Qantas, why don't YOU answer the damn question???

[YardGlass]

Anyone at Qantas, (esp. interviewers) please answer the following question in less than 5 seconds, without use of a calculator, pen or paper.

16 x 19 = ???

I doubt any of them can do it. I sure as hell cannot. So, if anyone can do these multiplications mentally (don't you need 4 lines and a zero added somewhere?!) please could you answer here the "formula" you use in your head, if that is possible to do in writing.

Obviously, a well trained brain capable of mental arithmetic is an asset as a pilot, but "big" multiplications are dumb, dumb, dumb qustions to ask at interview.

Thank you,

a worried YardGlass.

[Woomera]

Errrm

16 x 19 = ?

16 x 20 = 320-19 = 301

About 5 secs.

Think outside the square.

[flightbunny]

wrong, it is 304!!!!;)

[Stiff Under Carriage]

Woomera,

Had the right method just plugged in the wrong numbers,

SU/C

[Woomera]

:D

That'll teach me to be such a smarta@se.:rolleyes:

Goes off to write "I must thimk before being a smarta@se" 100 times.:p

Glad you got the point.:)

[YardGlass]

Thanks Woom, I will try to use your method. (although I hope I actually get the answer correct!)


Capt to F/O: "Oh no, we are only seconds away from sure death on this terrible approach. :( If only we knew the square root of 188363. Our father who arnt in heaven......"

F/O to Capt: "Never fear, I'm a new hire. I can crunch big numbers! I'll save us!"
:cool:

[onya]

16x20=320.....less 16=304.
Onya:o

[Woomera]

YardGlass

If the Capt is worried about square roots only seconds before death then it just wasn't your day. Somebody in rostering was just trying to get square. :cool:

You should therefore choose your Captains carefully, the ones with a tics, tourettes, rolling ball bearings around in their hands and who hold prayer sessions before TO are definitely the ones to watch. :D

[Keg]

Yardie, care to tell us what the question before that and the question after that were?

Also, the question may have been in response to something in your psych test about dealing with issues where you can't see an answer quickly and how you react. QF do 'behavioural' interviews and so often a question which has no meaning to you has a BIG meaning to them in confirming or blasting something which may have cropped up eslewhere- either through the psych test or in the interview.

A mate of mine has done interviews in the past (not sure if he is still doing them but G'day Baghdad if you are) and don't think he will mind me re-telling this story. He once told me how a bloke had rattled off all the capital cities along the Kangaroo route. Someone said 'you're geograhpical knowledge is pretty good', candidates response was 'I pride myself on knowing everything about QFs operation'. As a result of that, next question was what's the capital of PNG? don't know that? How about NZ? Don't know that either. Care to re-visit your earlier statement about 'pride' etc? The point is, the bloke was posing.

Anyway, that is about all I know about the interview system. Who knows what they were looking for. Just hope that you show'd them that you'd be a decent S/O and make a decent Captain one day.

[Kaptin M]

Think about it, Yardy...16x19 looks difficult - 16x20 looks easier, and gives us a faster answer (hopefully).
But do we subtract 16 OR 19 from 320.
Knowing that 6x9=54 SHOULD give you the clue.

And in reply to Keg's example "What's the capital of New Zealand? - the answer of course is The Gold Coast on the Main Island (of course you knew that N.Z. is comprised of 3 islands - the North Island, the South Island, and the Main Island).

I can still remember my 2nd interview with TAA back in the dim dark past. Sitting before a "panel" of senior Captains, answering the usual questions eg"What type of aeroplane are you flying now? How much fuel does it carry when full? Do you know what the type of (TAA) aircraft was that you flew down to Melbourne today?" All reasonable sort of stuff, when unexpectedly one of them who had said nothing shot this one at me, "How fast would you have to fly from East to West to maintain the same relative distance from the sun?".

As Keg has indicated, it's often not the CORRECT answer that they're looking for, but HOW you answer it, and how you BEHAVE when out of your depth.

A word of advice to all of you prospective airline.
You would not have been called in for an interview unless you were considered SUITABLE in the first instance.
They don't need to "fill seats" just to make up the numbers. That would be a waste of their time.
The truth is, they would probably take ALL of you, if some of you didn't talk YOURSELVES out of the job.
Go into the interview aware of the above, and don't rush an answer to a question about which you THINK you know nothing. :cool:

Best of Luck to any of you heading off for interviews.

