A controversial question came in a Government job exam

[Hall]

Here is the question :

1. Consider the following statements:

1. 1. Vietnam has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world in the recent years.
   2. Vietnam is led by a multi-party political system.
   3. Vietnam’s economic growth is linked to its integration with global supply chains and focus on exports.
   4. For a long time Vietnam’s low labour costs and stable exchange rates have attracted global manufacturers.
   5. Vietnam has the most productive e-service sector in the Indo-Pacific region.

Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 2 and 4

(b) 3 and 5

(c) 1 and 2

(d) 1, 3 and 4

The examinees argued that that question is far too more general, and cannot be studied, the commission, which holds the exam, replied “Anyone who reads the newspaper everyday can easily solve that question”.

I personally think that that question is not solvable by anyone else than the question maker himself.

What are your views on putting such a question on exams which will qualify students for District -head-like job?

 

[Office_Shredder]

It seems like a bad question to me, but i think the answer is d, and i do agree with the assertion (plus you need good test taking skills to figure out you can rule out the choices with a 2). That doesn't make it a good question for a test unless it's intended to test your general world knowledge.

 

[Gatun]

(d)

 

[Hall]

It seems like a bad question to me, but i think the answer is d, and i do agree with the assertion (plus you need good test taking skills to figure out you can rule out the choices with a 2). That doesn't make it a good question for a test unless it's intended to test your general world knowledge.

Yes, the answer given in Answer Key is (d).

I know we can eliminate options involving Statement 2, but Statements 1, 3, 4 and 5 are far too vague. The low-labour cost thing and exports are usually associated with China. Statement 1 says "in the recent years", and I think almost all of ASEAN countries would satisfy Statement 1, but knowing "fastest" is quite esoteric.

What kind of people would be able to eliminate Statement 5 with all confidence?

 

[Frabjous]

For me 3 and 4 sounded correct which left me with d. I also found the word “most” in 5 problematic.

 

[Hall]

For me 3 and 4 sounded correct which left me with d. I also found the word “most” in 5 problematic.

Statement 3 and 4 are correct for almost all countries which are globalised, I think. But why did they ask it specifically for Vietnam is a little unusual.

 

[Vanadium 50]

(2) is incorrect. Therefore (a) and (c) are incorrect.

(3) is irrelevant, since (b) and (d0 both include it.
(1) is true (and arguably unfalsifiable) so the answer is (D).

You only need to know 2 of the 5 facts being tested to get this one right.

 

[Office_Shredder]

I think it's also obvious that 4 is more true than 5 to be honest.

Like, Vietnam is supposed to out compete China in making internet apps? Versus I knew that Vietnam was becoming a country of choice for manufacturers who didn't want to put up with China anymore (too expensive labor, regulations can suck, reputational risk)

 

[Jarvis323]

I think it's also obvious that 4 is more true than 5 to be honest.

Like, Vietnam is supposed to out compete China in making internet apps? Versus I knew that Vietnam was becoming a country of choice for manufacturers who didn't want to put up with China anymore (too expensive labor, regulations can suck, reputational risk)

For 4 to be true, the causes must include Vietnam having a stable exchange rate though. I.e. it would be valid if 4 was false and Vietnam had been a major global manufacturing hub, yet exchange rate stability wasn't a contributing factor.

And for 5 it is about productivity, so Vietnam wouldn't need to outcompete anyone or even have a large e-services sector, they would just need to make more profit for the same investment.

 

[Jarvis323]

(2) is incorrect. Therefore (a) and (c) are incorrect.

(3) is irrelevant, since (b) and (d0 both include it.
(1) is true (and arguably unfalsifiable) so the answer is (D).

You only need to know 2 of the 5 facts being tested to get this one right.

You would also have to have known (4) to be true to complete your deduction. In that case you didn't need to know (2) though. Or if you knew (5) was false you could have deduced it without knowing (1) or (4).

It is true you only need to know 2 facts though. E.g. (1,4) or (2,5) are sufficient.

 

[hutchphd]

I personally think that that question is not solvable by anyone else than the question maker himself.

