Logic Deduction: Practice Set 2
Logic Deduction: Practice Set 2 is a second round of practice on the reasoning puzzles used in 11+ verbal reasoning papers, building on ordering statements into a single chain with harder puzzles that use four or five people, statements given out of order, and puzzles that match people to a single attribute, such as a pet or an instrument, rather than only ranking them by height or age.
Method
- Read every statement and decide whether it describes an order (taller than, older than, faster than) or a match (this specific person owns, plays or likes this specific thing).
- For an order puzzle, rewrite every statement as 'X above Y' using one consistent direction, then find the names that repeat across two statements to link the separate chains into one full line.
- Statements are not always given in a useful order, so build the chain from whichever statement links two people you already know about first, then attach the outer people afterwards.
- For a matching puzzle, draw a small table with a row for each person and a column for each possible attribute, and cross off any combination a statement rules out.
- When one row of the table has only one attribute left uncrossed, that attribute belongs to that person; use this newly confirmed fact to cross the same attribute off every other row.
- Once the table or chain is fully complete, reread the question to check exactly what is being asked before giving your final answer.
Worked example
Ali, Beth and Cara each own exactly one pet: a cat, a dog or a fish. Beth does not own the cat or the fish. Ali does not own the fish. Which pet does Cara own?
- Draw a table with rows for Ali, Beth and Cara and columns for cat, dog and fish.
- Beth does not own the cat or the fish, so cross those off Beth's row, leaving Beth with only dog possible.
- Since Beth must own the dog, cross dog off Ali's row and Cara's row.
- Ali does not own the fish, and dog is already crossed off Ali's row, so Ali's only remaining option is cat.
- With Ali confirmed as cat and Beth as dog, the only pet left for Cara is fish. Final answer: Cara owns the fish.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Ben is older than Cara. Dev is older than Ben. Cara is older than Ellie. Who is the youngest?Show answer
Answer: Ellie - the full chain is Dev, Ben, Cara, Ellie from oldest to youngest.
Q2Freya is faster than Grace. Harry is faster than Ivy. Who is faster, Freya or Ivy?Show answer
Answer: Cannot tell - the two statements form separate pairs that are never linked together.
Q3Jake, Kim and Leo each play exactly one instrument: piano, violin or drums. Jake does not play the violin. Kim does not play the piano or the drums. Leo does not play the drums. What instrument does Jake play?Show answer
Answer: Drums - Kim must play violin, which leaves piano and drums for Leo and Jake; Leo does not play drums so Leo plays piano, leaving drums for Jake.
Q4Mia is taller than Noah. Omar is taller than Mia. Priya is shorter than Noah. Put them in order from tallest to shortest and say who is second tallest.Show answer
Answer: Mia - the full order is Omar, Mia, Noah, Priya, so Mia is second tallest.
Q5Every runner in the relay team wears a red vest. Zack is not wearing a red vest. What must be true about Zack?Show answer
Answer: Zack is not in the relay team, since every relay team member wears a red vest and Zack does not.
Q6Ada, Ben and Cleo are sitting in a row of three seats numbered 1, 2 and 3 from left to right. Ada is not sitting in seat 1. Cleo is sitting to the immediate right of Ben. Ben is not sitting in seat 3. Which seat is Ada sitting in?Show answer
Answer: Seat 3 - if Ben sat in seat 2, Cleo would be in seat 3 and Ada would be forced into seat 1, which is not allowed, so Ben must be in seat 1, Cleo in seat 2, and Ada in seat 3.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Five friends compare how much pocket money they receive each week. Priya receives more than Quinn. Quinn receives more than Ravi. Sam receives less than Ravi. Priya receives less than Tia. Put the five friends in order from most to least pocket money, and state who receives the third most.
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Four pupils, Amir, Bella, Chen and Dana, each study exactly one language: French, German, Spanish or Mandarin. Amir does not study French or Mandarin. Bella studies German. Chen does not study Spanish or French. Which language does Amir study, and which does Chen study? Explain your reasoning in full.
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Every pupil who reads for the book club also visits the library on Fridays. Every pupil who visits the library on Fridays returns their books on time. Leo reads for the book club. What must be true about Leo? Explain your reasoning in full.
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the logic deduction: practice set 2 worksheet pack - 10 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 25 of 11+ Verbal Reasoning Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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