Fire & Emergency NZ Cognitive Ability Test 

Study Guide A Free Study Guide by TEST PREP HACKER

 

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ABOUT THIS GUIDE - - - - X TEST PREP HACKER’s free study guides were designed and developed to help you get the best mark on your recruitment or entrance exam. This Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test Study Guide contains information to help you prepare, along with sample practice questions.  

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT  - - - - X One of the best ways to prepare for exams like the Fire & Emergency New Zealand recruitment tests is to take practice tests. There are practice questions throughout this guide. For the best prep possible, check out our Fire & Emergency New Zealand practice tests for thousands of additional practice questions.  

  

   

  

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TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - - X 1. About the Cognitive Ability Test 2. Literacy 3. Numerical Aptitude 4. Abstract Reasoning 5. Conclusion      DISCLAIMER: This study guide is available free of charge for anyone preparing for the Fire & Emergency New Zealand recruitment tests. It makes no guarantees or promises of high marks. The materials and images contained in this guide are from open sources made available under various Creative Commons licenses, or are made available without license or attribution requirements. Any resemblance of the practice questions in this guide to actual questions used by Fire & Emergency New Zealand is purely coincidental. This guide does not contain the actual questions, but rather questions of similar types and formats covering the subject areas tested during the Fire & Emergency New Zealand recruitment tests. 

 

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1. About the Cognitive Ability Test - - - - X  A key part of applying to become a firefighter with Fire & Emergency New Zealand is the Cognitive Ability Test. This test aims to assess candidates’ basic literacy, numerical aptitude and problem solving skills, with a view to finding candidates with the potential to become good firefighters.  The initial screening stage of the application process involves a short (12 minute) online cognitive test (the Unsupervised Cognitive Assessment COG1) consisting of abstract reasoning questions. The result of this short test is used to determine if candidates will move on with the application process. For more information on abstract reasoning, with some practice questions, check out the chapter below on Abstract Reasoning.  During the next stage of the application process, candidates must complete the full length Cognitive Ability Test (Supervised Cognitive Assessment COG2). This supervised test covers verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning. Candidates have only 30 minutes to complete the test, and are not permitted to use calculators or any other accessories while completing the test. Overall, the test seeks to assess if candidates possess the core skills and abilities deemed necessary to become an effective firefighter with Fire & Emergency New Zealand.   From Fire & Emergency New Zealand’s website, here is a breakdown of the three sections of the Cognitive Ability Test:   

 

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1.Literacy - an assessment of a candidate’s overall verbal reasoning through verbal analogy, vocabulary, similarities and other verbal questions.  

2.Numerical literacy - an assessment of a candidate’s overall mathematical aptitude through number series, arithmetic reasoning and number matrices questions.  

3.Abstract reasoning - an assessment of a candidate’s overall capacity to reason in abstract or symbolic terms, and solve non-routine problems. 

 Candidates must achieve a minimum score on each of the three subsections of the Cognitive Ability Test, as well as a minimum cumulative score in order to proceed to the next stages of the application process. The exact minimum scores are not specified. Should a candidate not make the passing grade, he or she must wait 12 months to rewrite the test.  Getting a strong mark on the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test is therefore paramount. The higher your score, the higher you will rank in the applicant pool, and the more likely you are to move forward to subsequent stages of the application process.  A great starting point for preparing for this test is the Fire & Emergency New Zealand website. This site provides a section by section breakdown of the test, as well as suggested studying tips and resources to help you do well on the test.   This site also includes a link to a number of practice questions similar to those included on the actual test.  

