Learn by Novus · Open practice pack v1

Processing speed: full practice bank: open practice pack: worked explanations

100 untimed questions across 10 authored sections.

This is untimed educational practice for one cognitive skill. It is not a clinical, diagnostic, employment, or professionally recognized assessment, and it does not produce an IQ score or credential.

Worked explanations

processing-speed-q1

The digit 7 appears 5 times: 7192747378179.

processing-speed-q2

12, 18, 24, and 36 are all multiples of 6; 29 is not.

processing-speed-q3

The vowels are e, a, o, u, e, i, six in total.

processing-speed-q4

The sequence increases by 3 each step, so the missing number is 15.

processing-speed-q5

The digits '1,1' and '5,5' are each adjacent and identical, 2 pairs total.

processing-speed-q6

45 + 55 = 100. The others sum to 101, 101, and 99 respectively.

processing-speed-s01-q07

Scanning only the first letter of each word, four begin with B: banana, berry, bread, and basket.

processing-speed-s01-q08

Compare the tens digit first: 98 and 99 beat the 80s, and 99 beats 98 on the units digit.

processing-speed-s01-q09

Ticking off each letter in turn (b, a, n, a, n, a) the letter 'a' appears three times.

processing-speed-s01-q10

A number is even when its last digit is 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8: here 8, 12, and 6 qualify, making three.

processing-speed-s02-q01

Move through the string one character at a time and tally each 'x': o-x-k-x-v-e-x-n-x-o gives four.

processing-speed-s02-q02

Counting only the squares while ignoring the other shapes gives four: positions 1, 3, 6, and 8.

processing-speed-s02-q03

Only B, D, and F are upper case, three capitals in total.

processing-speed-s02-q04

Filtering out the letters leaves the digits 7, 2, 9, and 1, four in total.

processing-speed-s02-q05

Scanning for vowels only, the string contains o, e, and i, three vowels.

processing-speed-s02-q06

Tally each letter as you scan: p appears three times, q twice, and r and s once each.

processing-speed-s02-q07

Fixing on triangles only, they sit at positions 2, 5, and 8, three in total.

processing-speed-s02-q08

Only R and L are capitals, so the remaining six characters (t, e, z, p, m, s) are lower case.

processing-speed-s02-q09

Check each word for a 't' followed directly by an 'h': only moth and bath contain the pair.

processing-speed-s02-q10

With only two similar characters to separate, tally the 'o's in one pass: six of the nine characters are 'o'.

processing-speed-s03-q01

Add the tens first: 17 + 20 = 37, then the units: 37 + 6 = 43.

processing-speed-s03-q02

Subtract in two easy steps: 62 − 20 = 42, then 42 − 7 = 35.

processing-speed-s03-q03

8 × 7 = 56; instant recall of the times tables is one of the biggest speed gains available.

processing-speed-s03-q04

Round 38 up to 40 for an easy sum, 45 + 40 = 85, then take the 2 back off: 83.

processing-speed-s03-q05

Use 10 × 6 = 60 and subtract one 6: 60 − 6 = 54.

processing-speed-s03-q06

Subtract 40 for a round number, 74 − 40 = 34, then add back the 2 you over-subtracted: 36.

processing-speed-s03-q07

Halve three times: 120 → 60 → 30 → 15, because dividing by 8 is halving thrice.

processing-speed-s03-q08

Pair numbers that make round totals: 13 + 28 = 41, and 41 + 9 lands neatly on 50.

processing-speed-s03-q09

Halve the parts separately: half of 70 is 35, half of 6 is 3, and 35 + 3 = 38.

processing-speed-s03-q10

Four 25s make 100: the same fact that makes four 25p coins a pound is worth keeping on instant recall.

processing-speed-s04-q01

Check letters first, then digits in order. The near-misses transpose the H and T, swap the final digits, or shuffle the 4s.

processing-speed-s04-q02

Only one pair repeats its string exactly; the others transpose the last digits (7791), swap the letters (ZM), or alter a middle digit (7119).

processing-speed-s04-q03

Three codes read PLQ-880, while the odd one out swaps the letter Q for the visually similar letter O to read PLO-880.

processing-speed-s04-q04

Read the street name letter by letter and the number digit by digit: the near-misses reverse 27, add a stray p, or change the 7 to a 1.

processing-speed-s04-q05

The spelling 'harbour' appears in the first and third positions; 'harbor' drops the u and 'arbour' drops the h, so neither is a repeat.

