TestPrep-Online’s
Wonderlic Study Guide
Improve Your Solving Skills
In this section we will go over some basic techniques in order to
help you in understanding and solving different question types
which appear on the Wonderlic test. Please make sure you go
over our fraction and decimal study guides before you
approach this material.
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Table of Contents
Percents ......................................................................................................................3
The basics ................................................................................................................3
Calculating with percents ...........................................................................................4
Adding and subtracting percents.................................................................................5
Averages......................................................................................................................7
Number series ..............................................................................................................9
Logic questions ........................................................................................................... 11
General knowledge ..................................................................................................... 13
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Percents
The basics
The first thing we should know about percents is that they are actually a
fraction of a whole. What sets them apart from ordinary fractions is that in
their basic form, they always have a denominator of 100.
For example:
20% = 20/100
30% = 30/100
17% = 17/100
… And so on.
Of course, some of these fractions can be cancelled down, such as these:
50% = 50/100 = 1/2
25% = 25/100 = 1/4
5% = 5/100 = 1/20
Still, the original denominator used when converting a percent into a fraction
will always be 100.
In order to be more efficient and spend less time calculating, it is
recommended that you learn common percentages and their matching
fractions (cancelled down) by heart:







10% = 1/10
20% = 1/5
25% = 1/4
75% = 3/4
50% = 1/2
33.333% = 1/3
12.5% = 1/8
30% = 3/10
40% = 2/5
70% = 7/10
60% = 3/5
etc.
etc.
66.666% = 2/3
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Calculating with percents
When we want to calculate a percent out of a whole, the first thing we do is
convert it into a fraction. Then we continue as if we were asked to calculate a
fraction out of a whole in the first place. The operation required is simple
multiplication of the fraction and the relevant whole.
For example, with fractions:
How much is a 1/2 out of 10?
1/210 = 5
How much is 3/4 out of 80?
3/480 = 60
And with percents:
How much is 20% out of 50?
20% = 1/5
So 20% out of 50 is:
1/550 = 10
How much is 5% out of 160?
5% = 1/20
1/20160 = 8
Cancelling down can be very helpful in such calculations. Please note that it
can be done not only within a fraction, but also between the whole and the
fraction’s denominator, as shown in the example below. Always try to find the
most efficient and easiest way of cancelling down in order to calculate as
quickly as possible.
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How much is 22% out of 600?
22/100  600 = 22  6 = 132
It is also possible to use decimals when working with percents, for example:
22% = 0.22
10% = 0.1
50% = 0.5
For more info on decimals and percents, please refer to our decimals study
guide.
Adding and subtracting percents
When working with percents, we need to remember that the whole in its basic
form is always 100%. Therefore, when adding to the whole we add to the
100% and when we subtract from the whole we subtract from the 100%.
For example, when we have a 30% discount off a price, what we are actually
left with is:
100% - 30% = 70% of the original price.
So if, for example, the original price was $120, the new price would be
70% of $120 is:
$120  (70/100) = $120  70 / 100 = $12  7 = $84
Don’t be intimidated by such a calculation! Once you cancel the fraction down,
all you really have to calculate is 12  7.
Alternatively, you can calculate how much 30% is, and subtract it from the
original price:
30% of $120 is:
$120  (30/100) = $36
$120 - $36 = $84
As you can see, we arrive at the same answer. You should note, however,
that the previous method consisted of just one calculation, while this one
consists of two.
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When working under such intense time pressure, even a few seconds can be
of great importance to us, and so using fewer steps as possible is highly
recommended.
Another way of calculating percent reductions is in steps of 10%. This is
useful when both the percent change and our whole have a factor of 10 (20%,
40%, 70% etc., or 20, 40, 70, respectively).
For example, when reducing 70% from 20:
10% of 20 is 2 (this is easy to calculate, we just take one zero off of the whole
when calculating a 10% reduction).
70% will be 2  7 = 14 (we need to multiply by 7 to get from 10% to 70%).
Therefore, after the 70% discount we will be left with 20 – 14 = 6.
When adding percents, we will use the same methods. Always keep in mind
that the whole in its basic form equals 100%.
For example:
David is given a 15% raise to his $800 salary. What will his new salary
be?
Adding 15% to the whole means adding 15% to 100%, so we will arrive at
15% + 100% = 115%
115% of $800 is:
800  (115/100) = 8  115 = $920
As in percent subtraction, we can also calculate the value of 15% and then
add it to $800, although this is a bit more time consuming.
It is also possible to work with steps of 10% when the percents and the whole
have a factor of 10, as mentioned before.
It is important you familiarize yourself with all these methods, and decide
which you find to be the quickest and most convenient for you.
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Averages
Average = sum of figures/number of figures
Therefore we calculate an average by adding up the figures and then dividing
by their number.
For example:
What is the average of 6, 10, 3 and 9?
Step 1: we add up all the figures, 6+10+3+9 = 28
Step 2: we divide by their number, 28/4 = 7
Therefore the average is 7.
The average of four numbers is 8. Three of the numbers are 6, 8 and 14,
what is the fourth number?
To solve this question, we can a build an equation letting X be the fourth
missing number:
(X+6+8+14)/4 = 8
X+6+8+14 = 32
X=4
A soccer team has four times more boys than girls. The boys have an
average of 4 goals per season, while the team as a whole has an average
of 5 goals per season. How many goals do the girls score per season on
average?
As you can see this question is a bit more complex.
First of all we do not know the real number of girls and boys, but we can pick
the most convenient numbers to work with, as long as they adhere to the
given ratio of 4:1. The easiest numbers will be the smallest ones, which are in
fact the numbers so the ratio itself, 4 and 1.
