Download Aptitude Test Questions and Answers form of assessment used in the application stages of the recruitment process. It is specifically designed to measure an applicants of Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana National Fire Service, and Ghana Police Service numerical aptitude, critical thinking, logical reasoning, basic numeracy and literacy and their ability to interpret, analyse and draw situational judgement.
The recruitment and aptitude test process are under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior. All shortlisted recruits officers will be invited to write an Aptitude Test at designated examination centres and schools across the country.
These study guidelines as well as the Aptitude Test Exams Questions & Answers will help you pass this stage of the recruitment process.
Table of Contents
Aptitude Test Questions and Answers
We have added some free questions to our website so that you can get a glimpse of what a real Aptitude Test will typically look like. The only way to tackle these types of tests and become good at them is to practice, so make the most of these free questions and use our explanations to help you improve your grade.
Ghana Prisons Service Aptitude Test Answers and Questions – PDF
Ghana National Fire Service Aptitude Test Exams Questions and Answers -PDF
Aptitude Test Questions and Answers
Ghana Immigration Service Aptitude Test Past Questions and Answers
Ghana Police Service Aptitude Test Past Questions and Answers – PDF
Percentage Increase
To calculate a percentage increase, subtract the original number from the new number, divide this difference by the original number, and multiply by 100.
Example 1: find the percentage increase of 200 to 300
300 – 200 = 100
100 ÷ 200 = 0.5
0.5 x 100 = 50
Answer: 50%
Percentage Decrease
To find a percentage decrease, subtract the new number from the original number, divide this difference by the original number, and multiply by 100.
Example 2: find the percentage decrease of 500 to 240
500 – 240 = 260
260 ÷ 500 = 0.52
0.52 x 100 = 52
Answer: 52%
Adding Percentages
To add two percentage increases together, first add 100 to each given percentage and convert into decimals. Multiply the base figure by the first decimal, and then multiply the resulting value by the second decimal.
Example 3: your phone bill is GHS 42. It increases by 10% after 12 months, and a further 20% increase is applied six months later. What’s the price of your phone bill after 18 months?
10 + 100 = 110, expressed as 1.10 as a decimal
20 + 100 = 120, expressed as 1.20 as a decimal
42 x 1.10 = 46.2
46.2 x 1.20 = 55.44
Answer: GHS 55.44
Converting Percentages into Fractions
To convert a percentage into a fraction, simply write down the percentage as a proportion of 100, and simplify if necessary.
Example 5: Convert 75% into a fraction
75/100 simplified to 3/4
Answer: 3/4
Mean Averages
To find the mean average of a series of numbers, add them all together and divide the answer by the total amount of numbers present.
Example 6: find the mean average of 3, 15, 8 and 22
3 + 15 + 8 + 22 = 48
48 ÷ 4 = 12
Answer: 12
Adding Fractions
To add two fractions together, first make sure the denominators are the same, then add the two numerators together and place over the denominator. Simplify the fraction if needed.
Example 7: 1/5 + 3/5
The denominators are the same, so 1 + 3 = 4
Answer: 4/5
If your denominators are not the same, multiply one fraction by the required amount to get two equal denominators. You must multiply both the denominator and numerator to keep the value of the fraction.
Example 8: work out 2/3 + 1/6
To get a common denominator, multiply 2/3 by 2
2 x 2 = 4
3 x 2 = 6
Now work out 4/6 + 1/6
4 + 1 = 5
Answer: 5/6
Subtracting Fractions
To subtract fractions, simply deduct one numerator from the other and place over the denominator.
Example 9: work out 3/7 – 2/7
3 – 2 = 1
Answer: 1/7
If the denominators are not the same, follow the steps as above to first achieve a common denominator.
Multiplying Fractions
For multiplication, multiply the numerators, then multiply the denominators and write as your new fraction.
Example 10: 1/3 x 2/5
1 x 2 = 2
3 x 5 = 15
Answer: 2/15
Dividing Fractions
To divide fractions, find the reciprocal of the dividing fraction by turning it upside down, then multiply the first fraction by this reciprocal.
Example 11: 2/3 ÷ 1/4
1/4 becomes 4/1
2 x 4 = 8
3 x 1 = 3
Answer: 8/3
First take the whole number of the mixed fraction and multiply it by the denominator of the fractional part. Add this result to the numerator and write above the existing denominator.
Example 12: convert 3 2/4 into an improper fraction
3 x 4 = 12
12 + 2 = 14
Answer: 14/4, simplified to 7/2
A step-by-step guide to find fractions of numbers
When finding a fraction of a number we are, in simple terms, multiplying that number by the fraction. The easiest way to remember this is to replace the word ‘of’ with a multiplication sign, so the question ‘what is ½ of 20’ would be written as (½) x 20.
To multiply a number by a fraction, follow the steps below.
Example 13
Below are some questions for you to try out yourself.
While the method for working out fractions of numbers is relatively simple in theory, it becomes more complex when working with larger figures. In these scenarios, there’s a few more steps you’ll need to take, which we’ve explained in example question 3 below.