What kind of people would be able to eliminate Statement 5 with all confidence?

Its a multiple choice test. Best answer is (d). Some folks are just not good at taking tests...

 

[collinsmark]

Its a multiple choice test. Best answer is (d). Some folks are just not good at taking tests...

I don't know. Some multiple choice questions can be intentionally tricky, if you don't know the subject matter.

The eigenvalues of a Hermitian operator are:
1. always imaginary, without exception.
2. have an artistic proclivity and tend to be good painters and sculptors.
3. can have both real and imaginary components, generally speaking.
4. are portrayed as being timid in popular fiction.
5. are always real, without exception.

(a) 1
(b) 1 and 4
(c) 2 and 4
(d) 3
(e) 3 and 4
(f) 2 and 5
(g) 5

(I really wish, for fun, somebody would have put T/F "The eigenvalues of a Hermitian operator are always real," on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI] exam.)

 

[Vanadium 50]

There is, of course, the famous self-referential aptitude test.

1. The first question whose answer is B is question
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

2. The only two consecutive questions with identical answers are questions
(A) 6 and 7 (B) 7 and 8 (C) 8 and 9 (D) 9 and 10 (E) 10 and 11

3. The number of questions with the answer E is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3 (E) 4

4. The number of questions with the answer A is
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 6 (D) 7 (E) 8

5. The answer to this question is the same as the answer to question
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

6. The answer to question 17 is
(A) C (B) D (C) E (D) none of the above (E) all of the above

7. Alphabetically, the answer to this question and the answer to the
following question are
(A) 4 apart (B) 3 apart (C) 2 apart (D) 1 apart (E) the same

8. The number of questions whose answers are vowels is
(A) 4 (B) 5 (C) 6 (D) 7 (E) 8

9. The next question with the same answer as this one is question
(A) 10 (B) 11 (C) 12 (D) 13 (E) 14

10. The answer to question 16 is
(A) D (B) A (C) E (D) B (E) C

11. The number of questions preceding this one with the answer B is
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3 (E) 4

12. The number of questions whose answer is a consonant is
(A) an even number (B) an odd number
(C) a perfect square (D) a prime
(E) divisible by 5

13. The only odd-numbered problem with answer A is
(A) 9 (B) 11 (C) 13 (D) 15 (E) 17

14. The number of questions with answer D is
(A) 6 (B) 7 (C) 8 (D) 9 (E) 10

15. The answer to question 12 is
(A) A (B) B (C) C (D) D (E) E

16. The answer to question 10 is
(A) D (B) C (C) B (D) A (E) E

17. The answer to question 6 is
(A) C (B) D (C) E (D) none of the above (E) all of the above

18. The number of questions with answer A equals the number of questions
with answer
(A) B (B) C (C) D (D) E (E) none of the above

19. The answer to this question is:
(A) A (B) B (C) C (D) D (E) E

20. Standardized test is to intelligence as barometer is to
(A) temperature (only)
(B) wind-velocity (only)
(C) latitude (only)
(D) longitude (only)
(E) temperature, wind-velocity, latitude, and longitude

 

[Hall]

It is quite easy for Americans to answer OP as it is about Vietnam (though no one can tell me where exactly they have read "Vietnam has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world in the recent years"). In the same exam, and with equal protests from the students and the same assertion came from the Commission, the following question too falls in

Consider the following statements:

1. Bidibidi is a large refugee settlement in north-western Kenya.

2. Some people who fled from South Sudan civil war live in Bidibidi.

3. Some people who fled from civil war in Somalia live in Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3

(d) 3 only

Here, your situation might be same as for those students about that Vietnam question.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Vietnam has 100,000,000 people. Bidibidi has a few hundred thousand.

 

[Bystander]

Vietnam has 100,000,000 people.

Say again?!

 

[Vanadium 50]

Say again?!

Vietnam has 100 million people. Why is this odd?

 

[Office_Shredder]

The population of all Asian nations is about 3x what the average American would guess, other than China India and maybe japan

 

[Vanadium 50]

Vietnam has about the population of Japan of the Philippines. I'd expect an observant American to guess that.

