The Oxford TSA thread - 2015 applicants - 5th Nov 2014

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1	B
2	B
3	A
4	C
5	A
6	A
7	B
8	D
9	D
10	C
11	A
12	D
13	16H
14	B
15	B
16	E
17	12/9/7/5
18	C
19	A
20	D
21	?
22	A
23	B
24	CARLOS/MACCIO
25	E
26	C
27	E
28	A
29	B
30	B
31	D
32	C
33	C
34	A
35	D
36	C
37	B
38	E
39	A
40	C
41	D
42	A
43	D
44	D
45	C
46	23000
47	D
48	C
49	A
50	B

In my opinion some of your answers are wrong. I'll just send my solutions for the not-matching answers.

5: c

If you take 7 out of one box, you'll have one of both colours, therefore it doesn't matter which college it is, when you take a single one from the other box.

11: c

Your answer is in minutes, but the questions asks for hours.

13: a

It's 8 square feet for the first hole. Therefore 4 square feet an hour, divided by 12 persons = 1/3 square feet per person per hour.

The second hole is 4*4*4= 64 square feet. Therefore 3*64= 192 working hour for a single worker. Divided by 6 leaves us with 32 hours.

14: D

The argument tries to set out that today we shouldn't totally rely on the written word. In my opinion D is the only possible answer. But I'm not sure about it.

20: ?

I simply don't understand this one. My guess was B.

25: B

Your answer (E) is not actually part of the argument. In my opinion, the link between the two events (less funding for sport + problems regarding obesity) are not linked by the given argument in a proper way. Therefore it fails to consider the sport children do at home.

26: E

I must do A to do B.
B happened, even though I didn't do A.
Therefore it must be for reason C.

In my opinion E is more closely to that but your guess (C) could be true as well.

27: D

It's definitely about the setting borders for technologies.

30: E

I think it's more important because if there is no relation it also includes B.

31: E

In my opinion D is more a summary of the reasons of the argument. But maybe E is too far away from the argument.

32: E

I think C is simply one reason.

36: E

41: B

12*95= 1140
1140:422= 2,...

Therefore 3

44: C

2400*(100%-80%)= 480

48: D

The question is asking for what is not true according to the argument. C is definitely stated in the middle of the paragraph.

I found the 2007 paper quite easy compared to the recent ones.

Reply 201

TheArmouredSaint

Original post by Agap

In my opinion some of your answers are wrong. I'll just send my solutions for the not-matching answers.

.

I agree with most of your corrections.
Here are the ones which differ

21 No clue
25 D
31 D
32 C
49 D

Reply 202

Adriaan

Original post by philerus

The TSA is going decently enough, but I will not bring myself to say fine, since its in the mid 60s (but I have only done two official papers so far, since I am planning on doing them during the following week). I hope that will be enough to get me an interview. I am not at all sure about how the essay is going, since I have nothing to compare it with.

I did not know that Brasenose was that popular. Ironically, one of the reasons I applied there was that my other choice of college, St John's, is even more competitive. I'll just hope it goes well and I am not pooled to some distnat college like Worcester ( I hope I have not offended any Worcester applicants here!).

Does mid 60s mean an interview usually? I have read somewhere that the TSA and your whole application are only a springboard towards the interview and that they make a decision on your offer almost solely based on the interview. I've also read that the essay is not that important, they just read it to make sure you are able to develop a decent argument on paper in short time. I do not know of course whether these things are true, as there is so much mystery around the whole Oxbridge application process.

Reply 203

Millerman

Do candidates get spare paper for workings in the TSA??

Reply 204

PaulKrugman

Original post by Millerman

Do candidates get spare paper for workings in the TSA??

Yeah, should be provided by your exam centre.

Reply 205

philerus

Original post by Adriaan

Oh, definitely, once you get an interview everything is based solely on that. You can even get the admissions tutors to confirm that by sending you an email. Admissions tests, grades and other details matter only in the initial shortlisting stage. Mind you, this does not by any means mean that they are not important, since the shorlisting stage is just as brutal as any other. Also, the essay is not as important as the multiple choice section of the TSA, in the sense that it does not play as formal a role in the application role. A good Section 1 score can compensate for a bad essay, but the opposite does not happen as often. Mind you, I have a friend who did not do as well in Section 1 and, after being admitted, was actually told that his essay is what got him the interview. In the end I think you just have to perform to the best of your ability everywhere you can.

Reply 206

milkman94

Original post by Agap

I found the 2007 paper quite easy compared to the recent ones.

Thank you! i found the paper harder than the recent ones though.. I feel that the questions they ask differ slightly and there are less spatial reasoning questions

Reply 207

milkman94

Original post by Agap

I found the 2007 paper quite easy compared to the recent ones.

14. D states that people should talk to each other to remain diplomatic. However, I don’t see any premises put forth in the passage to support that diplomatic cause. My answer is clearly wrong, I don’t know what I was doing…

20. Sorry for the confusion, my answer is D. In my opinion, the question is asking “what will happen”, i.e. a future prediction, rather than a trend, which is what B is. Given the fact that both pies see a reversal of trend with a point of inflexion on Tuesday/Wednesdays, and cherry pies being initially less popular than apple pies at the start of the week, but ending on higher sales at the end, it is probable that cherry pies will outsell apple pies.

26. To achieve A, I must do B.
I have done B, but did not achieve A.
Therefore, reason C.

Where A is bike in good condition, B is oiling chain and C faulty.

I feel that C and E have a similar argument structure, but the reason answer C gives directly relates to object A.

