Decision Making Guide

Overview of the section

The official UCAT website describes the decision-making section as the area where ‘your ability to make sound decisions and judgments using complex information’ is tested. This roughly translates to a series of logic questions, mainly testing your ability both to extrapolate information from statistics and to evaluate arguments. These skills are examined over 29 questions that have to be answered in 31 minutes. There are two types of answer format in the Decision Making section: multiple-choice, and Yes/No statements. The multiple-choice questions each consist of four options, of which one is the correct answer you need to identify and select. The Yes/No questions each consist of either a table, graph, diagram, or text followed by five related statements., and you need to identify whether or not each of the five statements is correct by answering either Yes or No. While most of the questions will relate to data of some description, each subsequent question is ‘standalone’ and no carrying forward of data from one question to the next is required.

Question Types

There are 6 basic types of questions in the Decision Making section, which are presented with one or other of the two different types of answer format discussed earlier (multiple choice or Yes/No).

The 6 types of questions are as follows:

1. Syllogisms
2. Logic puzzles
3. Strongest argument
4. Interpreting Information
5. Venn diagram
6. Probability question

A brief overview of each section:

Some important definitions
The following key words appear time and time again in the decision-making section and it is most important therefore to understand the exact definitions of these words in the context of this section of your UCAT exam:

Each question type in more detail:

Question type 1: Syllogisms

A syllogism is a form of reasoning whereby a conclusion is reached based on two (or more) propositions. Coming from a Greek word that translates as ‘conclusion inference’, the premise of this type of question is to reach a conclusion based only on inference. In order to do this, you need to use deductive reasoning and logic.

Several types of syllogism question exist, the most basic form of which is a ‘categorical syllogism’. This involves interpreting the inferences between three linked statements, A, B and C, where you have to determine whether statement C is true. Using deductive reasoning and logic, you define statement B in relation to statement A. As statement B is also related to statement C, you can use this inference to extrapolate the relationship between A and C despite it not being specifically stated.

An example of a categorical syllogism: All dogs are mammals and all mammals are animals, therefore all dogs are animals.

Here the first statement, A, states that ‘all dogs are mammals’, the second statement, B, states that ‘all mammals are animals’ and finally C deduces from A and B that, hence, all dogs are animals.

A can be considered a major premise: All dogs are mammals
B is a minor premise: All mammals are animals
C is the conclusion: All dogs are animals

Another type of syllogism question is a ‘disjunctive syllogism’, consisting of an ‘either statement’, a ‘false premise’ and a ‘conclusion’.

An example of a disjunctive syllogism: The furniture is either all green or made of plastic. Since it is not made of plastic, it must all be green.

The syllogism consists of:

• Either statement: The furniture is either all green or made of plastic
• False premise: The furniture is not made of plastic
• Conclusion: Therefore, the furniture must be all green

The questions in the UCAT range from very basic categorical syllogisms to those that are long with multiple steps, and anywhere in between. Remember when tacking these questions to use the definitions we gave earlier for the various key words that are typically included in these questions.

Instructions for how to answer the questions on the day:

• Next to each statement there will be a grey box.
• You need to drag and drop either the Yes box or the No box to the corresponding grey box next to each statement, according to whether you believe the statement to be correct or not.
• You can answer Yes/No more than once

Examples:

Example 1

Not all people at the disco were students, but all students were under the age of 18, and some students were not girls.

Place ‘Yes’ if the conclusion follows. Place ‘No’ if the conclusion does not follow.

Explanation

Firstly, let’s allocate each section of the statement a letter, A, B or C to make it easier to understand:

• A = Not all people at the disco are students
• B = All students are under the age of 18
• C = Some students were not girls

Now, taking each of the 5 questions in turn:

1. ‘Everyone under the age of 18 at the Disco were either girls or students’.
   Correct answer: No – The relevant part of the question for this questions is C, as some students were not girls. It cannot be concluded that everyone at the disco was either a girl or a student, as some may be boys.
2. ‘Not everyone under the age of 18 who were students were girls’.
   Correct answer: Yes – As C states, there are some students who are girls and are therefore boys.
3. ‘All the girls at the Disco who were also students were under the age of 18’.
   Correct answer: Yes – As we know, from statement B, that all students are under the age of 18, we can extrapolate that all the female students at the disco must then be under the age of 18.
4. ‘Some girls at the Disco were under the age of 18’.
   Correct answer: Yes – We know that some of the students were girls (statement C), and that all students were under 18 (statement B). The conclusion is therefore correct.
5. ‘Some people at the Disco who were under 18 were female students’.
   Correct answer: Yes – All people at the disco who were under 18 were students (statement B), and some students were not girls (statement C), meaning that some students were girls. So, there will be some people at the disco who are both students girls.

