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

Reply 280

kashagupta

6

What's the average score in section 1 for successful applicants?

Reply 281

OldTS4US33R

6

Anyone know how to do 2013 Q6, 10, 21 or 25?

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 282

groovyd97

14

Original post by hmanblackman

Anyone know how to do 2012 Q6, 10, 21 or 25?

6) 70% of 120 = 84.
This is the food bill, which increases by 20%. This is 84*1.20=100.80

20% of 120 = 24. This is houshold goods.
This goes up by 5% which is 24*1.05=25.20.

10% of 120=12. This is store cupboard ingredients.
Total=100.80+25.20+12 = 138 pounds which is B.

10) It refers to long haul flights so you can rule out C. It also only refers to planes without power points, so D can be ruled out. A and B are irrelevant - therefore, E is left and is the answer.

21) The flaw is that pesticides could well be more effective than the insects at killing pests. Therefore, A is the logical answer.

25) This is just the difference in hours and minutes between 09:05 and 19:45. The answer is 10h 40 min which is D.

Hope that helps! :smile:

Reply 283

OldTS4US33R

6

Original post by groovyd97

6) 70% of 120 = 84.
This is the food bill, which increases by 20%. This is 84*1.20=100.80

20% of 120 = 24. This is houshold goods.
This goes up by 5% which is 24*1.05=25.20.

10% of 120=12. This is store cupboard ingredients.
Total=100.80+25.20+12 = 138 pounds which is B.

10) It refers to long haul flights so you can rule out C. It also only refers to planes without power points, so D can be ruled out. A and B are irrelevant - therefore, E is left and is the answer.

21) The flaw is that pesticides could well be more effective than the insects at killing pests. Therefore, A is the logical answer.

25) This is just the difference in hours and minutes between 09:05 and 19:45. The answer is 10h 40 min which is D.

Hope that helps! :smile:

This is embarrassing and I greatly apologise however I meant to put 2013 instead of 2012. Thank you very much for your response though and i'm sure it will help me once I attempt the 2012 paper.

Reply 284

groovyd97

14

Original post by hmanblackman

This is embarrassing and I greatly apologise however I meant to put 2013 instead of 2012. Thank you very much for your response though and i'm sure it will help me once I attempt the 2012 paper.

lol for gods sake, yeah i was wondering because those weren't the hardest questions :s-smilie:

Reply 285

Millerman

7

Does anyone have any tips of how to save a lot of time as I am running out of time on every test i do

Reply 286

Millerman

7

Original post by chughes17

My best score is 49/50 which is 97ish.. But I doubt i'll be able to pull that off on the day. Good luck, just practice tbh!

Posted from TSR Mobile

How do you do that in the given time? Im getting low-mid 30s and running out of time haha

Reply 287

ernstol

4

Can anyone explain the maths/calculations behind 36/37 and 38 of the 2008 Paper ? :smile:

Reply 288

OldTS4US33R

6

Anyone able to give tips on how to tackle parallel reasoning questions?

Reply 289

PolarBearSlayer

1

Original post by hmanblackman

Anyone able to give tips on how to tackle parallel reasoning questions?

just use short hand like 'If A, then B. No A, so no B.' they're quite time consuming Qs.

PBS

Reply 290

PolarBearSlayer

1

Original post by ernstol

Can anyone explain the maths/calculations behind 36/37 and 38 of the 2008 Paper ? :smile:

36:
1) convert all times to london times. (Dubai depart = 10.30 (-4); arrive Kampala=17:45 (-3)).
2)12 hours from 'depart london' to 'depart dubai' - waiting time 5hrs 15 mins. So flight time is 6 hours 45 mins.
3) time between 'depart dubai' and 'arrive kampala' is 7 hours 15.
hence total time is 6 hrs 45+ 7 hrs 15= 14 hrs (B).

37: got that wrong - i think it's explained in an old thread though so give it a google.

38: do a drawing. If you draw it folded first time, then each side is 4. If you draw folded second, then draw a dotted line through the middle, you will see 5 resultant lengths. That means C immediately (only C has 5 lengths).
Sometimes you can get the answer with minimal calculation if you think a bit before approaching.

Sorry couldnt be more help for 37.