[Buster Hyman]

Now, if the question was; "You've just realised that for the last 16 months, you've been short changed by $19 . How much does the company owe you???" I bet you'd get it right straight away!! ;) :D :D :D

[I Fly]

In addition to the previously mentioned interview tactics there IS a practical a practical application on mental number crunching. It doesn't matter if you use the prayer wheel or an electronic calculator. You need to know roughly the answer in your head. Just a couple of days ago one of my students had to work out the pressure and density height. QNH 15 mb below ISA. He did use an electronic calculator 15 X 30 = 45 ?? He did not even realize his mistake. Sad.

[Proceed As Cleared]

16 x 19

hmmm...

10 x 30=300 + 4= 304

:D

[gaunty]

A word hof advice to all hof me Uncle Jamal prospective airline pilots.
yous would not ave beun called in fer an interview unless me Uncle Jamal were considered SUITABLE in da first instance.
They don't need to "fill seats" just to make up da numbers. dat would be a waste hof their time.
da truf is, they would probably take ALL hof me Uncle Jamal, if some hof me Uncle Jamal didn't talk yourSELVES out hof da job.
Go into da interview aware hof da above, hand don't rush an answa to a question about which me Uncle Jamal THINK me Uncle Jamal know nothing.

me Julie she is goin to an interview wif British Airways fer a job as an air hostess, but is worried dat she might ave to give da pilots more 'dan just hot coffee hand stuff.
me told in da house if they so much as looked at ha da wrong way me would get well angry.

So if da mun who is doin da interview ask any fer real hard questions me Uncle Jamal should ask em if they know da answa or is they just tryin to check it out wivout havin to look it up in a book emsleves.

Dat way me Uncle Jamal will check out whetha me Uncle Jamal is goin to work wif cleva people dig yourself or whetha they is tryin to get someone smart to do their dirty work fer em.

Respect Capt A. G.

[gaunty]

Just fer da record, me ave put me previous post through da Ali G translator.
For anyone who doesn't know who Ali G is they is missin out on some great fun.
They should go to Google hand type in Ali G.
He is hilarious.

me was not takin da **** out hof anyone, just havin a bit hof fun.

Respect Capt A.G.

BTW here is Alis' take on PPRuNe.

The Professional Pilots Rumour Network (PPRuNe) is a website deditaced to professional pilots hand those who is considerin a autoea as a pilot. da main focal point is da The Bulletin Board wear there is ova 70 forums.

Air Traffic Controllers, Engineers, Cabin Crew, Operations, Crewin hand Rosterin staff is also here me now as well as anybody else wif a connection or interest in professional aviation.

PPRuNe was originally set up by Danny Fyne, an airline pilot wif a background in pooters, as a focal point fer otha pilots hand Wannabes wif access to da wales Wide Web.

Since late 1995 PPRuNe has grown from a small, geezerually updated message board into a multi ferum, fully automated bulletin board wif ova 13 squillion page views a month.

Internationally renowned as a source hof news hand rumours, PPRuNe is now one hof da most widely read sites fer pilots hand airline geezeragement.

Although most contributors to PPRuNe prefa to remain anonymous, geezery regular 'PPRuNers is senior pilots, geezeragers and trainers wif da major airlines hof da wales as well as wif Air Traffic Services hand ancillary professions.

We aim to keep PPRuNe as simple to use hand wivout too geezery graphics to keep download times as fast as possible

let it rip in da house if me Uncle Jamal cannot see da Nav bar on da left


:D

[scruzer]

bout 2 seconds here and I'm no maths wiz.

Method as per previous posts, but broken down by 1 more step:

10 x 16 = 160 x 2 = 320 - 16 = 304.

Try practicing these types of mental Q's Yardy and you will find they get a lot easier.

The trick is to break them down to something a lot more immediately recognisable by your brain.

And yes simple mental arithmetic ability is definately an advantage up the front end.


cheers

scruz

[Torres]

Ah, maths! one of my favourite subjects.

Three pilots walking past a pilot shop saw a whiz wheel advertised for $30 and decided to buy. They each gave the shop assistant $10.

