Free UMAT Resource Material Course Package

BUY NOW UMATSUCCESS COURSE BOOK

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 21:15:00 +0000

UMATSUCCESS GUIDEBOOKS + OTHER INFO

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:30:00 +0000

Hey people, so if you have been reading this blog and enjoyed its contents, I've created an eBook that I may be selling depending on demand. It consist of everything that I have posted on this blog but a whole lot more, with approximately 400 pages of content. Like I mentioned previously about the content and prices of premium UMAT preparation packages, the content given are quite pricey and overall it's generally giving you questions and providing explanations. It doesn't really teach you the proper techniques to succeed in UMAT. Before I get into this in a little bit more detail, I'd like you all to preview a sampler of my eBook content. There you can see snippets of my UMAT content, nothing too hard to understand yet in extensive detail. This is my UMATSUCCESS Guidebook. If you like the content and the tests that is freely available on my blog, then I guarantee you will enjoy my guidebook. It contains technique, tricks and approaches in solving questions. I also include a large number of tests for different sections and thorough explanations. I'm not here to compete with the UMAT prep courses available online. They specialize in giving you a multitude of questions and answers but I explain the how it works, how the UMAT authors create their questions and the thought processes behind required to come up with the correct answer!

How much for this guidebook? A low cost of $50 and a guaranteed improvement in UMAT question taking. It's very extensive, a lot of knowledge and tricks for a very low price. The content is beyond simple questions, but in depth study of Section 1 and 2. Email umatsuccess[at]gmail.com for interest.

Let's say you're this lady. A beginner cook who knows how to make, let's say spaghetti. In fact her spaghetti may be delicious and nice! However, for her to perform in a real restaurant, she would need to know more than just spaghetti. Had she only memorized the techniques involved in making spaghetti and nothing more pertaining to cooking, she would be at a great disadvantage in the real world!

I want you to be like this person - Chef Gordon Ramsay! An outstanding chef recognized internationally. He makes many dishes and creates modern variations of classic dishes!

Okay okay..... by now I realized this was a poor example!! What I was trying to tell you is that it's more important to know how to answer questions than memorizing the answers to questions. If you solidify yourself in technique and train your thought process around this area, the questions you face you can overcome in confidence.

For me and many of my fellow friends who have either sat the UMAT more than once, or even those who have failed UMAT and became doctors through the GAMSAT pathway.. one thing that we all agreed on is the quality and content of these UMAT resources available online - overpriced materials! There's too many preparation available and some websites are dodgy enough to make you stay clear, but they all tempt us with 'premium written content' or 'accreditation'. The best of these preparations can only construct or develop questions that will never be in the UMAT test. Never be (with an exception of one but I'll talk about that later).

Questions help prepare you mentally, to give you a "test feel", replicating the UMAT test environment in your home. The common student will fall for the trap that signing up to an online prep automagically improves their chances in scoring a high UMAT score. They tend to memorize the meaning of words, or simply do more repeated questions provided by the prep. These are helpful goals to attain but the mental approach is definitely wrong! Sadly, the repeated method works better with subjects such as Maths, Physics, Chemistry and so on. The more you exercise in these subjects the more you improve, as well as the faster you are in response! UMAT is not assessed in the same way. Your prep questions aren't going to be similar to the actual UMAT assessment. So when you arrive on the test day itself, you will be seeing many new questions! And if you're not confident, despite the relentless amount of time spent on online preps you may crumble under the pressure of the test and it's time limitations!

There's one UMAT prep course that somehow has ACER UMAT questions in its practice question pool. Students that have done this prep have recognized one or two questions in the actual ACER UMAT test. The reason for this is solely because the prep course has sent people to sit the actual UMAT test with no intention to pass it, but to memorize the questions. And if you are lucky enough, ACER may repeat it's questions. The probability of this however, is quite low but it has happened one or two times around 2006-2008. I would strongly advise you not to rely on this. The chances of getting a repeated test is extremely low. ACER knows students who have been unsuccessful are likely to try the assessment once again.

Let's compare UMAT materials. The ACER booklets cost around $AUD20-$AUD30 per booklet, and the questions are way easier than the actual UMAT assessment. The booklet is there to give you an actual feel of the test and how it's presented. I purchased all the books and found it different to the actual test. If you would like to consider this option, I suggest going to eBay to purchase a second-hand copy of the book. It's more affordable. ACER revises the UMAT practice booklets yearly, this is marketing strategy. If it is the same every year, then they will not be able to generate money - consumers would rather go second-third hand options! Furthermore, a new practice booklet that has a big stamp "2012", "2013" attracts consumer attention to the extent that repeat students would re-purchase it once again! Remember, the actual ACER UMAT test is revised yearly, so the questions are also different every year.

Here's an example of an online prep course. This one's a popular prep choice by default but let's look at its pricing. It ranges from $395 to $1890. This can get very expensive. If you fail, you can take the package again for $295. Online UMAT prep courses re-use questions. They don't update their question pool so much that every test becomes different each year. So to pay another $295 to do the same questions again I personally feel is a huge waste of money. Looking at the pricing above, it cost $790 for a platinum package that has a 2 day workshop. Doing the Math, the 2 day workshop costs $790-$395=$395 which is equivalent to a standard package. So what is the workshop?

I attended one in the past that lasted for only 3 hours or so from memory. It wasn't very helpful as we go at a class pace (slow, felt like I could have done more productive revision at home by myself). What is obvious from the above image is "Invaluable questions and tips". The one thing that excels a student in UMAT - I had to highlight this because this is what my guidebook is all about. My guidebook shows lots of techniques and tests with explanations - 300 pages of it listed in the content page. Students have to pay large amounts of money for a UMAT workshop in order to obtain such knowledge.. Furthermore, of the limited workshop time, they give you a practice UMAT exam. This exam is not a full exam, its a mini-exam designed to give students a "feel" of a UMAT test and provide a collective performance report relative to other prep course peers within the workshop. At the end of the workshop, they let you keep the question and answer booklets. And that's where most of your $395 money is spent within the 3 hours! So is the mini UMAT exam supplied at the workshop worth $395? I don't think so. It's very costly. In fact it could very well cost more than the ACER UMAT registration. I can't stress this enough, students fall for the trap that obtaining the questions immediately improves the probability of doing well in UMAT. This is a false. Once again, it's the techniques is what counts!

Going quickly through the list, students are already expose to Section 1, 2 and 3 in detail when they sign up to an online prep course. There is absolutely no need to spend extra attending a workshop. The online prep course will also provide full length practice exam questions leading up to the ACER UMAT test. We have already talked about the 'invaluable questions and tips' - that this is definitely very important but unfortunately not provided in extensive detail. The Q&A can be asked on online forums such as MedStudentsOnline for free. Strategies that maximise your performance are just common approaches in preparation to an exam such as healthy eating, effective time management, sleeping patterns etc. Finally, this last one is not really useful. You do not need to know how you are performing in relation to others. Let's say you perform well - should that affect you? It shouldn't. You should continue improving your techniques regardless. Now let's say you perform not too well.. you would strive to improve at your utmost ability! So what I'm saying is, don't get distracted by this... only ACER knows the nationwide UMAT cohort score and so they scale the scores accordingly. The representation group of those doing an online prep course is vastly different to the actual UMAT cohort, with online prep courses claiming their content is more difficult and therefore customer's performances will always be better that the actual UMAT cohort. This is false, misleading and definitely rubbish talk.. Unless the questions are constant and equal between ACER and online prep courses then yes, we may be able to deduce a thing or two. There are so many variables that affect comparing raw scores, and as a student, our job is to focus on performing well in exam. Let ACER handle the scores. Don't try to understand something that will not come up in the test for it may just confuse you!

OFFLINE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:19:00 +0000

Hey friends,

I'm going to prepare myself for this wedding that's happening Saturday in - clothes, speech, relatives over and the works. You know how it is! So I will be going offline this whole weekend for celebration and festivity. The feelings are quite unspeakable, kind of like this little child here! >>

On a separate note, thanks for returning feedback in regards to having a forum online for UMAT students - active and alive version. I'll see to it that it'll come to works. Keep the comments/suggestions coming for what you'd like to see happening there in that post! Until after Monday, have a great weekend!

ALRIGHT, I NEED YOUR HELP FORUM!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:54:00 +0000

Hey people, it's been on my mind now but I'd like to ask you all something and hear something back from you all - the UMAT students. So far, personally it's been quite a journey - we've always had this one-way relationship where I do all the work and talk and you people rest on the couch and all. But now, let's work on our relationships.

I'd like your input on this because I don't want to start it and it just dies and collapse. It's the community of people that make a place awesome and with your talent and knowledge I'd like to ask what you all think about us starting a UMAT forum together. Pure, down to earth UMAT forum open to the public? There's some materials in my possessions that could do good with you all and likewise I'm sure you all have things that I don't have as well. This is going to be all exciting and everyone gets to contribute more regularly as the more active posts will remain active unlike here, the more I write the more digging we have to go.

On the flip-side, if you all are cool with this, and promise to contribute and talk + participate, I can give it the green light and start the project. Above is just a sample image of a forum. Please let me know what you think, whether you'd like to hold hands with me doing this.

Kudos

THE FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES OF LOGIC GAMES

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:21:00 +0000

Since there's number of YOUs struggling with the logic games when I compare answers and check the emails, I thought I'd try schooling you people about this particular department and walk you through the park to teach you how to handle them.

Personally consider you're all lucky, that I'm taking time out to actually do this for you! .....I know, I know I'm awesome.. Now I mentioned in my INTRODUCTION that I've done preps so to my understanding even for those spending money doing packages you don't have detailed guidelines like this but just solution explanations, correct me if I'm wrong. Here we go children.

The test makers know that if you could spend hours methodically trying out every choice in every question, you'd probably get everything right. But what does that prove? Nothing.

First Principle: To Go Faster, Slow Down

To gain time in Logic Games, you must spend a lot of time thinking through and analysing the setup and the rules. This is not only the most important principle for logic games success, it's also the one that's most often ignored, probably because it just doesn't seem right intuitively; people having timing difficulties tend to speed up, not slow down. But by spending a little extra time up front thinking through the stimulus, the "action" of the game, and the rules, you'll be able to recognise the game's key issues and make important deductions that will actually save you time in the long run.

Games are structured so that, in order to answer the questions quickly and correctly, you need to search out relevant pieces of information that combine to form valid new statements, called deductions. Now, you can either do this once, up front, and then utilise the same deductions throughout the game, or you can choose to piece together the same basic deductions-essentially repeating the same work-for every single question.

For instance, let's say that two of the rules for a Logic Game go as follows:

If Bob is chosen for the team, then Eric is also chosen.

If Eric is chosen for the team, then Pat will not be chosen.

You can, as you read through the rules of the game, just treat those rules as two separate pieces of independent information. But there's a deduction to be made from them. If Bob is chosen, Eric is, too. If Eric is chosen, Pat is not. That means that, if Bob is chosen, Pat is not chosen. That's an important deductionone that will undoubtedly be required from question to question. If you don't take the time to make it up front, when you're first considering the game, you'll have to make it over and over again, every time it's necessary to answer a question. But if you do take the time to make this deduction up front, and build it into your entire conception of the game, you'll save that time later. You won't be doing the same work several times.

The choice is yours; we find that the rush-to-the-questions method is inefficient, time-consuming, and stress-inducing.

Always try to take the rules as far as you can before moving on to the questions. Look for common elements among the rules (like Eric in the rules above)-this will help you combine them and pull out major deductions. The stimulus creates a situation, and the rules place restrictions on what can and cannot happen within that situation. If you investigate the possible scenarios, and look for and find major deductions up front, you'll then be able to rack up points quickly and confidently.

Second Principle: Understand What a Rule Means, Not Just What It Says

RULE: Arlene is not fifth in line.

QUESTION: Which one of the following people is not fifth in line?

ANSWER: Arlene

Virtually every sentence in Logic Games has to be filtered through some sort of analytical process before it will be of any use. You may have to use the information about Arlene to help you eliminate a choice or lead you to the right answer, but even in the simplest of cases, this will involve the application, as opposed to the mere parroting, of the rule.

It's imperative that you think through its exact meaning, including any implications it might have For instance, let's look at a scenario in which you have three boxes, each containing at least two of the following three types of chocolates, gumdrops, and mints. Then you get the following rule:

Box 2 does not contain any gumdrops.

What does that rule say? That there aren't any gumdrops in Box 2. But what does that rule mean, when you think about it in the context of the game? That Box 2 does contain chocolates and mints. Each box contains at least two of three things, remember. Once you eliminate one of the three things for any particular box, therefore, you know that the other two things must be in that box.

Part of understanding what a rule means, moreover, is grasping what the rule doesn't mean. For example, take the rule we mentioned earlier:

RULE: If Bob is chosen for the team, then Eric is also chosen.

MEANS: Whenever Bob is chosen, Eric is, too.

DOESN'T MEAN: Whenever Eric is chosen, Bob is, too.

Remember the discussion of formal logic in Logical Reasoning. If I yell loudly at my cat Adrian, he will run away. That does mean that whenever I yell at him loudly, he runs away. But it doesn't mean that whenever he runs away, I've yelled at him.

We'll touch the next two principles in the next coming post.

UMAT SECTION 1: LOGIC GAMES BREAKDOWN #2 ANSWERS 2/2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 04:25:00 +0000

Here are the last part answers to the LOGIC GAME TEST-RUN #2. Two more attempted the questions which was real good! Now let's look at chairs + who seats where.

PART 4 of the LOGIC GAME: The Nine Chair Circle

The Action

Arranging seven people and two empty chairs in a circle. The key issues on which the questions will be based are:

- Who can sit next to whom?
- Who must sit next to whom?
- How far away are some entities from other entities?
- Where are the entities with respect to the empty chairs?

The Initial Setup

Anytime you have an odd number of entities to place, you can’t imagine a standard circle sectioned off like pieces of a pie, because this will always come out even. So instead, try drawing nine dots spaced out in a circle, and number the seats #1 through #9, making #1 at the top and working clockwise for #2-9.

(Note: Assigning actual seat numbers is, in fact, a step beyond what you would normally do in this type of game-they’re included solely as convenient reference points for the following explanations.)

