Selective Practice Mock 1 — Thinking Skills (Year 5, early preparation)
A free NSW Selective High School placement test practice paper for Year 5 in the format of the real test: 40 questions in 40 minutes, covering Section A — Critical thinking; Section B — Problem solving. 40 minutes — about one minute per question. Choose the best answer. Answer every question — there is no penalty for a wrong answer. Attempt it online — every question is marked instantly and the correct answers are shown at the end.
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Q1. Liam says: 'Our school should plant more trees in the playground, because shade will keep students cooler at lunchtime.'
Which statement, if true, most strengthens Liam's argument?
Q2. Coach Lin says: 'Ella should be our goal shooter. She scored the most goals at practice last week, so she must be our best shooter.'
Which statement, if true, most weakens the coach's argument?
Q3. Noah says: 'The library is open on Saturday, so I will be able to borrow the new dragon book this weekend.'
Which of these is an assumption Noah is making?
Q4. Priya says: 'Every dog in the puppy class knows how to sit. My dog Rex knows how to sit. So Rex must be in the puppy class.'
Which best describes the mistake in Priya's reasoning?
Q5. At Hilltop School, every student in the choir also plays a musical instrument. Some students who play an instrument are also in the orchestra. Zara is in the choir.
Which of these must be true?
Q6. Mr Tan says: 'If it rains on Friday, the sports carnival will be moved to Monday.'
Which of these would show that Mr Tan's statement was wrong?
Q7. Mrs Lee tells her class: 'Everyone who finishes their reading log this week will get a sticker. I might also give stickers for other good work.'
Ava says: 'Jack got a sticker, so he must have finished his reading log.'
Ben says: 'Mia finished her reading log, so she will get a sticker.'
If what Mrs Lee said is true, whose reasoning is correct?
Q8. Tilly tested three paper aeroplane designs: the dart, the glider and the bird. The same person threw each design five times in the school hall. The dart flew the furthest every time.
Which conclusion is best supported by Tilly's test?
Q9. The school canteen started selling fruit cups in May. In June, fewer students were away sick than in May. The principal said: 'The fruit cups have made our students healthier.'
Which statement, if true, most weakens the principal's conclusion?
Q10. In Room 5, every student who has a pet dog walked to school today. Nobody who walked to school today was late. Kai is in Room 5, and he was late today.
Which of these must be true?
Q11. Grace says: 'Our class raised more money at the cake stall than Room 7 did, so our cakes must have tasted better.'
Which assumption does Grace's argument depend on?
Q12. Mr Ray says: 'Only students who have returned their permission note can go on the zoo excursion.'
Ella says: 'Sam went on the zoo excursion, so he must have returned his permission note.'
Finn says: 'Lucy did not return her permission note, so she did not go on the zoo excursion.'
If Mr Ray's rule was followed, whose reasoning is correct?
Q13. Kim says: 'My grandpa has eaten carrots every day for years, and he can see very well. So eating carrots every day will give anyone perfect eyesight.'
Which best describes the mistake in Kim's reasoning?
Q14. Scientists think a small lizard turns darker on cold mornings to help it warm up, because dark colours soak up more heat from the sun.
Which statement, if true, most strengthens the scientists' idea?
Q15. Ruby's mum says: 'If you watch a movie tonight, you will have popcorn.'
Ruby did not have popcorn tonight. If Mum's statement is true, which of these must be true?
Q16. Coach Mel says: 'Anyone who scores a goal in today's game will get a gold star. I also give gold stars for great teamwork.'
Omar says: 'Tom got a gold star, so he must have scored a goal.'
Hana says: 'Priya did not score a goal, so she will not get a gold star.'
If what Coach Mel said is true, whose reasoning is correct?
Q17. Mr Diaz asked the 25 students in his class about reading. 18 students said they read before bed. Of those 18 students, 12 said they read for more than 20 minutes.
Which of these must be true?
Q18. Jai says: 'The new climbing frame must be completely safe, because nobody has been hurt on it yet.'
Which statement, if true, most weakens Jai's argument?
Q19. Aria is taller than Ben. Chloe is shorter than Ben. Dan is taller than Chloe. No two of them are the same height.
Which of these must be true?
Q20. A shop owner noticed that on days when she played calm music, customers stayed in her shop for longer. She decided that calm music makes customers stay longer.
Which statement, if true, most weakens her conclusion?
Q21. Five friends are lining up at the canteen: Amy, Ben, Cara, Dev and Eli.
Dev is last in the line. Eli is directly in front of Dev. Ben is directly behind Amy. Cara is somewhere in front of Amy.
Who is in the middle of the line?
Q22. Each row and each column has one circle, one square and one triangle, and one white, one light and one dark shape. Which shape belongs in the empty square?
Q23. What number comes next?
2, 3, 5, 8, 12, 17, ?
Q24. One of three children ate the last biscuit.
Ava says: 'Ben ate it.'
Ben says: 'I did not eat it.'
Cy says: 'I did not eat it.'
Only one of the children is telling the truth. Who ate the biscuit, and who told the truth?
Q25. The shape is reflected in the dashed mirror line. Which picture shows its reflection?
Q26. A movie starts at 2:45 pm and goes for 1 hour and 50 minutes. Dinner is 25 minutes after the movie ends. What time is dinner?
Q27. In a secret code, a word is written backwards, and then each letter is changed to the next letter of the alphabet. Using this code, DOG is written as HPE.
How is CAKE written in this code?
Q28. This shape is made from small cubes glued together on a flat table. There are no gaps or hidden holes: every cube you cannot see is needed to hold up a cube you can see. How many small cubes are in the shape?
Q29. A holiday club runs one activity each day from Monday to Friday: art, cooking, drama, music and sport.
• Sport is the day after music.
• Art is not on Monday or Friday.
• Drama is on an earlier day than art.
• Cooking is not on Monday.
• Cooking and art are not on days next to each other.
Which activity is on Tuesday?
Q30. The 1st of March is a Wednesday. What day of the week is the 25th of March?
Q31. Which of these nets can be folded to make a cube?
Q32. Sam has twice as many marbles as Tia. If Sam gives Tia 6 marbles, they will both have the same number. How many marbles does Sam have now?
Q33. The tile is given a quarter turn clockwise. Which picture shows the tile after the turn?
Q34. What letter comes next?
A, C, F, J, O, ?
Q35. A farmer has some hens and some sheep. Altogether the animals have 10 heads and 28 legs. How many sheep are there?
Q36. A square piece of paper is folded in half from left to right (Step 1), then folded in half from top to bottom (Step 2). A hole is punched through all the layers (Step 3). The paper is then unfolded. Which picture shows the unfolded paper?
Q37. I am a two-digit number. My digits add up to 11. If you swap my two digits, the new number is 27 more than me. What number am I?
Q38. This net is folded to make a cube. Which number will be on the face opposite the 1?
Q39. On Fib Island, every person either always tells the truth or always lies. Pip says: 'Quin and I both always lie.'
What can you work out?
Q40. This shape is made from cubes. Which picture shows the shape when you look at it from the front (in the direction of the arrow)?
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