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🇬🇧 British Army Cognitive Test (BARB) · flashcards
British Army Cognitive Test (BARB) Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) Flashcards
50 question-and-answer cards covering Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) as it is examined in British Army Cognitive Test (BARB). 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
Why is it a logical error to assume the converse of a conditional statement?
A conditional 'if P then Q' does not guarantee 'if Q then P'. Assuming the converse adds information that was never stated, leading to a wrong conclusion.
What is a 'distractor' in a BARB Reasoning question?
An answer option (or wording in the statement) deliberately designed to look correct or to mislead, often exploiting reversed relationships or hasty reading.
What is a common trap created by reversed wording like 'less than' or 'shorter than'?
It tempts you to pick the wrong person because the comparison runs opposite to the order you instinctively read. You must flip the relationship carefully before answering.
What mental shorthand can speed up transitive comparisons?
Convert words into symbols and a single line, e.g. write the chain as $A > B > C$ for size/age, then read off the answer directly from the ordered line.
Describe the elimination technique for two-option BARB Reasoning answers.
Determine the one fact the question needs, identify which option it rules out, and eliminate that wrong option; the remaining option is the answer. This is faster than fully re-deriving both choices.
Convert to shorthand: 'Jim is younger than Kate; Kate is younger than Mary.' Then state the oldest.
Shorthand: $\text{Jim} < \text{Kate} < \text{Mary}$ in age, so Mary is the oldest.
If 'A is bigger than B' and 'C is smaller than B', order A, B, C from largest to smallest.
$A > B > C$. A is largest, then B, then C (since C is smaller than B, which is smaller than A).
What is the safest first step when you see multiple statements in one BARB item?
Read the question to learn the target, then combine the statements into one ordered chain or layout before choosing, rather than answering from a single statement in isolation.
Why is it risky to answer a BARB Reasoning item from only the first statement you read?
Many items require combining two or more statements (a chain); answering from one alone ignores information that can change who fits the condition.
How do you handle a question that mixes comparison words, e.g. 'taller' and 'shorter', in the same item?
Normalise all comparisons to one direction (e.g. convert every 'shorter than' into 'taller than' reversed) so the whole chain reads consistently, then order it.
Given 'Ben is to the right of Carl' and 'Carl is to the right of Dan', who is furthest left?
Dan is furthest left. Left-to-right order: Dan, Carl, Ben.
What does 'A arrived just before B' add compared with 'A arrived before B'?
'Just before' means A and B are adjacent in the order with no one between them, whereas 'before' only means A is somewhere earlier than B.
If 'Lisa is the tallest' and 'Mo is shorter than Kim', what can you conclude about Lisa relative to Kim?
Lisa is taller than Kim. As the tallest, Lisa is taller than everyone, including Kim (and Mo).
Why does the BARB Reasoning sub-test reward a steady, methodical reading approach despite the time limit?
Careless misreads on reversed or conditional wording cause errors that, in an adaptive test, lower your difficulty path; a quick but accurate method protects both speed and the score ceiling.
What is the logical relationship if 'No A are B' is stated and you are asked about a specific A?
That specific A is not a B. A universal negative ('no A are B') applies to every A, so any individual A cannot be a B.
Given 'If you pass the test, you join the unit' and 'Sam did not join the unit', can you conclude Sam failed?
Yes. By contrapositive, if joining requires passing, then not joining means the pass condition was not met — Sam did not pass (assuming the conditional is the only route).
What is the contrapositive of 'If P then Q', and why is it always valid?
The contrapositive is 'If not Q then not P'. It is logically equivalent to the original conditional, so it is always a valid inference.
How should you treat the word 'than' as a signal in BARB Reasoning?
'Than' flags a direct comparison; immediately note which side is greater/lesser (taller/shorter, older/younger) so you can place both items correctly in the order.
If 'Three people are in a row: A is left of B, C is right of B', what is the full left-to-right order?
A, B, C from left to right. A is leftmost, B is in the middle, and C is rightmost.
What common error arises with age questions using 'younger'?
Confusing 'younger' (smaller age) with being later/last or with 'shorter'. 'Younger' only means lower age; you must map it to the correct end of the age order.
Why should you avoid bringing outside/real-world knowledge into a BARB Reasoning answer?
The questions are self-contained; conclusions must follow only from the given statements. Outside assumptions can introduce errors the question is designed to test against.
Summarise the efficient 4-step process for a BARB Reasoning item.
1) Read the question to find the target. 2) Read the statement(s) and convert to shorthand/order. 3) Reverse any opposite-direction wording so the chain is consistent. 4) Read the answer from the ordered chain and eliminate the wrong option.
If 'P is heavier than Q', 'Q is heavier than R', and 'R is heavier than S', who is the lightest, in shorthand?
$P > Q > R > S$ by weight, so S is the lightest.
When a question asks 'who is NOT the tallest', how do you use elimination?
Identify the tallest from the chain, then any other named person is a valid answer to 'not the tallest'; eliminate only the single tallest person and pick a remaining one as required by the options.
What this deck covers
The Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) deck follows the British Army Cognitive Test (BARB) Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) syllabus — 4 chapters and 12 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 12.5 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 144 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) flashcards FAQ
How many Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) flashcards are in this British Army Cognitive Test (BARB) deck?
50 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these British Army Cognitive Test (BARB) flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 50-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) cards cover?
They follow the British Army Cognitive Test (BARB) Reasoning (Verbal Logical Reasoning) syllabus — 4 chapters and 12 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.