Since this game specifies how people will be seated in terms of being to the left or right of one another, we must also take into account which way is left and right. In circle sequence games, people always sit facing the centre of the circle; those sitting at the top of the circle, therefore, will have their left and right reversed from those on the bottom, who perceive left and right as you do. (Try to picture yourself sitting at the top of the circle, facing the centre, and again at the bottom; you’ll see how left and right reverse themselves.) Make a mental note that left always points clockwise and right always points counterclockwise.

The Rules
1. With any circle sequencing game, we start by picking one of the entities and placing him/her at some point on the circle. Since we see S mentioned in most of the rules, we will start by placing her in a seat, let’s say #1, with M to her immediate right in seat #9 (remember, right is counterclockwise).

2. Since Sybil’s already placed, rule 2 is a good one to incorporate next. Counting off three chairs to the right of Sybil (remember-counterclockwise) places R in chair #7.

3. This means that seats #2, #6, and #8 can’t be empty, so remember this.

4. If L and O sit immediately next to each other, we need to locate a pair of adjacent chairs for them.

The possible candidates are: #2-3, #3-4, #4# and 5-C. #3-4 and #4-5 won’t work since each those cases would necessitate placing an empty chair next to Randi or Sybil, which violates the previous rule. So, we know that the L-O pair will sit either seats #2-3 or seats #5-6. Note that even determine which of those pairs L and O actual in, we still don’t know which person will sit which chair.

Key Deductions

If L and O sit in #2-3, the two empty chairs must be #4 and #5. Similarly, if L and O are in #5-6, the empties must be #3--4. In any event, we can now ascertain that chair #4 MUST be empty. Also, in either case one of the two remaining people, P or N, must sit in chair #8.

The Final Visualisation

The placements of S, M, and R are determined and; I and O are restricted to two pairs of chairs; the empty chairs are next to each other in one of two ways (#3-4, or #4-5); and N and P, the people not mentioned in any rules, are left to fill in the spaces as necessary.

The Big Picture

- In circle sequence games, always begin by placing the most prominent entity (the one connected to the most rules) into the circle first, and then build around it.
- It doesn’t matter where in the sketch you place the first entity; the relationships between the entities is the crucial thing, which will remain consistent whether you begin by placing S in seat #1 or seat #6, for example.
- Check to see if the game cares about left and right. Some games will simply say “next to” and “across from.” Others, like this one, care about direction.
- If left/right is an issue, make certain which way is left and which way is right from any chair. If the entities are facing inward, as is usually the case, right will be counterclockwise and left will be clockwise.

The Questions

19. (D) As mentioned earlier, a key deduction answers this one. We deduced that the two empty chairs must be either chairs #3 and #4, or chairs #4 and #5. Either way, the two empties are adjacent.

Neither (A) nor (B) needs to be true, as Pam and Naomi could sit in chair #2. Although L could sit next to an empty chair, L in #6 and O in #5 proves that L doesn’t have to, so (C) is out. The same example shows that (E) isn’t necessarily so.

Remember:
- When the first question offers no hypothetical information, the answer will be something that will hold true for the entire game. So, if you hadn’t already picked it out as part of the key deductions, build it into your visualisation and treat it as a valid rule for the rest of the game.

20. (E) This would place O in seat #5, and L next to O in seat #6 (rule 4). The empties must therefore take seats #3 and #4. The only uncertainty remaining is that N and P are free to float between seats #2 and #8. The answer is derived from this fact. While Pam could sit in seat #2, next to Sybil, she could also sit in seat #8.

(A) must be true, since three seats away from R is empty seat #4. Furthermore, O, in seat #5, is next to empty chair #4, so (B) can’t be false, either. We can rule out (C) since in this case L does sit next to R. Finally, (D) gets thrown out because regardless of which of N and P sits in #2 and which sits in #8, there must be exactly two people (S and M) between them.

Remember:
- When questions look for something that could be false, it’s a good bet that the answer will involve one of the more ambiguous entities. In this case, Pam and Naomi were the only unplaced people, which quickly narrowed down the choices to (D) and (E).

21. (A) With no new hypothetical information to go on in this “cannot be true” question, we’re left to test each choice by trying to make each one true. When we find the one that can’t be made to work, then that’s our winner. Luckily, the answer comes immediately in choice (A): if L and O take seats #2 and #3, Pam must sit in either #6 or #8, next to Randi. If the other scenario exists (L and O in #5 and #6), then Pam must sit in seat #2, next to Sybil, or seat #8, next to Randi.

By placing O in seat #3 or #5, we can make (B) true. The fact that P can sit between R and M rules out (C). (D) and (E) are out as well, since seat #2 can be occupied by L or N.

Remember:
- If you can’t decide where to begin in a question or to test out a choice, work with the entities that take up the most space-in this case, the L/O combo. When major entities are limited to two possibilities, simply try each and see what happens.

22. (C) Lisa can sit next to an empty chair if she sits in seat #3, with O in #2, or if she sits in seat #5, with O in #6. In the first case, P and N must sit in seats #6 and #8, in either order. So there are actually two possible arrangements attached to the first case. The same holds true for the second case, the scenario with L and O in #5 and #6, respectively. P and N could then float between seats #2 and #8. So, there are two general ways to place Lisa next to an empty seat, each containing its own two variations, resulting in four different possible arrangements overall.

Remember:
- When asked for the number of different possible arrangements, simply try each variation of the seating until you’ve exhausted all possibilities.

23. (C) In order to determine the exact locations of everyone, we need to resolve the

ambiguities. What are the major ambiguities? Well, there’s uncertainty as to where N and P sit, and there’s the question of placing the L/O twosome.

The intuitive approach to this problem, therefore is to look for a choice that mentions the people in each of these pairs. (A), (C), and (E) look like good candidates, so let’s begin with those. If Pam sits in seat #8, we can take care of (A) in two ways: L in #2 or L in #5. (E) can be discarded in the same way, by simply substituting O for L and N for P (C), however, does the trick: the only way to get exactly one person between L and N is if N sit in #8 and L sits in #6. This forces O into #5, P into #2, with #3 and #4 left empty. As for (B) and (D) which we never had to check after all, neither one allows for a definitive placement of the two perpetual free agents, N and P.

Remember:
- When looking for a statement that will precisely determine the placement of every entity, scan the list of choices for ones that deals with the game’s most ambiguous characters, and to those out first.

24. (E) The best approach here is to create a fresh sketch for this question (it doesn’t take long at all), and reapply the rules. Continue to keep S in seat # 1. Now, instead of being in #9, M. will be in seat #3. Following original rule 2, R remains in seat #7. Reapplying rule 3 tells us that now seats #2, #6, #8, and #9 can’t be empty, so the only remaining seats, #4 and #5, must be the empties. Finally, applying rule 4 tells us that L and O must share the only two remaining adjacent seats, #8 and #9 (in either order), while N and P are left to float between #2 and #6.

Armed with all of this information, it’s easy to see that (A) through (D) can all be true (choice (A) in fact must be true), while choice (E) can’t possibly be true. The chairs that are three chairs away from Sybil are #4, which is empty, and #7, which is Randi’s.

Remember:
- If you’re pressed for time, you may wish to skip a question that involves a change in the original rules, especially one that pretty much requires you to rethink the rules from scratch.

UMAT SECTION 1: LOGIC GAMES BREAKDOWN #2 ANSWERS 1/2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 01:50:00 +0000

Here are the 3rd part answers to the LOGIC GAME TEST-RUN #2. Above all I'd like to thank nisharg for actually attempting the questions. For the next upcoming test-runs I will email the answers to those who actually post a discussion to these questions in the comment section. Now, let's walk through the approach of attacking these questions!

Part 3 of LOGIC GAME: Four Pictures

This game centers around matching four pictures with the colour medium in which each picture will be created. The key issues here are fairly straight forward:

- What colour is used for each picture?
- What medium is used for each picture?

The Initial Setup

For matching games like this, a grid or a list that places the entities on one line and their properties underneath will generally be most helpful.

The Rules

1) By telling us that exactly one picture will be blue and one will be yellow, we know that the remaining two must be red. Next to the “color” line of the list, you may wish to write “B,Y,R,R” to represent this.

2) Here we learn that two tree pictures share the same medium but have different colors. It might be helpful to not this directly on the sketch, perhaps by placing an equal sign between the two Ts on the medium line and a separation or unequal sign between them on the color line.

3) Basically, this says that if the blue picture is done in paint, the yellow picture must be done in crayon, and vice versa. This doesn’t result in any great deduction at this level, but will be critical when we move on to the questions.

4) and 5) These are the most concrete rules, the kind that can go directly into your sketch. As in the previous game, you could have jumped to these two first to get off to a good, concrete start. Place C in the “medium” line under dog, and an R in the “colour” line under one of the trees.

Key Deduction

Combining rules 2 and 5, we now know that the other tree picture must be either blue or yellow, since one tree is red and the two trees can’t be the same color.

The Big Picture

- Sometimes a key deduction breaks open an entire game, while other times a deduction is somewhat helpful, but not a major factor. In this case, focus on the rules that don’t play a big part in the setup (rule 3 and half of rule 2). Lacking major deductions, these are the kinds of rules that the questions will hinge on.

- As the name implies, matching games involve matching up various characteristics about a group of entities. Resolve right now to 1) learn how to recognize the “matching” game, and 2) decide which, if any, form of sketch (such as a grid or a list) you’re most comfortable using to keep track of matching information.

The Questions

13. (C) This is a classic acceptability question. If your outline is set up properly, it is just a matter of glancing at each choice and testing it against your outline. (A) can be

eliminated because both the blue and yellow pictures are drawn in the same medium.

In (B) the two tree pictures are in different media. (D) shows that the tree pictures are not of different colours. Finally, (E) can be knocked out since the dogmust be in crayon, not paint.

Remember:

In acceptability questions, try to focus on a rule, and then scan the choices to find the ones that don’t conform. This saves time.

14. (C) We know that all four pictures can’t be done in crayon because the blue and the yellow pictures must be in different media. What about three pictures in crayon? Sure, that’s possible: the dog is always crayon and since the two tree pictures must be in the same medium, let’s make those two crayon as well. The house must therefore be done in paint. Does this new info correspond to any of the choices? No, so we must press on. Let’s now consider the color aspect. We already know that one tree will be red and that the other tree must be blue or yellow. Since the latter is in crayon, we know that the other picture done in blue or yellow must be painted ,which in this case is the house. Since the second red is all that is left, we can mark the dog as red and the answer as (C). The house and one of the trees will be the blue and yellow pictures, although we don’t know which is which. The other four choices, therefore, could be true, but need not be.

Remember:

Whenever you figure out any new piece of information, and the question asks, “What must be true,” it’s worth taking a few seconds to scan the choices looking for your deduction. Sometimes you’re rewarded with a quick and easy point.

15. (A) If the dog is blue, the second tree will be yellow, according to our key deduction. This leaves red for the house. Now rule 3 comes into play: The blue dog and the yellow tree must be done in different media, and since the dog is always done in crayon, the yellow tree (and the red tree, for that matter, thanks to rule 2) must be done in paint. The only information were missing is whether the red house is in paint or crayon.

The question asks us for what must be false, and (A) fits the bill. At best, the house is crayon and there’s an equal number of paint and crayon Pictures, but in this situation there taut be more crayon pictures than painted ones. (B), (C), and (D) all could be true, while (E) is a statement that must be true.

Remember:

- When testing whether a choice must be fake, attempt to make it true. If you can make it true, in even one case, then cross it off. However, if you fail to find a way to make it true, then you’ve found the answer.

16. (D) By making the house yellow, our key deduction tells us that the second tree must be blue, which makes the dog red. So far, we know nothing about the media of the house or the trees. As with question 15, we’re asked to find the choice that cannot be true or, in other words, that must be false. Once again, test to see if you can make each choice true. This time it’s (D) that’s impossible, as the red dog must be done in crayon (A) and (B) could be true, as the trees could be done in paint or crayon. Likewise, (C) and (E) could true if the house was done in crayon and the trees in paint.

17. (E) The first if-clause tells us, essentially that the second tree will be blue. The second hypothetical is a roundabout way of telling us that there will be three pictures done in paint and one in crayon-rid we know which one that is: the dog. So the trees and the house must be done in paint. The blue picture, in this case a painted tree, must be done in a different medium from the yellow picture, so the yellow picture must be the crayon dog, once again leaving the house as the second red picture. This supports correct choice (E).

(A) and (D) bite the dust because the dog is done in yellow crayon. The house, on the other hand, must be done in red paint, killing both (B) and (C).

Remember:

- Don’t be intimidated by question stems that contain a lot of information. The more you get to work with, the more you can figure out. Here, everything’s determined, which means there’s not a question in the world you can’t answer.

- When the question stem contains more than one if-clause, you don’t have to take them in order, if one is more concrete than the other, begin with that one first.

18. (B) Although it is possible to try out each of the choices in turn, it is really best to try to think out which of the rules can be used to derive the answer. We are asked to figure out how to force the dog to be blue or yellow. We know from our key deduction that one of the trees must be blue or yellow. So the easiest way to force the dog to be blue or yellow would be to make the house red. However, we’re not so lucky to find this easy solution in the choices.

So let’s search the choices for the one that brings about the desired result. Exactly three crayon pictures? The house could still be the other blue/yellow picture, instead of the dog. What about three paint pictures? Since the dog is in crayon, this means that the house and both trees must be paint. Could the house still be the other blue/yellow picture? No; this would violate rule 3, because both blue and yellow pictures would be done in paint. So (B), in fact, does force the dog to be done in blue or yellow. (C), (D), and (E) all result in situations in which the house and one tree could make up the blue/yellow pictures.

Remember:

- Questions that ask you to employ backwards reasoning may be time consuming, because if the solution doesn’t hit you intuitively, you’re left trying out each choice. Such questions may therefore be prime candidates to skip and return to later if time permits.

- Logic Game answers are objectively correct. When you find the correct answer, have the

confidence to move on without double-checking the remaining choices to “make sure.”

UMAT SECTION 2 TEST-RUN #2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:59:00 +0000

Here's a UMAT Section 2 Test-Run! ACER suggests 40 questions done in 50 minutes - about 1.25 minutes per question. Remember, treat this like the real UMAT. Chances are you may finish on time. Set your timer to 15 minutes.

Answers won't be provided for this test. Feel free to leave comments on what you think the answer is. Once again, please discuss you're answers in the comment section of THIS POST! That's probably the only way to get the answers. It should be simple enough anyways!

