some certified handlers are not K9 units." Nothing can be concluded about all handlers, and nothing can be concluded about uncertified units. The only safe inference is that at least one certified handler works outside a K9 unit.