ECAA 2018 Economics Admissions Assessment

I am redecorating my house and need to buy wallpaper for one of the rooms. I need to buy 54 m of wallpaper in total and want to pay the lowest price. The table below shows the details of the five types of wallpaper I want to choose between.

Which type of wallpaper should I choose?

• A.woodchip
• B.vymura
• C.anaglypta
• D.embossed
• E.fabric effect

Answer: D

The diagram below shows the method of construction of a book with four folded sheets in each block, and three blocks in total. Page one is the first page of the first block of four sheets. At the centre of each block, you can see the stitching that binds the book together.

A book is to be made using the same technique but with eight sheets of paper in each of the three blocks.

Which of the following pairs of pages could be in the centre of a block (that is, if opened there, the stitching would be visible)?

• A.46 and 47
• B.47 and 48
• C.48 and 49
• D.63 and 64
• E.64 and 65

Answer: C

• A.18%
• B.20%
• C.28%
• D.36%
• E.40%

Answer: D

Below is a table showing the value of Lucy's shares. They started at £3.00 in 2011 and in 2016 they were worth £22.68.

When did Lucy's shares have the biggest percentage increase?

• A.2011–2012
• B.2012–2013
• C.2013–2014
• D.2014–2015
• E.2015–2016

Answer: D

Connem Ltd. has recently adopted a new company logo.

A large plastic version of the logo has just been delivered to the office, to be attached to the outside of the building. Unfortunately, in transit, the plastic has broken into two pieces, as shown below:

Which one of the following could not be Connem's new logo?

• A.Logo A
• B.Logo B
• C.Logo C
• D.Logo D
• E.Logo E

Answer: E

A Youth Centre runs a number of football teams for boys of different ages. Each season, one prize is awarded to the player who has given the best all-round performance. Five players have been nominated as possible recipients of this year's prize. The manager has decided not to reward any player who has missed two consecutive training sessions more than twice, and the manager will also exclude anyone who has failed to score a goal from a penalty kick more than twice. After these criteria have been applied, the prize will go to the player who has scored the highest number of goals.

Which player will receive the best all-round performance prize?

• A.David
• B.John
• C.Colin
• D.Mike
• E.Graham

Answer: D

The diagram below shows the net of a cube.

The following diagrams show five suggested views of the cube once it has been assembled.

Which two of the above are possible views of the cube?

• A.1 and 2
• B.2 and 3
• C.3 and 4
• D.1 and 4
• E.4 and 5

Answer: B

• A.4
• B.7
• C.10
• D.12
• E.19

Answer: B

I have a digital clock that works in 24-hour format (that is, after 23:59, it goes to 00:00). The patterns for each number are made up of segments, as shown below:

What is the maximum number of segments that can be displayed at once, while still showing a valid time?

• A.20
• B.23
• C.24
• D.26
• E.28

Answer: D

• A.15 minutes
• B.18 minutes
• C.21 minutes
• D.25 minutes
• E.30 minutes

Answer: A

A number of identical boxes are piled up, waiting to be loaded into a delivery van. Amy and Ben are about to load them into the van.

The appearance of the pile of boxes and the positions of Amy and Ben at present are shown below:

Amy's view of the pile is:

Which one of the following could not be Ben's view of the pile?

• A.View A
• B.View B
• C.View C
• D.View D
• E.View E

Answer: E

• A.9
• B.10
• C.11
• D.12
• E.13

Answer: C

Joanne is studying the period 1900–1950 and has decided to buy a new book to help with her studies. There are five different books available at her local bookshop, the details of which are summarised below:

On Tuesday, Joanne chose to buy the cheapest book that would satisfy her requirements, and went away to get the exact amount of money needed to buy it. When she returned the following day to buy her chosen book she found that there was a sale and all of the books had been reduced by 20%. She then decided instead to buy the most expensive book that she could with the money she had, and which still satisfied her requirements.

How much money did Joanne have left over once she had bought the book?

• A.£0
• B.£1
• C.£2
• D.£3
• E.£5

Answer: E

At the start of the school year, a village shop stocks and sells a range of stationery items. The table below shows details of the wholesale costs and retail prices for a number of the items sold.

Of the five items sold, which two together made the most profit for the shop owner?

• A.crayons and pencils
• B.crayons and pens
• C.felt tips and pencils
• D.felt tips and rulers
• E.pens and rulers

Answer: B

• A.21
• B.23
• C.27
• D.31
• E.32

Answer: E

Car parking charges are shown in the table below. Brian wants to park his car for a period of 7.5 hours, whilst he is at work. He buys a ticket in the morning when he arrives at the car park. Due to the close proximity of the car park to his place of work, he is able to return to his car to buy a new ticket as many times as needed.

What is the most Brian can save by returning to the car to buy new tickets compared to buying one 8-hour ticket?

• A.£1.10
• B.£1.40
• C.£1.60
• D.£2.10
• E.£3.60

Answer: C

• A.5:18 am
• B.5:25 am
• C.5:45 am
• D.6:15 am
• E.6:45 am

Answer: D

Fiona is going to put some shelves up in her living room. The shelves must each be 1.80 m long and have a depth of at least 40 cm. There will be five shelves in total. The different prices for wood are shown in the table below.