 

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According to the designers of the Cognitive Ability Test, the most important step for succeeding in the test is preparation. Being prepared is key.   That’s where TEST PREP HACKER comes in. We recommend you work through this guide, which includes breakdowns on all the types of questions you may face, as well as sample practice questions.    To take your preparation to the next level, head over to the TEST PREP HACKER Fire & Emergency New Zealand Practice Tests site to get access to thousands and thousands of practice questions and full length cognitive ability practice tests.  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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2. Literacy - - - - X  The literacy portion of the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test aims to measure a candidate’s overall literacy as developed through education and life experience. Firefighters must be able to communicate clearly and effectively in both written and oral formats, and that is what this portion of the cognitive test seeks to determine.   Questions types in this section include verbal analogies, vocabulary, similarities and verbal reasoning. There is a breakdown of each question type, with practice questions, below.  Literacy is not something you can build or study for at the last minute. It is developed over years of education and life experience. That said, you can prepare for this section by brushing up on your vocabulary and doing practice questions similar to those found on the actual test.   Verbal Analogies  This type of question requires candidates to determine the relationship that exists between a set of word pairs, and then use that to figure out which word should come next. The words in the provided pairs have a given logical relationship. The candidate needs to figure out what that relationship is in order to complete another incomplete word pair.   Verbal analogy questions draw upon a candidate’s vocabulary and understanding of words and their definitions. In order to determine the relationship 

 

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between two words, you must first understand what each word means.   A typical verbal analogy question looks as follows:  

BLANK is to BLANK, as BLANK is to ____________  

For example:  

HOT is to COLD, as DAY is to ___________  

This question can also be reformatted as:  

HOT : COLD :: DAY : ?  The task in this question is to determine which word should fill in the blank. To answer, start by figuring out the relationship between to the two words in the first pair. HOT and COLD are opposites. So the relationship here is one of opposites. Next, apply this relationship to the second word pair. The opposite of DAY is NIGHT. So the answer to this question is NIGHT.   Now this was a straightforward and easy example. The questions candidates are likely to encounter will be more difficult, and draw upon the full depth of your vocabulary.  There are a number of different word relationships that may be encountered during the Cognitive Ability Test.  OBJECT -> VERB  plane : fly | car : drive | bicycle : ??  In this example, the relationship between the word pairs is one of an object to the corresponding verb 

 

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used to commonly describe using the object. You fly a plane, you drive a car, and you ride a bicycle.   Be careful with this type of question, as the tense of the verb may change. When choosing an answer, make sure that the verb tense of your answer matches the verb tense used in the question. The test designers may try to trick you by including different tenses of the same words, or different tenses of similar words, amongst the possible answers.   WORD -> SYNONYM (Similarity)  Hard : solid | bright : ??  In this example, the relationship between the words in the first pair is one of synonyms. Hard and solid are both adjectives that describe a similar property of an object. Applying that to the incomplete word pair, we would look for an answer that is similar or synonymous with bright. For example, possible answers could be shiny or luminous.  MEASUREMENT -> ACTION -> ADJECTIVE  Temperature : decrease : colder | Weight : decrease: ??  In this example, the relationship between the first word series is one of a measurement (temperature), an action (decrease), and the adjective to describe the outcome of the action on the measurement (colder). A decrease in temperature makes things colder. Applying that relationship to the second, incomplete word series, we are looking for an adjective to describe a decrease in weight, lighter.   Again, be careful with this type of question, as they can be changed up to become trickier. For example, the 

 

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logical relationship between the words can be flipped to seem illogical, or not make strict sense. For example, the previous example can be changed.   Temp : decrease : warmer | weight : increase : ??  In this altered example, the expected adjective for a decrease in temperature (colder) has been changed to its opposite (warmer). So, in answering this question, we are now looking for the opposite adjective of the one expected given the measurement and the action. We would expect that answer would be weight -> increase -> heavier. But we are looking for the opposite, so the answer is actually weight -> increase -> lighter.   WORD MATRICES  Verbal analogy questions can also come in matrix form. Here is an example:  TRUE  HAPPY  JOYFUL 

FALSE  HIGH  LOW 

TRUE  DIRTY  ?  In this example, we need to examine the rows or columns to find a relationship between the words to help us determine which word should replace the question mark in the bottom right corner of the matrix.   In the first row, we have ‘TRUE’ with ‘HAPPY’ and ‘JOYFUL’, two words that are synonyms.   In the second row, we have ‘FALSE’ with ‘HIGH’ and ‘LOW’, two words that are opposites.   