Example 14
Kate has decided to buy a new television. The model she chose costs ¢450, but is due to go on sale at two-thirds of the price. If Kate waits for the sale, how much will she save?
To find the answer to this question, we first need to work out what the sale price would be, so we need to calculate ⅔ of 450.
Multiply the whole number by the numerator, and then divide the result by the denominator:
450 x 2 = 900
900/3 = 300
Now we know the sale price would be £300, we can subtract that from the original cost to work out the saving:
450 – 300 = 150
Answer: Kate would save ¢150.
Example 15
Sam works a 37-hour week in retail. He spends ¾ of his time on the shop floor, and the rest working in the warehouse. How many hours per week does Sam spend on the shop floor?
If we multiply the whole number by the numerator here, we get an answer of 111.
111 is not equally divisible by the denominator, so we know we’ll have a remainder.
4 goes into 111 27 times, leaving a remainder of 3. So we’re left with an answer of 27 ¾.
Answer: We can’t simplify ¾, so we can say that Sam spends 27 ¾ hours on the shop floor every week.
Example 16
Jack was rewarded with ¢550 by his parents for performing well in his previous exam. He decided to use 3/10 of this to purchase a new fitness device. How much does the fitness device cost?
As we’re working with larger numbers here, you may find it easier to simplify the equation first. To do this, look for common factors shared by the whole number and the denominator of the fraction, and cancel them out.
In this case, we can see that both 550 and 10 are divisible by 10, leaving 55 and 1 respectively. We can now simplify 3/10 of 550 to 3/1 of 55.
Now complete the equation by multiplying the whole number by the numerator, and dividing the result by the denominator:
55 x 3 = 165
165/1 = 165
Answer: The fitness device that Nate bought cost him GHS 165.
Arithmetic
Example 17
What is the next number in this series?
1, 5, 9, 13, 17, _
A. 15
B. 23
C. 21
D. 20
Answer: The rule for this pattern is to add 4 to the previous number, so in this case, the answer would be C. 21.
Example 18
Find the missing number in the series.
120, 60, 30, __, 7.5, 3.25
A. 20
B. 5
C. 18
D. 15
Answer: This sequence is solved in the same way as above, even though the missing number is in the middle. The relationship between each number is the division by two of the previous number – and it’s important to understand that the terms in a series don’t need to be integers. In this question, the missing term is D. 15.
Example 19
What is the next number in this sequence?
2, 5, 11, 23, 47, __
A. 95
B. 101
C. 94
D. 97
This pattern combines geometric and arithmetic sequences, and the rule is that each number is the previous number multiplied by two, and then add one.
The difficulty here is establishing the right combination of mathematical functions that are needed. In this example, the next term in the series would be 95, so the answer is A.
Example 20
How do you simplify the ratio 700:500 to its simplest form?
To start with you need to find the HCF. The best way to do this is to write out all the factors of both 700 and 50.
The factors of 700 are: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 20, 25, 28, 35, 50, 70, 100, 140, 175, 350 and 700.
The factors of 500 are: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 125, 250, and 500.
1, 2,4,5,10, 25, 50 and 100 are factors of both numbers. As 100 is the largest number, it is the HCF.
700 divided by 100 is 7.
500 divided by 100 is 5.
Answer: The new simplified ratio is 7:5.
Example 21
Big Ben is 96 metres tall. Sam makes a scale model of Big Ben to a ratio of 96: 27. What is the simplest form of this ratio?
First, find the HCF of 96 and 27.
96 has the factors 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48 and 96.
27 has the factors 1, 3, 9 and 27.
Both 1 and 3 is a factor of both, therefore 3 is the HCF.
96 divided by 3 is 32.
27 divided by 3 is 9.
Answer: The simplified ratio is 32:9
Situational Judgment Test
Example 22
Passage
At a recent departmental meeting, one of your more senior colleagues appears to be acting intentionally awkward towards you. Whenever you make suggestions relating to the topic area being discussed they interrupt you and come up with reasons why your suggestion is not workable. You have known this person since you joined the business six months ago and you have always got on well. They have been with the company for over 2 years and seem to be well respected by most people. You have heard rumours that they are having personal issues at the moment. You are only 1 hour into an all-day meeting. What would you do?
Read the passage and select how you would most likely and least likely respond:
A. Wait until the next coffee break and ask the colleagues you are closer to whether they have noticed this behaviour and ask for their thoughts on how to deal with the situation, particularly considering the delicacy of the personal issues that may be ongoing for the individual concerned.
B. Ignore their behaviour and continue to input to the meeting in a confident and supportive manner. This will show your peers and manager that you can handle difficult situations and as you have always got along well with this person in the past this is probably a one-off. Everyone has bad days and as a colleague, it is up to you to not make anyone feel worse than they do already.
C. Attempt to face the problem head-on in the meeting. The situation is reflecting badly on you and you do not want your line manager to think that you can’t stand up to someone just because they have more experience than you. Wait to see if it happens again and then politely ask whether they have an issue with you that they would like to discuss in more detail.
D. Wait until the coffee break and then ask the person you are having the issues with if they could spare five minutes for a chat. Politely ask them whether you have done something to offend them as you feel their attitude towards you this morning has been somewhat negative. Ask if there is something you can do to improve the situation as it is making the meeting awkward for everyone.
