Mechanical comprehension tests measure your knowledge of
mechanical and physical concepts including:
Levers,
Pulleys,
Gears,
Springs,
Simple Electrical Circuits,
Tools and Shop
Arithmetic.
Modern mechanical comprehension tests often include
fault
diagnosis questions which are used to select personnel for
technical roles where they need to be able to find and repair
faults in electronic control systems. The questions in fault
diagnosis tests appear rather abstract and require pure logic to
solve. This is because when a fault develops in an electronically
controlled system, there is often no physical clue as to the
cause. In the absence of such a clue, for example an obviously
burned-out component, the only way to diagnose the problem is by a
process of logical elimination. This type of test is used
extensively to select technical and maintenance personnel as well
as to select for artificer (technical) roles within the armed
forces where the ability to approach problems logically in order
to find the cause of the fault is increasingly important.
If you are taking a mechanical comprehension test as part of the
selection process for the emergency services or the military then
the questions you can expect will tend to concentrate on
principles rather than on making calculations. For example, you
may be shown 3 diagrams of a lever and asked which one is the most
efficient. If however, you are taking a test for a craft or
technical job then you may be expected to calculate the actual
force required to move a particular lever. In this case, knowing
the principle is not enough, you need to know the formula.
Example Mechanical Comprehension Test Questions
1) How much weight is required to balance the lever?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
15kg |
5kg |
10kg |
7.5kg |
20kg |
2) How much weight is required to balance the lever?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
30lbs |
25lbs |
28lbs |
40lbs |
35lbs |
3) Approximately how much force is needed to lift the weight?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
24lbs |
10lbs |
48lbs |
12lbs |
18lbs |
4) If gear X turns clockwise at a constant speed of 10 rpm. How
does gear Y turn?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
anti c/w 10 rpm |
c/w 10 rpm |
c/w 5 rpm |
anti c/w 5 rpm |
c/w 20 rpm |
5) If drive wheel X rotates clockwise at a speed of 10 rpm. How
does wheel Y turn?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
anti c/w faster |
c/w slower |
c/w faster |
anti c/w slower |
anti c/w same |
6) A force of 5 Kg compresses the springs in series 10cm. What
will be the total distance that the springs in parallel are
compressed?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
10 cms |
5 cms |
20 cms |
7.5 cms |
15 cms |
7) In the circuit shown, how many switches need to be closed to
light up one bulb?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
None |
One |
Two |
Three |
Four |
8) Which is the most suitable tool for breaking up concrete?
9) Which tool or combination of tools would be most useful for
general woodwork?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
4 & 2 |
3,5 & 7 |
2 ,4 & 6 |
4 & 7 |
3 &
6 |
10) The sketch shows the floor plan of a bathroom. The shower
tray is 2'6" square and is fixed to the floor. The toilet and
washbasin are both wall mounted. Allowing for 15% wastage,
approximately how many square yards of floor tiles should be
ordered?
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
7.25 |
6.25 |
9.25 |
5.50 |
8.50 |
The answers to these questions are given at the bottom of the
page.
Many of the questions in mechanical comprehension tests are
‘industry’ specific. For example, tests used by the fire service
tend to frame the questions in terms of fire-fighting whereas
tests used to select for an aircraft maintenance job would tend to
frame the questions in aviation industry terms. It doesn’t matter
if the questions you practice on aren’t specific to the industry
you are applying for. It is the substance of the question that is
important – the scenario is incidental.
These sample question papers each contain 40 questions and have a
suggested time limit of 30 minutes each. The questions are
presented in Letter/A4 format for easy printing and self-marking.
download
Mechanical Comprehension Test - Practice Test 1
Everything you need to pass
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