Foreign Service Officer Exam: Preparation for the Written Exam and the Oral Assessment

CliffsTestPrep Foreign Service Officer Exam\ \ John Wiley & Sons\ ISBN: 0-7645-9646-2 \ \ \ Chapter One\ Mathematics and Statistics\ What You Should Know\ In both the general and career track sections of the Job Knowledge test, the questions require knowledge of a general understanding of basic mathematics. This includes both general mathematics as well as statistical procedures. The questions encompass word problems and calculations.\ The questions in the following section are for your review. Go through each question and try your best to answer it. The explanation of the answer follows immediately afterward so that you can actually learn new material. After you've completed reviewing these questions and answers, three brief practice review tests at the end of the chapter help you determine how much you know. Of course, there is a full-length exam at the end of Part II that also includes math and statistics questions.\ Mathematics and Statistics Review Section\ Read the following questions and select the choices that best answer the questions.\ 1. While on a trip to Greece, Janet decides to purchase a pair of shoes that cost 6,274 Drachmas. If each U.S. dollar is worth 200.5 Drachmas, what is the price of the shoes in U. S. dollars?\ A. $12.58 B. $31.29 C. $33.45 D. $125.79\ B. 6,274 Drachmas × 1 U.S. dollar / 200.5 Drachmas = $31.29.\ 2. Dennis ran a race in 2.2 minutes. Kayla ran the same race in 124 seconds. What is the difference between these two times?\ A. 2 seconds\ B. 8 seconds\ C. 14 seconds\ D. 22 seconds\ B. Convert 2.2 minutes to seconds. 2.2 × 60 = 132 seconds. The difference in the two times is 132 - 124 = 8 seconds.\ 3. The members of the Larchmont Automobile Club were surveyed about their favorite color of car. Each member could only select one color. The survey results are shown in the following table.\ Color Frequency\ Red 45 Blue 33 Black 41 White 13 Green 18\ What is the relative frequency of the choice "red"?\ A. 0.2\ B. 0.3\ C. 0.45\ D. 45\ B. Overall, 45 + 33 + 41 + 13 + 18 = 150 people were surveyed. Of these, 45 said red, so the frequency for red is 45, and the relative frequency is 45 ÷ 150 = 0.3.\ 4. Stanley can type 35 words per minute. If it takes him a half-hour to type a document, about how many words are in the document?\ A. 900\ B. 1,050\ C. 1,500\ D. 2,100\ B. There are 30 minutes in a half-hour. 30 × 35 = 1,050 words.\ 5. A recipe calls for 3 cups of wheat and white flour combined. If 3/8 of this is wheat flour, how many cups of white flour are needed?\ A. 1 1/8\ B. 1 7/8\ C. 2 3/8\ D. 2 5/8\ B. 3/8 is wheat flour, then 1 - 3/8 or 5/8 or is white flour. So 3 × 5/8 = 15/8 = 1 7/8 cups of white flour are needed.\ 6. A barrel holds 60 gallons of water. If a crack in the barrel causes 1/2 a gallon to leak out each day, how many gallons of water remain after 2 weeks?\ A. 30\ B. 53\ C. 56 1/2\ D. 59\ B. In 2 weeks, or 14 days, 1/2 × 14 = 7 gallons leak out, leaving 60 - 7 = 53 gallons.\ 7. Which of the following sets of data is bimodal?\ A = {2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 7}\ B = {2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7}\ ITLITL = {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}\ D = {2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 7}\ A. A\ B. B\ C. ITLITL\ D. D\ D. A bimodal set is a set that has two modes; in other words, there are two different numbers that appear the most frequently. The set that has this property is D, where the numbers 3 and 5 both occur twice.\ 8. Jack lives 6 1/2 miles from the library. If he walks 1/3 of the way and takes a break, what is the remaining distance to the library?\ A. 5 5/6 miles\ B. 4 miles\ C. 4 1/3 miles\ D. 2 1/6 miles\ C. 1/3 of 6 1/2 miles is 1/3 × 6 1/2 = 1/3 × 13/2 = 13/6 miles walked. The remaining distance is\ 6 1/2 - 13/6 = 13/2 - 13/6 = 39/6 - 13/6 = 26/6 = 4 1/3 miles.\ 9. A sweater originally priced at $40 is on sale for $30. What percent has the sweater been discounted?\ A. 25% B. 33%\ C. 70%\ D. 75%\ A. The amount of discount is $40 - $30 = $10. The percent of discount is the amount of discount divided by the original price. 10/40 = 1/4 = 25%.\ 10. Kevin can read 2 pages in 3 minutes. At this rate, how long will it take him to read a 360-page book?\ A. 30 minutes\ B. 2 hours\ C. 6 hours\ D. 9 hours\ D. Using the ratio minutes pages/minutes, the proportion 2/3 = 360/x can be used to find the time. Cross multiply. 2x = 3 × 360, so 2x = 1,080 and x = 1,080/2 = 540 minutes. Convert minutes to hours. There are 60 minutes in one hour, so 540/60 9 = hours.\ 11. Hazel eats 3/8 of a pizza and divides the rest between her two friends. What percent of the pizza do her friends each receive?\ A. 62.50%\ B. 37.50%\ C. 31.25%\ D. 18.75%\ C. If 3/8 of the pizza is eaten, then 1 - 3/8 = 5/8 remains. If that is divided by 2, then each receives 5/8 ÷ 2 = 5/8 × 1/2 = 5/16 = 0.3125 = 31.25%.\ 12. One-fourth of the cars purchased at a dealership are luxury models. If 360 luxury models were sold last year, how many total cars were purchased?\ A. 90\ B. 250\ C. 1,440\ D. 3,600\ C. If t is the total number of cars sold, and 1/4 of the total cars sold are luxury, luxury cars sold = 360, so 1/4 t = 360 and t = 360 × 4 = 1,440 total cars sold.\ Questions 13-15 are based on the following situation.\ The following table shows the number of freshmen and sophomores involved in various sports. Each student participates in only one sport.\ Sport Freshmen Sophomores\ Football 9 13 Soccer 8 19 Basketball 2 5 Baseball 8 6\ 13. What percent of the students played basketball?\ A. 7%\ B. 10%\ C. 14%\ D. 20%\ B. The total number of students is 70. Of these, 2 + 5 = 7 play basketball. Finally, 7 ÷ 70 = 10%.\ 14. Approximately what percent of the freshmen listed played football?\ A. 28.7%\ B. 31.4%\ C. 33.3%\ D. 81.4%\ C. There are 27 freshmen playing sports, and of these, 9 play football. This is about 33.3%.\ 15. How many more sophomores played these particular sports than freshmen?\ A. 10\ B. 12\ C. 14\ D. 16\ D. A total of 43 sophomores played as opposed to 27 freshmen. The difference is 43 - 27 = 16.\ Problems 16-18 are based on the following situation.\ A survey of video-game-playing habits among twelve junior high school students resulted in the following data in hours per week: 9, 2, 2.5, 7, 6.5, 11, 7, 1.5, 1, 4, 12, 8.5\ 16. What is the average (arithmetic mean) number of hours spent playing video games by the students in the survey?\ A. 5.25 hours\ B. 5.75 hours\ C. 6.0 hours\ D. 6.5 hours\ C. To find the arithmetic mean, add up the twelve scores to get 72. Divide by 12 to get 6.\ 17. What is the range of the data values for the students given above?\ A. 10 hours\ B. 11 hours\ C. 12 hours\ D. 13 hours\ B. The range is the difference between the largest and smallest values; that is, 12 - 1 = 11.