Numerical exercise · ~60 sec a run · free
Cockpit Maths
Read tables, interpolate and work rates, no calculator.
Session mode
Pace
8 items, ~38 s/item. A shorter block to warm up on the mixed cockpit-maths styles, a little quicker than the pace the longest published maths blocks are set at.
Difficulty
Auto sets the level from your recent results: up when you are acing it, down when it is too hard.
How to play
- 1Read whether the item is a table or graph read, a speed / distance / time leg, or a ratio.
- 2For a table or graph, find how far the query sits between the two rows, then take the same fraction of the change in the value.
- 3Work it in your head, no calculator, then pick the matching option.
Tactics under the clock
- Answer every item, even a best guess. Blanks score nothing and there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
- On a table read, never just pick the nearer row. The answer lies between the rows, so interpolate.
- Keep moving. This mixed style is where most candidates lose time, so do not fixate on one hard item.
See a worked example
A take-off run reads 430 m at 1800 kg and 590 m at 2200 kg. What is it at 2000 kg? 2000 kg sits halfway between the rows, so take half of the 160 m change: 80 m added to 430 m gives 510 m. The trap is to read 430 or 590 straight off a row.
A mixed, calculator-free numerical block: speed, distance and time, ratios and proportion, and the one most candidates find hardest, reading a performance table or a straight-line graph and interpolating the value between the rows. The trick is to keep moving and answer every item.
About this test
About this test
What this test measures
This exercise measures calculator-free applied numeracy: reading a performance table or a straight-line graph and interpolating the value between the rows, alongside speed-distance-time legs and ratio work. It is the mixed cockpit-maths style candidates rate as the hardest part of selection, because interpolation adds a step on top of the arithmetic and must be done fast, in your head.
How to improve your score
- Interpolate in one line: work out how far the query sits between the two rows as a simple fraction, then take that same fraction of the difference between their values.
- Never just read the nearer row; the answer sits between the rows, so the endpoint is the designed trap.
- Answer every item, even a quick estimate, because blanks score nothing and there is no penalty for guessing.
Good to know
Good to know
Interpolate in one line
Work out how far the query sits between the two rows as a simple fraction, then take that fraction of the difference between their values and add it to the lower one. Halfway means half the change; a quarter of the way means a quarter of the change. Choosing the nearer row instead is the single most common mistake.Answer everything
These blocks reward completion. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a fast estimate beats a blank. If an item is slow, put your best guess down and move on, then come back only if time allows.
Frequently asked questions
Why is this style rated the hardest?
Why is this style rated the hardest?
What is interpolation, simply?
What is interpolation, simply?
Is this a specific selection test?
Is this a specific selection test?
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