Example 2

At a restaurant I can either buy a sandwich or some soup. Sandwiches are expensive.

Place ‘yes’ if the conclusion follows. Place ‘no’ if the conclusion does not follow.

Explanation
As before, let’s allocate each section of the statement a letter, in this case, A or B, to make understanding clearer:

• A = You can buy either soup or a sandwich at this restaurant
• B = Sandwiches are expensive

Now, taking each of the 5 questions in turn:

1. ‘Some food items at this restaurant are expensive’.
   Correct answer: Yes – As we know from statement B, sandwiches are expensive, therefore at least some of the food from this restaurant is expensive. That is enough to make this answer correct as it only specifies some foot items are expensive.
2. ‘All soup is not expensive’.
   Correct answer: No – No information is given about the price of soup, only that sandwiches are expensive. It is correct to infer, therefore, that soup could also be expensive.
3. ‘The restaurant only sells soup or sandwiches’.
   Correct answer: No – The information given tells us that we can buy a sandwich or soup. We cannot infer from this, however, that the restaurant does not sell other food types.
4. ‘Soup is cheaper than a sandwich’.
   Correct answer: No – We only know that sandwiches are expensive, but no information – either direct or inferred – is given about the price of soup. It cannot therefore be stated that soup is cheaper than sandwiches.
5. ‘At this restaurant all sandwiches are made out of cheese and ham’.
   Correct answer: No – No information is given about the contents of the sandwiches, so this statement is neither made nor inferred.

Tip: This second example is used to demonstrate that it is important to be very literal in this section of the exam. If the statement does not specifically state a fact, then you must neither guess nor infer it. ‘Yes’ must only be given if the answer directly follow on from the facts explicitly stated.

Question type 2: Logic Puzzles

These types of question will consist of a logical puzzle, normally presented in text form, although sometimes alongside a diagram, which you will need to solve in order to answer the question. The introductory text needs to be read both carefully and thoroughly in order to ensure that you understand the premise, so that you can then apply the correct logic in order to be able to answer the question correctly.

Example 1
At a wedding there is a rectangular table of 8 guests, the wedding planner has designed the table so that each long side of the table has 3 guests and there is 1 on each shorter end. Certain guests don’t like each other so have been designed to be sat as far away from each other as possible.

Jasmine is sat between Katie and Meghan, and Gemma is sat between Sam and Katie, but away from Charlie, as she doesn’t like him.
Sam is next to both Gemma and George, and doesn’t like Meghan so is opposite her.
Katie is not opposite, but as far away as possible from Alice as they also do not like each other.

Which of the following statements is incorrect:

1. Gemma is next to Alice
2. Meghan is in the middle of one long side of the table
3. George is between Sam and Alice
4. Charlie is next to Alice

Correct answer: Statement 1

Explanation

• As we know from the final sentence, ‘Katie is not opposite, but as far away as possible from Alice’, meaning they are at either end of the table. See first table plan, below.
• The second sentence, ‘Sam is next to both Gemma and George, but opposite Meghan’, tells us that Gemma and George are sitting on either side of Sam (the two shorter ends have already been accounted for, with Katie and Alice, and there are only three seats on the long sides, so, as Sam is ‘next to both Gemma and George’, she must be sitting between them), and that Meghan must therefore be in the middle of the other long side of the table. See second table plan, below.
• Finally, the first line tells us that Jasmine is between Katie and Meghan, and Gemma is between Sam and Katie. See third table plan, below.

Based on this, is it impossible for Gemma to be sat next to Alice.

Top Tip: This example hopefully highlights to you the importance of drawing diagrams to help you work out the correct answers to these types of question. While some people may be able to visually conceptualise this seating plan, for most people drawing down where everyone is sitting as you read and figure out the logic puzzle will be essential. Doing a quick drawing will mean that by the end of reading the question, you will immediately have the correct answer ready to select. The whiteboard you are given access to in the UCAT exam is vital for doing well and for saving time in this section for any people.