Finished reading? Okay, get ready. Here we go! READ MORE to START THE TEST.

Questions 1 - 3

The following excerpt is from a short story entitled "The Wind Blows", written in the early part of the 20th century. Matilda is going to her piano lesson.

"Matilda, Matilda. Come back im-me-diately! What on earth have you got on your head? It looks like a tea cosy. And why have you got that mane of hair on your forehead?"

"I can't come back, Mother. I'll be late for my lesson."

"Come back immediately!"

She won't. She won't. She hates mother. She runs down the road.

In waves, in clouds, in big round whirls the dust comes stinging, with little bits of straw and chaff and manure. There is a loud roaring sound from the trees in the gardens, and standing at the bottom of the road outside Mr Bullen's gate she can hear the sea sob: "Ah!- Ah- Ah-h!" But Mr Bullen's drawing room is as quiet as a cave. The windows are closed, the blinds half-pulled, and she is not late. The-girl-before-her has just started playing MacDowell's "To an Iceberg". Mr Bullen looks over at her and half smiles.

"Sit down," he says. "Sit over there on the sofa corner, little lady."

Question 1

At the beginning of the passage, Matilda's mood is

Choose one answer.

A. Morose, like the sea

B. Cold, like an iceberg

C. Niggling, like the dust

D. Impetuous, like the wind

Question 2

Mr Bullen's attitude towards Matilda suggests that he

Choose one answer.

A. Is more respectful than her mother

B. Is unpredictable, like the wind

C. Wants to intimidate her

D. Finds her puzzling

Question 3

For Matilda, music lessons are a form of

Choose one answer.

A. Ordeal

B. Refuge

C. Hard work

D. Repentance

Questions 4 and 5

Doctor: Good morning, Mr Faraday. How are you?

Mr Faraday: Horrible! How do you expect me to be?

Doctor: Well, the surgeon said the surgery went very well. I was hoping you'd feel much better.

Mr Faraday: That surgeon is an idiot! I can't believe you sent me to him.

Doctor: You know, Mr Faraday, he's a top surgeon with a very good reputation. It was lucky we got him at all.

Question 4

About which of the following do the doctor and Mr Faraday disagree?

Choose one answer.

A. Whether the surgeon has a good reputation

B. Whether Mr Faraday needed surgery

C. Whether Mr Faraday should have been sent to the surgeon

D. Whether the surgery was successful

Question 5

In the interaction, the doctor

Choose one answer.

A. Understands why Mr Faraday is angry

B. Effectively deals with Mr Faraday’s complaint

C. Does not understand why Mr Faraday is angry

D. Fails to address Mr Faraday’s anger

Questions 6 - 8

The following extract is taken from an interview with a man who is deaf.

I find that a lot of people are reluctant to talk to people about their deafness. There's this assumption on both sides that the other is too uncomfortable to talk about it so both sides just avoid it altogether. I've noticed that they'd gently ask if they could 'ask me something' as if asking me about my deafness would be an insult. I'm not someone who would make a big deal out of it; rather it's the opposite. Because deafness is a silent disability, you can't tell if one is deaf or not and I tend to keep it that way. It's just a part of who I am, not the defining fact. I'm perfectly happy if the person I'm talking to doesn't realise that I'm deaf.

Question 6

The man views his deafness as

Choose one answer.

A. Something that limits his interactions with others

B. A personal characteristic or trait

C. A disability that makes him different to other people

D. Something that defines him

Question 7

By describing deafness as 'a silent disability', the speaker means

Choose one answer.

A. Deafness is found among the silent

B. Deafness cannot be overtly seen

C. Deaf people are often silent

D. Deafness does not cause people to be loud

Question 8

The speaker

Choose one answer.

A. Tries to keep his deafness a secret

B. Does not care whether a person knows he is deaf or not

C. Makes an effort to let people know he is deaf

D. Finds he cannot hide his deafness

Questions 9 - 11

The sun shone brightly there on that crisp December morning. Nevertheless I could not help feeling that the day would not go well. Again and again, I was aware of the completely isolated nature of the spot here and anxiously I waited for the others to arrive. I knew I was being silly, but generally my intuitions were correct. I had found recently that things happened as I knew they would. It made me very suspicious and often I would look around warily. Sometimes, however, I was wrong and I hoped desperately that I was being overly-sensitive this time. I tried to relax and think about something else. Perhaps the beauty of the day would make me forget. I was here on holiday and I had to make sure I enjoyed my stay properly.

Question 9

It is possible to tell that the main character

Choose one answer.

A. Always trusts his intuitions

B. Is usually trusting of himself

C. Rarely trusts himself

D. Believes his intuitions are wrong

Question 10

What is the main character's overall attitude towards the day?

Choose one answer.

A. He is hopeful that the day will go well

B. He has a feeling something will go wrong

C. He is trying to focus on the positives of the day

D. He believes the day will be non-eventful

Question 11

What is the main character's main concern?

Choose one answer.

A. He is in an isolated location

B. His premonition may be correct

C. He is alone

D. He is in an unfamiliar place

Question 12

Mr Thomson is a thirty year old man who lives with his parents. Despite being of above average intelligence, he works in a low-paid clerical job. He has had many treatments for depression and an 'inability to sort his life out'. Whatever advice he is given, he inevitably returns to the next session to explain why any change has been impossible. At the end of his most recent failed therapy session, he says with a sigh, 'Don't worry doctor, I've defeated five therapists before you.'

Mr Thomson's comment suggests that he

Choose one answer.

A. Is proud of his ability to "defeat' therapists

B. Feels sorry for the doctor

C. Does not want the doctor to feel responsible for the failure of treatment

D. Feels guilty about his inability to change

YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL 12 QUESTIONS

UMAT SECTION 1: LOGIC GAMES TEST-RUN #2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:17:00 +0000

SURPRISE!! Another UMAT Section 1 Logic Games Test-Run! Remember, about 1.48 minutes per question. Remember, treat this like the real UMAT because you may struggle to finish on time. Set your timer to 18 minutes.

Rules are exactly the same with the 1st Logic Games Test-Run. Answers will be provided several days after this test to force you all to think. Once again, please discuss you're answers in the comment section of THIS POST! By discussing it you allow people to see how you think around a question.

Finished reading? Okay, get ready. Here we go! READ MORE to START THE TEST.

Questions 13-18

A teacher instructs her class to create four separate pictures to be used as scenery for a school play. There are to be one dog picture, one house picture, and two tree pictures. Each picture is done in one of two media, paint or crayon. Each picture is done in one of three colours-blue, red, or yellow.

There is exactly one blue and one yellow picture.
The two tree pictures are done in different colours but in the same medium.
The blue and yellow pictures are not done in the same medium.
The dog picture is done in crayon.
One tree picture is done in red.

13. Which one of the following is an acceptable group of four pictures?

(A) Blue crayon dog, red painted house, red painted tree, yellow crayon tree.
(B) Yellow crayon dog, red painted house, blue painted tree, red crayon tree.
(C) Blue crayon dog, red painted house, red painted tree. yellow painted tree.
(D) Yellow crayon dog, blue painted house, red crayon tree, red crayon tree.
(E) Yellow painted dog, red painted house, blue crayon tree, red crayon tree.

14. If the maximum number of pictures is done in crayon, which one of the following must be true?

(A) A tree is done in blue.
(B) A tree is done in yellow.
(C) The dog is done in red.
(D) The house is done in blue.
(E) The house is done in yellow.

15. If the dog picture is done in blue, which one of the following must be FALSE?

(A) There are more crayon pictures than painted pictures.
(B) There are more painted pictures than crayon pictures.
(C) The house is done in crayon.
(D) The house is done in paint.
(E) One tree is done in yellow.

16. If the house is done in yellow, which one of the following CANNOT be true?

(A) The trees are done in paint.
(B) The trees are done in crayon.
(C) There is an equal number of pictures done in crayon and in paint.
(D) Both red pictures are done in paint.
(E) The yellow picture is done in crayon.

17. If neither of the tree pictures is done in yellow, and if there are more painted pictures than those done in crayon, then which one of the following is true?

(A) The dog picture must be done in blue paint.
(B) The house picture could be done in red crayon.
(C) The house picture could be done in yellow paint.
(D) The dog picture must be done in red crayon.
(E) The house picture must be done in red paint.

18. Which one of the following pieces of additional information would make it certain that the dog picture is done in blue or yellow?

(A) Exactly three pictures are done in crayon.
(B) Exactly three pictures are done in paint.
(C) The house is done in blue.
(D) A tree is done in blue.
(E) The house is done in yellow.

Questions 19-24

Nine chairs are arranged in a circle, with each chair facing the centre of the circle. Lisa, Marvin, Naomi, Oliver, Pam, Randi, and Sybil each sit in one of the chairs. The ocher two chairs are empty.

Sybil sits immediately to Marvin’s left. Randi sits three chairs to Sybil’s right. Neither Randi nor Sybil sits next to empty chairs. Lisa sits in a chair immediately next to Oliver.

19. Which one of the following must be true?

(A) Pam sits next to Randi.
(B) Naomi sits next to Randi.
(C) Lisa sits next to an empty chair.
(D) The empty chairs are immediately next to each other.
(E) Oliver sits next to Sybil.

20. If Oliver sits two chairs to the right of Randi, which one of the following could be false?

(A) Randi sits three chairs away from an empty chair.
(B) Oliver sits next to an empty chair.
(C) Lisa sits next to Randi.
(D) Exactly two people sit between Pam and Naomi.
(E) Pam sits next to Sybil.

21. Which one of the following CANNOT be true?

(A) Pam sits next to neither Randi nor Sybil.
(B) Oliver sits next to neither Randi nor Sybil.
(C) Pam sits immediately between Randi and Marvin.
(D) Sybil sits next to Lisa.
(E) Sybil sits next to Naomi.

22. If Lisa sits next to an empty chair, how many different arrangements of people in chairs are possible?

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 4
(D) 5
(E) 6

23. Which one of the following statements would allow one to determine the exact positions of all seven people?

(A) Exactly two people sic between Lisa and Pam.
(B) Oliver sits next to Sybil.
(C) Exactly one person sits between Lisa and Naomi.
(D) Lisa sits next to Randi.
(E) Exactly two people sit between Oliver and Naomi.

24. If Sybil sits two chairs to Marvin’s right, but all of the other conditions remain the same, which one of the following statements CANNOT be true?
(A) Marvin sits next to an empty chair.
(B) Pam sits next to an empty chair.
(C) Randi sits next to Oliver.
(D) Naomi sits exactly three chairs away from Lisa.
(E) Sybil sits exactly three chairs away from Lisa.

YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL 12 QUESTIONS
SOLUTIONS: QUESTIONS 13-18 | QUESTIONS 19-24

UMAT SECTION 1: LOGIC GAMES BREAKDOWN ANSWERS 2/2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:37:00 +0000

PART 2 OF LOGIC GAME: Chimp Testing

** Highly recommend reading the SOLUTIONS provided by 'Guest2' in the comment section of LOGIC GAMEST TEST-RUN. **

Scheduling six chimps for language testing into ten time slots during a five-day week. The key issues for this sequencing game are:

- Which chimps are tested on which days, and in which time slot (morning or afternoon)?
- Which chimps are tested before and after which other chimps?
- Which chimps are tested on the same day?
- Which time slots are free?

The Initial Setup

In a sequence game with a calendar aspect, a days-of-the-week visualisation may come in handy, as it does in everyday life when we need to keep track of a week’s events:

1) Put an “A” in the Thursday morning slot.

3) Put an “X” in the Monday morning slot to indicate that that time slot is free.

7) Jot down that Carlo is tested either Tuesday morning or afternoon.
(Note: See “The Big Picture” below to see why I recommend handling the rules in this order.)

2) You can jot down the info on the three late risers, but there’s no way-yet-to narrow down their placement further.

4) This helps clarify Elmo’s place in the ordering. Combined with the previous rule, we know that Elmo has to be tested in the afternoon of Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

5) Alonzo is tested on Thursday morning, which means that according to this rule, Wednesday afternoon must be free.

6) Dingo, Alonzo, and Frank must be tested in that order, from earliest to latest. Since Alonzo is tested on Thursday morning, Dingo must be tested Monday, Tuesday, or

Wednesday, and Frank must be tested on either Thursday or Friday afternoon.

Key Deduction

Elmo has to be tested in the afternoon, but not on Monday or Tuesday, and we now know that Wednesday afternoon is off limits. So Elmo must be tested on either Thursday or Friday afternoon, the same as Frank, which we deduced by combining rules 1, 2, and 6. So: Elmo and Frank must be tested on Thursday and Friday afternoon, in either order. The other heavy sleeper, Bobo, therefore will be tested on Monday or Tuesday afternoon. No chimp is left for Friday morning, so this time slot must be free.

The Big Picture
- You don’t have to take the rules in order. Seek out and incorporate the most concrete rules first, in order to build a solid foundation.

- Always turn negative information around to the positive. For example, in rule 4, it’s easy to figure out (and more useful to know) when Elmo can be tested than when he can’t be.

- Always search for the implications of rules. Think rule 5 through and then build it into your
visualisation of the game.

- Don’t be intimidated by games that contain many rules. The more the merrier. That’s because, in general, the more information you’re given to work with, the more structured the game is and the more restricted the entities are.

The Questions

7. (B) With Bobo, Carlo, and Dingo before Alonzo, and Elmo and Frank after, Alonzo must be fourth, so (B) is correct.

(A) Bobo could go on Tuesday. (C) Carlo could be third, after Bobo and Dingo. (D) Alonzo could be tested immediately before Elmo, leaving Frank for Friday. (E) If Carlo and Dingo are tested on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, respectively, then there would only be two free morning time slots.

Remember:
- The first question can solidify your conception of a game. Answering this one helps to reinforce, and show the value of, all the work we did up front.

8. (A) We deduced that Bobo must be tested on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon, and Dingo must be tested Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday There’s room for only one chimp on Monday and Wednesday, so Tuesday is the only common day open to both. But testing both Bobo and Dingo on Tuesday would violate rule 7, as this would leave Carlo hanging. So Bobo and Dingo are the chimps that can’t be tested on the same day, which is choice (A).

Days that the pairs in the wrong choices can be tested: (B) Tuesday; (C) Tuesday; (D) Thursday; (E)Thursday.

Remember:
- Logic Game answers are objectively correct, so once you find an answer that works, even if it’s (A) or (B), have the confidence to choose it and move on. This saves valuable time on a time intensive section.

