MENSA Test #6
Answer Key
from Reader's Digest
January 1992



Here's how this test was scored:

You were given one point for each correct answer.

Two bonus points were added to your score if you completed the test in less than 25 minutes,

three points were added if you finished in less than 20 minutes,

and five points were added if you finished in less than 15 minutes.

If you scored:
20 - 25 points: You are very intelligent -- an ideal Mensa candidate.
15 - 19 points: Among the most intelligent people around -- a clear candidate for Mensa.
10 - 14 points: A most respectable score.
You might want to try taking the complete, standard Mensa test.
0 - 9 points: You must have had a bad day.   Even if you didn't, remember that many successful, intelligent, and creative people don't do well on a test like this.

1. While Bill was walking his dog, he met his mother-in-law's only daughter's husband's son.

What relation was the person to Bill?

(A) son   (B) son-in-law   (C) brother   (D) brother-in-law   (E) father

The answer was (A) his son.


2. What is the missing number in this series?

      1   3   9   ___   81   243

The answer is 27.   Each number has three times the value of the number preceding it.


3. Which of the following proverbs below best matches the meaning of

      "All that glitters is not gold."

(a) Fine feathers make fine birds.
(b) A fool and his money are soon parted.
(c) You can't tell a book by its cover.
(d) A penny saved is a penny earned.
(e) There's a light at the end of every tunnel.

The answer is (c).


4. I met my friend the test pilot, who had just completed an around-the-world flight by balloon.

With the pilot was a little girl of about two.

"What's her name?" I asked my friend, whom I hadn't seen in five years and who had married in that time.

"Same as her mother," the pilot replied.

"Hello Susan," I said to the girl.

How did I know her name if I never saw the wedding announcement?

(a) The pilot had emailed me his wife's name.
(b) The little girl had a name tag on her dress.
(c) The test pilot was a woman.
(d) Most test pilots have wives named Susan.

The answer is (c).   My friend, the test pilot, was named Susan.   Did you assume the test pilot was a male?


5. How many blocks are in this construction?


The answer is 10.
In the rear corner, the stack is three high, but you can only see the top one.
The second row is two high, with a supporting block hidden under each.


6. Here are the scrambled letters of an everyday object.   Unscramble the word.

R   R   R   R   F   G   I   A   E   T   E   O

The answer: is REFRIGERATOR.


7. If Susan is 10, Arabella is 20, and Jim and Neal are both 5, but Richard is 10, how much is Jennifer by the same system?

Jennifer is 15, in a system that awards five points for each syllable in the name.


8. After paying all your holiday bills, you find you have just $9.60 in your pocket.

      You have equal numbers of quarters, dimes, and nickels, but no other coins.

      How many of each of those three coins do you have?

The answer: is 24.


9. "Which of the following words is least like the others?
      (a) house
      (b) palace
      (c) cave
      (d) mansion
      (e) stable
      (f) kennel

The answer: is (c) cave.   All the others are man-made.


10. How many 9's do you pass when you start at 1 and count up to 100?

The answer: is twenty.


11. One four-letter word will fit on all three lines below to make new words with the word preceding and the word following.

Example: IN [DOOR] STOP — the word DOOR makes INDOOR and DOORSTOP.

The same word must work for all three lines.   What's the word?

        BACK   _ _ _ _   SOME
        FREE   _ _ _ _   MADE
        FORE   _ _ _ _   BAG

The answer: is HAND.


12. Ann has the same number of sisters as she has brothers, but her brother Bill has twice as many sisters as he has brothers.

How many boys and how many girls are in the family?

There are four girls and three boys.


13. What letter would logically come next in the following series?

      J,   F,   M,   A,   M,   J,   ___

The answer: is J.   The letters are the first letters of the months of the year, beginning with January.


14. What is the tree that contains all the vowels, A E I O U (not in order)?

The answer is SEQUOIA.


15. The following is a common proverb in disguise.   Put it in its common form.

      "Those persons who reside in vitreous constructions are well advised to refrain from hurling heavy projectiles."

(a) "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
(b) "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
(c) "A rolling stone gathers no moss."
(d) "A house is not a home."
(e) "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
(f) "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

The answer is (b) People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.


16. A folded triangle is shown below.

Which of the lettered diagrams shows the triangle as it would look if unfolded?



The answer is (d).   Here you only need to check for the white ring on one side and the three-dot triangle on the other.


17. The spy was captured easily, and his message proved to be so simple that the lieutenant saw its importance immediately.
      Here it is.   What does it say?

ALICE: TOM TOLD ANN CARTER KILLY AND TED, DAVID ATWOOD WAS NOT MOVING OUT NOW.   DAVID AWAITING YOU.

The answer is: ATTACK AT DAWN MONDAY.

The lieutenant lifted the first letter out of each word and strung the letters together.


18. All the vowels have been removed from the following remark, and the letters have been broken into groups of three.   Replace the missing vowels (one null letter at the end).

      FLS RSH NWH RNG LSF RTT RDX

The complete remark is: FOOLS RUSH IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD.


19. A certain rule has been followed in the numerical squares below.

      Figure out the rule and fill in the question mark with the correct number.

      (The rule applies vertically and horizontally).


The answer is 6.   The first number on each line is divided by the second to give the third.


20. Which of the lettered designs best completes the sequence shown below?
     

The answer is (d).
The outer figure rotates clockwise by quarter turns;
the line moves from left side to right side and back again;
the smaller figure rotates counterclockwise by quarter turns.






Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher