SAFRS Firefighter Aptitude flashcards
SAFRS Firefighter Aptitude · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Main idea
- The central point that a whole passage supports. It is broader than any single detail and is stated or implied by the passage as a whole.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text rather than stated directly. A valid inference must be supported by the passage, not by outside assumption.
- Scope error
- An answer choice that is correct in general but broader or narrower than the passage. It is wrong because it exceeds or falls short of what the text covers.
- Author's tone
- The attitude the writer conveys through word choice, such as urgent, neutral, critical, or reassuring. Tone words signal how the writer regards the subject.
- Active voice
- A sentence construction in which the subject performs the action, as in 'The crew extinguished the fire.' It is usually clearer and shorter than passive voice.
- Comma splice
- Two independent clauses joined by only a comma. It is corrected with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction.
- Subject-verb agreement
- The verb must match the head noun in number, ignoring phrases in between. 'The box of hoses is heavy' is correct because 'box' is singular.
- Parallel structure
- Items in a list or comparison use the same grammatical form. 'Reading, writing, and testing' is parallel; mixing forms breaks the pattern.
- Percent change
- The difference between new and old values divided by the old value, times 100. A change from 80 to 60 is a 25 percent decrease.
- Distance formula
- Distance equals rate multiplied by time. Rearranged, rate equals distance divided by time and time equals distance divided by rate.
- Cross-multiplication
- A method for solving proportions: if a over b equals c over d, then a times d equals b times c. It isolates the unknown value.
- Unit cancellation
- Multiplying by a fraction equal to one, such as 60 minutes over 1 hour, so unwanted units cancel and the desired unit remains.
- Mean and total
- The mean equals the sum of values divided by the count. Equivalently, the total equals the mean multiplied by the count.
- Lever balance
- A lever balances when effort times effort arm equals load times load arm, measured from the fulcrum. Lengthening the effort arm reduces required force.
- Mechanical advantage
- The ratio of load to effort. For an inclined plane it equals slope length divided by height, so a longer, gentler ramp needs less force.
- Meshing gears
- Two gears in mesh rotate in opposite directions. The larger gear turns more slowly and with greater torque than the smaller one.
- Hydraulic pressure
- Liquids transmit pressure equally in all directions. Force equals pressure multiplied by area, so a larger piston produces greater force.
- Series versus parallel
- In a series circuit, one break stops all current. In a parallel circuit, other branches continue to operate when one path fails.
- Clockwise rotation
- Turning an object clockwise moves its top toward the right. A quarter turn maps up to right, right to down, and down to left.
- Mirror reflection
- A reflection flips an object across a line while preserving its size and shape. Left and right reverse relative to the mirror line.
- Unfolding holes
- For folded-paper punch problems, unfold by reflecting each hole across the fold lines in the reverse order the paper was folded.
- Cube net
- A flat pattern of six squares that folds into a cube. Squares that are opposite on the cube never share an edge on the net.
- Life safety priority
- In emergency response, protecting people comes first, followed by stabilizing the incident and then conserving property.
- Chain of command
- The formal line of authority from subordinate to supervisor. Concerns and requests normally travel up this line rather than skipping levels.
- Active listening
- Restating the speaker's message and confirming understanding before responding. It reduces miscommunication and shows respect for the other person.
- Behavior-focused feedback
- Correcting a problem by describing the specific behavior and its impact rather than attacking the person's character. It reduces defensiveness.
- Contrapositive
- The logically equivalent form of 'If P then Q,' namely 'If not Q then not P.' It is valid even though 'If Q then P' is not.
- Elimination strategy
- Removing answer choices that clearly violate a stated condition. Each elimination reduces the number of options that must be fully evaluated.
- Working backward
- Starting from the answer choices or the desired end state and reversing the steps. It is efficient when the forward path is long or unclear.
- Pattern recognition
- Comparing consecutive terms for a constant difference or constant ratio. Finding the rule lets you predict later terms in the sequence.
- Chunking
- Grouping separate items into meaningful units, such as digits into pairs. It increases the amount of information held in short-term memory.
- Recency effect
- The tendency to recall the last items in a list more easily than middle items. The first items are favored by the separate primacy effect.