Reply 291

Teddysmith123

19

Can someone explain 2013 questions 36,37 and 48

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 292

hoollsss

4

Does anyone know whether you just get 2 hours overall for the multiple choice and the essay question and could, if you wanted to, spend less time on the MC and start the essay with more than 30 minutes left?
Or do you have the allotted 90 mins for MC and then can only start the essay with 30 minutes left?

Reply 293

OldTS4US33R

6

Original post by Teddysmith123

Can someone explain 2013 questions 36,37 and 48

36 - After 16 days - average of 6 miles/day
After 25 days - Total distance ran = 6x16 + 9x2 = 114 miles

Then I tested each answer. After 2 days (27 days total) you need to run a total distance of at least 135 miles to maintain 5 miles/day average. That means that across 2 days, she needs to run 135-114 miles (21 miles) but she can only run 8 miles/day maximum so A isn't possible.

Do this for B and you'll find that it is possible

37 - Minimum length that the bird sounds for is 10 + 15 + 15 = 40 seconds
3600 seconds in an hour. 3600/40 = 90.

48 - Found quite difficult but if you use algebra and trial and error, you'll get it. Can't really give an explanation because I'm not entirely sure how I got it myself but try replacing variables with r/g/b and creating equations then substituting 1 into either g or b.

Sorry if my answers don't make a lot of sense but I hope it helped a little.

Reply 294

Askaud

8

Original post by Teddysmith123

Can someone explain 2013 questions 36,37 and 48

For 48, I think it's one that either jumps out at you straight away or it doesnt.
The 4 greens and 1 blue coming to 33k, just seemed to click to me that 4x8 is 32. So greens would be 8k and blues 1k.
Then you can work out the change given was (3x8)+1 which is 25. Add 25 to 135 which is 160. 160/8 is 20.

Not sure the best actual way to work out the first part, maybe just trial and error it aha

Reply 295

Mountainwolf

37 Maggie is preparing 300 information packs so that she can respond to enquiries for her
holiday cottages. Each pack contains:
• A basic information sheet - this is printed on A4 sized paper on both sides
so that it may be folded to form 4 pages.
• A sheet with prices on one side and a booking form on the other - two of
these are printed on a sheet of A4 paper which is then cut in two.
• An A4 information sheet giving details of some local amenities - this is
printed on one side only.
• A single A4 sheet colour brochure printed on both sides - this is provided
free by the local Angling Association.
The local printer charges 2p per side of A4 for reproduction.
How much will her 300 packs cost her?
A £ 15
B £ 24
C £ 30
D £ 36
E £ 42

I keep getting C, can someone show me the explanation?

Reply 296

ventus

Original post by Mountainwolf

37 Maggie is preparing 300 information packs so that she can respond to enquiries for her
holiday cottages. Each pack contains:
• A basic information sheet - this is printed on A4 sized paper on both sides
so that it may be folded to form 4 pages.
• A sheet with prices on one side and a booking form on the other - two of
these are printed on a sheet of A4 paper which is then cut in two.
• An A4 information sheet giving details of some local amenities - this is
printed on one side only.
• A single A4 sheet colour brochure printed on both sides - this is provided
free by the local Angling Association.
The local printer charges 2p per side of A4 for reproduction.
How much will her 300 packs cost her?
A £ 15
B £ 24
C £ 30
D £ 36
E £ 42

I keep getting C, can someone show me the explanation?

It's pretty confusing - I got A, what's the answer?

Reply 297

maximator

Q37 2011:
I often order items from a mail order catalogue. THe charges for postage and packaging (to be added to the order value) are as follows:
order value:
less than $25,00 - $4,50
$25,00 to $49,99 - $8,50
$50,00 to $74,99 - $ 12,00
$75,00 to $99,99 - $15,00
$100 and over - $17,50

Just beofre sending off my latest order, I noticed that the current catalogue offers half price postage and packing for orders of 8 or more items. My order was for 7 items, with an order value of $74,60. I could not find anything else I wanted, so I just added the cheapest item in the catalogue (priced at $1,25) to my order.

By how much did adding the extra item to my order reduce the total cost?
A $3,25
B $4,50
C $4,75
D $5,75
E $6,25

My suggestion was: $15,00 diveded by 2 = $7,50 and then minus $1,25 which is then E. Correct is A, where is my problem?