Example 2

The shapes above show diagrammatically where different toys can be found in a child’s playroom.

The teddy bear is the toy most north in the playroom.
The rectangle is the child’s dummy and is southeast in relation to the child’s crayons.
The child’s favourite toy is not represented by the triangle.

Which shape represents the child’s favourite toy?

1. Square
2. Triangle
3. Circle
4. Oval

Correct answer: Oval

Explanation

• The teddy bear is the most northerly object therefore must be the square.
• As the rectangle is southeast of the circle, we can deduce that the circle represents the crayons.
• We are told that the child’s favourite toy is not represented the triangle, and as the only two shapes not to be assigned a representative toy are the triangle and the oval, the oval must be the correct answer.

Question type 3: Strongest Argument

These questions require you to read a short text, followed by four statements relating to the text. Using evaluation skills, you need to interpret the strength of the assumptions and soundness of the four arguments, and decide which one is strongest. Like the syllogism questions, it is important to base your answers only on the information given to you in the opening statement, no matter what your prior knowledge of the subject matter might be – the question is purely based purely on the information given.

The basics for evaluating an argument:

• Arguments can be conceptualised as being made up of two things, the premise, and the conclusion.
• A premise is a reason or evidence given to support whatever conclusion is reached.
• You might consider the conclusion of an argument like the roof of a house, with various walls – the premises – holding it up. Using this analogy, each wall, or premise, needs to be fully sound in order to support the roof. The fewer walls or the weaker some may be, the less likely the roof, or conclusion of the argument, will stay up.

When evaluating an argument, it is very important to be able to spot assumptions: these can be defined as something that is presented as truth but without any evidence.

• Returning to the above analogy, assumptions also weaken walls, and therefore provide less support to the roof – the conclusion.

Example

In the UK, the Government should impose a ban on those holding a driver’s licence after a certain age. This would be to protect younger road users.

Select the strongest argument from the statements below:

1. No, driving is incredibly important for older people, and they would not be able to carry out their usual activities without it.
2. No, the rate of driving accidents per mile driven for those over 70 is considerably lower than for those under the age of 25.
3. Yes, older people’s eyesight is not as good as that of younger people, leading to reduced safety on the roads.
4. Yes, if those who are under 17 cannot drive, those over 70 should not be able to either.

Correct answer: 2 – No, the rate of driving accidents per mile driven for those over 70 is considerably lower than for those under the age of 25.

Explanation

• 2 is the correct answer because it states a fact (that older drivers have fewer accidents than younger drivers) and it uses this fact as evidence for the argument that an age limit on driving isn’t necessary.
• 1 is incorrect as it is too general and based more upon emotion than fact. It does not address the primary issue of road safety, instead focuses on the inconvenience that banning licences would cause for older people.
• 3 is incorrect because, while older people’s eyesight may not technically be as good as younger people’s, it is an assumption to conclude that this results in reduced safety (they may, for example, wear glasses to compensate).

Using this example, what makes a strong argument can be further explored. Just as in earlier examples, a strong argument is one that cites evidence. This is often presented as a fact or piece of information which directly proves the point of the argument in an objective manner. A tip for finding these arguments is looking for keywords such as ‘proven’, ‘fact’ or ‘shown’. A strong argument often also directly links to the conclusion. There shouldn’t be any steps of subjectivity between the argument and the conclusion it is trying to reach. Further things that can be looked out for when trying to spot a strong argument are:

• The argument addresses the entire question, not just a part of it.
• The argument should be emotionless, using no emotive language aiming to distract from factual based arguments

If it isn’t easy to spot the strongest argument immediately, a tip we suggest is instead to look for flaws in the arguments and instead find the strongest argument by eliminating the others.

Here are some things you can look for which would indicate an argument is weak:

• A heavily subjective argument based on opinion or emotion.
• An argument using assumptions.
• A lack of link to the conclusion.
• Heavily irrelevant information is used, or an irrelevant conclusion is reached.