9. (C) If Dingo goes on Tuesday morning, then Carlo must go on Tuesday afternoon (rule 7), leaving unfortunate Bobo in the first open slot, Monday afternoon (remember, the key deduction limits Bobo’s choices to Monday or Tuesday afternoon). Bobo on Monday is (C).

Elmo and Frank are unaffected, so as we deduced, either could be on Thursday or Friday, killing choices (A) and (B). With Bobo, Carlo, and Dingo placed, Wednesday morning must be free, resulting in three free time slots in the morning and only one in the afternoon, eliminating (D) and (E) as well.

Remember:
- When a question stem includes a hypothetical, you can sometimes save time by scanning the choices for the entities that are the most affected by the if-clause. In this case, Dingo’s actions directly impinge upon the placement of Bobo and Carlo, and scanning the choices for either of these chimps brings us quickly to choice (C).

10. (E) The key deduction mandates that Frank’s choice of days is limited to Thursday and Friday, while Bobo must take either Monday or Tuesday. The only way to satisfy the condition in the question stem is if Frank takes Thursday afternoon and Bobo

demonstrates his language proficiency on Tuesday afternoon. There are two corollaries to this. Carlo must sneak in on Tuesday morning to satisfy rule 7, and Elmo gets the last slot, Friday afternoon.

The question stem seeks something that could be false. Dingo is the only chimp not precisely slotted in: she can be tested on Monday afternoon or Wednesday morning. Therefore, choice (E) could be true, but need not be; she could be tested Wednesday morning, which would place her third behind Carlo and Bobo. The other choices conform perfectly to the arrangement outlined above.

Remember:
- Play out the chain of deductions as far as you can before moving on to the question. The more info you’re armed with, the greater the chance the answer will be a breeze to locate.
- In a “can be false” question, focus on the entities that are the least restricted. In this case, the exact time slot of every chimp but Dingo is determined, which virtually guarantees that Dingo will be part of the answer.

11. (D) If Dingo is tested in the afternoon, that must happen on either Monday or Tuesday afternoon. If Dingo’s on Monday afternoon, Bobo must be Tuesday afternoon, and Carlo Tuesday morning. Elmo can be tested Thursday and Frank on Friday, or vice versa. So there are two schedules possible if Dingo goes on Monday. However, if Dingo is tested on Tuesday, then Bobo must be tested Monday afternoon, Carlo still goes on Tuesday morning, and Elmo and Frank can still float between Thursday and Friday. This adds another two possibilities to the mix, resulting in a grand total of four, choice (D).

Remember:
- When asked for the number of possible arrangements, start with a key entity-in this case, Dingo and determine the number of possibilities for it. Then build as many arrangements around each of these possibilities as you can.

12. (B) Start with the second piece of information. Elmo’s time slots are limited to Thursday or Friday afternoon, so if Elmo is tested on the same day as another chimp, it must be on Thursday, the same day as Alonzo. This puts Frank in the Friday afternoon spot. Now for the other hypothetical: “At least one chimp is to be tested each day.” The only chimp available for Wednesday morning is Dingo. Carlo can be tested only on Tuesday (in this case, morning or afternoon), leaving Bobo as the chimp to represent Monday (in the afternoon, of course). Breezing through the choices, (B) looks correct, with Elmo on Thursday and Dingo on Wednesday. (A) need not be true. Carlo could be tested on Tuesday afternoon, in which case the time slot immediately preceding would be Tuesday morning, and we know Bobo’s on Monday. However, Carlo could be tested Tuesday morning, in which case (C) bites the dust. (D) and (E) are both out-and-out false; Carlo on Tuesday comes between Bobo and Dingo, and two chimps, Dingo and Alonzo are tested between Carlo and Elmo.

Remember:
- When a question stem contains more than one hypothetical, focus on the one that seems to be more concrete first.

UMAT SECTION 1: LOGIC GAMES BREAKDOWN ANSWERS 1/2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:52:00 +0000

PART 1 OF LOGIC GAME: Basketball Teams

Choosing six out of eight people to play basketball, and breaking up the six players into two teams of three players each. The unusual twist on this ‘`grouping game of distribution” (meaning that it’s a game in which you’re putting the entities into subgroups), is that each player on a team plays opposite a specific player on the other team. Here are the key issues that you should anticipate the questions will be based on:

- Which players are chosen and which ones sit on the bench?
- Which players can or must play together?
- Which players cannot play together?
- Which players can and cannot play opposite each other?

The Initial Setup

If you were the coach for this situation in real life, how might you use pencil and paper to keep track of it all? Here’s a simple, intuitive way:

The Rules

1. Rule 1 simply breaks the players into two groups: C, E, K, and P are tall, and the others-G, J, M, and T-are short.

2. Thanks to rule 1, we can now get a little more specific about rule 2. C, E, K, and P, the tall players, can play opposite each other only. Let’s analyse what this means in practical terms-terms that will help you answer the questions. Here are the implications of this rule that make the game much easier to handle.

- What would violate this rule? Answer: a tall player matched up with a short player. If that’s unclear, form an example to test your understanding of the rule.

- If two of the tall players, Charles and Edna, for example, are chosen and placed on one team, then the other two, Katya and Paulina, have to be chosen and placed on the other team.

- There must be either two or four tall players chosen. There’s no way to match them up with each other if an odd number is chosen. (This thought leads to a bigger deduction regarding the overall number breakdown, which you’ll see below under “Key Deduction.” Did you see it on your own?)

- A team cannot be made up of three tall players, because there would have to be three tall players for the other team, but there are only four tall players total.

- Likewise, a team cannot be made up of three short players. The tall player or players on the other team would have no tall players to oppose.

3. Rule 2 further clarifies the tall-people issue. If Paulina is chosen to play, then Charles is chosen and plays opposite her (inferably on the other team). This is straightforward enough. Just don’t make the lethal mistake of inferring that the reverse is true, because it isn’t. If Charles is chosen, Paulina can, but does not have to, play opposite him.

4. This one is similar to the previous one. If Terence is chosen, Charles is chosen but plays on the same team as Terence. Once again, the rule can’t go backwards. Choosing Charles implies nothing about choosing Terence.

Key Deduction

The key deduction in this game involves the breakdown of tall and short players chosen. One of the implications of rule 2 is that there has to be either two or four tall players chosen. Taken one step further, this means that the coach has to choose either all four tall players and two short players, or all four short players and two tall players. One more deduction stems from this, but it’s not as obvious, and therefore it’s not a tragedy if you don’t see it up front. In fact, it’s tested for specifically in question 1, so we’ll cover it there.

The Final Visualisation

- One way to latch onto the action of a game is to place the game in a real-life context. How would you handle this if you were the coach? Break down the mystique. If you approach the games as ordinary, everyday situations, they won’t be as baffling and you’ll be able to think through them more clearly.

- When the entities are broken down into two distinct groups, you may find it helpful to differentiate them by using capital and lowercase letters.

- A good way to grasp the meaning of a rule is to ask yourself, “What would violate this rule?” Take a second, if it helps, to try out a concrete example that tests your understanding of the rule. Otherwise the rule will continue to be abstract, unclear, unhelpful.

- When a game involves numbers, always see if you can deduce specific number breakdowns. Keeping these firmly in mind gives you a distinct advantage when it comes to working through the questions.

The Questions
1. (D) Given no new information, we’re asked for the player who must be chosen. All the Vies about Charles make him a likely suspect, and in fact, Charles is the one. You can get this by working off of the key deduction. If the coach chooses all four tall players and two short players, then obviously Charles, a tall player, must be chosen. If, on the other hand, the coach chooses all four short players and only two tall players, then short Terence must be chosen, and Charles as well, thanks to rule 4. The big deduction pays off - there are only two ways to combine tall and short players to get the required six, and Charles is chosen in both of them.

Edna, choice (A), and Katya, choice (C), can both be bench warmers if Charles and Paulina are chosen along with all four short players. However, Terence, choice (B), and Jerrod, choice (E), can sit out if Greg and Mort play along with all four tall players.

Remember:
- When a question offers no hypothetical information (no if-clause), it means that it must be
possible to deduce the answer from the rules alone. Build the new piece of information (in this case, the fact that Charles must be chosen) into your global view of the game.

2. (D) We saw earlier from the implications of rule 2 that choice (C), three short players on one team, and choice (E), three tall players on one team, are both impossible. Both cases result in at least one tall player not being matched up against another tall player. (A) violates rule 3-Paulina and Charles can never be on the same team. Choice (B) is a little more subtle, but the key deduction comes in handy to help us see why tall Charles, short Jerrod, and short Mort cannot form a team. If they were a team, then the four-short-andtwo- tall scenario would be in effect, placing Terence and Greg on the other team. But that contradicts rule 4, so it’s no good. The players in the remaining choice, choice (D), form an acceptable team; the opposing team would have to include Charles, Jerrod, and Terence.

Remember:
- When facing an acceptability question, simply check the choices against each rule, eliminating the ones that violate the rules until you’re left with only one choice. If you do your work carefully, there’s no need to check the remaining choice; just circle it and move on.

3. (B) The shortcut that answers this question stems from our key deduction. There must be four tall players chosen, and two short to round out the roster, or four short players chosen with two tall to complete the teams. Therefore, the two bench players must be in the same category: If one were tall and the other short, then the 4-2 split would be impossible to achieve. Specifically, choice (B) is the only one that places one tall and one short player on the bench, leaving three tall and three short players for the game, which we’ve already deduced is an impossibility.

Remember:
- You can often find a shortcut by focusing on the categories that the entities fall into rather than the entities themselves. Notice that we quickly answered this question by finding a choice that includes one tall player and one short player, rather than working out possible lineups for each choice.

4. (D) Paulina can’t play on the same team as Terence, because according to rule 4, Charles would have to be on that team-but that would violate rule 3, which states that Paulina must play opposite Charles. All of the players in the other choices make fine teammates for Paulina.

Remember:
- In questions like this, scan the list of choices for entities that jump out, ones that seem
suspicious. Terence is a good bet because he has a whole rule dedicated to him, which by nature restricts him more than the players in the other choices.

5. (C) According to rule 2, if Katya and Charles, two tall players, are one team, Paulina and Edna must play on the other team. The third player on that team can’t be Terence (rule 4), but could be any of the other three short players, giving us PEg, PEj, and PEm as possibilities. The correct answer is therefore 3, choice (C).

6. (E) is correct.

(A) Paulina-Greg-Jerrod versus Charles-Trent-Mort. Bench: Edna and Katya. Could be true-cross it off:

(B), (C) Paulina-Katya-Mort versus Charles-Edna-Terence. Bench: Greg and Jerrod. Could be true-cross them both off:

(D) Charles-Mort-Terence versus Karya-Greg-Jerrod. Bench: Paulina and Edna. Could be true-cross it off.

(E) This is the one that’s impossible. If Terence is chosen, then Charles must play on his team, resulting in a team of Terence, Edna, and Charles. Thanks to rule 2, the other tall players Paulina and Katya, must play on the other to team oppose Edna and Charles, so it’s impossible for Katya. to sit on the bench.

Remember:
- In questions that offer no hypothetical information, sometimes the only way to proceed is to work out each choice, which could be time consuming. A question like this is therefore a good candidate to skip and come back to later if time permits.
- You can eliminate an answer choice to a “cannot be true” question simply by coming up with one example in which the choice is true.

UMAT SECTION 1: LOGIC GAMES TEST-RUN

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 16:28:00 +0000

The ACER UMAT Information Booklet specifies the 44 questions in Section 1 is given 65 minutes to finish. Doing the math that's about 1.48 minutes per question. Here I present you 12 challenging questions. Stop the casual reading about right now, for this I bring you a mini-UMAT test for Section 1. That's right, treat this like the real UMAT because you may struggle to finish on time. Set your timer to 18 minutes.

Okay, take a cup of water, an empty A4 paper for scribbling. Sit down and make sure your comfortable. Time yourself and let me know how you went in the comment section below. As per usual, answers will be provided there but this time, why not discuss you're answers rather than just giving me the answers. By discussing it you allow people to see how you think around a question.

Finished reading? Okay, get ready. Here we go! READ MORE to START THE TEST.

Time -18 minutes

12 questions

Directions: Each group of questions is based on a set of conditions.

Questions 1-6

A basketball coach is forming two three-person teams to play against each other in a scrimmage game. The coach can choose from the following players: Charles, Edna, Greg, Jerrod, Katya, Mort, Paulina, and Terence. Each person chosen for a team plays opposite a specific player chosen for the ocher team.

Those not chosen sit on the bench. Charles, Edna, Katya, and Paulina are tall; the rest of the players are short. A tall player can play only opposite another call player. If Paulina is chosen, Charles is chosen to play opposite her. If Terence is chosen, Charles is chosen and plays on the same team as Terence.

1. Which one of the following players must be chosen for a team?

(A) Edna

(B) Terence

(D) Charles

(E) Jerrod

2. Which one of the following is an acceptable team?

(A) Paulina, Jerrod, Charles

(B) Charles, Jerrod, Mort

(D) Mort, Paulina, Greg

(E) Edna, Katya, Charles

3. Which one of the following pairs of players CANNOT sit together on the bench?

(A) Edna and Katya,

(B) Jerrod and Paulina

(D) Paulina and Edna

(E) Greg and Terence

4. Paulina can play on the same team as any one of the following EXCEPT:

(A) Edna

(B) Greg

(D) Terence

(E) Mort

5. If one team consists of Katya, Charles, and one other player, how many possible combinations are there for the other team?

(A) 1

(B) 2

(D) 4

(E) 5

6. Which one of the following CANNOT be true?

(A) Paulina and Mort are chosen for different teams, while Edna sits on the bench.

(B) Paulina is chosen while Greg sits on the bench.

(D) Charles is chosen for the same team as Mort and Terence, while Paulina sits on the bench.

(E) Terence and Edna are chosen for the same team, while Katya, sits on the bench.

Questions 7-12

A laboratory is testing six chimps for acquisition of communication skills. The six chimps are Alonzo,Bobo, Carlo, Dingo, Elmo, and Frank. A technician will work with one chimp at a time for a single time slot-defined as an entire morning or an entire afternoon. Each chimp will be tested exactly once. Time slots not filled by chimp testing are considered free. The tests will be conducted during a single week from Monday to Friday.