 

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In the third row, we start with ‘TRUE.’ This is similar to the first row, in which ‘TRUE’ appears with two similar or synonymous words. That means we are looking for an answer that is similar to the word ‘DIRTY.’ A possible answer here could be ‘SOILED.’  Don’t be intimidated by word matrices. They are just slightly larger verbal analogies like the ones described previously. Break the matrix down into individual rows or columns, and figure out the relationship for each, writing it down next to the corresponding row or column. Then find the pattern or relationship amongst the rows or columns, and use that to predict or complete the matrix.   Verbal Reasoning  This type of literacy question involves a candidate’s ability to read, comprehend and apply information presented in written format. Candidates are given a short passage of information on a given topic (it does not have to relate to firefighting or emergency response), and are asked a series of questions afterwards.  Questions can provide a statement based on the passage of information, and ask the candidate to confirm whether it is TRUE or FALSE, or whether or not there is sufficient information provided in the passage to make a determination. Other questions can simply ask the candidate to answer a factual question using information from the passage.   

  

 

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Literacy Practice Questions  Choose the word most different in meaning from the other words in the following lists: 

1. a) happy b) joyful c) morose d) content  2. a) scared b) frightened c) petrified d) sullen  3. a) hot b) boiling c) heated d) humid    Complete the following word analogies: 

4. TALL is to SHORT as OBESE is to _________.  5. MINUTE is to HOUR as SECOND is to __________.  6. DUMBEST : DUMB : AVERAGE : ________ : SMARTEST.  7. Book : Read :: TV : watched :: Radio : ________.   

 Want more literacy practice questions? Check out our Fire & Emergency NZ Cognitive Ability Practice Tests for thousands of practice questions.    

 

 

  

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3. Numerical Aptitude - - - - X  The numerical aptitude section of the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test is designed to evaluate your basic numerical or math skills. This includes topics such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc.   Candidates should expect questions on number series, arithmetic reasoning, and number matrices. To do well in these types of questions, your basic math skills must be rock solid.  While this level of math should not be very hard for people who have graduated recently, keep in mind that calculators are not allowed while writing the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test, so everything must be done the long way, by hand. Also, this test has a time limit, so not only must you be comfortable performing math by hand, you have to be able to do so quickly. The more time the math section eats up, the less time available for the rest of the test.  If you have been out of high school for a few years, or it has been a while since you have done math without a calculator, it is very important that you take the time to review all the basic concepts in math, and how to do them by hand. That should be followed by as much practice as possible. The more comfortable you are with math, the better you will do on the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test.   We say this a lot at TEST PREP HACKER. You must study hard and practice a lot if you want to get a great mark on this test. Nowhere is this more important than with 

 

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basic computations. The questions themselves may not be overly difficult, but all computations must be done by hand. Things like long division by hand can bog people down and eat up a lot of time. Don’t let this happen to you. Practice math. A lot.  Number series  Number series are a common type of question found on aptitude exams such as the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test. These questions seek to gauge a candidate’s numerical reasoning skills.  Number series questions present a series of related numbers. The candidate must determine the relationship between the numbers, and then use that to determine which number should come next in the series.  For example, here is an easy number series:  

1, 2, 4, 8, 16, __  

In this example, we are looking to find which number comes after 16. At first glance, it is rather obvious that there is a pattern to the numbers, with each number being double the previous number. 2 is double 1, 4 is double 2, 8 is double 4, and 16 is double 8. Using this pattern, we can easily predict that the next number will be double 16, or 32.   Don’t let this very easy example lull you into thinking that number series are all this easy. They aren’t. You will likely encounter number series where the pattern isn’t immediately obvious. It is therefore important to approach answering number series questions in a systematic way.    

