MECHANICAL APTITUDE QUESTIONS - I need smarter people to help me...

Forums › Off topic › MECHANICAL APTITUDE QUESTIONS - I need smarter people to help me...

Headspace63

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#288447 30-Jun-2021 14:05

Hope you can see these! The first question is about magnets. Obviously, opposites attract. But do you think that they mean for the magnets 1, 2, and 3 to be slid together...or stacked on top of each other. It changes the answer. And honestly, I'm not even sure slid together works.

The second image has to do with which propeller prop configuration would make the boat go the fastest. Option A would likely slow the boat down. Option B, C, and D would progressively drive more of the boat's front end out of the water. B looks like what I think a standard boat prop is configured. (I'm not a boat person). But is there an advantage to driving the part of the boat out of the water? Hmmmm....that might concentrate drag, like digging your heel in.

Anyway, input please!

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2736690 30-Jun-2021 14:24

There aren't really enough pixels to be able to read these, unfortunately,

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surfisup1000

5095 posts

Uber Geek

#2736705 30-Jun-2021 14:55

Dumbing down the boat question, I think the fastest boat would be "A". Force is directed backward horizontally, 100% of energy is directed backward resulting in forward acceleration. For B/C/D, some energy is lost upward due to force vectoring (upward directed energy is waste). The hull is designed for planing so drag is minimised and thus my assumption is that drag is irrelevant. The question is vague but surely you can't really be expected to calculate drag.

Your logic about "B" reducing drag is really just guessing, because, "C" might reduce drag even more than "B". If you take this approach, the answer could only ever be a guess between B/C/D because of insufficient info.

The magnet question is too small to read one way or another.

evnafets

415 posts

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#2736899 30-Jun-2021 16:37

For the magnets one, I would assume 'slid together'

So the right side of Magnet 1 attracts left side of Magnet2 and right side of magnet 2 attracts left side of magnet 3.

Think of it as "if you push magnet 1 towards 2, will they click together, or will it push/turn it away".

I can't read the options to give the answer, but it should answer YOUR question on how to answer it...

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2737007 30-Jun-2021 18:15

Has the OP applied to join the army and these are part of the practice "aptitude" exam?

Because it's been covered before:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=48&topicid=285824

And the questions are unanswerable BS, presumably designed to assess how you react to unanswerable BS, not "mechanical aptitude" or anything meaningful, expect perhaps it can tell if you throw some kind of a fit when faced with dumb things.

The format looks the same, the questions are just as dumb, so if it's not the Army, then presumably other organisations are using the same woo-woo pseudo science BS. Welcome to phrenology - 21st Century style.

Batman

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#2737017 30-Jun-2021 18:42

these questions are a joke

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

Scott3

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#2737076 30-Jun-2021 22:20

With the boat one, in general forward facing propellers turning in undisturbed fluid are more efficient than trailing propellers. Pulling rather than pushing...

Hence why propellers on planes are generally front facing.

Azipods on large ships, and volvo IPS pod drives both feature pulling rather than pushing designs, and both volvo penta & Mercury marine offer ford facing propellers on stern legs (although these are primary targeted at wake boat's).

So I would go for the forward facing option...

With regards to the rear facing propeller trim angle, it really does depend on the setup of the boat. If the engine is very very small, the boat will remain roughly level, and horizontal will be the best option.

With a typical engine for this style of boat (it is a planing hull), the boat will naturally rid nose up at speed. (essentially the center of drag from the hull is above the center of thrust from the propeller). From then on it is a balancing act depending on the engine power, weight in boat etc. This is why most boats of this style have the ability to trim the outboard from the helm.

Any trim away from horizontal means some thrust being wasted trying to push the boat up or down, but (especially with a lot of power), it can be faster to accept this loss of thrust, to trim the boat such that a decent chunk of the length rides clear of the water reducing wetted surface drag. Pritty easy in a run about to leave the throttle setting the same, and watch the speed on the gps as you adjust the trim, in order to find the sweet spot.

Headspace63

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2737111 1-Jul-2021 07:27

I played with multiple logins and, apparently, the answers are A (meaning that the magnets were meant to be slid together, not stacked) and B (meaning the nose should ride out of the water a bit, but extra push out of the water is not helpful).

Thanks for your input folks. A couple of notes...no, this isn't the military test. And, according to the company administrating the test, there is only ONE correct answer. However, i will say--some of their questions leave a lot to be desired in terms of wording or illustration.

So...evidently I had these two questions correct to start with. Somewhere in the remainder of the test, I have two more wrong answers!

Ack!

Headspace63

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2737112 1-Jul-2021 07:31

Batman:

these questions are a joke

Yes, that link has questions from the same company. I've seen them...however, they aren't the exact same questions. According to the company, there is only ONE answer. This is the testing company that damned near EVERY employer in my area is using to give their tests. So like my entire life depends on these questions which are, in fact, a joke. Damn it.

Batman

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#2737113 1-Jul-2021 07:43

Headspace63:

I played with multiple logins and, apparently, the answers are A (meaning that the magnets were meant to be slid together, not stacked) and B (meaning the nose should ride out of the water a bit, but extra push out of the water is not helpful).

Thanks for your input folks. A couple of notes...no, this isn't the military test. And, according to the company administrating the test, there is only ONE correct answer. However, i will say--some of their questions leave a lot to be desired in terms of wording or illustration.

So...evidently I had these two questions correct to start with. Somewhere in the remainder of the test, I have two more wrong answers!

Ack!

so everybody on GZ is wrong.

stupid questions

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

surfisup1000

5095 posts

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#2737120 1-Jul-2021 07:53

Batman:

Headspace63:

I played with multiple logins and, apparently, the answers are A (meaning that the magnets were meant to be slid together, not stacked) and B (meaning the nose should ride out of the water a bit, but extra push out of the water is not helpful).

Thanks for your input folks. A couple of notes...no, this isn't the military test. And, according to the company administrating the test, there is only ONE correct answer. However, i will say--some of their questions leave a lot to be desired in terms of wording or illustration.

So...evidently I had these two questions correct to start with. Somewhere in the remainder of the test, I have two more wrong answers!

Ack!

so everybody on GZ is wrong.

stupid questions

You could argue with them, that C pushes the nose out of the water more effectively than B. They could not disprove that. This is the stupidest test ever.

Batman

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#2737129 1-Jul-2021 08:18

The stupidity is in the ambiguity of the questions

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

1101

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#2737240 1-Jul-2021 10:56

Someone who has Zero knowledge of boats wouldnt have any idea , so the test is only showing who has boat knowledge.

VERY male orientated sort of question .
Are these questions aimed at removing females from job applications ? Looks a bit that way .

frankv

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#2737258 1-Jul-2021 11:14

Batman: The stupidity is in the ambiguity of the questions

Yeah, case in point being the picture of the propellor showing clockwise rotation. That's clear enough, but is it looking from the front or rear of the prop? Because changing that would mean the exact opposite thrust would be produced.

In which case you would have to decipher the pixels to figure out whether the prop was pitched LH or RH.

neb

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#2737630 2-Jul-2021 01:07

SomeoneSomewhere:
There aren't really enough pixels to be able to read these, unfortunately,

Couldn't make out the second one, but the first one was:

Billy gets two doses of the the AstraZeneca vaccine and Sally gets one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Which magnet configuration most closely mimics Billy and Sally's bodies after being vaccinated?