Alonzo is tested on Thursday morning.

Bobo, Elmo, and Frank sleep late, and can be tested only in the afternoon.

No testing is conducted on Monday morning. Elmo is not tested on Monday or Tuesday.

The time slot immediately preceding that in which Alonzo is tested is free.

Alonzo is tested after Dingo but before Frank. Carlo is tested on Tuesday.

7. Which one of the following must be true?

(A) Bobo is tested on Monday.

(B) Alonzo is the fourth chimp tested.

(D) Alonzo is tested immediately before Frank.

(E) There are exactly three free morning time slots.

8. Which one of the following pairs of chimps CANNOT be tested on the same day?

(A) Bobo and Dingo

(B) Carlo and Dingo

(D) Alonzo and Elmo

(E) Alonzo and Frank

9. If Dingo is tested on Tuesday morning, which one of the following must be true?

(A) Elmo is tested on Thursday.

(B) Frank is tested on Friday.

(D) There are exactly two free morning time slots.

(E) There are exactly two free afternoon time slots.

10. If Frank is tested two days after Bobo is tested, which one of the following can be false?

(A) Frank is tested immediately after Alonzo.

(B) Bobo is tested immediately after Carlo.

(D) Elmo is the last chimp tested.

(E) Dingo is the first chimp tested.

11. If Dingo is tested in the afternoon, in how many different ways can the chimps be scheduled for testing?

(A) 1

(B) 2

(D) 4

(E) 5

12. If at least one chimp is tested each day, and if Elmo is tested on the same day as another chimp, which one of the following must be true?

(A) Bobo is tested in the time slot immediately preceding the time slot in which Carlo is tested.

(B) Elmo is tested on the day after Dingo is rested.

(D) No other chimp is rested between Bobo and Dingo.

(E) Exactly one other chimp is tested between Carlo and Elmo.

YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL 12 QUESTIONS

TAKE: LOGIC GAMES TEST-RUN #2

SOLUTIONS: QUESTION 1-6 | QUESTIONS 7-12

UMAT 2010 REGISTRATION

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 02:50:00 +0000

UMAT2010 WILL BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY 28TH JULY 2010

"Registrations for UMAT2010 will open online at the UMAT website in April 2010. Your complete registration must be recieved at the UMAT Office at ACER no later than 5p.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on Friday 4 June 2010.

UMAT REGISTRATION NOW OPEN:

VISIT REGISTRATION WEBSITE

Late registrations will be accepted up to 5p.m. AEST Friday 18 June, on payment of a late fee of AUD$55 in addition to the registration fee. The online registration system will close at 5p.m. AEST on Friday 18 June. It will NOT be possible to register for UMAT2010 after this date.

- VISIT ACER UMAT2010 HOMEPAGE

Here are some useful links off ACER's website for you to check out!

- UMAT2010 Information Booklet [AVAILABLE NOW]

- UMAT2010 Quick Reference Guide

- UMAT: Preparing For UMAT

- UMAT2009 Information Booklet

- Purchase ACER UMAT Practice Test 1 + 2

GOING AWAY OH WHAT TO SAY~

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:36:00 +0000

What IS up!! To my male and female readers of this blog!

Just letting you know from April 1st - 5th [Thursday to Monday] I will be out of action. Right after this post I won't be using having any connection to the internet world because I'll be going camping this coming Easter break. It's good to relax and let your mind rest so I'd encourage you all to do something light this weekend and enjoy the time. Might I add I'll try to come up with a post daily, but things happen - life + relationships and all that, you guys should know!

Go to church if especially if you've never been - find out why we celebrate this season in Australia. The Google-bots whom registered this blog as a spam will look after you forum. If you mis-behave they'll tell me everything they saw. Quite powerful huh!? [jokes]

Yeah guys, this blogs still considered a 'spam blog' [sBlog?]. I've sent emails to the support tech and submitted by website url to their spam remover recently. Hopefully all goes well - I probably can't be bothered re-typing and editing all these posts again.

On a separate note, if you guys wanna test your friends with some questions, or share with them some content from this blog, use the SHARE THIS Button - it's very simple! Very quick and no hassle!

Please don't republish full posts without my direct permission. Feel free to quote anything from this blog within reason [ie - a paragraph or two is normal] with a link to it as a source, but keep in mind this is copyrighted material. Thanks.

Aside from that, have a great break, hang out with your family and all. Let me know if you've had a great break! As you can probably tell - I'm excited. Take care and stay fit =)

SECTION 2 QUESTIONS - PRIORITISE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:21:00 +0000

Question: 1

You are a young general practitioner working in a coastal town. Many of your patients are holiday-makers, who use your services only when on holiday. A young man who lives on the coast and has been a patient of yours for a couple of years, makes an urgent appointment to see you. He has a severe stomach upset and requires medication. He brings with him to the consultation two of his friends, both holiday-makers who have the same symptoms of stomach upset. The two friends have no appointment to see you. You have a full list of patients, all of which have made appointments. What do you do?

Choices:
a) You consult the patient who has made the appointment and then tell his friends that you have a waiting room full of patients. The best you can do is to try and fit them in at the end of the day.
b) As they have all come in to see you together, you say nothing about the other patients who are waiting to see you. You examine your regular patient first and then examine his friends briefly and give them each a prescription for their condition.
c) You tell the patients friends to speak to the receptionist, who does all the bookings, to ask her to fit them in as soon as possible and tell them that they may have to wait a while.
d) You tell the friends to see another doctor as you are really fully booked and cannot inconvenience your regular patients for patients who see you when they are on holiday.
e) You tell your receptionist to tell the youngsters that they should seek help from another doctor as you are too busy.

Question: 2

You are a hospital physiotherapist treating a football player who has had a knee reconstruction.You have to see this gentleman on a daily basis to put him through a schedule of routine exercises, which will aid his recovery. Every time you come to see him he has visitors from his football team who distract your patient from concentrating on his movements with loud comments and jeers. What should you do?

Choices:
a) You politely ask the visitors to leave the room while you are attending to the patient.
b) You politely explain to the visitors that it is obvious that the patient is distracted from his exercises while they are present and to please either wait outside or not disturb him.
c) You ignore the rowdy visitors and try your best to work with your patient.
d) You joke along with the man’s friends, realising that your patient is not getting the most out of his physiotherapy, but at least he is being kept in good spirits.
e) You tell the patient to ask his friends to leave while you are treating him.

Question: 3

You are a nurse in a hospital ward. One of your patients an elderly lady has lost her glasses. She only uses them to read and is getting very bored. For some time she has been badgering the staff to find her glasses. She accosts you and asks you to also help locate them. You are extremely busy. What do you say to her?

Choices:
a) You tell her that you will keep your eyes open for her glasses.
b) You tell her that you are extremely busy right now, but that you will keep your eyes open for her glasses.
c) You tell her that you are certain that the glasses will be found in due course.
d) You tell her that the staff are all very busy and that she should stop badgering them.
e) You ask her why she doesn’t have a spare pair of glasses, which she could have used until
the lost ones were found.

Question: 4

You are a nurse working in a medical ward at night. One patient is constantly pressing his buzzer, asking for glasses of water, an extra pillow, and making other small requests. You are just about adjust the height of one end of the bed for him so that he can see the television easily, when the patient in the bed next to him starts complaining of a mild backache and asks you to arrange some pain medication. Who you attend to first and what do you say?

Choices:
a) Your first priority is to the man in pain and you tell the patient who makes constant requests to be patient while you call the doctor.
b) Your first priority is to the man you were attending to and you let the man with the backache wait, as the pain is not severe.
c) You explain to the patient who wanted his bed adjusted that you would like to arrange pain relief for the other patient, but that you will return to adjust his bed as soon as you can.
d) You explain to the patient who wanted his bed adjusted that you would like to arrange pain relief for the other patient and that he will have to wait, as his request is obviously not that important.
e) You explain to the patient who has the backache that you would like to arrange pain relief for him, but that you are already attending to the other patient and that he should wait.

Question: 5

A patient with depression comes to see you, her GP. You have diagnosed her depression some time ago and essentially she has come to get another prescription for her medication. You have a child waiting in the consulting room next door, who is in a lot of pain and who needs your attention. The lady who is with you is telling you at length about her sister who seems to be suffering from depression also. She rambles on and on and you know that you need to cut her visit short to attend to the child. What do you say to her?

Choices:
a) You interrupt her, excuse yourself and say that you have a very urgent case next door which requires your immediate attention.
b) You interrupt her to write out her prescription, then excuse yourself and say that you have an urgent case to attend to next door.
c) You interrupt her and tell her that you cannot spend more time with her as you have an urgent case to attend to.
d) You listen to all her problems until she is finished and simply let the child wait.
e) You ask her if she can wait for half an hour or more, as there is an urgent case you need to attend to first and that you will finish your talk with her later.

Question: 6

You are a doctor working in the psychiatric ward in a public hospital. The ward has an open plan and patients often just wander about in the common area. You are about to see a patient for a planned consultation before another staff meeting. You are accosted by a patient in the corridor, who proceeds to tell you at length about a last suicide attempt. You are running late and would like to complete your sceduled consultation before the staff meeting. What do you say to this patient?

Choices:
a) You excuse yourself, tell the patient that you have a consultation, but promise to speak to her later.
b) You listen to the patient for a short time and then excuse yourself.
c) You tell her that you are in a great hurry and cannot speak with her right now.
d) You mention to her that she has told you all this before and that you are in a hurry.
e) You tell her that you have an appointment and then a staff meeting and have no time to listen to her story again.

Question: 7

You are a busy surgeon running a clinic at a public hospital. it is already late in the afternoon and your clinic is running overtime by two or more hours. One of the patients waiting to see you is someone you operated on a year ago. You know that this patient has travelled by bus for a couple of hours to come and see you. He still has to catch the bus back that evening, but will miss the last bus if you do not see him immediately. The man approaches you between consultations and asks if you can see him soon. Several other patients overhear his request. What do you tell him?

Choices:
a) You ask him to enter your treatment room and attend to him immediately.
b) You tell the other patients, that this man has travelled very far to see you and cannot afford to miss his bus. You apologise to them and explain that you would like to see him next.
c) You ask the man wait until it is his turn, as this is only fair, and hope that he still makes it to the bus in time.
d) You lie and tell the other patients that this man is seriously ill and needs to be seen immediately.
e) You tell the other patients that this man has travelled very far to see you and cannot afford to miss his bus. You explain that since this makes him more important, you will see him next.

Question: 8

You are a busy nurse attending to a patient who constantly makes demands on your time for trivial things. You are about to go off on your meal-break, when this patient rings for you again. You know that if you agree to do what she wants, you may be stuck with her for your entire tea break. What do you tell her?

Choices:
a) You tell her that you are going on your meal-break now, but shall ask another staff member to attend to her needs.
b) You tell her that this is your meal-break, but in spite of that you will quickly help her anyway.
c) You find out what she needs, attend to it and then go on your meal-break.
d) You tell her that you are going on your break now and that you will see her when you come back.
e) You tell her that you are going on your meal-break now.

Question: 9

You are a young nurse working on a ward, where the clinical nurse consultant (CNC) is very draconian, strict and widely feared amongst the nursing staff. You are just attending to a patient, who is telling you about how she lost her husband tragically a couple of weeks ago. While the patient is tearfully relating this to you, another nurse approaches you and tells you that the CNC wants to see you in her office right NOW. What do you do?

Choices:
a) You immediately break off the conversation, leave the patient in her tearful state and go to see the CNC.
b) You excuse yourself and say you must go to see the CNC as she expects the nurses to “jump” when she calls.
c) You calm the patient down as best you can and when she seems to be under control of her emotions again, you excuse yourself.
d) You tell the other nurse to tell the CNC that your patient is obviously more important and that she will just have to wait.
e) You tell the other nurse to stay with the patient and then rush off to see the CNC.

Question: 10

You are a nurse working on a surgical ward. You are attending to a patient who can not walk yet, after having had recent surgery. You are helping this patient to the bathroom. As you pass by one of the beds, the occupant complains to you that she has asked to be given a bed pan and is getting very annoyed about having to wait. She wants something to be done about it right now. What do you do?

Choices;
a) You tell the patient waiting for the bed pan that you are quickly taking this patient to the

bathroom and will then come to help her.
b) You tell the patient waiting for the bed pan that you are busy with someone else.
c) You ignore the patient in the bed, as you can only do one thing at a time.
d) You take the first patient back to her bed and decide to get the bed pan first.
e) You apologise to the patient waiting for the bed pan and quickly use the buzzer by her

bed to ring for a nurse, then proceed to take the other patient to the bathroom.

How long did it take you to do all these questions? Shouldn't take long at all! Rather than giving the answers from now on put forth your answers and opinions in the comment section below and I'll post the solution thereafter!

TRUE BREAKDOWN 4-STEP METHOD FOR LOGICAL THINKING

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:03:00 +0000

HERE IS HOW TO APPROACH LOGICAL THINKING:

1) Preview the question stem.

2) Read the stimulus.
3) Try to pre-phrase an answer.
4) Choose an answer.

1. Preview the Question Stem

Previewing the stem is a great way to focus your reading of the stimulus, so that you know exactly what you're looking for.

2. Read the Stimulus

With the question stem in mind, read the stimulus, paraphrasing as you go. Remember to read actively and critically, pinpointing evidence and conclusion.

3. Try to Pre-phrase an Answer

Sometimes, if you've read the stimulus critically enough, you'll know the answer without even looking at the choices.

4. Choose an Answer

If you were able to pre-phrase an answer, skim the choices looking for something that sounds like what you have in mind. If you couldn't think of anything, read and evaluate each choice, throwing out the ones that are outside the scope of the argument. After settling on an answer, you may wish to briefly double-check the question stem to make sure that you're indeed answering the question that was asked. Now let’s try this approach on a genuine Logical Reasoning item:

A study of twenty overweight men reveled that each man experienced significant with loss after adding SlimDown, an artificial food supplement, to his daily diet. For three months, each man consumed one Slim Down portion every morning after exercising, and then followed his normal diet for the rest of the day. Clearly, anyone who consumes one portion of SlimDown every day for at least three months will lose weight and will look and feel his or her best.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) The men in the study will regain the weight they lost if they discontinue the SlimDown program.
(B) No other dietary supplement will have the same effect on overweight men.
(C) The daily exercise regimen was not responsible for the effects noted in the study.
(D) Women will not experience similar weight reductions if they adhere to the SlimDown program for three months.
(E) Overweight men will achieve only partial weight loss if they do not remain on the SlimDown program for a full three months.