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So, assuming we have 4 boys and 1 girl (and a total of 5 team members),we
can start by calculating the sum of goals per season letting it be X in the
equation:
Sum/amount = average
X/5 = 5
X = 25
Now, we can calculate the sum of the boys goals, letting it be X in the
equation:
X/4 = 4
X = 16
Therefore, the girls are left with a sum of 25-16 = 9 (total sum minus the boys'
sum)
Since we have only one girl, her average will be 9/1 = 9.
Although this problem is more complex than basic average computations,
which are much more common in the test, once we understand the logic
behind averages we should also be able to deal with more complex problems
such as these.
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Number Series
The number series test asks you to identify the missing number/s in a
sequence. To do this, you have to figure out the logical rule behind the series
of numbers. This test assesses both your understanding of arithmetic and
your logical skills.
General Tips:
There are several generic ways to identify a rule.
1. Examine the difference between adjacent numbers.
a. In a simple series, the difference between two consecutive numbers is
constant.
Example: 27, 24, 21, 18, __
Rule: There is a difference of (-3) between each item. The missing number
in this case is 15.
b. In a more complex series the differences between numbers may be
dynamic rather than fixed, but there still is a clear logical rule.
Example: 3, 4, 6, 9, 13, 18, __
Rule: Add 1 to the difference between two adjacent items. After the first
number add 1, after the second number add 2 and after the third number
add 3, etc. In this case, the missing number is 24.
2. See whether there is a multiplication or division pattern between two
adjacent numbers.
Example: 64, 32, 16, 8, __
Rule: Divide each number by 2 to get the next number in the series.
The missing number is 4.
3. Check whether adjacent numbers in the series change based on a logical
pattern.
Example: 2, 4, 12, 48, __
Rule: Multiply the first number by 2, the second number by 3 and the third
number by 4, etc. The missing item is 240.
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4. See if you can find a rule that involves using two or more basic arithmetic
functions (+, -, ÷, x). In this series, the functions alternate in an orderly
sequence.
Example: 5, 7, 14, 16, 32, 34, __
Rule: Add 2, multiply by 2, add 2, multiply by 2, etc. The missing item is 68.
Tip: Series’ in this category are easy to identify. Just look at the numbers that
do not appear to have a set pattern.
5. If you can’t find a rule using basic arithmetic, then see if the numbers in the
series have any special characteristics.
a. Example: 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, __
Rule: This series is made up of prime numbers. A prime number is a number
that can only be divided by itself and by 1. The next prime number in the
series is 17.
b. Example: 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, __
Rule: The numbers in this series are all square roots (2). Each number is a
multiplication of itself (22, 33, 44, 55 and 66)
The next number in the series is (77) = 49.
c. Example: 2, 5, 7, 12, 19, 31, ___
Rule: In this series, each number comes from an arithmetic function with the
preceding number.
In this example, 2+5 = 7, 5+7 = 12, 7+12 = 19, etc.
Therefore the next item is (19+31) = 50.
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Logic Questions
In logic questions, you receive two true statements and are asked to
determine if a third given statement is either: true, false or uncertain.
A very important principle that you need to be aware of in these questions is
that in order for an answer to be correct it must be certain. Meaning that
“true” means definitely true, “false” means definitely false and “uncertain”
means we do not have enough information to determine whether the
statement is definitely true or false.
In order to better understand the differences between the 3 different answer
options, Let’s take a look at the following examples:
1. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?
Mike's books are dusty
All dusty objects are yellow
Mike's books are yellow
In this example we can connect the first 2 statements and conclude that the
third one is indeed certainly true:
If all books are  dusty
And all dusty objects are  yellow
Mike's books must be yellow. The correct answer is true.
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2. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?
Happy people are not blind
Linda is happy
Linda is blind
In this case we know for sure that the third statement "Linda is blind" is false.
Therefore, the correct answer is false.
When we connect between the first two statements we can conclude that:
Happy people  not blind
Linda is happy therefore  Linda is not blind
3. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?
Danny is friends with Nicholas
Nicholas is friends with Sarah
Sarah is friends with Danny
In this example we cannot conclude anything when trying to connect between
the first two statements. We know that Danny and Nicholas are friends and
also that Nicholas and Sarah are friends, but we do not know anything about
the relationship between Sarah and Danny. Therefore, the correct answer will
be uncertain. Please note that we cannot conclude that the answer is false
because we do not know for certain that Sarah is not friends with Danny.
Whenever we do not know for certain that a statement is true or false, that
statement will be uncertain.
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General Knowledge
General knowledge questions are quite rare (usually 1 per test) and although
they can practically refer to any subject, they typically deal with the months of
the year: the order of the months, the amount of days in each one of them,
and the approximate amount of daylight they each have. Please make sure
you know the following information by heart:
The months order and their respective amount of days:
January - 31 Days
February - 28 Days (Unless it’s a leap year - 29 Days)
March - 31 Days
April - 30 Days
May - 31 Days
June - 30 Days
July - 31 Days
August - 31 Days
September - 30 Days
October - 31 Days
November - 30 Days
December - 31 Days
Regarding daylight times, you should remember that in the Northern
Hemisphere, summer months have the longest duration of daylight (June, July
and August), further down are the months of Spring and Autumn (March,
April, September and October) and the months with the least amount of
daytime are Winter months (November, December, January and February).
The longest day of the year in the northern Hemisphere is around the 21st of
June (between the 20th and the 22nd) and is referred to as the Summer
Solstice. The shortest day of the year in the northern Hemisphere is around
the 21st of December (between the 20th and the 21st) and is referred to as the
Winter Solstice. On both hemispheres an Equinox occurs twice a year around
the 20th of March and the 22nd of September. On an Equinox the amounts of
daylight and darkness are approximately equal (12 hours each).
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