Alex Hollis, Founder & Wonderlic Expert, Beat the Wonderlic
April 10, 2017
The following is an explanation for QUESTION 20 from our Free Wonderlic Test. The strategy listed below is just one of many from my online course, which has helped thousands of people beat their Wonderlic test and land their dream job.
20. Which in the following group of numbers is smallest?
A) 7
B) .8
C) 14
D) .75
E) 4
This is an ordering question. Let’s review how to answer ordering questions on the Wonderlic.
Ordering Decimals on the Wonderlic
Putting decimals in order, or figuring out which decimal number in a series is least or greatest, all comes down to place value.
It is easy to look at 0.402 and 0.42 and think that 0.402 is the larger number because it contains more digits; however, when we consider place value, we know that this is not true.
Keep this in mind as this is a trap the Wonderlic will always set for you.
1. Put the numbers in a table.
Place the numbers in a table with each digit having its own cell. Make sure to line up the decimals.
2. Add zeroes for empty digits.
If you find that one number is shorter than another, you can add terminal (ending) zeroes so they line up.
3. Read left to right.
Eliminate by reading left to right. Eliminate the number with the smallest (or largest) digit as you go from left to right.
Let’s walk through question 20 from our Free Wonderlic Practice Test together…
20. Which in the following group of numbers is smallest?
A) 7
B) .8
C) 14
D) .75
E) 4
1. Put the numbers in a table.
Make sure the decimals line up. Also, note that any number that does not have a decimal is a whole number and that the decimal would be at the end of that number.
2. Add zeroes for empty digits.
This will make things a little easier in a bit…
3 Read from left to right.
Since we are looking for the smallest number, we will eliminate the largest numbers as we read left to right:
Tens place:
We can eliminate answer choice C since 1 is greater than 0.
Ones place:
We can eliminate answer choices A and E since they are greater than 0.
Tenths place:
We can eliminate answer choice B since 8 is greater than 7. We are left with answer choice D.
Answer: D.
Remember: numbers with more digits are not necessarily bigger. It all comes down to place value. This is why .75 is larger than .80. This is a common Wonderlic trap.
Now you try!
Let’s try another one using the strategy outlined above. You’ve got this! 😉
Which in the following group of numbers is smallest?
A) .45
B) .4
C) .512
D) 4
E) 4.5
1. Put the numbers in a table.
Remember to line up the decimals!
2. Add zeroes in empty spots as placeholders.
3. Read left to right and eliminate.
Ones place:
We are looking for the smallest number, so we start by identifying the smallest number in the ones place. The smallest number is 0, so we can immediately eliminate any answer choice that has a number greater than 0 in the ones place. We eliminate D & E.
Tenths place:
The smallest number in our remaining answer choices is 4, so we can eliminate any answer choices that have a number higher than 4 in the tenths place.
We eliminate C since 5 is greater than 4.
Hundredths place:
We now find the smallest number in the hundredths place and then eliminate anything less than that number. Of our remaining answer choices, 0 is the lowest number in the hundredths place column. We eliminate anything more than 0.
We eliminate A and are left with B.
Answer: B.
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