1. Preview the Question Stem

We see, quite clearly, that we're dealing with an assumption question. Good! Immediately we can adopt an "assumption mindset," which basically means before even reading the first word of the stimulus, we know that the conclusion will be lacking an important piece of supporting evidence. We now turn to the stimulus, already on the lookout for this missing link.

2. Read the Stimulus

The first sentence introduces a study of twenty men using a food supplement product, resulting in weight loss for all twenty. The second sentence describes how they used it: once a day, for three months, after morning exercise. So far so good; it feels as if we're building up to something. The structural signal word clearly usually indicates that some sort of conclusion follows, and in fact it does: the author concludes in the third sentence that anyone who has one portion of the product daily for three months will lose weight, too.

You must read critically! Notice that the conclusion doesn't say that anyone who follows the same routine as the twenty men will have the same results; it says that anyone who simply consumes the product in the same way will have the same results. The evidence in the second sentence describes a routine that includes taking the supplement after daily exercise, whereas the conclusion focuses primarily on the supplement and entirely ignores the part about the exercise. The conclusion, therefore, doesn't stem logically from the evidence in the first two sentences. This blends seamlessly into Step 3.

3. Pre-phrase an Answer

As expected, the argument is beginning to look as if it has a serious shortcoming. Of course, we expected this because we previewed the question stem before reading the stimulus.

In really simplistic terms, the argument proceeds like so: "A bunch of guys did A and B for three months, and had X result. If anyone does A for three months, that person will experience X result, too." Sound a little fishy? You bet. The author must be assuming that A (the product), not B (exercise), must be the crucial thing that leads to the result. If not (the Denial Test), the conclusion makes no sense.

So, you might prephrase the answer like this: "Something about the exercise thing needs to be cleared up." That's it. Did you think your prephrasing had to be something fancy and glamorous? Well, it doesn't. All you need is an inkling of what the question is looking for, and in this case, it just seems that if we don't shore up the exercise issue, the argument will remain invalid and incomplete. So, with our vague idea of a possible assumption, we can turn to Step 4, which is…

4. Choose an Answer

Since we were able to prephrase something, it's best to skim the choices looking for it. And, lo and behold, there's our idea, stated, in choice (C). (C) clears up the exercise issue. Yes, this author must assume (C) to make the conclusion that eating SlimDown alone will cause anyone to lose weight.

At this point, if you're stuck for time, you simply choose (C) and move on. If you have more time, you may as well quickly check the remaining choices, to find (hopefully) that none of them fits the bill.

Of course, once you grasp the structure of the argument and have located the author's central assumption, you should be able to answer any question they throw at you.

Which one of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the argument above?

Answer: Daily exercise contributed significantly to the weight loss experienced by the men in the study.

And here's a flaw question that could have been based on the same stimulus:
The author's reasoning is flawed because it…

Answer - … overlooks the possibility that the results noted in the study were caused by daily exercise rather than by the consumption of SlimDown

UMAT SECTION 1: FORMAL LOGIC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:53:00 +0000

Formal Logic Questions

Tom will go to the movies only when his wife is out of town. He'll go to a matinee alone, but will see a movie at night only if accompanied, by Cruise and Katie.

This simple stimulus is made up of a couple of formal logic statements, each fraught with its own implications. Be on the lookout for Logical Reasoning stimuli that contain sentences that can be boiled down to such hard and fast rules. When you come across examples of these, you can apply the following principles of formal logic to help you arrive at the correct answer.

The Contrapositive

For any if/then statement - or a statement that can be translated into if/then form - the contrapositive of the statement will result in an equally valid second statement.

The contrapositive can be formed by reversing and negating the terms of any if/then statement. The general model goes like this:

If X, then Y.

The contrapositive of this statement is;

If not Y, then not X.

The contrapositive of a valid if/then statement will always be valid itself. Let's illustrate this with a simple example. Consider the following strict formal statement:

If the building has vacancies, then the sales office will be open.

To form the contrapositive, reverse and negate the terms, like so If the sales office is NOT open, then the building does NOT have vacancies. This would be a valid inference based on the original statement. The contrapositive, while quite a fancy term, is nothing more than everyday common sense.

Now let's apply the contrapositive to the first sentence of the earlier example.

Here's the original:

Tom will go to the movies only when his wife is out of town.

This is a little trickier, because it’s not stated in the form of a true if/then statement. But we can translate this statement into an if/then statement without changing its original meaning.

If Tom goes to the movies, then his wife must be out of town.

If the statement above is true, which one of the following must be true the basis of it? Why, the contrapositive of it, of course:

If Tom's wife is not out of town, then Tom does not go to the movies,

Wrong answers often result from either forgetting to switch around the terms before negating them, or negating only one of the terms. For example, from the above example, if Tom doesn’t to the movies, we can't infer anything about whether his wife is in or out town. Similarly, if Tom's wife IS out of town, we can't tell for sure whether Tom goes to the movies or not. Students commonly make this mistake and it costs them signifcantly in Umat Section 1.

If one part of the formal logic statement contains a compound phrase then both parts of the phrase must be taken into account. For example let's take the other part of the stimulus above:

Tom will see a movie at night only if accompanied by Cruise and Katie.

Translation: If Tom sees a movie at night, then he's accompanied Cruise and Katie.

Contrapositive: If Tom is not with Cruise and Katie, then he does not see a movie at night.

Correct Interpretation: If either Cruise or Katie is missing, then Tom's out of luck. If he's with only one of them, or neither of them, then can't go to a night movie.

The contrapositive is an important rule of logic. It is essential that you learn what it is and how to use it.

DONATION & THANKS FOR READING

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:20:00 +0000

UMATSUCCESS project is a community effort to continue producing student content for UMAT understanding online for FREE. This website provides informative teaching guides and sample UMAT questions. Now I understand when something is free, we tend to be so happy about it we lose sight of the reason why it was free in the first place, which I've mentioned HERE!

Thanks!

It takes a fair bit of time and effort to bring this quality content online, and I wouldn't have been able to do it without such a great audience of student determined to be the next health professional in Australia. So I'd like to use this opportunity to THANK YOU ALL for reading my blog. Just being real here!

Donation

If you enjoy reading and learning UMAT materials offered on this website, please consider making a donation for appreciation/encouragement/support! No strings attached! Whether you feel like you've learnt something or excel in the UMAT because of tips and tricks provided, here you have the opportunity for show it. Giving is wonderful to the soul - it really is and I have no regrets providing content online!

SECTION 2 COMMUNICATION QUESTIONS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:11:00 +0000

I thought I'll add a bit of UMAT Section 2 questions to help complete the UMAT Section 1 Test-Run previously. These questions should be simple and easy with the solutions at the end of all the questions. There's a total of 8 questions SO SCROLL SLOWLY WHEN REACH QUESTION 8 otherwise you may see the answers from question 1 onwards. We'll start talking about Logic Games and similar attributes later this week.

Question: 1

You are a nurse working on a general ward. One of your patients, a middle-aged man in a shared room, requires regular oral administration of medication, as instructed by his doctor. You have privately been informed by one of the other patients, that as soon as you leave the room the man spits out the pills you have given him. What should you tell him?

Choices:
a) You inform the patient that you will tell the doctor that he spits out the tablets he should be taking.
b) You confront the patient with the information you have and explain carefully to him that it is in his best interest to take the medication prescribed by his doctor.
c) The next time you have given the patient his medication you unobtrusively observe his actions. If the allegations made are true you speak to him concerning the need to follow his treatment plan carefully and that it is in his best interest to follow the doctor’s orders.
d) You tell the patient that you suspect that he is not taking his medication and that you shall have to report him to the doctor, as this may have very serious repercussions for his recovery.
e) You explain to the patient the importance of taking the prescribed medication and then decide to stay with the patient until you have seen him swallow all the tablets prescribed and give instructions to the other nursing staff to do the same.

Question: 2

You are the nurse looking after a patient in the emergency department. He is yet to be seen by a doctor. He tells you that he has to go outside for a cigarette. You understand his impatience but the doctor may well come to see him while he is outside. What do you tell him?

Choices:
a) You tell him that he is not allowed to go for a cigarette while at the hospital, and that he will simple have to wait or leave.
b) You tell him that smoking is bad for his health and prohibit him from going outside.
c) You explain to him that while he has been waiting for a while, a doctor may well come along to see him any moment and it would be unfortunate if he were not present at the time.
d) You tell him that the doctor will be in to see in five minutes, knowing full well that the wait may be longer.
e) You sternly tell him to exercise some control and discipline.

Question: 3

You are a male nurse in an orthopaedic ward. You have a young man in your care who has undergone an operation to remove a bone cancer from his right hip, and has had extensive reconstructive surgery. The patient’s catheter has recently been removed, but he is still to be confined to his bed in order to rest his hip. He refuses to use the bed pan, however, and insists on walking to the bathroom. The patient tells you he has to go to the toilet now and tries to get out of bed. What do you tell him?

Choices:
a) You firmly tell the patient that he may not get up and that he has to use the bedpan.
b) You arrange for an orderly to help aid the young man to the bathroom and to stay there with him.
c) You tell the patient that you need the doctor’s consent on the issue and will speak to him in the morning, when he does his rounds.
d) You tell the young man not to be difficult and to stay in bed, or else you will break his good leg.
e) You tell the patient that he may use the bathroom, but that he may get dizzy and nauseous when getting up, and that he may severely injure his operated hip if he has a fall.

Question: 4

You are a young nurse working for a pathology laboratory. It is your duty to draw blood on a regular basis from patients who are unable to get to the appropriate medical centres. Most of your patients are either bed-ridden or elderly people who have trouble getting around. Every month you have to visit an old man, who is very querulous and difficult. Whenever you attempt to get a blood sample from him, the old man jerks his arm away, inflicting injury upon himself. He then blames you for being inefficient and incompetent. Every visit is an ordeal for you. What should you do?

Choices:
a) You tell the old man to keep quiet and to keep still whilst you are trying to take blood.
b) You explain to the old man why you have to take blood from him, that you do not wish to hurt him and that if he holds completely still it will make your job a lot easier.
c) You complain to your superior and refuse to see the old man again.
d) You explain to the old man, that you are an experienced nurse and that you will make this procedure very painful if he does not keep still.
e) You apologise to the old man and tell him that you are trying to do your best.

Question: 5

You are a home-care nurse, working for the Blue Nursing Service, a non-profit, Christian-based organisation offering its services to the community. One of your elderly patients who needs regular care lives alone and is very lonely. It is obvious that she looks forward to your visits tremendously and tries to draw them out under any pretext. While you do not mind spending some extra time with this lady, she does however make you regularly late for other home-care visits. What should you do?

Choices:
a) You tell the lady that you are in a hurry and have to go.
b) You stay with the lady for a while and explain to her that you enjoy seeing her, but that you have a very busy schedule and have many other patients to attend to and thus cannot be with her for too long.
c) You stay with this lady and make yourself late for other appointments.
d) You tell the lady that you might have some more time on your next visit.
e) You arrange for another nurse to care for the old lady.

Question: 6

You are a receptionist working at a Medical Centre. It is late afternoon and past closing time. You have been run off your feet all day and are very tired. The doctor still has two patients waiting to see him. He is at the moment consulting with a young female patient. She has taken up a lot of his time already and the other two patients are becoming very impatient. What should you do?

Choices:
a) You buzz the doctor and tell him that he is running very late.
b) You apologise to the patients and tell them that the doctor has been fully booked all day, with several emergencies cropping up in between, but should not be much longer.
c) You tell the two remaining patients that it may be best for them to come back another time.
d) You ignore the two waiting patients and hope that they will not complain to you.
e) You remark to the two remaining patients, that you would also like to go home and that
this particular doctor is usually running late.

Question: 7

You are a male nurse looking after four patients in an orthopaedic ward. One of your patients, a middle-aged man, is constantly pressing his call button for extra attention. He has had a small procedure done on his foot, and should not be in too much discomfort. He does however constantly seek extra attention and pampering from all nursing staff, complaining about everything, from the pillows in his bed, the air-conditioning, the food, the other patients in the room etc. What do you say to this patient?

Choices:
a) You tell him to stop bothering you and that you will attend to him later on.
b) You perform all his requests and hope that he stops harassing you.
c) You explain to the patient that his wellbeing and comfort are your prime concern. However, you feel that he is not in any discomfort and is taking up time that you should be spending with other patients.
d) You explain to the patient that his wellbeing and comfort are your prime concern. However, you have many duties to perform and he should try to be reasonable when pressing the call-button.
e) You have a maintenance engineer disconnect his call button.

Question: 8

You are a young doctor working on a surgical ward. Two of your patients have undergone
surgery. Both of these patients are still in recovery and need to stay there for some time. The families of both patients are anxiously waiting to speak to you when you leave the operating theatre. The first family rush towards you with questions about the well-being of their son, taking up much time with questions. The other patient’s father and wife are nervously standing by, obviously in a great hurry to speak to you, the father mumbling that he urgently needs to get back to work. What do you do?

Choices:
a) You briefly explain the outcome of the operation to the first family, then excuse yourself for a moment to speak to the father and wife of the other patient. You then return to the first family and answer any questions.
b) You briefly explain the outcome of the operation to the first family, then excuse yourself and speak to the father and wife of the other patient for a long time before leaving the ward.
c) You ask the relatives of the second patient to phone the surgeon for information later that day.
d) You abruptly end your conversation with the first family and speak to the father and wife who are waiting for you.
e) You call both families together and explain the results of both procedures to all of them.

YOU HAVE FINISHED. HOW LONG IT TOOK YOU TO ANSWER CONFIDENTLY?
ANSWERS BELOW

Answer:1
The preferred answer is (e).

Discussion:
This scenario deals with appropriate communication and action in a difficult situation. As a nurse it is your duty to ensure that all instructions by the doctor are meticulously and conscientiously carried out. By implying to the patient, that you are aware of what is going on regarding his intake of medication and then explaining the importance of accepting the appropriate treatment protocol, as well as making sure that the doctors orders are properly carried out, the situation may be resolved. Thus the most accurate answer is (e).

Answer:2
The preferred answer is (c).

