“I brought my pencil. Give me something to write on.”
– Van Halen, Hot For Teacher
“It was my understanding that there would be no math.”
– Saturday Night Live star Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford, 1976
It’s almost draft time, that time of the year where NFL general managers poke, prod and spend sleepless hours breaking down game film of prospects that will ultimately determine their job security. While Todd McShay, the cleanly-coifed Mel Kiper and the rest of the sports pundits query their crystal balls wondering where each prospect will land, the future booms and busts of the league do whatever they can to ensure their rightful place on an NFL roster.
Running the forty yard dash, bench pressing 225 lbs until your arms quiver and leaping tall buildings in a single bound are all impressive physical feats, however, there is another test future footballers must take to impress the scouts. And it’s a score that sticks with them for the rest of their lives.
The Wonderlic Test is a written, cognitive abilities exam that each draftee must complete in only 12-minutes time. It is designed to give those who invest in the future athlete an idea of what kind of brainiac they’re about to employ. The test contains fifty questions and like any standardized test is riddled with questions that nobody likes to answer.
If you have ever dreamed about making an NFL roster, here’s your chance. I’ll even spare you the bench presses.
Below is a standard Wonderlic Test. And before you start panicking that you’re not good at standardized tests, keep in mind Terrelle Pryor scored a 7 on his. So grab your stopwatch, a pencil and some paper and get ready to see if you’d make the cut or whether you’d forever be labeled an NFL dunce.
Submit your answers to be graded below. I trust you will honor your fellow test takers by allowing yourself 12 minutes on your own honor system.
FYI, I took the test myself and could not complete it in the allotted twelve minutes.
Good luck and um… my people will be in touch.
1. Look at the row of numbers below. What number should come next?
8 4 2 1 ½ ¼ ?
2. Assume the first two statements are true.
The boy plays baseball. All baseball players wear hats.
Is the final one:
The boy wears a hat.
1. true
2. false
3. not certain?
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. What is the next number in the sequence: 3, 8, 18, 38…?
7. A train travels 20 feet in 1/5 second. At this same speed, how many feet will it travel in three seconds?
8. When rope is selling at $.10 a foot, how many feet can you buy for sixty cents?
9. The ninth month of the year is
October January June September May
10. Which number in the following group of numbers represents the smallest amount?
7 .8 31 .33 2
11. 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?
12. The hours of daylight and darkness in SEPTEMBER are nearest equal to the hours of daylight and darkness in:
June March May November
13. 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?
14. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one:
1. True 2. False 3. Not certain?
Tom greeted Beth. Beth greeted Dawn. Tom did not greet Dawn.
15. 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?
16. A physical education class has three times as many girls as boys. During a class basketball game, the girls average 18 points each and the class as a whole averages 17 points per person. How many points does each boy score on average?
17. Randolph has 8 ties, 6 pairs of pants, and 4 dress shirts. How many days could he possibly go without wearing the same combination of these three items?
18. John is a mechanic. He makes $8.50 an hour, plus $3 extra for every oil change he performs. Last week he worked 36 hours and performed 17 oil changes. How much money did he make?
19. A box of staples has a length of 6 cm, a width of 7 cm, and a volume of 378 cm cubed. What is the height of the box?
20. Arnold is about to go on a 500-mile car trip. His mechanic recommends that he buy a special highway engine oil that will save him 50 cents in gas for every 25 miles of the trip. This new oil, however, will cost $20. Is it worthwhile for Arnold to buy the oil if he has a coupon for $4 dollars off the price?
21. Which number is larger: .8, 8, 90, 200?
22. If a cup of pancake mix makes 2 pancakes, how many pancakes can be made with 3 cups of pancake mix?
23. An airplane travels 100 miles per hour. How long will the airplane take to travel 300 miles?
24. A gallon of gas costs $2.50. How many gallons of gas can be purchased with $5?
25. A 10 year old Ford truck has 100,000 miles on the engine when the transmission fails on the truck. There are two replacements available- one transmission will last for 20 years, or 50,000 miles, and the other transmission will last for 8 years, or 75,000 miles. Given the current average yearly mileage on this truck, which transmission would last the longest?
26. A rocket engine that takes off from earth burns 10,000 pounds of fuel in 15 minutes, and is able to lift 20,000 pounds total for that time period (including the rocket fuel itself). If a payload that weighs 20,000 pounds is needed to be transported for one hour, and unused rocket engines are dropped in stages after their fuel has been exhausted, how many rocket engines must be used to transport the payload for that time period?
27. How many of the five pairs listed below are exact duplicates?
Bologna AND Balogna
Malicious AND Malicious
Firearm AND Fiream
Space Shuttle AND Space Huttle
Gray AND Green
28. 7 months of the year have 31 days, and 4 have 30 days. What month has only 28 days?