 

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Prime Number Series  This type of number series uses prime numbers, or numbers greater than 1 which can only be evenly divided by the number 1, and the number itself. Some number series questions involve only prime numbers; that is, the only relationship between the numbers is that all of them are prime numbers.   Here is a list of the first 10 prime numbers:  2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29…  For example, which number comes next in the following series?  31, 29, 19, 17, __  To start, we can see that this series is nothing more than prime numbers in descending order. So, to determine which number comes next, all we need to do is figure out which prime number comes before 17. The answer is 13.   When approaching number series questions, it is a good idea to first rule out the possibility that the numbers in the series are prime. If they are not, then you can move on to other ways of solving the problem.  Difference Number Series  A difference number series is one in which the pattern among the presented numbers can be equated to the differences between each set of numbers. The pattern is in the differences between each number. To get the differences, you simply subtract from each number in the series the previous number in the series.   

 

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For example, in the number series 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, the difference between each number is constant at 5. The next number in the series is simply the previous number + the difference of 5. The answer here is therefore 30.  In this example, the difference was constant. It was always 5. Again, this is a simple type of number series to solve.   Differences can also be increasing or decreasing. For example, in an increasing difference series, each number in the series increases by an increasing amount. In the series 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, the difference between each of the numbers is increasing as you move through the series. The difference between the first pair of numbers is 1, the next pair 2, the next pair 3, the next pair 4, and the last pair 5.   

  Knowing this pattern, we can predict that the next number in the series is equal to the last number plus the difference (which increases by one each time). The next number in the series is therefore 22.  TIP: when working on a number series problem, if the answer isn’t readily obvious, start by calculating the differences between each pair of numbers in the series. 

 

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Often a pattern will become much more clear when you look at the differences.   Product Number Series  In a product number series, each number in the series is multiplied by another number to get the next number in the series. As with difference number series, product number series can be CONSTANT, INCREASING, or DECREASING. That is, the number by which each number in the series is multiplied either remains constant throughout the series, the number increases through the series, or it decreases through the series.   For example, recall this number series from the start of this chapter: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. This is an example of a CONSTANT product number series. Each number in the series is multiplied by 2 to get the next number in the series.   Here is another example. This one involves an increasing product series in which each number in the series is multiplied by a number that increases as you go through the series.   

4, 4, 8, 24, 96, __  

In this series, the first number is multiplied by 1 to get the second number. The second number is multiplied by 2 to get the third number. The third number is multiplied by 3 to get the fourth number. And the fourth number is multiplied by 4 to get the fifth number. So we can see that each successive number is multiplied by an increasing number (1,2,3,4) to get the next number. The following diagram may help clarify.    

 

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  We can therefore predict that the next number in the series is the product of 96 x 5, or 480.   TIP: if a number series has the same number twice in a row, it is a good bet that the series is a product number series.   Combination Number Series  To make things even more complex, some number series are actually a combination of number series. If when solving a number series question, and you move through the steps of determining the differences, and they don’t seem to make any sense, and there is no discernable pattern, there is a good chance it is a combination number series.  In this kind of number series, there are two series. The series skip over every other number. The first, third, and fifth numbers are in their own series, and the second, fourth and sixth numbers are in their own series.   Consider the following series:  

5, 60, 8, 55, 11, 50 …  

 

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At first glance, there does not seem to be any pattern or relationship between the numbers. Now take a look at the same series:  

5, 60, 8, 55, 11, 50 …  

The pink numbers are in their own series, in which each successive number increases by 3, and the blue numbers are in their own series, in which the next number decreases by 5 each time.  More about Number Series  Number series can get increasingly complex. It is unlikely that you will encounter very, very difficult number series on the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test. Nonetheless, it is very important to have a solid foundation in number series, and to have good understanding of how to systematically go about solving number series questions. To further your understanding, check out the following videos:  

● Khan Academy: Finding patterns in numbers ● Khan Academy: Using inductive reasoning ● Number Series Reasoning Tricks ● Video Tutorials by MathsSmart 

  Arithmetic reasoning  Arithmetic reasoning can involve performing a range of simple math calculations to solve simple math word problems. These questions may require you to perform calculations using money, or use averages and percentages. Or calculate travel time for moving vehicles.   