Question type 4: Interpreting Information

These questions will be based around a piece of information presented in the form of text, graph, table or chart. You will need to understand the information presented in order to interpret conclusions that follow. Like the syllogism questions, when completing interpreting information questions, you need to determine whether the conclusions are correct or not, answering Yes or No to each of the statements.

Example

The table shows the goals scored and conceded per day during a week-long football tournament.
The tournament started on Monday and ended on Sunday.
By the end of Wednesday the team had scored 5 and lost 7 overall.

Answer Yes or No to the following conclusions:

Explanation:

• ‘On Tuesday the team scored 2 points’
  Correct answer: Yes – The Table shows that by Wednesday the team had scored 5 points. On Monday they scored 2 and on Wednesday they scored 1, leaving 2 goals needing to have been scored on Tuesday to enable the team to have scored 5 by the end of Wednesday.
• ‘On the days shown the team conceded more points than they scored’
  Correct answer: No – This is a simple task of totalling both columns in the table, with the number of goals conceded being 8 and the number of goals scored also being 8. That makes this statement incorrect.
• ‘Wednesday was the day with the most goals conceded’
  Correct answer: No – The introductory text says that this was a week-long tournament, running from Monday to Sunday. As there are no data for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, the conclusion cannot be reached. Much like in the other types of question in the Decision Making section of the UCAT, if you are not explicitly told something, you cannot assume it to be correct. It is about extrapolating the answers only and strictly from the information you are given.
• ‘On Monday they conceded as many goals as they scored on Friday’
  Correct answer: Yes – This simply requires you to read the table correctly, to see that 2 goals were scored on Friday, and 2 conceded on Monday. This should be a very quick and easy question to answer, enabling you to spend more time on the more complex questions in this section.
• On Friday and Sunday combined they conceded more goals than on Monday alone
  Correct answer: No – This requires you to add up the goals conceded on Friday on Sunday (2) and compare it to the number scored on Monday (also 2).

Question type 5: Venn Diagrams

Within these types of questions, there are 3 variations you can encounter. The common theme will be the need to interpret Venn diagrams.

The 3 different types are:

1. You are given a list of statements that you are expected to collate, then you select the correct Venn diagram that would best represent them.
2. A piece of text is given, and you need to interpret this as a Venn diagram and choose the best conclusion from a list of different statements using your Venn diagram.
3. The classic question is a simple Venn diagram from which you need to select the best conclusion from a list of related statements.

The Venn diagrams can look vastly different, and not all will be like the most recognised form of Venn diagram, with overlapping circles. They can appear various arrangements, or they can take on the form of various different shapes, four examples of which are as follows:

Example 1

The below figures represent three baked potato toppings:

Assuming that when tuna mayonnaise is had on a baked potato it is never combined with any other topping, and when beans are had, cheese is always had with them, but cheese can also be consumed on its own, which of following best represents this?

Correct answer: 3

Explanation
All beans are had with cheese so the triangle needs to be completely within the circle. Tuna mayonnaise is never combined with another topping, so cannot interact with any of the other shapes. The fact that cheese can be consumed on its own is irrelevant, since when beans are had, cheese is always had with them, so the cheese shape cannot be isolated.

Example 2

The above Venn diagram represents the different restaurants in a small town. A group of people was asked if they had visited each of these restaurants. The number of people attending each venue has been added to the diagram.

The circle represents a pizza restaurant.
The triangle is a sushi restaurant.
The rectangle is a Mexican restaurant.
The square is a French restaurant.

Which of the following statements is correct:

1. Less than ¼ of the people had only been to one of the restaurants.
2. Of the people who had visited the sushi restaurant, less than half had visited the pizza restaurant.
3. There is less than a ⅔ chance of randomly selecting a person who had been to the French restaurant and at least one of the other restaurants.
4. Of those who had visited the Mexican restaurant, more than a third had been to all three of the other restaurants.

Correct answer: 3

Explanation
Before tackling a question like this, it is worth noting a few things. First, as the statements deal with fractions of all the people, it’s a fair assumption that you are going to have to know the number of people surveyed in total. We recommend calculating this and writing it down on your whiteboard. Adding up all the numbers gives an answer of 60.

To come to 3 being the correct answer you need to note down all the numbers that are included in the square. The term ‘at least’ in this statement means that we also need to include the overlaps with more than one other shape – you should know this from having learned our keyword table. Be careful not include the section where people have just been to the French restaurant and no others (5).