29. Do the words retire and inspire have opposite meanings, similar meanings, or no relation?
30. Do the words hypothesis and theory have opposite meanings, similar meanings, or no relation?
31. Choose the verb that correctly completes the sentence:
Have you ________ the painting yet? A) Finish B) Finishes C) Finishing D) Finished
32. 56/4=
A) 16 B) 9 C) 14 D) 23
33. The 5:15 train takes 2 hours and 10 minutes to get to Graystone. Today the train will be late. What time will it get to Graystone?
A) 7:15 B) 7:05 C) 7:25 D) 7:40
34. Choose the answer that most nearly means the same as the underlined word:
An inaccuracy is a:
A) Mistake B) Type of Medicine C) Prison D) Chance Happening
35. A synonym of firmament is:
A) Ground B) River C) Sky D) Future
36. Find two words, one from each group, that are closest in meaning.
Group A: raise floor stairs
Group B: top elevate basement
A. raise and elevate
B. raise and top
C. floor and basement
D. stairs and top
E. floor and elevate
37. The day before the day before yesterday is three days after Saturday. What day is it today?
A. Monday B. Tuesday C. Wednesday D. Thursday E. Friday
38. Which number should come next in the series?
1 3 6 10 15
A. 8
B. 11
C. 24
D. 21
E. 27
39. What is the next number in the sequence: 3, 8, 18, 38…?
40. What is the next number in the sequence: 5, 9, 17,33,…?
41. Peyton Manning threw for 1,126 yards in his first four games. At this rate, how many yards will he throw for in sixteen games?
A) 5,204
B) 4,504
C) 4,204
D) 4,704
42. Which number does not belong?
4 32 144 17 28 122 18 64 188 322 14 202
43. Select the number that best completes the analogy
10:6 :: 3:?
A. 2
B. 1
C. -1
D. 12
E. 4
44. Last year, 12 out of 600 employees at a service organization were rewarded for their excellence in customer service, which was ____ of the employees.
A) 1% B) 2% C) 3% D) 4% E) 6%
45. What is the average of: 12, 15, 23, 10
A. 10
B. 15
C. 16
D. 12
E. 20
46. -37 + -47 equals:
A. 64
B. -84
C. 65
D. -75
E. -66
47. Which of the following numbers represents the greatest amount: 6, 6.0, 0.600, 60?
48. If the first two statements are true, is the final statement true?
Sandra is responsible for ordering all office supplies.
Notebooks are office supplies.
Sandra is responsible for ordering notebooks.
A) yes B) no C) uncertain
49. Some months have 30 days, others have 31 days. How many months have 28 days in them?
50. Divide 30 by half. Add 10. Multiply by 3. Add 6. What is does this equal?
Extra Credit: What is your favorite website?
Love the Wonderlic Test , ! Unfortunately , it cannot predict the predilection of morons such as Darren Sharper , Donte Stallworth , Rae Carruth and others who over the years ran afoul of the law and then sought to apportion blame elsewhere . Sharper’s lawyer , Blair Berk is now alleging that each of her client’s victims willingly acquiesced to wanting have sex with Sharper as well as part-taking in drugs of their choice . Surely. s she’s not asserting that all nine victims so far , all wanted a part Darren Sharper’s “block and tackle” while doing “roofies” ?
Conference tournaments seem to be going OK at the moment . Any marquee programs you believe that are likely to miss the NCAA Tournament ?
Sharper’s attorney has her work cut out for her, Al. That’s for sure. I wonder how much time that guy is going to end up getting.
Hmmm, marquee programs? Not so sure. I know Syracuse shot themselves in the foot with a late collapse. They were a lock for a number one seed. After dropping five of their last seven, they may have fallen to a three.
And how about Stan Heath and USF? That entire athletic program is pathetic. I’m thinking of submitting my application for their head basketball coaching position. I’d have that program back in shape in no time.
Chris, I’ve wondered often how the Wonderlic can really determine drafting preference. But then again, I am not an educator. There must be some degree of credence to it for it having survived this long. The NFL is far from dumb.
If memory serves, Pat McInally, a receiver from Harvard, is the only player to have aced it. I was able to get most of the answers, if not under the time constraint.
If you can run fast, throw accurately, kick consistently, block those as big as you, and read a defense, I can’t see how two trains leaving Penn Station at the same time…….
Thanks for the post. It was fun.
Yeah, after seeing what these tests are like, Jimmy, I’m not too sure how much value they have. I mean, you can have a pretty shrewd guy who just doesn’t happen to be any good at numbers, or logic, and he’ll have a tough time with some of these questions.
I meant what I said. I couldn’t answer all fifty questions in 12 minutes and I have a damn Masters degree.
Either way, if Clowney tallies a low score, I’m pretty sure he’ll still be a top pick.
