6 free Civil Service questions from our 25-question bank, grouped by content domain. Each answer explains why the right option is right — and why every wrong option is wrong.
Which word in this sentence is misspelled? "The committee received seperate correspondence about the questionnaire."
Answer: B
committee: Spelled correctly: double m, double t, double e.
seperate: Misspelled. The correct spelling is 'separate', with an a after the p ('there's a rat in separate').
correspondence: Spelled correctly: double r, ending in -ence.
questionnaire: Spelled correctly: double n.
Separate has 'a rat' in the middle: sep-A-RATe.
In an alphabetical file, which of these names would come IMMEDIATELY AFTER "Kowalski, Brian"?
Answer: D
Kowalski, Brenda: Before, not after. 'Bre-' comes before 'Bri-', so Brenda is filed ahead of Brian.
Kowalczyk, Ann: Before. 'Kowalc-' comes before 'Kowals-'.
Kowalsky, Adam: After, but not immediately. 'Kowalski' (i) comes before 'Kowalsky' (y), so every Kowalski, including Brianna, comes first.
Kowalski, Brianna: Correct. 'Brian' ends where 'Brianna' continues, so Brianna comes right after Brian, ahead of any Kowalsky.
Settle the last name completely before looking at first names; then apply nothing before something to the first names.
A petty cash fund starts the week with $200.00. Monday: $35.50 spent on supplies. Tuesday: $50.00 added to replenish the fund. Wednesday: $72.25 spent on postage. Thursday: $18.40 spent on a delivery charge. What is the balance at the end of Thursday?
Answer: B
$73.85: Incorrect. This subtracts all expenses but leaves out Tuesday's $50.00 addition.
$123.85: Correct. 200.00 - 35.50 = 164.50; + 50.00 = 214.50; - 72.25 = 142.25; - 18.40 = 123.85.
$173.85: Incorrect. This adds the $50.00 twice.
$126.15: Incorrect. This reflects a subtraction error in the cents; recheck each step.
Running balance: apply each entry in order, adding receipts and subtracting payments, and line up decimal points.
Compare each pair. How many pairs are EXACTLY alike? (1) KRTVBN - KRTVBN (2) 4729381 - 4729831 (3) MPLQSA - MPLQSA (4) QWZXYD - QWXZYD (5) 8063517 - 8063517
Answer: B
2: Too few. Pairs 1, 3 and 5 are all identical.
3: Correct. Pairs 1, 3 and 5 match. Pair 2 swaps 3-8 to 8-3, and pair 4 swaps Z-X to X-Z.
4: Too many. Pairs 2 and 4 each contain a swapped pair of characters.
5: Incorrect. Two pairs contain transpositions.
Check pairs character by character in small chunks; transposed neighbors (38/83, ZX/XZ) are the most common traps.
Directory: Abbott, L. - Room 210 - Ext. 4417; Baker, J. - Room 305 - Ext. 4520; Carter, M. - Room 210 - Ext. 4418; Evans, R. - Room 118 - Ext. 4302; Fong, T. - Room 305 - Ext. 4521. Changes: Baker moves to Room 118 and keeps the same extension. Evans retires and is replaced by Hill, S., who takes Evans's room and extension. Fong's extension changes to 4530. After the changes, who works in Room 118?
Answer: A
Baker and Hill: Correct. Baker moved to 118, and Hill took over Evans's Room 118.
Evans and Baker: Out of date. Evans has retired.
Hill only: Incomplete. Baker has also moved into Room 118.
Baker and Fong: Incorrect. Fong is still in Room 305.
Track changes person by person: who left, who arrived and who moved, then rebuild each room's list.
Choose the most logical order for these sentences. (1) If any information is missing, the clerk returns the application with a checklist of what is needed. (2) When an application arrives, the clerk first stamps it with the date received. (3) Next, the clerk reviews it to make sure every required section is complete. (4) Complete applications are then entered into the tracking system.
Answer: B
2, 1, 3, 4: Illogical. Missing information (1) is found during the review (3), so the review must come first.
2, 3, 1, 4: Correct. Stamp on arrival, review for completeness, return incomplete applications, then enter complete ones.
3, 2, 4, 1: Illogical. 'Next' in sentence 3 needs an earlier step, and sentence 2 says stamping happens first.
1, 2, 3, 4: Illogical. The paragraph cannot start with returning an application that hasn't arrived yet.
Use sequence words (first, next, then) and the logic of the process to order sentences.
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