\ 18. A similar survey among high school students showed that the average number of hours spent a week playing video games per student was 20% less than the same figure for junior high school students. What was the average number of hours per week spent playing video games for high school students?\ A. 4.6 hours\ B. 4.8 hours\ C. 5.2 hours\ D. 7.2 hours\ B. The average number of hours for junior high school students was 6. To reduce 6 by 20%, determine 80% of 6. Thus, 6 × 80% = 4.8 hours.\ 19. If 400 people can be seated in 8 subway cars, how many people can be seated in 5 subway cars?\ A. 200\ B. 250\ C. 300\ D. 350\ B. If 400 people fit in 8 subway cars, then 400 ÷ 8, or 50, people fit in one subway car. Therefore, 50 × 5, or 250, people fit in 5 subway cars.\ 20. Rachel ran 1/2 mile in 4 minutes. At this rate, how many miles can she run in 15 minutes?\ A. 1 7/8\ B. 4\ C. 30\ D. 60\ A. The proportion 1/2 mile / 4 minutes = x mile/15 minutes models this situation. Cross multiply.\ 1/2 × 15 = 4x = so 15/2 = 4x and x = 15/2 * 1/4 = 15/8 = 1 7/8 miles.\ 21. Mr. Scalici earns a weekly salary of $300 plus 10% commission on all sales. If he sold $8,350 last week, what were his total earnings?\ A. $835\ B. $865\ C. $1,135\ D. $1,835\ C. The amount of commission is 10% × $8,350 = $835. Total earnings are $300 + $835 commission = $1,135.\ 22. Which is the only measure of central tendency that can be used for qualitative data?\ A. the arithmetic mean\ B. the median\ C. the mode\ D. the range\ C. The mode, which is simply the most frequently occurring value, is the only measure of central tendency that can be determined with qualitative, non-numerical data.\ 23. A 10-foot rope is to be cut into equal segments measuring 8 inches each. The total number of segments is\ A. 1\ B. 8\ C. 15\ D. 40\ C. The total number of inches in a 10 foot rope is 10 × 12 = 120 inches. The number of 8 inch segments that can be cut is 120/8 = 15.\ 24. A restaurant bill without tax and tip comes to $38.40. If a 15% tip is included after a 6% tax is added to the amount, how much is the tip?\ A. $6.11\ B. $5.76\ C. $5.15\ D. $2.30\ A. The tax on the bill is $38.40 × 6% = $2.30. The amount, including tax, is $38.40 + $2.30 = $40.70. The tip is $40.70 × 15% = $6.11.\ 25. Floor tiling costs $13.50 per square yard. What would it cost to tile a room 15 feet long by 18 feet wide?\ A. $20\ B. $405\ C. $1,350\ D. $3,645\ B. The area of a room 15 feet wide by 18 feet long is 15 × 18 = 270 square feet. Because there are 3 feet in a yard, there are 3 × 3 or 9 square feet in a square yard. Convert 270 square feet to square yards. 270/9 = 30 yards. Because the cost is $13.50 per square yard, the total cost is $13.50 × 30, or $405.\ 26. Fencing costs $4.75 per foot. Posts cost $12.50 each. How much will it cost to fence a garden if 10 posts and 34 feet of fencing are needed?\ A. $472.50\ B. $336.50\ C. $315.50\ D. $286.50\ D. The total cost for the posts and fencing is (10 × $12.50) + (34 × $4.75) = $125.00 + $161.50 = $286.50.\ 27. Brian took an admissions exam. After taking the test, Brian was told that his score was in the 64th percentile. What does this statement mean?\ A. 64 of the students who took the test did better than Brian.\ B. 64 of the students who took the test did worse than Brian.\ C. 64% of the students who took the test did better than Brian.\ D. 64% of the students who took the test did worse than Brian.\ D. If Brian is in the 64th percentile, 64% of the students who took the test did worse than he did.\ 28. A taxi ride costs $3.00 for the first mile and $1.00 for each additional half-mile. What is the cost of a 10-mile ride?