The Wonderlic is like the wheel , you can try to reinvent it , but in essence , it will always remain the same .
Were Syracuse caught napping or simply tripped over their own laces because of Boeheim’s complacency ?
I can only surmise that Buster Olney has nothing better to do with his time rather than to make himself look a real idiot . He’s trying to suggest that Babe Ruth was a social reformer at the height of his playing days , because he befriended Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and frequented the Cotton Club in Harlem . A far cry from Ruth’s on-field antics however, as it related to race relations and the integration of baseball . If he were ready for that path , how is it that he did not champion that particular call for the game to be integrated ? How much of a damn moron is that particular ESPN employee (Buster Olney) ?
Buster Olney is a complete @@s , who hides behind anecdotes, in order to avoid to show his lack of intelligence . I’ve yet to hear him speak candidly on why he has never really reported in-depth on any part of the steroid era . Instead, it has been rather innocuous pieces on Roger Clemens , Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez .
Would Robinson been able to have visited a white owned establishment in in NYC without being questioned by the staff or proprietor even he was known to be an entertainer ? Never mind , Bill Robinson trying to pull a move like that in the Deep South during that era .
Al…
I wonder why football players don’t bring crib sheets with ’em into the Wonderlic examination room. I mean, they bring fakes penises in with them to take drug tests. What’s the difference?
I didn’t hear the Olney comments but what, he’s saying Babe Ruth hung out with black folks? What does that have anything to do with anything?
Olney is an @ss !
I am not so sure what the hell is happening with that USF Bulls’ program , but it looks as if they can’t do anything right , on or off the court , under Stan Heath .
I’m sorry, but how does Jay Cutler now become the highest earning quarterback in the league based on his career record ? Pardon me for saying this , but if testing for PED’s is not going to be made mandatory by the NFL , even though the league and union agreed to in and out of season testing in 2010. Then , I now believe it is time for the entire front office staff of the league’s thirty-two teams to undergo an intelligence test , as prescribed US MENSA Organization ! Someone has to justify the stupidity (Cutler’s contract) within the Bears’ front office .
Another date with destiny within the NBA . Left you a response with the ever improving Bulls , who somehow you don’t believe that they can be of any danger to either the Heat or Pacers ? They have dealt with both teams handily this season and exposed flaws in both .
tophatal …………………
The USF sports program is in flux, Al. New AD, new football coach and a basketball coach to be named later. There’s no reason they should be as bad as they were this year. They’re football team was 2-6 in conference while their basketball team went 3-15. No wonder people are losing their jobs.
Cutler’s the highest paid QB based on his record? Does that mean his team is paying him the most per win? I’m surprised that honor doesn’t go to Romo.
I knew that USF had some serious issues , but not to the level of where it’s now at ! Unbelievable , the level of incompetency now taking place there , in terms of the athletics’ department and amongst the administration as a whole . What the hell is Bulls’ President , Judy Genshaft actually doing, beyond pulling down over $200,000 a year ?
Bulls’ AD Mark Harlan needs to hung , if not castrated .
tophatal ………………..
Chris
Bears’ GM Phil Emery and George McCaskey , son-in-law of Bears’ founder George Halas must be using . I wasn’t aware that they’d legalized marijuana in the state of Illinois as of yet ? Those two (Emery & McCaskey) have to be seen as the ” Cheech and Chong” after this asinine move ! Six years $126 million for Jay Cutler ?
I hear Knicks’ owner , James Dolan wants a ticker-tape parade after the organization acquired Phil Jackson ? What does this now mean for Jeanie Buss ? Does she ” support her man” (Phil) or carry on with business as usual as, a SVP & Head of Business Operations for the Lakers while elder sibling, Jim Buss ruins the franchise ?
Jerry Buss must be spinning his grave and livid, in seeing what kids (all four) have done to the franchise , since his death .
tophatal ……………..
Colts’ owner , Jim Irsay continues to be an embarrassment to himself and to the franchise . Another DUI arrest and all of this , from someone who’s said to be a recovering alcoholic and chronic drug abuser .
The league hierarchy can punish players for that type of misconduct , but somehow, team executives and owners remain untouchable ? What sort of bulll#hit is that to begin with ?
tophatal …………
I notice that your NCAA Brackets’ competition is already up ? What’s the deadline . because it’ll take me a while to break down my own brackets as I haven’t been closely watching the teams for this season ?
No ticker tape for Phil in NYC ? Oh I forgot the Knicks haven’t won anything as of yet !
A parade FOR Phil Jackson, Al? Why don’t they let him see what he can do first. Rome was not built in a day.
I’ll have my thoughts up on Irsay in a bit. But why would the league do something about it? I heard ESPN suggest Goodell may take action. Like what?
And so far, believe it or not, most of my brackets are intact. But today’s another day.