Postal Exam 955 flashcards
Postal Exam 955 · 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.
- Necessary assumption
- A statement the argument cannot do without; test by negating it - if the conclusion collapses, the statement is necessary.
- Sufficient assumption
- A statement that, if added to the premises, guarantees the conclusion follows; it is strong enough to prove the point.
- 'Some' in logic
- 'Some' means at least one and possibly all; it never implies 'not all' or any specific number of cases.
- Valid syllogism chain
- All A are B and all B are C together guarantee all A are C; chaining universal statements downward is valid reasoning.
- Illicit conversion
- Reversing a universal statement is invalid: 'All A are B' does not support 'All B are A' in any conclusion.
- Weaken a causal claim
- Show an alternate cause, a reversed direction, mere coincidence, or that the effect occurred without the supposed cause.
- Main idea versus detail
- The main idea covers the whole passage; a detail supports only one part and is too narrow to be the answer.
- Contrast signal words
- Words like but, however, although, and yet flag a shift that usually carries the author's real point.
- Percent change formula
- Percent change equals new value minus old value, divided by old value, times 100; the old value is always the divisor.
- Percent of a number
- Convert the percent to a decimal and multiply: 15% of 240 is 0.15 × 240, which equals 36.
- Finding the whole
- If a part and its percent are known, divide: whole = part ÷ rate, so 36 ÷ 0.15 = 240.
- Average formula
- Average equals sum divided by count; rearrange to sum = average × count when the total is what is asked.
- Combined work rate
- Add rates, not times: workers finishing in a and b hours together complete one job in ab ÷ (a + b) hours.
- Cross-multiplication for proportions
- For a/b = c/d, multiply diagonally: a × d = b × c, keeping units in the same positions on both sides.
- Unit rate check
- Confirm the answer's units: distance divided by time gives speed; if the units come out inverted, the division was reversed.
- Sequence pattern check
- Test differences first, then ratios, then alternating or two interleaved sequences before assuming a complex rule.
- Chunked comparison
- Break long strings into groups of two to four characters and compare group by group; this catches swaps that whole-string reading misses.
- Transposition error
- Two characters swapped, as in 4821 versus 4812; it is the most common copying error and survives casual reading.
- ZIP+4 format
- Five digits, a hyphen, then four digits; a missing hyphen or a five-digit ZIP where nine are required is a mismatch.
- Directional prefix
- A one- or two-letter direction (N, S, E, W, NE, SW) placed before the street name; changing it makes the address different.
- Street suffix
- St, Ave, Blvd, Rd, Ln, Dr, Ct, Pl; a different suffix is a mismatch even when the street name matches exactly.
- Exact match rule
- Two entries match only when every field matches exactly; differing capitalization, spacing, or abbreviations count as differences.
- Alphabetical filing rule
- Sort letter by letter, ignoring spaces and punctuation; compare characters in order, so Stanford files before St. Paul because a precedes p.
- Number sorting rule
- Numbers file by value, not by digit string: 9 comes before 10, and 100 before 205, contrary to alphabetical order.
- Safety-first priority
- When duties conflict, safety outranks speed, cost, and convenience; stop and report a hazard before continuing the task.
- Escalation rule
- Report injuries, unsafe equipment, and policy violations to the supervisor immediately; do not attempt repairs outside your training.
- Written procedure prevails
- Follow the published procedure over a coworker's shortcut, and record any deviation together with the reason for it.
- Conflicting instructions
- Ask the supervisor who assigns the work to resolve the conflict; if action cannot wait, take the safer reversible option.
- Confidentiality rule
- Customer addresses, mail contents, and employee records are not shared with anyone lacking a work-related need to know them.
- Reporting a delay
- Tell the supervisor as soon as a deadline looks at risk, with a revised estimate and options; late surprises are worse than late work.
- Handling a coworker's error
- Correct it if within your role and safe; otherwise inform the coworker or supervisor rather than silently ignoring the problem.
- Customer complaint response
- Acknowledge the problem, state what you will do and when, then follow up; do not argue or assign blame.