Or do a Fermi calculation: 4 billion Asians, - less half that for China and India and you have 2B over ~50 countries, That gets you 40 m,illion on average. Double it for big countries and you get pretty close.

 

[Vanadium 50]

And besides - "a country everybody has heard of" vs. "a refugee camp" Which is bigger? By how many orders of magnitude?

 

[Bystander]

Say again?!

I stand corrected, seem to have been locked in the past.

 

[WWGD]

In general, i.e., not quite for this question, but useful for others, I remember the rule of thumb:
In exams for Government jobs, for multiple-choice questions, the longest answer is usually the correct one

 

[Hornbein]

I can do quite well on tests on subjects about which I know nothing. It has to do with sensing the psychology of the person who wrote the test.

 

[Hornbein]

Vietnam has about the population of Japan of the Philippines. I'd expect an observant American to guess that.

Actually Japan has 150 million, a lot more. The population of Japan is the same as Russia's.

I lived in Tokyo and its amazing how uncrowded it seems.

 

[WWGD]

Actually Japan has 150 million, a lot more. The population of Japan is the same as Russia's.

I lived in Tokyo and its amazing how uncrowded it seems.

I thought Japan's was around 130 million. Bangladesh, otoh, has around 150 million, in an area around that of NY State.

 

[hutchphd]

I beliave Japan is slightly less than 130 million and has negative slope.

 

[Hornbein]

I thought Japan's was around 130 million. Bangladesh, otoh, has around 150 million, in an area around that of NY State.

Huh, I don't remember where I got 150 million for Japan. Russia really is 150 million.

The first online reference dismayed me with this shocking news.

While we are at it, Nigeria has a lot more than Russia at 217 million while Alaska has 20% less land area than does Mexico.

 

[Office_Shredder]

While we are at it, Nigeria has a lot more than Russia at 217 million while Alaska has 20% less land area than does Mexico.

Speaking of being very uninformed, I remember when I was seven or so learning a bunch of facts about Alaska at school, and somehow when I came home the one that stuck with me was that the state flag was larger than the land area of Texas. I was very impressed that they were able to fly it.

My parents gently suggested that I might be wrong, but they were (in my mind) fools who hadn't been to school for years, so what did they know. I actually am not sure when I finally realized my mistake.

 

[WWGD]

Huh, I don't remember where I got 150 million for Japan. Russia really is 150 million.

The first online reference dismayed me with this shocking news. View attachment 304285

While we are at it, Nigeria has a lot more than Russia at 217 million while Alaska has 20% less land area than does Mexico.

Why does it display India's population ( upper left) as 0?

 

[Hornbein]

Why does it display India's population ( upper left) as 0?

Shocking, yes?

 

[Tom.G]

Why does it display India's population ( upper left) as 0?

Censorship.(?)

It seems that India is leaning towards a dictatorship, which is much easier if the masses are kept ignorant.

This link is actually to a text article with an audio option.


(above, and many more, found with:
https://www.google.com/search?&q=censorship+in+india)

Cheers(?),
Tom

 

[dextercioby]

I cannot believe that the Indian Govt would censor the estimated number of inhabitants. Perhaps it was 0 there because they were supposed to have a census in 2021 (which, due to CoViD had to be postponed, as it happened in Romania, for example). Either way, even if the Govt won't say how many inhabitants live within their borders, the UN is pretty sure that at the beginning of 2024 the population of India will be bigger in number than the population of China. And both of them will be almost 3 billion when added.

 

[StatGuy2000]

To the OP:

I agree that the question is somewhat poorly worded. For example, in multiple choice #1:

1. Vietnam has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world in the recent years.

This is an assertion that requires a definition of what is meant by "recent years" (the last 2 years, last 5 years, last 10 years), as well as a source for the assertion.

Similarly, for multiple choice option #4 below:

• For a long time Vietnam’s low labour costs and stable exchange rates have attracted global manufacturers.

What is meant by a "long time"?

If these statements can be re-worded to be more precise, then I think the question itself is valid.