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What is 0.35 × 400?
Correct answer: A. 140
Multiply 35 × 4 = 140, then note that 0.35 × 400 is the same as 35% of 400, which is 140. Converting decimals to percentages often makes such items easier.
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Mixed Numerical Review MCQs
Civil Service Exam numerical ability mixed review: decimals, fractions, percentages, discounts and markups, work, speed, interest, averages, ratios, series, LCM, ages, time and order of operations.
20 MCQsUpdated 3 November 2026
This mixed set brings together every type of Numerical Ability question in one place, in the same mixed order you will meet in the Civil Service Exam: basic operations, fractions and percentages, discounts and markups, work, speed and interest, averages and ratios, number series, ages, time and the order of operations.
Use it as a checkpoint after studying the individual topics. For each item, first decide which method applies, then calculate. Every answer was calculated and checked by script.
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What is 7/8 − 1/4?
Correct answer: B. 5/8
Rewrite 1/4 as 2/8, then subtract: 7/8 − 2/8 = 5/8. Subtracting numerators and denominators directly is a common error. Always give fractions a common denominator before adding or subtracting.
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18 is 30% of what number?
Correct answer: B. 60
If 30% is 18, then 10% is 6, and 100% is 60. Check: 30% of 60 = 18. Finding 10% first is a quick route for "percent of what" questions.
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What is 2⁵ + 5²?
Correct answer: D. 57
2⁵ = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 32 and 5² = 25, so the sum is 57. Note that 2⁵ and 5² are different even though they use the same digits.
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An item priced at ₱2,400 is sold at 15% off. What is the sale price?
Correct answer: A. ₱2,040
The discount is 15% of ₱2,400 = ₱360, so the price is ₱2,400 − ₱360 = ₱2,040. Or pay 85%: 0.85 × 2,400 = 2,040. Paying 85% in one step is faster and avoids subtraction errors.
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A vendor sells an item for ₱1,120, which is 12% above its cost. What was the cost?
Correct answer: B. ₱1,000
If the selling price is 112% of the cost, then cost = 1,120 ÷ 1.12 = ₱1,000. Taking 12% of ₱1,120 and subtracting (giving ₱985.60) is wrong, because the markup is based on cost.
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3 workers can finish a task in 8 days. How many days will 4 workers need at the same rate?
Correct answer: C. 6 days
The task takes 3 × 8 = 24 worker-days. With 4 workers it takes 24 ÷ 4 = 6 days. More workers means fewer days, so this is inverse proportion.
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A jeepney travels 45 km in 45 minutes. What is its average speed in km/h?
Correct answer: D. 60 km/h
45 minutes is 0.75 hour, so speed = 45 ÷ 0.75 = 60 km/h. Equivalently, covering 1 km every minute means 60 km in an hour.
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What is the simple interest on ₱20,000 at 5% per year for 2 years?
Correct answer: B. ₱2,000
Simple interest = principal × rate × time = ₱20,000 × 0.05 × 2 = ₱2,000. Compound interest would be slightly more, ₱2,050, because interest also earns interest.
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What is the average of 72, 85, 90 and 93?
Correct answer: D. 85
Total = 72 + 85 + 90 + 93 = 340, and 340 ÷ 4 = 85. Pairing 72 + 93 = 165 and 85 + 90 = 175 makes the sum quick. A quick check: the average must lie between the smallest and largest values.
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₱50,000 is divided in the ratio 2 : 3 : 5. What is the largest share?
Correct answer: D. ₱25,000
There are 2 + 3 + 5 = 10 parts, each worth ₱5,000. The largest share is 5 parts = ₱25,000; the others are ₱10,000 and ₱15,000.
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What comes next: 4, 7, 13, 25, ___?
Correct answer: C. 49
Each term is double the previous term minus 1: 4 × 2 − 1 = 7, 7 × 2 − 1 = 13, 13 × 2 − 1 = 25, so the next is 25 × 2 − 1 = 49. The differences 3, 6, 12 also double.
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What is the least common multiple of 8 and 12?
Correct answer: B. 24
Multiples of 12 are 12, 24, 36, and so on; the first one divisible by 8 is 24. Using prime factors: 8 = 2³ and 12 = 2² × 3, so the LCM is 2³ × 3 = 24.
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A price fell from ₱250 to ₱200. What is the percentage decrease?
Correct answer: A. 20%
Decrease = ₱50. Percentage decrease = 50 ÷ 250 × 100 = 20%, based on the original price. Dividing by the new price would wrongly give 25%.
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Ana is 4 years older than Ben, and the sum of their ages is 40. How old is Ana?
Correct answer: D. 22
Let Ben be x and Ana x + 4: 2x + 4 = 40, so x = 18 and Ana is 22. Shortcut: half of (sum + difference) gives the larger number, (40 + 4) ÷ 2 = 22.
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The sum of three consecutive even numbers is 54. What is the smallest of them?
Correct answer: B. 16
The middle number is 54 ÷ 3 = 18, so the three numbers are 16, 18 and 20. The smallest is 16. For consecutive numbers, the middle equals the average.
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Three-fifths of a number is 45. What is the number?
Correct answer: C. 75
If 3/5 is 45, then 1/5 is 45 ÷ 3 = 15, and the whole number is 5 × 15 = 75. Check: 3/5 × 75 = 45. This "find one part, then the whole" method works for any fraction of an unknown number.
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A seminar starts at 2:50 p.m. and lasts 1 hour and 25 minutes. When does it end?
Correct answer: C. 4:15 p.m.
Add 1 hour: 3:50 p.m. Then add 25 minutes: 10 minutes takes you to 4:00, and the remaining 15 minutes give 4:15 p.m. There is no such time as 3:75.
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A rectangle has an area of 72 m² and a width of 6 m. What is its perimeter?
Correct answer: A. 36 m
The length is 72 ÷ 6 = 12 m, so the perimeter is 2 × (12 + 6) = 36 m. Find the missing side first, then apply the perimeter formula.
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Simplify: 15 − 3 × (4 − 1)² ÷ 9
Correct answer: D. 12
Brackets first: (4 − 1) = 3. Then the exponent: 3² = 9. Then multiply and divide from left to right: 3 × 9 = 27, 27 ÷ 9 = 3. Finally 15 − 3 = 12.
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