Free Practice Mechanical Reasoning Tests

Mechanical reasoning tests are designed to assess your knowledge of physical and mechanical principles.

Mechanical reasoning questions vary widely in difficulty from test to test and because of this it is not easy to produce a practice test applicable to everyone.

You may find that some of the questions in the practice tests available on this website are too detailed and difficult for your needs.

If you are taking a mechanical reasoning 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 three 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.

Mechanical reasoning tests are used to select for a wide range of jobs including the military (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery), police forces, fire services, as well as many craft, technical and engineering occupations.

The practice tests available at the moment are most applicable to technical and engineering jobs.

This sample question paper contains 20 questions and has a suggested time limit of 15 minutes.

The questions are presented in Letter/A4 format for easy printing and self-marking.

Mechanical Reasoning for Emergency Services and Military Jobs

If you are taking a mechanical reasoning 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 three diagrams of a lever and asked which one is the most efficient.

This is very different from craft and technical tests where you will usually be expected to make calculations.

Mechanical Reasoning for Craft and Technical Jobs

If you are taking a test as part of the selection for a craft or apprenticeship job, then you may be asked some questions about tools and how they are used.

You should also expect some shop arithmetic questions.

These questions approximate the type of reasoning and maths that are needed to estimate materials costs, etc.

Mechanical Reasoning - Remember, the scenario is incidental

Many of the questions in mechanical reasoning 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.