Fiona can cut pieces of wood to make more than one piece of the correct size, but she wants each of the shelves to be made of one complete piece of wood.

What is the cheapest total cost for which Fiona can make her shelves?

• A.$21.15
• B.$23.25
• C.$23.55
• D.$24.75
• E.$25.50

Answer: C

Keith likes to draw 'bump charts' to look at relationships. For instance, if 6 individuals were ordered by height, and it happened that the order was the same by weight, the bump chart would look like this:

Or if height was maintained for order on the left hand but lightness rather than heaviness on the right hand, the bump chart would be this:

If one axis is reversed in order (as in heaviness goes to lightness), which one of the following bump charts would not be symmetrical about a vertical line midway between the axes?

• A.Chart A
• B.Chart B
• C.Chart C
• D.Chart D
• E.Chart E

Answer: C

A frequent train service runs between Weskham and Eashon, a distance of 18 miles. Most trains stop once during the journey, for 2 minutes at Orthorp, 7 miles from Eashon. When in motion, all trains travel the route at a steady speed of 60 mph.

At 2:45 pm, trains leave Weskham and Eashon simultaneously. The train from Weskham stops at Orthorp, but the train from Eashon does not.

Which one of the following graphs, suitably labelled, shows how far apart the two trains are from each other, beginning with the time of departure and ending when they have both reached their final destination?

• A.Graph A
• B.Graph B
• C.Graph C
• D.Graph D
• E.Graph E

Answer: E

• A.3
• B.$\frac{9}{2}$
• C.8
• D.9
• E.$\frac{19}{4}$

Answer: C

• A.31
• B.34
• C.39
• D.248
• E.496

Answer: A

• A.$\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$
• B.$\frac{\sqrt{10}}{2}$
• C.$\frac{\sqrt{15}}{2}$
• D.$\sqrt{5}$
• E.$2\sqrt{10}$

Answer: D

• A.-1 or $\frac{1}{2}$
• B.$+\frac{1}{2}$ or +1
• C.-2 or $+\frac{1}{2}$
• D.$-\frac{1}{2}$ or +2
• E.$-\frac{1}{3} - \frac{\sqrt{7}}{3}$ or $-\frac{1}{3} + \frac{\sqrt{7}}{3}$
• F.$+\frac{1}{3} - \frac{\sqrt{7}}{3}$ or $+\frac{1}{3} + \frac{\sqrt{7}}{3}$

Answer: D

• A.0
• B.$\frac{1}{36}$
• C.$\frac{1}{18}$
• D.$\frac{1}{12}$
• E.$\frac{1}{6}$

Answer: D

• A.0
• B.$\frac{8}{9}$
• C.2
• D.$\frac{8}{3}$
• E.4
• F.6

Answer: C

• A.$\frac{3}{11}$
• B.$\frac{41}{44}$
• C.$\frac{103}{110}$
• D.$\frac{19}{20}$
• E.$\frac{21}{22}$
• F.$\frac{43}{44}$
• G.$\frac{54}{55}$
• H.$\frac{219}{220}$

Answer: B

• A.$2 \le x \le 4$
• B.$-3 \le x \le -1$
• C.$x \le -3$ or $-1 \le x \le 4$
• D.$-3 \le x \le -1$ or $2 \le x \le 4$
• E.$x \le -1$ or $x \ge 2$
• F.$x \le -3$ or $x \ge 4$

Answer: F

• A.$-5-3\sqrt{3}$
• B.$-5+3\sqrt{3}$
• C.$5-3\sqrt{3}$
• D.$5+3\sqrt{3}$

Answer: A

• A.$\frac{4}{9}$
• B.$\frac{5}{9}$
• C.$\frac{2}{3}$
• D.$\frac{5}{6}$
• E.$\frac{8}{9}$
• F.$\frac{4}{3}$

Answer: A

• A.none of them
• B.1 only
• C.2 only
• D.3 only
• E.1 and 2 only
• F.1 and 3 only
• G.2 and 3 only
• H.1, 2 and 3

Answer: C

• A.9
• B.18
• C.54
• D.72
• E.90

Answer: B

• A.$3\sqrt{3}$
• B.$6\sqrt{3}$
• C.$\sqrt{6}$
• D.$3\sqrt{6}$
• E.6
• F.21

Answer: B

• A.$f(x) \le x$ for all real values of $x \le 1$
• B.$f(x) \le x$ for all real values of $x > 1$
• C.$f(x) \le x$ for at least one real value of $x \le 1$
• D.$f(x) \le x$ for at least one real value of $x > 1$
• E.$f(x) > x$ for at least one real value of $x \le 1$
• F.$f(x) > x$ for at least one real value of $x > 1$
• G.$f(x) > x$ for no real values of $x \le 1$
• H.$f(x) \le x$ for no real values of $x > 1$

Answer: D

• A.none of them
• B.1 only
• C.2 only
• D.3 only
• E.1 and 2 only
• F.1 and 3 only
• G.2 and 3 only
• H.1, 2 and 3

Answer: B

• A.none of them
• B.1 only
• C.2 only
• D.3 only
• E.1 and 2 only
• F.1 and 3 only
• G.2 and 3 only
• H.1, 2 and 3

Answer: A