\ A. $10\ B. $12\ C. $13\ D. $21\ D. In a 10-mile trip, after the first mile, there are 9 additional miles. If each additional half-mile is $1, then an additional mile is $2. The cost of the trip is $3 for the first mile + ($2 × 9) for the additional miles. $3 + $18 = $21.\ 29. Sandy bought 4 1/2 lbs of apples and 6 kiwi fruits. Brandon bought 3 1/4 lbs of apples and 9 kiwi fruits. If apples cost $1.39 per lb and kiwis are 2 for $1.00, how much more money did Sandy spend than Brandon?\ A. $0.24\ B. $0.94\ C. $1.54\ D. $2.32\ A. The cost of Sandy's purchase is (4 1/2 × $1.39) + (6 × $0.50) = $9.26. The cost of Brandon's purchase Is (3 1/4 × $1.39) + (9 × $0.50) = $9.02. Sandy spent $9.26 - $9.02 = $0.24 more.\ 30. In a standard deck of playing cards, a king of hearts is drawn and not replaced. What is the probability of drawing another king from the deck?\ A. 1/4\ B. 1/13\ C. 1/17\ D. 3/52\ C. Probability is number of successful outcomes/number of possible outcomes. Because one king was drawn and not replaced, three kings remain in the deck of 51 cards. So the probability of drawing another king is 3/51 = 1/17.\ 31. A rope is made by linking beads that are 1/2 inch in diameter. How many feet long is a rope made from 60 beads?\ A. 2 1/2 ft\ B. 10 ft\ C. 30 ft\ D. 120 ft\ A. 60 beads × 1/2 inch = 30 inches. Converting this to feet gives 30 inches × 1 foot/12 inches = 30/12 = 2 1/2 feet.\ 32. A foreign automobile manufacturer has a shipping charge of $3 per kilogram for all parts sent to the United States. To the nearest dollar, what would be the shipping charges for a motor weighing 200 pounds? Note that there are 0.455 kilograms in a pound.\ A. $60\ B. $132\ C. $152\ D. $273\ D. Begin by changing the 200 pounds to kilograms.\ 200 pounds × 0.455 kg/1 pound = 91 kg\ Now, at $3 per kilogram, the shipping charge would be 91 × $3 = $273.\ 33. While dining out, Chad spent $25.00. If the bill totaled $21.00 before the tip was added, approximately what percent tip did Chad leave?\ A. 16%\ B. 19%\ C. 21%\ D. 25%\ B. The percent tip is the amount of tip over the total before tip. The amount of the tip is $25.00 - $21.00 = $4.00. The percent of the tip is 4/21 = 0.19 = 19%.\ 34. What is the probability of rolling a sum of 9 using two dice?\ A. 1/4\ B. 1/9\ C. 5/12\ D. 7/36\ B. There are four possible ways to roll a 9 using 2 dice: 3 and 6, 4 and 5, 5 and 4, and 6 and 3. The total number of possible outcomes when rolling 2 dice is 62 or 36. Therefore, the probability of rolling a 9 is 4/36 = 1/9.\ (Continues...)\ \ \ \ \ Excerpted from CliffsTestPrep Foreign Service Officer Exam Excerpted by permission.\ All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.\ Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. \ \

Introduction. PART I: WRITTEN EXAM: THE JOB KNOWLEDGE TEST. About the Job Knowledge Test. United States Government. United States Society. World History and Geography. Economics. Mathematics and Statistics. Management. Communication Computers. Sample Job Knowledge Test. Answers to Sample Job Knowledge Test. PART II: WRITTEN EXAM: THE ENGLISH EXPRESSION TEST. About the English Expression Test. Grammar and Usage Review. Sample English Expression Test. Answers to Sample English Expression Test. PART III: WRITTEN EXAM: THE BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE. About the Biographic Information Questionnaire. PART IV: WRITTEN EXAM: WRITTEN ESSAY. About the Written Essay. The Elements of Good Writing. PART V: ORAL ASSESSMENT. About the Oral Assessment.