How the logic word problems work
This is one of the three mouse-answered sections that follow the four keyboard subtests. Each screen gives a scenario and a question with five options, A to E. Candidates describe three kinds: putting people in a line from clues about who stands ahead of whom, applying rules about who may do what, and counting the rows of a table that meet a condition, such as a minimum spend for a discount.
Candidates report about 15 questions in 20 minutes, and instructions saying that unanswered questions are penalised. The questions are long and dense, and running out of time near the end is the commonest complaint. No pen or paper is allowed.
How to solve an ATSA logic problem
Work every problem the same way:
- Read the question first, so you know whether it asks what must be true, could be true or cannot be true.
- With no paper, keep a compact picture in your head: a row of five slots for a line-up, or one line per rule.
- Place fixed facts first, then “directly next to” clues, then looser ones such as “somewhere ahead of”.
- Test each option against every arrangement the clues allow. An option that could be true is not enough when the question asks what must be true.
- Treat the stated rules as the whole world. “May” is not “must”, and nothing outside the scenario counts.
- Give each question about 80 seconds. If it is not resolving, pick the likeliest option and move on.
Worked example
Five controllers, Ana, Ben, Cara, Dev and Eli, each work one shift, Monday to Friday. Cara works Wednesday. Ben works the day after Ana. Dev works earlier in the week than Eli, and they work consecutive days. Which must be true? (A) Ana works Monday. (B) Eli works Friday. (C) Ben works Friday or Tuesday. (D) Ben works Tuesday. (E) Dev works Thursday.
Cara takes Wednesday, so Ana and Ben need Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday, and Dev and Eli take the other pair, Dev first. That leaves two possible weeks: Ana, Ben, Cara, Dev, Eli, or Dev, Eli, Cara, Ana, Ben. Options A, B, D and E each hold in only one of them. Ben works Tuesday in the first week and Friday in the second, so C is the only option true in both, and C is the answer.
Tips for the real logic paper
- Answer every question. Unanswered questions are reported to be penalised, so a guess beats a blank.
- Check the clock at the halfway point. At 10 minutes you want to be around question 8.
- Do not sink three minutes into one problem. Choose the best option you have and keep going.
- Practise holding line-ups without paper, since none is allowed at the test centre.
- Read every word of a rule. “Only supervisors may approve leave” does not mean every supervisor does.
Practise ATSA logic on CogniPrep
Our logic paper gives you 15 questions in 20 minutes, drawn from a bank of 80 and ordered from easier to harder, covering line-ups, schedules, rules and tables. Each has five options and exactly one forced answer, checked by working through every arrangement. You cannot go back or skip. Your score out of 100 is the share you get right; nothing is taken off for a wrong answer, but a question still unanswered when time runs out counts as wrong.