30. The argument stems from an observation, that some who have children less than 5 years old have the highest unemployment rates. If this clause is not sound, the whole argument crumbles. It depends on how you interpret the question I guess. E seems like an implicit premise in the whole passage, but I am not comfortable with its inaccuracy as compared to B (children vs young children).

31. E can be the conclusion if it did not claim that perception was “unfounded”. To support that reason, you will need mitigating premises that influenced the public’s perception, such as TV shows, news channels, and so on.

36 E may not be true. As stated in the passage, middle sized firms are able to be more customer focused. Whether it does so better or worse than small sized firms is not stated.

Reply 208

milkman94

In Cameronia you pay no income tax on the first $20 000 of your annual income. You have to pay20% in tax of any income above $20 000 and up to $100 000, and you have to pay 40% in tax ofany income above $100 000. Edwina is a taxpayer in Cameronia.
Which of the following statements would not be sufficient by itself to enable the calculation ofEdwina’s income before she pays tax?

A Edwina pays 20% of her total income in tax.

B Edwina pays $24 000 less than 40% of her total income in tax.

C Edwina pays $24 000 in tax.

D Edwina’s income after tax is $96 000.

Help? Apparently the answer is B, but I can formulate 2 equations with one unknown given the information. It seems that A is the answer, as not only does it not provide any relevant information, it's merely stating what is mentioned in the passage

Reply 209

maximator

Can somebody please explain Q24 Specimen paper?
Thanks

Reply 210

Harshil1

Hockey is an 11-a-side game, but a team may consist of up to 16 players, with unlimited
substitutions allowed throughout a match of 70 minutes duration.
Roger captains the Buccaneers hockey team. He has 16 players for today's match. He
will play the whole match himself, as will the goalkeeper. He intends to rotate all the
others in such a way that each of them spends the same total amount of time on the
pitch.
How much time should each player (except Roger and the goalkeeper) spend on the pitch
during today's match?

A 39 3/8 minutes
B 45 minutes
C 46 2/3 minutes
D 48 1/8 minutes
E 55 minutes

Help please with the explanation...?

Reply 211

kimiaak

Original post by Harshil1

Basically there are 11 people on the game at a time,

And there are 16 players in this particular team,

Two of the players remain the same all the time,

So you have 14 players that you are trying to alternate on to 9 positions,

You are trying to dish out the total possible time that can be spent on the field between 14 people,

Therefore total amount of time on field/ number of people

Which is 9 * (multiplied by) 70/ 14

=45 therefore the answer is B

Reply 212

maximator

I have tried out Cracking the thinking skills assessment test by Mitesh Desai.
Some good tips but nothing that boosts you up totally... the verbal questions offered are quite good but only some of the maths' are very hard.
Bought the kindle version, was quite cheap and within one day you'll be finished.

P.S. if it is not available in your country, use a proxy :wink:

Reply 213

sellerofdreams

I found the first two sample tests offered on the cracking the tsa book quite difficult (far more difficult than the papers). It was quite funny to see how many sneaky pop culture references there were-there was one question about Rihanna and her umbrella :wink:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 214

kimiaak

Cananyone explain question 8 of the specimen paper?

Reply 215

Agap

Original post by kimiaak

Cananyone explain question 8 of the specimen paper?

It's actually an easy one:

First cut: 1 acre of silage = 7 bales
Second cut: 10 acre * 5 bales = 50 bales
Third cut: 10 acre * 4 bales = 40 bales
_________________________________

c: 97 bales

Reply 216

Agap

Can anyone explain question 50 of the specimen paper?

I find these type of questions difficult sometimes, because it's not obvious what kind of activities could be done simultaneously.

Reply 217

milkman94

Original post by kimiaak

Cananyone explain question 8 of the specimen paper?

Its a badly constructed question that may require a modicum of contextual knowledge ...

Simply put,

1st cut= 7 bales

As he cut around the field, there is still 10 acres left.

2nd cut= 5 x 10= 50

3rd cut = 4 x 10= 40

Total 97 bales (c).

Think of it as cutting the grass on your lawn. Maybe by using your lawnmower, you can cut most of the grass and collect 20 bags.

Wait 3 weeks, and the grass will grow a bit, but not as much as to the previous height (in the question, the farmer staggered his cuts by a month), so maybe this time its only 10 bags.

Reply 218

milkman94

Original post by Agap

Can anyone explain question 50 of the specimen paper?

I find these type of questions difficult sometimes, because it's not obvious what kind of activities could be done simultaneously.

Its actually an easy one.

You ain't gonna do no simultaenous cooking for 3 hours, cos the gas cooker can only provide one heat source. so you gonna use 30mins to boil water, vegetables, and prepare the meat (you bake the meat first many activities are dependent on it).

So answer is D.

Who said home economics wasn't useful? haha

Reply 219

David L 7

I've been reading in this thread for a while now and decided to register and join in... Hey guys

Did you find the specimen paper much easier than some of the papers from the past years? I scored 40/50 in the specimen paper but my raw scores in the past papers are usually around 30-35/50...
Also I don't quite know what to do about the essay. I bought "Ace the Thinking Skills Assessment" by Neel Burton but would definitely not recommend this book because I just didn't find it very helpful at all. I will maybe get Mitesh Desai's book. Neel Burton gives 2 or 3 "sample essays" in his book which are very philosophical and not at all down-to-earth. Are tutors looking for normal essays with practical examples and simple language or are they out for people who start by defining terms and lift off into philosophy (like Neel Burton)?

Applying for E&M this year (Brasenose)... Do you think I have a chance of getting invited for interview with scores in the 60's (raw scores 30-35/50)?

David