processing-speed-s04-q06

TK-9906 and TK-9096 differ in their middle digits, 90 versus 09, while every other pair repeats its string exactly.

processing-speed-s04-q07

Compare digit positions one at a time, then the letter: the near-misses transpose 82, swap Q for O, or move the 4.

processing-speed-s04-q08

Check each word in turn: the traps change Gray to Grey, add an extra e to Whitfield, or spell out the ampersand.

processing-speed-s04-q09

The first and third codes match exactly; 2281-DV reverses the letters and 2218-VD transposes the middle digits.

processing-speed-s04-q10

Scan each code for a repeat: 4535 contains the digit 5 twice, while the other codes use four different digits.

processing-speed-s05-q01

Substitute one symbol at a time in the order shown: ● is 2, ▲ is 1, ■ is 3, giving 213.

processing-speed-s05-q02

Each letter maps to the letter the same distance from the far end: D is 4th from the start, and 4th from the end is W.

processing-speed-s05-q03

Decode digit by digit in order: 3 is D, 4 is O, 4 is O again, 1 is R, spelling DOOR.

processing-speed-s05-q04

Apply the shift to every letter, not just some: C moves to D, A moves to B, and T moves to U.

processing-speed-s05-q05

Convert every symbol before adding, and note the repeated ◆: 4 + 7 + 2 + 4 = 17.

processing-speed-s05-q06

All four options use the same letters, so the order is everything: 2-4-6-8 decodes strictly as N, E, S, T.

processing-speed-s05-q07

Step every letter back once: D to C, O to N, and G to F.

processing-speed-s05-q08

Encode in the order the letters appear: R gives ▲, P gives ◆, Q gives ●. Watch for the option that swaps the last two.

processing-speed-s05-q09

Convert each number in sequence: 6 is F, 1 is A, 3 is C, 5 is E, FACE.

processing-speed-s05-q10

B is 2 and each E is 5, so the total is 2 + 5 + 5 = 12.

processing-speed-s06-q01

Line the decimals up place by place: 0.405 has 4 tenths like 0.45, but its hundredths digit is 0 against 5, so it is smaller.

processing-speed-s06-q02

Compare each gap from 500 rather than the numbers themselves: 32, 29, 7, and 10. The smallest gap is 7.

processing-speed-s06-q03

Convert to decimals for a quick comparison: 2/3 ≈ 0.67, 3/4 = 0.75, and 4/5 = 0.8, so 4/5 is largest.

processing-speed-s06-q04

Work both products before comparing: 7 × 8 = 56 beats 9 × 6 = 54.

processing-speed-s06-q05

Test both conditions on each number: 48 is even but too small, 57 is large enough but odd, and 45 fails both, only 62 passes both.

processing-speed-s06-q06

Compare digit by digit after the decimal point: 3.51, 3.6, and 3.55 exceed 3.5, while 3.499 falls just short.

processing-speed-s06-q07

With negative numbers the larger the digit, the colder the value: −7° sits furthest below zero.

processing-speed-s06-q08

The pounds match, so compare pence: 09 < 19 < 90 puts £9.19 in the middle.

processing-speed-s06-q09

0.25 is a quarter: 1 divided by 4. The others convert to 0.4, roughly 0.33, and 0.3.

processing-speed-s06-q10

Test each candidate against both divisors: 36 = 4 × 9 and 6 × 6, while 30 fails on 4, 40 fails on 6, and 27 fails on both.

processing-speed-s07-q01

Name the category of each word as you scan: plum, pear, and mango are fruits, while kale is a leafy vegetable.

processing-speed-s07-q02

Only the first character matters for this rule: E is a vowel, while T, B, and M are not.

processing-speed-s07-q03

Sort by what each unit measures: litres measure volume, metres length, grams mass, only minutes measure time.

processing-speed-s07-q04

Check only the last digit of each number: 12, 30, and 8 are even, so three numbers go to Box A.

processing-speed-s07-q05

Group by meaning before choosing: whisper, murmur, and mutter all describe quiet speech, while shouting is loud.

processing-speed-s07-q06

Compare each amount against the £100 threshold and watch the boundary case: £99.99 is still under it, but £102.40 is over.

processing-speed-s07-q07

Classify each animal as you read: otters, badgers, and hares are mammals, while the gecko is a lizard, a reptile.