Discussion:
This question deals with communicating with the patient in order to explain a situation or a reason for directing their action. Smoking is bad for one’s health (b) and not smoking does require some control (e), but these are not the main reasons for stopping the patient in this instance. Responses (a) and (d) are inaccurate. Response (c) explains the situation and is likely to gain his understanding.

Answer:3
The preferred answer is (c)

Discussion:
You may sometimes have to deal with patients who wish to take matters into their own hands, unaware of the possibly harmful consequences. It is up to you to explain to the patient why their behaviour might cause them harm, as reasoning with them will certainly give a better result than simply giving them orders (a) or being inappropriate (d). Choice (b) may still not be the safest option and choice (c) wins by default.

Answer:4
The preferred answer is (b).

Discussion:
You may often have to deal with patients who are difficult and querulous, and who may be quite demanding or even rude to you. It is important to always communicate appropriately with these patients, explain why you are doing a procedure and how they can help you, as this will make it easier for both the carer and the patient. Choice (a) is inappropriately and rude, choice (d) is diabolical and certainly incorrect, while in choice (e) there is no further information or explanation given to the patient.

Answer:5
The preferred answer is (b).

Discussion:
This situation requires compassion and empathy from you. Answer (b) is the correct answer because it addresses the problem in a polite and friendly manner, explaining that you have many other patients, who also look forward to your visits and who need care and attention. Certain situations have to be dealt with in a manner as not to compromise the patient’s emotional well-being. Choices (a), (c), (d) and (e) do not deal with the needs of all patients under your care.

Answer:6
The preferred answer is (b).

Discussion:
This situation requires good communication and some reassurance. It is your duty not to discredit the doctor in any way. By explaining the situation to the two waiting patients, as in choice (b), you are communicating effectively and avoiding an embarrassing confrontation. Responses (a), (c) and (e) are may be viewed as being unprofessional, while (d) does not deal with the issue at all.

Answer:7
The preferred answer is (d)

Discussion:
This scenario deals with the issue of communicating appropriately and effectively with a patient who is unreasonably demanding. By telling the patient that you have his wellbeing at heart, but that there are others requiring your serious attention, you may gain his understanding and cooperation regarding your position. Choice (d) is therefore the preferred answer. Choices (a) and (e) are professionally inappropriate, while choice (b) does not resolve the issue at hand. Choice (c) is incorrect, as making an unfounded judgement about the patient’s wellbeing is not appropriate.

Answer:8
The preferred answer is (a).

Discussion:
As a health care practitioner you need to be able to communicate with patient’s families, often under distressing circumstances. It is always important to be calm and reassuring. Illness and suffering affect not only the patient, but also the families involved. The preferred choice (a) gives you time to talk to both parties and allows the father to leave after hearing the news in brief. Choices (b) and (d) imply that the needs of the second family are being put above those of the first, which is not correct.
Answer (c) ignores the immediate needs of the second patient’s family, while answer (e) violates the rights of each family to discuss this news with you in private.

UMAT SECTION 1 TEST-RUN

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 07:12:00 +0000

Here are some questions for UMAT Section 1. They portray important reading skills necessary to do well in UMAT. The answers are available right underneath the answer selections, SO SCROLL DOWN SLOWLY if you feel you'd like to assess your Section 1 qualities. And if you appreciate this post, please share it to friends who are sitting the UMAT.

1) Determine the Main Idea

You should recognize key words in a sentence, main ideas in a paragraph or passage. Key words are important or essential words that determine meaning of a sentence. These are often nouns or verbs. The main ideas sometimes occur in the paragraph's topic sentence; it is often implicit. The other ideas provide support or evidence for this main idea.

Example -

Teachers and librarians need to be aware of the emotional, intellectual, and physical changes that young adults experience, and they need to give serious thought to how they can best accommodate such changes. Growing bodies need movement and exercise, but not just in ways that emphasize competition. Because they are adjusting to their new bodies and whole host of new intellectual and emotional challenges, teenagers are especially self-conscious and need the reassurance that comes from achieving success and knowing that their accomplishments are admired by others. However the typical teenage lifestyle is already filled with so much competition that it would be wise to plan activities in which there are more winners than losers, such as publishing newsletters with many student-written book reviews, displaying student artwork, and sponsoring science fiction, fantasy, or other special interest book discussion clubs. A variety of small clubs can provide multiple opportunities for leadership as well as practice in successful group dynamics. Making friends is extremely important to teenagers, and many shy students need the security of some kind of organization, with a supportive adult barely visible in the background.

In these activities, it is important to remember that young teens have short attention spans. A variety of activities should be organized so that participants can remain active as long as they want and then go on to something else without feeling guilty and without letting other participants down. This does not mean that adults must accept irresponsibility. On the contrary, they can help students acquire a sense of commitment by planning for roles that are within their capabilities and their attention spans and by having clearly states rules. Teenagers need limitations, but they also need the opportunity to help establish what these limitations and expectations will be.

Q. The main idea of this article is the:
(a) need for having clubs for students that will help them to compete.
(b) reality that student activities can help to provide a nonthreatening environment for youth.
(c) environment for learning is set by furnishings.
(d) implication that teachers and librarians should be aware of ways to assist young adults in coping with life's changes.
(e) students have great needs that are not being met.

PREFERRED ANSWER:

To find the main idea in a selection, you can often look at the topic sentence of the opening paragraph and then skim the topic sentences in subsequent paragraphs. In this passage, the main idea actually appears in the very first sentence. The correct answer is (d).

2) Draw an Inference

An inference is a logical conclusion or deduction a reader makes as a result of examining a passage. Often reading comprehension questions in the UMAT, focus on this skill because it requires the reader to draw on their own conclusions rather than locate the specific answer in a passage. This has to be achieved without being deceived by 'distracter' responses. You can think of yourself as a kind of detective as you build your skills in this area. Pay attention to details but realize that you cannot merely scan a passage to find the correct answer to questions.

Example -

After more than two centuries of experience, control of the Wodonga River has been reduced to four methods. First we have levees, the oldest of all. Second comes the enlargement of the discharge capacity by straightening, widening and deepening of the channels. Third in importance are the spillways, which guide excess water into auxillary channels or allow it to flood fairly small areas. Fourth, we have reservoirs to store up excess water, which may be released when natural channels are again able to carry it. Of these four methods, the construction of levees is still the surest because flood elevations are well known. Reservoirs are good but limited in usefulness because their benefits decrease with distance from the communities that are to be protected.

Despite the height that the river water once reached at St. Ann and despite the people left homeless and the damage to property and crops, the engineers have reason to survey their efforts at flood control with satisfaction. But, as has been frequently suggested, it is about time that a Wodonga River Authority is created to deal with the problems of flood control, navigation and power development.

Q. One may infer from reading this selection that:
(a) People are moving away from the area of the river in order to save their property and themselves.
(b) Life in the area of the rivers is difficult and dangerous, but living conditions are good.
(c) The government and its agencies are conducting ongoing efforts to control the rivers and improve measures already in place.
(d) The building of spillways, levees and reservoirs is very expensive.
(e) All of the above.

PREFERRED ANSWER:

The correct answer is (c). In the second paragraph, the statement is made "...the engineers have reason to survey their efforts at flood control with satisfaction". Later in the same paragraph, an authority is suggested to deal with river control. Answer (a) is incorrect, there is no mention of people moving. Answer (b) is incorrect; there is no mention of the quality of living conditions. Answer (d) is incorrect; the expense involved in control is not mentioned.

3) Determine the Primary Purpose

This skill is often tested by questions that ask the reader to determine what the author's purpose or reason for writing the passage is. What does the author seek to accomplish? Is the author trying to persuade the reader? to inform the reader? to entertain the reader?

Example -

In the South American rain forest reside some of the greatest acrobats on earth - monkeys. Yet agile as they are, the monkeys of the old world cannot hang by their tails. It is only the monkeys of America that possess this skill. They are called "ceboids", and their unique group includes marmosets, owl monkeys, sakis, spider monkeys, and howlers. Among these, the start gymnast is the skinny, intelligent spider monkey. Hanging head down like a trapeze artist from the loop of a liana, he may suddenly give a short swing, launch himself into space, and, soaring outward and downward across a 50 foot void, lightly catching a bough on which he spies a shining berry. No owl monkey can match his leap, for their arms are shorter, their tails untalented. The marmosets, smallest of the tribe, are tough, noisy hoodlums that travel in gangs and are also capable of leaps into space, but their landings are rough: smack against a tree trunk with arms and legs spread wide.

Q. Which of these statements does the author clearly state?
(a) The monkeys of South America are an exceedingly gregarious group and exhibit great affection for one another.
(b) The monkeys of the old world reveal an unusually high order of intelligence.
(c) The monkeys of South America have the ability to hang by their tails.
(d) Monkeys in general are very hostile towards other species of animals.
(e) South American monkeys reveal an amazing ability to adapt to captivity and therefore make splendid pets.

PREFERRED ANSWER:

This question requires you to recognize that the author's primary purpose is to point out special talents found in American monkeys. The correct answer is (c); this correct answer is drawn from sentences 2 and 3, in which the author specifically says that monkeys of the old world cannot hang by their tails, only the american monkeys can. All the other answers are incorrect as there is nothing concrete in the passage to substantiate their claim.

4) Identify the Author's Attitude

The author's attitude may be referred to as the 'tone'. You must atleast be able to identify whether the author approves or disapproves of the topic of the passage. You can do this by looking closely at the word choices. You can also consider the type of information - positive or negative?

Example -

There are a few books that go with midnight, solitude, and a candle. It is much easier to say what does not please us at that time than what is exactly right. The book must be, at last, something benedictory by a sinning fellow human being. Cleverness would be repellent at such an hour. Cleverness, anyhow, is the level of mediocrity today: we are all too infernally clever. The first witty perverse paradox blows out the candle. Only the sick mind craves cleverness, as a morbid body turns to drink. The late candle throws its beam a great distance, and its rays make transparent much that seemed massy and important. The mind at rest beside that light, when the house is asleep and the consequential affairs of the urgent world have diminished to their right proportions because we see them distantly from another and a more tranquil place in the heavens, where duty, honor, witty arguments, controversial logic, or great questions appear such as will leave hardly a trace of fossil in the indurated mud which will cover them - the mind then smiles at cleverness. For though at that hour the body may be dog-tired, the mind is lucid and white, like that of a man from whom fever has abated. it is bare of illusions. It has a sharp focus, small and starlike, as a clear and lonely flame left burning by the altar of a shrine from which all have gone but one. A book which approaches that light in the privacy of that place must come, as it were, with open and honest pages.

Q. Which of the following statements best approaches the author's attitude toward cleverness?
(a) Cleverness is a human weapon against overwhelming odds.
(b) There is something old, honest, and candid about being clever.
(c) Cleverness has something deceptive and deceitful about it.
(d) To be clever is to exhibit a high order of sophistication.
(e) Most people these days prefer direct honest judgment.

PREFERRED ANSWER:

Answer (c) is correct. This judgment of cleverness is borne out in several places: sentences 2 and 3 indicate that there is something 'repellent' about cleverness, when what man needs is something 'benedictory'. And the conclusion that a book must come with 'open and honest pages' precludes a clever work. The answer that is closest to (c) is (e), BUT this is just what the author would wish and not what is so.

5) Find Evidence

Careful reading of the passage can uncover the evidence or supporting details the author uses to develop his or her views. Usually this info appears in concrete, specific details. Whether you agree or disagree with the information - which is irrelevant to the question and the UMAT as whole - you must be able to locate evidence and determine it's validity.

Example -

Komodo dragons, like most cold-blooded reptiles, sleep during the night. As the sun rises and warms their blood, they become active, awakening from their resting places among tree roots and rocks to set out in search of food. despite their great size, Komodo dragons are quick moving and agile on the ground. They occasionally climb trees, gripping them with their large, powerful claws. They are also good swimmers, taking long, powerful strokes with their tails. When the usually solitary Komodos meet, they establish a clear hierarchy order based on size.

Q. According to this article, komodos are quite agile despite their:
(a) habitat's difficult terrain.
(b) propensity to stay with their young.
(c) large size.
(d) enormous tails that twice the size of their bodies.
(e) powerful claws.

PREFERRED ANSWER:

The correct answer is (c). This is a really simple example of finding the evidence. In the UMAT, you may need to search a bit harder but the evidence will always be right before your eyes!!!

6) Handle New Information

For this skill, you must be able to assimilate new information and apply it to the material already provided in the passage. Often the question requires you to decide how this new information can be applied to the details in the passage. Be sure you read all of the possible answers before making your selection.

Example -

Lead poisoning may be observed in the acute or chronic form. Most cases of acute salt poisoning are accidental and seldom homicidal. Acute cases result from the ingestion of large amounts of soluble salt (acetate or nitrate) or many small doses at intervals. Retention of lead is cumulative so that a sudden attack may occur after a long period of administration.

The continued intake of small doses when released suddenly by the body's stores may give rise abruptly to a type of poisoning similar to that following the ingestion of a large amount. Removal of old paint by workers in a closed environment or with minimal ventilation may be responsible for on-the-job lead poisoning. Ingestion of lead containing paint and plaster by children still accounts for many cases of poisoning.

Although the symptoms of acute poisoning are varied, the patient may complain of a metallic taste, a dry burning sensation in the throat, cramps, retching and persistent vomiting. Hematemesis (vomiting of blood) may occur. In children, absorbed lead is often deposited near the epiphyseal ends of the bones and can often be seen on X-rays as a dark band near the cartilage.

Lead, after absorption, is carried by the blood to different organs, where it produces a multiform symptomatology. Symptoms can include weakness, anorexia, loss of weight, abdominal colic, constipation, backache, headache, hypertension and a variety of neurological signs. The three organ areas where lead has the greatest effect are the hematopoietic system (blood and blood producing organs), the central nervous system and the kidneys.

Q. Based on the passage above, one can see that laws prohibiting the use of lead paint and lead in petrol:
(a) are useless in preventing the serious effects of the poisoning.
(b) are only sporadically enforced around the country.
(c) can help to reduce the incidence of preventable disease.
(d) can cost construction and oil companies millions of dollars.
(e) can do nothing to control the fumes of the poison.

PREFERRED ANSWER:

The correct answer is (c). Legislation can begin to prevent disease. For all other answer choices, nothing in the passage indicates their importance.

