How the Variables test works
Three lines appear one after another, each giving a letter its value, and each disappears before the next. Then you are asked for the letters in a mixed order, “C = ?”, “A = ?”, “B = ?”, and you type a single digit for each. The letters are A, B and C.
The test gets harder over three parts, reported as ten sets each. In part 1 all three letters are plain values, such as A = 2. In part 2 one letter is an equation on another, such as B = C + 1, using addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. In part 3 two letters are equations. Candidates report small answers throughout, and values of 1 to 4 once two equations are involved.
How to answer the Variables test
The trick is to store numbers, never sums:
- Work out each equation the moment it appears. B = C + 1 with C = 2 is stored as B = 3, not as the formula.
- Hold the three values as a short chant in alphabetical order, “A 3, B 1, C 2”, and refresh it as each line arrives.
- When a line refers to a letter you already have, recall that value first, then calculate.
- Answer each question from your chant, whatever order the questions come in.
- If one value is gone, give your best guess and keep the other two. Do not let one loss wipe the set.
Worked example
A part 3 set flashes three lines: “B = 3”, then “C = B − 2”, then “A = C × 4”. C is 3 minus 2, which is 1. A is 1 times 4, which is 4. Store “A 4, B 3, C 1”.
The questions then come as “C = ?”, “A = ?”, “B = ?”. The answers are 1, 4 and 3. Had you stored “A = C × 4” as a formula, you would be working it out while the questions were already arriving.
Tips for the real Variables test
- Use the practice round to get the rhythm of the flashes before the scored sets.
- Watch the order in subtraction and division: C = A − B is not C = B − A.
- Practise on a physical number pad if you can. The real test uses one, and finding keys by feel keeps your eyes on the screen.
- Put most of your practice into part 3. Doing the second equation while still holding the first result is the skill that separates scores.
- Answer with the first value that comes. Second-guessing a single digit rarely improves it.
Practise Variables on CogniPrep
Our Variables game runs three parts of 10 sets, 90 questions in all: plain values, then one equation, then two, with values of 1 to 4 in part 3. Each line shows for about a second and a half, and each question disappears after 5 seconds if you have not answered it. Your score out of 100 is the average accuracy of the three parts, so part 3 counts as much as part 1, and a question that times out counts as wrong. Those timings and weights are ours, since the FAA publishes neither, and there is no practice round.