The maths for this is simple addition: 6+8+2+8+4+6+4= 38

If 38 people have been to the French restaurant and at least one other, and, overall, 60 people were surveyed, this gives us a total of 38/60 which is less than ⅔, which of course would be 40 people (40/60 =⅔).

1 is incorrect as we know 60 people were asked and only 17 had been to only one restaurant. ¼ of 60 is 15, therefore more than one quarter had been to only one of the restaurants.

2 is incorrect because a total of 31 people had been to the sushi restaurant, but 17 of those had been to the pizza restaurant; 17 is more than half.

4 is incorrect because 25 people in total had been to the Mexican restaurant, of whom only 8 had been to all 3; 8 is less than a ⅓.

Question type 6: Probability

These questions test your ability to handle statistical information and calculate probabilities. There will be a short passage of text, within which statistical information will be included, and you have to select the correct answer from a multiple-choice list. Statistical information can be presented in various forms, such as percentages, odds, fractions, or decimals.

Top Tip: It is important ahead of your UCAT exam to remind yourself of the GCSE maths you learned concerning statistics.

A key skill we recommend using during these questions is drawing out a probability tree on your whiteboard. We will walk you through the basics of producing a probability tree:

1. If you want to calculate the probability of something happening, or a different, discrete, thing happening, then it’s going to be an overall higher probability, so you add the probabilities together.
2. The probability of two things occurring will have an overall lower probability than just one thing occurring, so you multiply these probabilities together.

When calculating probabilities, you can use this basic formula:

An example probability tree is constructed below, using the above equation, and showing how each fraction is calculated:

However, if the question was what is the probability of either a 6 or not a 6 being rolled you would add the fractions: ⅙ + ⅚ = 6/6

Example 1

In a group of 4 children, each has a 50% chance of currently having chicken pox. At least two of them currently do not have chicken pox.

Is there a 50% probability that two children have chicken pox?

1. Yes, since there is 50% chance that one of the children do currently have chicken pox.
2. Yes, since 2 friends do not currently have chicken pox.
3. No, since any of them might have had chicken pox in the past.
4. No, since the chance of both of them having chickenpox is 25%.

Correct answer: 4

Explanation

As a 50% chance exists of one of the two children having chicken pox, you need to multiply this probability by 2 to calculate the probability of both having chicken pox:

0.5 x 0.5 = 0.25

Therefore, there is a 25% chance of two of them both having chicken pox.

Example 2

120 people were asked if they prefer to have their toast with either butter, jam, or peanut butter.

76 people asked were children (the rest were adults).
22 of the 64 who chose butter were adults.
16 adults said jam.

If one of the adults was randomly chosen, what is the probability that they like peanut butter on their toast?

1. 16/52
2. 8/36
3. 12/76
4. 6/44

Correct answer: 4

Explanation

There were 44 adults included in the survey (120 total – 76 children = 44 adults) and of these, 16 chose jam and 22 chose butter, therefore 6 chose peanut butter. 6/44 is the probability of an adult liking peanut butter when chosen at random.

Tips and Tricks for doing well in the Decision-making section
As we have done in this guide, it is important to understand thoroughly the different types of decision-making questions, and to have a clear and practiced method for answering type – this, we recommend, is the key to performing highly in this section of the UCAT exam.

Some key tips:

• Draw diagrams!
  – Very often in the Decision Making section, you have to visualise/conceptualise a complicated scenario and then answer questions based on this. If you have simple sketches of where everyone is sitting at a table or a Venn diagram of the information being presented, etc., this can help you answer the questions more accurately and, importantly, faster.
• For Syllogism questions, stick to the information given to you and do not make assumptions.
• For the Logic Puzzle questions, do lots of practice questions, familiarising yourself with the structure and pattern they follow.
• In Interpreting Information questions, make sure you understand the question and the context before starting to read through the data.
  – For graphs, read the context first, then look at the axes, units, and general trend.
  – For tables, understand the context, look at the headings and units, and again look for any general patterns if applicable.
• Use estimates and rounding for simple and fast mental maths instead of wasting time using the calculator.
• Practice constructing more complex Venn diagrams and drawing probability trees.