Numerical calculation · Numeracy test · Basic arithmetic test
Timed practice set
5 questions, 4 minutes.
What it measures
Speed and accuracy with arithmetic you already know: adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing whole numbers, decimals, fractions and percentages, and finding a missing number in a short equation. There is no table to read. The pressure is the clock, not the maths.
How it appears
Missing number or operatorA one-line sum with a box in it, such as 7 times a box minus 15 equals 41, and four or five options for the box.
Short word problemTwo or three sentences that set up one or two operations, such as a price, a discount and a second discount.
InteractiveYou type or drag the answer instead of picking it from a list.
Timing
12 questions in 10 minutes.
Other calculation tests run faster: practiceaptitudetests.com describes a 10-minute SHL Verify Calculation test without a question count. Treat 30 to 50 seconds as the range.
Source
SHL Verify Interactive Numerical Calculation: "12 questions that you have to answer within 10 minutes", graduatesfirst.com's SHL Verify guide, read on 14 September 2026.
How to tell it apart
Numerical reasoningNumerical reasoning makes you find the figures in a table or chart before the sum. Calculation hands you the sum already set out.
Working with informationWorking with information asks you to apply written rules to a table and select rows. Calculation asks for one number.
The method
Calculation is won on the estimate and the undo, not on long division.
Read the whole line once. Decide what is missing, a number, an operator or the result.
Estimate to a round number first. The options are usually far enough apart that the estimate picks one and you only confirm it.
For a missing number, undo the operations in reverse order. Move each term across the equals sign with the opposite operation, add for subtract, divide for multiply.
Build percentages from 10 per cent, which is dividing by 10. Five per cent is half of that, 15 per cent is both together, 1 per cent is a hundredth.
Turn fractions into the decimals you know, a quarter is 0.25, an eighth is 0.125, three fifths is 0.6. Find a common denominator only when adding or subtracting fractions.
When multiplying decimals, count the decimal places in both numbers. The answer has the total.
Move on at the pace. A guess between two close options is worth more than a stalled minute.
Traps to know
Order of operations
Multiplication and division happen before addition and subtraction unless brackets say otherwise. Working left to right produces a wrong option that is always offered.
Setup The question reads 6 plus 4 times 3, with no brackets.
The trap Left to right gives 10 times 3, which is 30.
The escape Multiply first: 4 times 3 is 12, then 6 plus 12 is 18.
The drifting decimal point
Multiplying two decimals gives an answer with as many decimal places as both inputs together. Keeping only one input's places makes the answer ten times too big.
Setup The question asks for 0.2 times 0.3.
The trap Writing 0.6, because 2 times 3 is 6 and there is a decimal in the question.
The escape One place plus one place is two places: 0.06.
Percentages of the wrong amount
A second percentage applies to the amount left after the first, not to the original. Taking 20 per cent off and then adding 20 per cent back does not return you to the start.
Setup A £45 item is reduced by 20 per cent, then the reduced price is raised by 20 per cent.
The trap Expecting £45 again.
The escape £45 less 20 per cent is £36. £36 plus 20 per cent of £36 is £43.20.
Dividing by a fraction
Dividing by a half doubles a number; it does not halve it. The option that halves it is always there.
Setup 12 divided by a half.
The trap Answering 6.
The escape How many halves fit in 12? Twenty-four. Dividing by a fraction is multiplying by its reciprocal.
Worked examples
Example 1
What number replaces the box? 7 × ▢ − 15 = 41
A8
B3.71
C56
D5.86
Show the working
The box is multiplied by 7 and then 15 is taken away. Undo in reverse order, the subtraction first.
Add 15 to both sides: 7 times the box is 41 plus 15.
Estimate: 7 times 8 is 56, so the box is about 8. That rules out C and D at once.
Divide both sides by 7: 56 divided by 7.
Check by substituting: 7 times 8 is 56, minus 15 is 41. The answer is A.
Why not the others
B. Subtracting 15 instead of adding it back, then dividing 26 by 7. The undo of a subtraction is an addition.
C. The right first step, 41 plus 15 is 56, but 56 is 7 times the box, not the box.
D. Dividing 41 by 7 straight away, before undoing the subtraction.
Example 2
A jacket priced at £120 is reduced by 15%. In the sale a further 10% is taken off the reduced price. What is the final price?
A£91.80
B£90.00
C£102.00
D£108.00
E£97.20
Show the working
Two reductions, one after the other. The second applies to the price left after the first, not to £120.
First reduction: 15 per cent of £120 is £18 (10 per cent is £12, 5 per cent is £6). £120 less £18.
Estimate: 10 per cent off about £100 is about £90, so the answer is a little over £90. B and A are the candidates.
Second reduction: 10 per cent of £102 is £10.20. £102 less £10.20.
The answer is A. It is not B because the two percentages cannot simply be added.
Why not the others
B. Adding the percentages to 25 per cent and taking that off £120 in one go. The second 10 per cent is of £102, not £120.
C. The price after the first reduction only. The question asks for the price after both.
D. Only the 10 per cent reduction, applied to the original £120.
E. Ten per cent taken off twice, ignoring that the first reduction was 15 per cent.
Ready for the clock?
5 questions, 4 minutes.
Timed drills
5 · 4
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