Can You Pass the Test?

The following questions are provided by Wonderlic, Inc - the company in charge of creating the infamous "Wonderlic Test" which is basically the SAT for athletes. Before I give you my opinion on such a test and the mental capacity of athletes, here are some questions that you all should try. Set a timer for 4 minutes and 30 seconds and give it a go. The answers will be at the bottom...

1. Look at the column of numbers below. What number should come next?
   8
   4
   2
   1
   ½
   ¼
   ?



2. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one:
   1. true,
   2. false,
   3. not certain? The boy plays baseball. All baseball players wear hats. The boy wears a hat.



3. Paper sells for 21 cents per pad. What will four pads cost?



4. How many of the five pairs of items listed below are exact duplicates?
   Nieman, K.M.
   Neiman, K.M.
   Thomas, G.K.
   Thomas, C.K.
   Hoff, J.P.
   Hoff, J.P.
   Pino, L.R.
   Pina, L.R.
   Warner, T.S.
   Wanner, T.S.



5. RESENT & RESERVE Do these words 1.) have similar meanings, 2.) have contradictory meanings, 3.) mean neither the same nor opposite?



6. A train travels 20 feet in 1/5 second. At this same speed, how many feet will it travel in three seconds?



7. When rope is selling at $.10 a foot, how many feet can you buy for sixty cents?



8. The ninth month of the year is
   1. October,
   2. January,
   3. June,
   4. September,
   5. May



9. Which number in the following group of numbers represents the smallest amount?
   7
   .8
   31
   .33
   2



10. In printing an article of 48,000 words, a printer decides to use two sizes of type. Using the larger type, a printed page contains 1,800 words. Using smaller type, a page contains 2,400 words. The article is allotted 21 full pages in a magazine. How many pages must be in smaller type?



11. The hours of daylight and darkness in SEPTEMBER are nearest equal to the hours of daylight and darkness in:



12. Three individuals form a partnership and agree to divide the profits equally. X invests $9,000, Y invests $7,000, Z invests $4,000. If the profits are $4,800, how much less does X receive than if the profits were divided in proportion to the amount invested?



13. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one:
    1. true,
    2. false,
    3. not certain? [Statement: Tom greeted Beth. Beth greeted Dawn. Tom did not greet Dawn.]



14. A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years old, what will be the age of his sister?

ANSWERS:

1. 1/8


2. True
   
3. 84 cents
   
4. 1
   
5. 3
   
6. 300 feet
   
7. 6 feet
   
8. September
   
9. .33
   
10. 17
    
11. March
    
12. $560
    
13. not certain
    
14. 40 years old
    

Now that you have an idea of how easy the test is, you wonder how some of the people we idol in the world of sports, perform so badly on such a test. Take for example Vince Young - one of the most flashy and athletic quarterbacks to play in college football. He scored one of the lowest possible scores you could receive on the test. Suddenly, I am not rooting for him any more. To me, you go to college and play sports as a Student-Athlete - student first, athlete second... not the other way around. I am not saying that I only root for athletes with 4.0 GPA's and outstanding SAT scores, I am merely implying that we should re-think the way that we idolize certain athletes.

Take for example another infamous athlete... Adam "Pac-Man" Jones.

Is Mr. Jones a model for all citizens to emulate? Absolutely not. One of the most exciting players to watch on the football fields? Hell yeah! Should he get paid a multi-million dollar contract after paralyzing a strip club owner and turning in a sub-par wonderlic score? Not in a million years...

I'm not here to say that the Wonderlic Test should be a benchmark for how much athletes get paid, but we are the ones who are to blame for Jone's return in the NFL, not Jerry Jones, and not the Dallas Cowboys. Our excitement and love for such a player's on-field success creates momentum and a backing for a player so that he can use in "times of need". We, as fans of the game, put more fuel to the already burning fire. Just think America, if sports fans turned on Jone's like they did when Mike Vick was arrested for his dog fighting, Adam Jones would not set foot on another football field ever again. Talk about taking action.