processing-speed-s07-q08

Sort each word into colour or not-colour as you go: crimson, teal, and indigo are colours; violin and ladder are objects.

processing-speed-s07-q09

Scan each word for two identical letters side by side: only 'hammer' has one, the double m.

processing-speed-s07-q10

Test both rules on each number: 24 passes both, 31 is over 20 but odd, 18 is even but too small, only 15 is both too small and odd.

processing-speed-s08-q01

Each term adds 4 to the one before, so 16 + 4 = 20.

processing-speed-s08-q02

Check the gap between neighbours first: each step subtracts 9, so 54 − 9 = 45.

processing-speed-s08-q03

The sequence skips one letter each time (B, skip C, D, skip E…), so after H comes J.

processing-speed-s08-q04

Each term doubles the previous one, and 80 fits both neighbours: 40 × 2 = 80 and 80 × 2 = 160.

processing-speed-s08-q05

The gaps themselves grow by one each step (+1, +2, +3, +4), so the next gap is +5, giving 17.

processing-speed-s08-q06

The three-symbol block ● ▲ ▲ cycles, and the seventh symbol starts a new block, so the eighth is the block's second symbol, ▲.

processing-speed-s08-q07

These are the square numbers 1², 2², 3², 4², 5², the next is 6² = 36.

processing-speed-s08-q08

The jumps widen by one letter each time (+2, +3, +4), so the next jump of +5 lands on O.

processing-speed-s08-q09

Each term halves the previous one, so 8 ÷ 2 = 4.

processing-speed-s08-q10

Read the alternating positions as two strands: a constant 10 and the odd numbers 3, 5, 7, the odd strand continues with 9.

processing-speed-s09-q01

Hold the intermediate total before applying the second step: 14 + 19 = 33, then 33 − 6 = 27.

processing-speed-s09-q02

Doubling 17 gives 34, and 34 + 5 = 39.

processing-speed-s09-q03

Retrieve the fact first, then compute: 7 days × 6 = 42, and 42 − 2 = 40.

processing-speed-s09-q04

'Operation' contains the vowels o, e, a, i, o, five in total, and 5 × 3 = 15.

processing-speed-s09-q05

Work each sum, then classify it: 8 and 10 are even, while both 13s are odd, two even results.

processing-speed-s09-q06

Three subtractions of 8 remove 24 in total, so 50 − 24 = 26, stopping early at 42 or 34 is the common slip.

processing-speed-s09-q07

Compute both before comparing: 15% of 200 is 30, while 20% of 140 is 28.

processing-speed-s09-q08

6 × 9 = 54, and swapping its digits gives 45. The unreversed 54 is the trap to step past.

processing-speed-s09-q09

Treat each digit separately and add: 4 + 7 + 8 = 19.

processing-speed-s09-q10

'Speed' has 5 letters; 5 squared is 25, and 25 − 5 = 20.

processing-speed-s10-q01

Apply both tests to every number: 45, 61, and 73 pass, while 37 and 39 are odd but not large enough.

processing-speed-s10-q02

First isolate the digits (7, 4, 9, 1, 6), then keep only the odd ones: 7, 9, and 1.

processing-speed-s10-q03

Tally both letters in a single pass: X appears 6 times and O appears 4 times, a margin of 2.

processing-speed-s10-q04

Sum each code and compare with 10: the totals are 10, 9, 10, 11, and 10, so three codes qualify.

processing-speed-s10-q05

Check only the first letter of each word and ignore s sounds inside words: Six, sleek, swans, swam, south, and stone make six.

processing-speed-s10-q06

Filter in stages: over 30 leaves 32, 47, 56, 63; keeping the evens then leaves just 32 and 56.

processing-speed-s10-q07

Score each entry against both rules separately: 7Q34 and CD57 each break only one rule, while 9K33 starts with a digit and ends with an odd digit.

processing-speed-s10-q08

Walk the string and keep a digit only when the very next character is a letter: 3 before f, 2 before k, and 1 before m give 3 + 2 + 1 = 6.

processing-speed-s10-q09

Compare only the minutes and watch for transposed digits: three times end in :25, while 09:52 reverses those digits to :52.

processing-speed-s10-q10

Take the chain one link at a time: 'rapid' has 5 letters, doubled is 10; 'audio' has 4 vowels (a, u, i, o), giving 14; and 14 − 4 = 10.