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NEW YORK TIMES, NOVEMBER 30, 2003

To place job candidates in the appropriate positions, many employers test cognitive ability and intelligence quotient.

''Generally, the higher the I.Q., the quicker and more thoroughly a person will learn anything,'' said Charlie Wonderlic, president of Wonderlic Inc. of Libertyville, Ill., the creator of the 50-question Wonderlic Personnel Test, which has been used by companies for more than six decades. Mr. Wonderlic says the test helps to predict a persons success on the job. The company says that only four people have received a perfect score of 50 and that the national average is 21.6.

Wonderlic has calculated what it considers minimum scores for nearly every job in the economy. The minimum score for mechanical engineers is 30, while the minimum for corporate executives and sales managers is 28. For nurses, it is 26; bank tellers, 23; telemarketers, 22; cashiers, 20; and factory workers, 17.

Although not the actual questions, here is a sampling of the types of questions used in the Wonderlic Personnel Test:

1. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one true, false or not certain?
The boy plays baseball.
All baseball players wear hats.
The boy wears a hat.

2. Paper sells for 21 cents a pad. What will four pads cost?

3. How many of the five pairs of names listed below are exact duplicates?
a. Nieman, K. M. Neiman, K. M.
b. Thomas, G. K. Thomas, C. K.
c. Hoff, J. P. Hoff, J. P.
d. Pino, L. R. Pina, L. R.
e. Warner, T. S. Wanner, T .S.

4. ''Resent'' and ''reserve.'' Do these words:
a. Have similar meanings
b. Have contradictory meanings
c. Mean neither the same nor opposite

5. A train travels 20 feet in one-fifth of a second. At this same speed, how many feet will it travel in three seconds?

6. When rope is selling at $.10 a foot, how many feet can you buy for 60 cents?

7. The ninth month of the year is:
a. October
b. January
c. June
d. September
e. May

8. Which number in the following group represents the smallest amount?
a. 7
b. .8
c. 31
d. .33
e. 2

9. In printing an article of 48,000 words, a printer decides to use two sizes of type. Using the larger type, a printed page contains 1,800 words. Using smaller type, a page contains 2,400 words. The article is allotted 21 full pages in a magazine. How many pages must be in smaller type?

10. Three individuals form a partnership and agree to divide the profits equally. X invests $9,000, Y invests $7,000, Z invests $4,000. If the profits are $4,800, how much less does X receive than if the profits were divided in proportion to the amount invested?

11. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one true, false or not certain?
Tom greeted Beth.
Beth greeted Dawn.
Tom did not greet Dawn.

12. A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years old, what will be the age of his sister?

ANSWERS
1. True
2. 84 cents
3. One
4. c.
5. 300 feet
6. 6 feet
7. d.
8. d.
9. 17
10. $560
11. Not certain
12. 40 years old