 

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The key to performing well in this section, as well as the other sections of the numerical aptitude portion of the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Aptitude Test, is to have a rock solid foundation in basic math. You must be able to complete simple mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division by hand, quickly. You only have 30 minutes to complete this test. You cannot get bogged down completing math questions by hand.   Number matrices  Number matrices are a more elaborate form of number series. In these questions, number series are grouped together in rows and columns in a table format. The numbers presented have a pattern in the rows or columns. Number matrices questions kind of resemble Sudoku puzzles. You must find the number that fits in relation to all the other numbers. Here is an example.   

1  9  6 

4  11  1 

8  2  ?           

 

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In tackling a number matrix question, a good place to start is by totalling the row and columns to see if a quick pattern becomes apparent.    

1  9  6  =16 

4  11  1  =16 

8  2  ?  =? 

=13  =22  =?  --   From this quick calculation, it is clear that there is a pattern among the horizontal rows. Each row totals 16 when all the numbers in the row are added together. To figure out which number should therefore go in the bottom right box, simply subtract 8 and 2 from 16. That leaves 6, so the answer is 6.   Obviously, as with number series, number matrices can get a lot more complicated. As you are very time limited during this test, you need to work quickly to find the pattern in either the rows or columns, answer, and move on to the next question.    

     

 

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Numerical Aptitude Practice Questions  1. What is the sum of the following numbers: 54, 23, 16, 90? 

a) 138 b) 183 c) 192 d) 129  2. What is the average of the following numbers: 54, 23, 16, 90? 

  3. Shannon got 35 of 50 questions correct on her math test. What percent did she score on the test? 

a) 35% b) 70% c) 50% d) 75%  4. What number comes next in this series: 3, 3, 6, 18, 72, __? 

a) 72 b) 360 c) 928 d) 288  5. A bundle of 6 candles costs $24. What is the cost per candle? 

a) $6 b) $4 c) $4.60 d) $2     

 

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6. What is 693 divided by 7? Perform your calculation using long division. 

a) 99 b) 91 c) 0.99 d) 75  7. What number comes next in this series: 3, 9, 27, __? 

  8. What number comes next in this series: 2, 5, 11, 17, __?  

   

 Want more numerical aptitude practice questions? Check out the Fire & Emergency NZ Cognitive Ability Practice Tests for thousands of practice questions.        

  

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4. Abstract Reasoning - - - - X   This section of the Fire & Emergency New Zealand recruitment test seeks to assess a candidate's ability to determine relationships and patterns in a set of objects, and then apply that pattern to predict the next object in the set. The idea is to have you figure out the pattern, and then mentally apply the pattern to determine what should come next. This is called abstract or non-verbal reasoning, and research has shown that it correlates to problem-solving ability in potential recruits.  For example:  △ is to ▲, as ○ is to ______. a) ● b) △ c) ◀ d) ◌  With this type of question, you will be given a series of shapes or objects, usually three of them. You are then asked to pick which object or shape should come next from four provided answers.  In the example above, the relationship between the first and second triangles is one of colour or shading. The first △ has no shading, while the next ▲ is shaded in black. Applying that relationship to the next set of shapes, the ○ would become ●. The answer is therefore a).  In other words, what happened to the first triangle to make it into the second triangle? In this example, the first triangle was coloured in black to become the second triangle. If we apply that to the third shape, 

 

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○, we must fill it in black in order to get the correct answer, ●.  Now this was a very easy example. The questions on the NZ Fire & Emergency recruitment test will be more challenging. Figuring out the relationship between the first two objects will be more complex, involving multiple movements, rotations, mirroring, and shading.    Here is another example:  

  This example involves two separate transformations applied to change the first image into the second image. The first step is to figure out what changes have taken place. 