7) Synthesize Details or Concepts

In higher thinking, the ability to collect information and combine the details to arrive at a new conclusion is essential. The passage may also offer possible applications of the author's ideas to other similar situations. Even if you are unfamiliar with the material in the passage, DO NOT PANIC. The questions should be answered on the basis of the information provided in the passage. You are not expected to have any outside knowledge of the particular topic.

Example -

No step in life is more important than the choice of a vocation. The wise selection of the business, profession, trade or occupation to which one's life is to be devoted and the development of full efficiency in the chosen field are matters of the deepest moment to young men, young women and the public. These vital problems, should be solved in a careful, scientific way, with due regard to each person's aptitudes, abilities, ambitions, resources and limitations and the relations of these elements to the conditions of success in different industries. If a man takes up a line of work to which he is adapted, he will achieve far greater success than if he drifts into into an industry for which he is not fitted. An occupation out of harmony with the worker's aptitudes and capacities means inefficiency, unenthusiastic and perhaps distasteful labor, and low pay, while an occupation in harmony with the nature of the man means enthusiasm, love of work, and high economic values - superior product, efficient service and good pay. If a young woman chooses her vocation so that her best abilities and enthusiasms will be united with her daily work, she has laid the foundations of success and happiness. But if her best abilities and enthusiasms are separated from her daily work or do not find in it fair scope and opportunity for exercise and development; if this occupation is merely a means if making a living and the work she loves to do is sidetracked into the evening hours or pushed out of her life altogether, she will be only a fraction of the person she ought to be. Efficiency and success are largely dependent on adaptation.

Q. A thought that is contrary to the feeling of the author is that:
(a) one cannot simply relegate one's real interest in life to "spare time".
(b) a happy worker is an efficient one.
(c) if one wants to, he can work at his really important interests after he has completed his day's work.
(d) tying one's interests and enthusiasms to one's jobs can lead to a happy work experience.
(e) choosing one's career is something that calls for great care and thoughtfulness.

PREFERRED ANSWER:

Be sure to read the question carefully. This question calls for the "contrary". The correct answer is (c) - everything in the selection points to just opposite of that in the statement.

UMAT SECTION 1: UNDERSTANDING QUESTIONS PART FOUR

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 23:24:00 +0000

Method of Argument Questions

Unlike flaw questions, method-of-argument questions don't always involve faulty logic. You’re simply asked to pick the choice that best describes how the author presents the case. The key skill involves being able to analyse the structure of an argument. If you can't identify the evidence and conclusion, there will be difficulty describing how an argument works. Similar to flaw questions, there are two distinct types of method-of-argument questions: one general, one specific. The first deals with classic arguments. These are the classic argumentative structures, such as "inferring a causal relationship from a correlation." The other type of method-of-argument question gives you a description of the argument in much more specific terms. An example of this might read, "The author presents the case of his mother in order to show that not all astronauts are men."

Parallel-Reasoning Questions

Parallel-reasoning questions require students to identify the answer choice that contains the argument most similar, or parallel, to that in the stimulus in terms of the reasoning employed. To do this kind of question, you need to grasp the distinction between an argument's form and its content. "A causal relationship concluded from a correlation" is a form-a type-of reasoning. Any argument withthis form can contain virtually any content. Your task is to abstract the stimulus argument's form, with as little content as possible, and then locate the answer choice that has the form most similar to that of the stimulus.

Don't let yourself be drawn to a choice based on its subject matter. A stimulus about music may have an answer choice that also involves music, but that doesn't mean that the reasoning in the two arguments is similar. A good approach to these questions is to see first if the argument can be symbolised algebraically, using Xs and Ys.

Take the following example:

All cows eat grass. This animal eats grass. Therefore, it must be a cow.

The flawed argument can be symbolized as such:

All X do Y. This does Y. Therefore, this must be an X.

If the stimulus can be symbolised this way, your job will be to search for the choice that can be symbolised in the same way. Your answer might look something like this:

Every politician (all X) tells lies (does Y). James is lying (this does Y). So he must be a politician (therefore, this must be an X)...

Notice how the exact wording doesn't have to match ("all X" means "every X"), and notice that the subject matter doesn't have to match in the least. What's important is the parallel structure. Sometimes an argument's reasoning isn't amenable to symbolisation. In such a case, if you can put a label on the type of argument being used. So long as you can summarise the argument's form without including content, you're well on your way to finding the parallel argument among the choices.

Tips

- All elements of the original argument must be present in its parallel. For example, if the original argument made a generalisation to a specific case, a second argument, no matter how similar in structure otherwise, cannot be parallel unless it makes a comparable generalisation.

- Stay away from answer choices written about the same subject matter as the original. This is an old trick of test makers, intended to catch those who mistakenly try to mimic the content rather than the structureof the stimulus.

- Statements that are logically parallel don't have to have all logical elements in the same sequence. Provided all elements of the first argument exist in the second, even in a different order, the two arguments are parallel.

- Most definitely assessed in the UMAT test.

WE HAVE SUBSCRIPTION & RSS!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:49:00 +0000

What's happening people!?

I've added Subscription and RSS Feed options to this weblog - so now you can can be the first to get fresh and free UMATSUCCESS content as soon as it's published. It's simple: all you do is just enter your email address. On every single page of UMATSUCCESS, the navigation bar to the right has the options.

By clicking either RSS like the first picture or Atom on the second image-example brings you to a webpage that displays my whole post collections in a go.

If you guys wanna test your friends with some questions, or share with them some content from this blog, use the SHARE THIS Button - it's very simple! Very quick and no hassle!

Please don't republish full posts without my direct permission. Feel free to quote anything from this blog within reason [ie - a paragraph or two is normal] with a link to it as a source, but keep in mind this is copyrighted material. Thanks.

What is RSS and Why should I Care?

Good standard questions! Here's why you should care.

Unlike getting any website updates by email, RSS feeds give you absolute, 100% complete control over the situation. You don't have to reveal your email address. If you want to stop receiving content, no need to request to be taken off the list if you find that a hassle. Nevertheless, UMATSUCCESS' email subscribers are only allowed information posted on this weblog to your email address. It will never share, trade, sell, deliever, reveal. publicize or market your email address in any way, shape, or form - guaranteed no spam whatsoever.

Basically if you don't like the content, of the site you receive your feed, you can make it disappear as fast as you change a TV channel: just one click, and poof... subscription is gone. Convenient isn't it?

What is RSS?

RSS is simply an Internet technology standard that allows busy people to receive updates to web-based content of interest. You might have figured that much by now. But basically, that's the essence of an RSS feed - you subscribe and then receive new content automatically in your feed reader. If you want to read more on how it works, click here.

What is a feed reader?

You may be already using a form of feed reader and not even realize it. If you use personalized home page services like My Yahoo or My MSN, you've got RSS capabilities built in. That's how syndicated content like news, weather and stock quotes appear on your personal page. You can also add content from any blog or other site that uses RSS to provide updates.

If you use Firefox browser, you can also receive RSS feeds from your tool bar by using the Live Bookmarks function. Internet Explorer 8 has this ability as well. Google Chrome has some extension add-ons that are free to download.

Lastly, there's desktop-based feed readers like Newsgator and Feed Demon which function like an email program for feeds.

There we have it, a quick walk-through of RSS.

UMAT SECTION 1: UNDERSTANDING QUESTIONS PART THREE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:17:00 +0000

Inference Questions
The process of inferring is considering one or more statements within a text stimulus as evidence, and drawing a solid conclusion from them.

It some situations the inference may be very similar to the author's overall main point. A valid inference is something that must be true if the statements in the passage are true - being an extension of the argument RATHER than a necessary part of it.

Take this for example, let's take on a more expanded version of the basketball team argument:

April plays basketball for Saint Marry High School, despite the rule against participation by non-students. Therefore, April must be over 6 feet tall.

Inference: April is not a student at Saint Marry High School

From here it can clearly be seen that if April plays basketball despite the team's rule against participation by non-students, she must not be a student. Otherwise, she wouldn't be playing despite the rule; she'd be playing in accordance with the rule. This inference though is not an essential assumption of the argument since the conclusion about April's height does not depend on it.

So then, be careful; unlike an assumption, an inference need not have anything to do with the author's conclusion - it may simply be a piece of information derived from one or more pieces of evidence. The Denial test works for inferences as well as they do for assumptions: a valid inference ALWAYS makes more sense than its counterpart. If you deny or negate an answer choice, and it has little or no effect on the argument, chances are that choice is not inferable from the passage.

Flaw Questions
This question type provokes the student to identify what is wrong with a particular argument. There are two basic types.

- General Type: The correct choice will critique the reasoning by pointing out that it contains a classic fallacy [example: "The argument attacks the source of an opinion, rather than the opinion itself"]. When this happens, the flaw falls into a general, well-defined category.

- Specific Type: The correct choice won't refer to a classic fallacy, but rather attack a specific piece of argument's reasoning [example: "It can't be concluded that the number of male dogs has increased simply because the percentage of male dogs has increased"].

Notice that the subject of the statement isn't dogs; it's the author's faulty reasoning about dogs. In the same way to many other question types, the required skill is the ability to identify the structure of the author's argument specifically, where the argument goes wrong.

SECTION 1: UNDERSTANDING QUESTIONS PART TWO

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:48:00 +0000

Hey guys, hopefully last weekend has been productive and relaxing for all. I had a break but turned out to be a heavy weekend. I've updated the answers to UMAT Section 2 questions that I left at the end of last week in the same post - you can check your answers for UMAT SECTION 2: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Aside from that, let's start exploring UMAT together!.

Assumption Questions

An assumption question connects the gap between an argument's evidence and conclusion. It helps support and connects the argument/main key point of the text. It is also known as "The Missing Link" in questions where some arguments lack an important bridge between their evidence and their conclusion. This bridge is the necessary assumption. It is a piece of support that isn't explicitly stated, but required for the conclusion to remain valid.

In order to test whether a statement is necessarily assumed by an author, we can employ the "Denial Test". Simply deny and negate the statement and see whether the argument falls. If the argument falls, then the choice is the correct assumption [Why? It's because the assumption holds the argument's evidence and conclusion!!] Likewise, if the argument is unaffected by the Denial Test, the choice is incorrect. Let's consider this simple example:

April plays basketball for Saint Marry High School. Therefore, April must be more than 6 feet tall.

Now let's test whether this assumption is true in the argument by applying the Denial Test through negation. What if it's not true that all volleyball players for Saint Marry High School are more than 6 feet tall? Can we still logically conclude that April must be taller than 6 feet? No, we can't. Sure that it's possible she could be more than 6 feet, but just as possible she's not. By denying the statement, the argument becomes examinable bits of pieces; which potentially no longer valid. And that's our conclusive proof that the statement above is a necessary assumption of this argument.

Strengthen and Weaken Questions

Determining an argument's necessary assumption is required to answer assumption questions. In addition it is required for another common question type: strengthening and weakening argument questions. One way to weaken an argument is to break down a central piece of evidence. Another way is to attack the validity of any assumptions the author may be making. Let's take the same stimulus we used before, but look at it in the context of these question types:

April plays basketball for Saint Marry High School. Therefore, April must be more than 6 feet tall.

Remember the assumption holding this argument together? It was that all basketball players for Saint Marry High School are more than 6 feet tall. That's the assumption that makes/breaks the argument. So, if the question asked you to weaken the argument, you'd want to attack that assumption:

Which one of the following, if true would most weaken the argument?

Answer: Not all basketball players at Saint Marry High School are more than 6 feet tall.

We are required to doubt the author's basic assumption, thus breaking the argument's validity. But what do I mean about strengthening the argument? In the same way, the key is the necessary assumption:

Which of the following, if true would most strengthen the argument?

Answer: All basketball players at Saint Marry High School are more than 6 feet tall.

Here, by making explicit the author's central assumption we in effect strengthen the argument.

Tip

- Weakening an argument does not mean disproving it, while strengthening does not mean proving the conclusion to be true. The wording of the question types always takes the form "Which one of the following, if true, would most [weaken/strengthen] the argument?". The if true part means you have to accept the truth of the choice right from the onset, no matter how unlikely it sounds to you.

From here you have now experienced a light feel to Logic Games that UMAT has offers in it's test. We'll definitely cover that later.

WHY A FREE UMAT SITE? WHAT'S THE STORY?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:10:00 +0000

Since introducing and bringing online the 'INTRODUCTION' of this UMAT site to my readers I have been inundated with several questions regarding the purpose of this site and why I'm doing it. I'm a regular person just like you, regular with a passion and zeal for success in every challenge and at this stage of life it is studies - for some it's UMAT, work, or relationships.

UMAT + Interview is a powerful screening test for one to become a health professional: it can reduce the number of intake significantly and is believed to select substantial and quality students to study the program. Yet within medical school, you can find a diverse range of students. Through communication with lecturers (as well as doctors, dentists and pharmacists), majority understand the purpose and the need of such screening process, but whether they agree it's a very mixed and grey area. Personally I'm divided in opinion - I believe there must be some sort of screening process otherwise the sheer number of applicants would be overpowering. Around the year 1990s, achieving a perfect score in high school was the criteria to make one eligible as an medical student applicant. However, not all who succeeded in that wanted a career in healthcare.

I do believe that if you're passionate, zealous and determined on studying such a bachelor program, then by all means we need YOU in our aging society. Simply put, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or optometry may appear as a hard bachelor program - but in fact its just hard work and memorization. If you've got the passion I believe you'll do fine! UMAT + Interview can potentially knock out students like these [I'm sure people can argue otherwise, but this is what I personally feel]. I believe true determination and strive are also within those considering the GAMSAT pathway into such bachelor programs. To me they show an undefeated determination of pursuit.

Getting to my point:

Wikipedia is an awesome open source website with a mountain of information. It's not considered a reliable source but you'd be surprised how many students use it for help with studies! I remember during one of it's donation period it had a head banner saying: "Information is free - let's keep it that way" or something along those lines. People across the globe put lots of effort into making information accessible to all - and that why its translated into so many languages. That is also why we able to know so much. And sometimes it's just easier to understand complex things through simple explanation.

My heart is that even if its ever so little, won't it be awesome the day there's a wiki on UMAT: full of details, answers, tips and guides online - with everyone contributing, sharing knowledge - all accessible online? We have a large resource of untapped potential lying within every single person that's alive: academic, knowledge, experience and all. Why stop it on UMAT? Why not a wiki on medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry for every year level for every student studying within Australia? You can say what you want, but I believe we're all in this together...