Answer
A. Least likely. This response could make the problem worse on several levels. Firstly, you have flagged the issue to people who do not need to be involved. By talking about your colleague with these people you are potentially making the issue bigger than it was initially as they will be looking for any signs of the problem continuing or getting bigger. Secondly, you are bringing up someone else’s issues that are of no concern to your other colleagues regardless of how well you get on with them.
D. Most likely. This approach ensures that the problem is addressed before it becomes any worse. As there may be a genuine reason why they are obstructing your suggestions it shows that you are willing to listen to and learn from other people. It also does so in a non-public forum so that you can both share your views freely.
Example 23
Passage
A key supplier has allocated a new account manager to look after your business. However, you do not feel that they are providing as good a service as the previous account manager did. They keep forgetting to follow up on agreed actions and are missing mutually agreed deadlines. You feel like they have become complacent. You are happy with the products they provide and the original account manager was part of a team that went through a complex tender process to win your business but you feel customer service could now be better. What do you do?
Read the passage and select how you would most likely and least likely respond:
A. Wait for the next meeting with the account manager and raise your concerns with them directly. Go to the meeting prepared with a list of issues that you have experienced so that you can jointly agree on a plan for improving service.
B. Raise your concerns with your line manager so that they can escalate the issue at the right level within the supply company.
C. Start looking for alternative suppliers who might be more appreciative of your business.
D. Bide your time but keep track of issues when they arise. The account manager has only just started looking after you and they may just need time to get used to you.
Answer
A. Most likely. This approach attempts to keep the longer-term relationship with the supplier in mind. Raising your concerns early on with the account manager gives you both an opportunity to try and make the relationship work in the longer term. In many businesses suppliers are regarded as partners and it is important to find a way to work together towards common goals.
C. Least likely. This approach fails to recognize the importance of suppliers as partners. It is increasingly important in business that we build strong relationships with our suppliers to ensure that both parties gain the maximum benefit from the relationship. You already recognise that the products are superior; it just takes some effort to set expectations and create a positive relationship with the existing supplier.
Example 24
Passage
You are working as a graduate trainee in an online retail business. Part of your role is being involved in many cross-organizational projects. One such project involves people from several different departments as well as a smaller retail company with whom you are partnering. You have been projecting managing it from the outset and so far it has been going well. Unfortunately, one of the key team members from the partner company has gone off sick with a long-term illness so a replacement was brought in to join the project team a month ago. You have noticed that from the start this replacement is not acting as efficiently as her colleague did. She keeps turning up to meetings late and is not delivering on everything that has been asked of her. She is very experienced in her field though and was brought into the project as she had delivered work of this nature before. What do you do?
A. Before the next project meeting, arrange a call with the team member in question to discuss your concerns directly and to agree on what your joint expectations are around the project.
B. Ask the team member’s line manager for an ‘off the record’ conversation and raise your concerns about her, outlining the key issues and the observations you have made.
C. Speak to other members of the project team to try asking them what their perceptions are of the team member in question.
D. Give her a chance to improve by herself but continue to take note of the times the team member is late and the issues she fails to deliver on for a few more weeks.
Answer
A. Most likely. By talking to the team member in question you are attempting to keep the project and the relationship on track at the same time as dealing with the issues that you have been observing. In business, it is important to find ways to work with partners of this nature but doing so openly and fairly is the correct way to go. You have common targets and it is important to both partners that you achieve them!
C. Least likely. Whilst you may think it is fairer to get a balanced view from across the project team this could be seen as undermining and even ‘gossipy’. It is fairer to speak to the person in question yourself rather than bringing other people into the conversation. Having a longer-term relationship with this partner in mind is also key therefore it is important to treat their staff fairly.
Example 25
Passage
Over the last few days, you have been analysing the sales figures from the branch where you work and looking at how they compare to the sales figures of similar branches within the business from the last three months. The branch manager has requested you do this and come back to her with some key conclusions and recommendations for improvements. You can see that your branch always experiences a major dip in sales in the third week of the month but the same is not true for the other branches.
Read the passage and select how you would most likely and least likely respond:
A. Speak to the branch manager to find out whether she has any ideas about why this may be so.
B. Record the dip as a key finding in your conclusions when you present them back to the branch manager.
C. Look at data beyond the initial three-month period and try and interrogate the data from other angles before deciding on the next steps.
D. Arrange to speak to the other branch managers about what you have seen to try and understand how their branches are not experiencing this same dip.
Answer
B. Least likely. It is a fact that the dip is there and you have seen this in your data, however, you have been asked to report on key conclusions and recommendations. By reporting this back to the branch manager you are merely presenting her with a problem. In business, it is important to think analytically and to examine available data (and people!) to be able to draw conclusions and make recommendations.
C. Most likely. This is a really good place to take your analysis. Three months is a pretty short period to base your conclusions on, so it is sensible to look beyond that to see if it is a longer-term pattern. Also, data can be cut and sliced in many ways so it is always useful to rethink your approach to analysis to see if that can help you draw sensible conclusions.