 ● SHADING: the arrow changes from black to white ● ROTATION: the arrow rotates 90 degrees 

clockwise (to the right)  Now that we know the two changes required to make the first image into the second image, we can apply the changes to the third image to get the correct answer.   

● First change the star from white to black ● Next, rotate the star 90 degrees clockwise 

 When we apply these changes, we get the image c) from the answers provided.  

 

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Again, this example was not overly tough. The questions on the the Cognitive Ability Test can obviously get harder. Some can have several different objects or shapes, with each shape changing in a different way. In that case, you have to figure out how each shape has changed individually, and also in relation to the other.   Here is another, harder example:  

  This example involves two different shapes changing in different ways. To solve this question, start by looking at what each shape is doing on its own.  

WHITE CIRCLE: ● MOVES: the white circle moves clockwise across 

three sides of the square (across to the right, down, and then back across to the left), to end up on the bottom left corner.  

● There does not appear to be any other changes to the white circle 

 BLACK TRIANGLE: 

● MOVES: the black triangle moves clockwise across two sides of the square (up and across to the right, to end up in the top right corner 

● SHADING: the black triangle changes colour to white 

● ROTATION: the black triangle is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise (to the left) 

 

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 Now we can apply these separate changes to the two different shapes presented in the third image in the question, and figure out the answer.   

● Move the white diamond clockwise across three sides of the square so that it ends up in the bottom left corner 

● Move the partial white circle clockwise across to sides of the square so that it ends up in the top right corner 

● Next change the shading of the white partial circle to black. Note that the original pattern changed the colour of the triangle from black to white. In this case we are changing the colour from white to black. The colours are different, but the pattern remains the same: the colour of the shape has changed to the opposite colour 

● Finally rotate the now black partial circle 90 degrees counterclockwise 

 Applying these changes to the third image presented in the question, we see that the answer is the image in b).  Types of Changes   There are a number of different kinds of changes or transformations that can be applied to images and shapes in these types of questions. Keep these in mind  when solving questions.  Rotation Shading Number of shapes   

 

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5. Conclusion  - - - - X  The TEST PREP HACKER method for doing well on all recruitment and entrance exams, like the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test, is to take practice tests.   Current research into test preparation concludes that the most effective way to get ready for a big test, regardless of the subject, is to take practice tests. Tests that are similar in format to the actual test, and tests that contain similar questions on the same subjects.   That’s why TEST PREP HACKER has developed thousands of practice questions and similar practice tests. To help you get the most of your test prep, and to help you use the most current insights into to test preparation to get the best mark you can, and ultimately get into the school or career of your choice.   When it comes to getting ready for the Fire & Emergency New Zealand Cognitive Ability Test, preparation is key. The better your score, the better your chances of moving through the following stages of the hiring process. Practice is key. Don’t underestimate the importance of studying for this test, particularly the numerical aptitude section involving by-hand math calculations.   Our Fire & Emergency New Zealand Practice Tests provide thousands of practice questions, along with full practice tests. You can check them out here.  

 

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One last note. Don’t stop here. If you are determined to get hired by Fire & Emergency New Zealand, pursue all prep and study resources you can find. There are other great resources out there to help you prepare. Good luck. 

               

 

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Answers to Practice Questions - - - - X   Literacy  1. morose  2. sullen  3. humid 

4. thin  5. minute  6. smart 

7. listened       Numerical Aptitude  1. 183  2. 45.75  3. 70%  4. 360  5. $4 

6. 99  7. 81  8. 23 (every second prime #) 

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