How the Problem Solving test works
Twelve questions run on one 9-minute clock, one per screen, each with four options. That is 45 seconds a question, and several of them need a quick sketch, so pace is the real difficulty.
TestGorilla’s sample questions show the main types. A staffing problem asks how long a job takes with fewer people. An ordering puzzle shows a row of six slots with two already filled and three rules, then asks which item goes in a given slot. A menu question gives a customer’s requirements and asks which order meets all of them.
How to solve ordering puzzles, tables and staffing questions
Use a fixed routine for each type, so you never start from a blank page:
- Ordering puzzles: draw six boxes and fill in the fixed slots. Apply the rule that leaves the fewest choices next, usually a “before” rule against a fixed slot, then a pair that must sit together.
- Save “not next to” rules for last. They usually decide the final two slots.
- Requirement questions: take the requirements one at a time and cross out every option that fails each. Stop reading details once one option is left.
- Staffing questions: work out the total effort in person-days, then divide it by the new number of people. Fewer people means more days.
Worked examples
An ordering puzzle. Six team members, Kim, Lee, Max, Ned, Oli and Pat, each give one presentation in slots 1 to 6. Kim is in slot 2 and Lee is in slot 5. Oli presents before Kim. Kim and Pat present in consecutive slots. Max does not present immediately before or after Pat. Who presents last? Options: Max, Ned, Oli, Pat.
Oli must come before slot 2, so Oli takes slot 1. Pat must sit next to Kim, and slot 1 is taken, so Pat takes slot 3. That leaves slots 4 and 6 for Max and Ned. Max cannot sit next to Pat in slot 3, so Max is not in slot 4. Max presents last, and Ned takes slot 4.
A staffing question. Twelve people finish a stock count in 6 days. How long would 8 people take at the same rate? Options: 4, 8, 9 or 10 days. The job is 12 × 6 = 72 person-days, and 72 ÷ 8 = 9 days. The 4 is the trap you get by scaling the wrong way.
Tips for the real Problem Solving test
- Have pen and paper ready before you start. TestGorilla allows them, and you will want them for every ordering puzzle.
- Aim for about 45 seconds a question. A puzzle still unsolved at 90 seconds gets your best guess.
- Answer the question asked. If it asks who is last, stop once slot 6 is certain, even if other slots are not.
- Check your finished order against every rule before pressing Next. One missed rule changes the answer.
- Never leave a question blank: a skip is marked wrong, and a guess costs nothing.
Practise Problem Solving on CogniPrep
Ours has 12 questions in 9 minutes, three from each skill area, four options each. The ordering puzzles are generated fresh every sitting and checked to have exactly one solution; the rest come from our bank of 45. One question per screen, no going back and a skip marked wrong, then a raw percentage, a percentile against CogniPrep players with harder questions weighted more, and feedback on each skill area.