3 x $10 = $30.

As they left, the pilot shop manager told the sales assistant the whiz wheel was really only $25 and he should refund $5 to the three pilots.

Now the shop attendant (who previously worked for CASA) could not divide $5 by 3 to give a refund to each of the pilots. So, CASA trained, he pocketed $2.00 and gave the pilots back $1.00 each.

So ..... the pilots paid $10 less $1 refund = $9

3 x $9 = $27

The CASA trained shop assistant pocketed $2.00.

$27 paid by the pilots, plus $2 pocketed by the shop assistant equals ..... er .... $29

Now, where in hell did I lose $1??????????? :mad:

Whilst Gaunty goes looking in his pockets, between cushions and in the car ash trays for the missing dollar, in less than two seconds:

25 squared? Easy 625
45 squared? Easy 2,025

How?

25 squared: 20 x 30 plus 25 = 625
45 squared: 40 x 50 plus 24 = 2,025

So, 65 squared equals 60 x 70 + 25 = 4,225

Simple, isn’t it?
:D :D

[Torres]

Gaunty. That Ali G is a scream. http://www.alig.com/

The Second Commandment according to Moses: REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY. ON THE SEVENTH DAY THOU SHALT NOT WORK.

The Second Commandment according to Ali G: REMEMBER EVERY SECOND FRIDAY IN EVERY MONTH COZ DAT IZ WHEN ME HOLD DE JUNGLE ALL NIGHTA AT DE CROOKED BILLET IN IVER HEATH - 5 SQUID ON DE DOOR, FIRST 1000 LADIES FREE.

Another gem: Check dis, me iz hactually got me own web sight. Da hadress off it iz www.alig.com (Dis iz not a real haddress dat u can hactually visit, so don’t say get in a taxi ask to be taken dere or u may driven round Barkshire all day and it might cost u as much as maybe £384-70)

Here’s Ali G – Second picture, top row - lucky sod! :D

http://217.199.172.8/images/photos_07.gif

[YardGlass]

Thanks alot guys,

I've got alot more out of my thread than I ever intended! Keg, I actually haven't gone for my interview yet (soon), I got the question off a mate of mine who, after having no idea how to go about answering under the pressure, just made up some (any) number and blurted it out. (sorry J!) His face then proceeded to turn tomato-like and the interview went down hill from then. He failed. I guess you are spot on about it not being the correct answer they're looking for, rather how (or even if!) you go about answering it.

I will re-open this thread after my interveiw with some updates about the types of questions etc.

Thanks again for the help, and good luck to any others stressing about thier looming stage 2.

YardGlass.

PS actually I hope everyone eles fails, too much damn competition!:D

[gaunty]

wicked.:D

[Feather #3]

Y/G

May I make the observation that one tends to be looking at an understanding of the 'order of numbers' in this sort of case.

In these days of calculator trained folk, there is a disturbing trend in youth to have no idea if the number that comes from their crunching is remotely correct. It has already caused a major kerfuffal in QF some years ago. I'd suggest that the concept of both mental shortcuts and a rough order of numbers [eg. "I'm not that quick, but it's about 300 odd" to use the quoted example] is adequate to satisfy the interviewer.

It does leave one open, of course, to the question of not being accurate, but a followup that you'd do the math precisely if absolute accuracy was required should suffice.

Hope that helps a bit.

G'day & Good Luck!! :cool:

[shaablamm]

So 15 x 20 =300.

But if I was needing a degree of accuracy I would take my permanent marker from my chest pocket and proceed to do the arithmatic on the Captains back asking the FO to observe my progress through the difficult task and possible agreeance in the affirmative with the result?

My maths is about as crap as my english. Thanx to feather #3 I have seen the light. However I have just been informed that thanks to budget cuts the light has just been extinguished.

Agreeance in the affirmative?? Hmmmm. Raises the question what is agreeance in the negative or disagreeance in the affirmative. A little proof reading perhaps?

Just thought I would get in before anyone else.

[Whiskery]

Torres !

What are you talking about?

3 x 9 = $27.

The cost of the whizz wheel was $25.00.

If you get the CASA guy to give back the $2.00 he pocketed then it's all square and there ain't NO missing $1!

$25.00 + $2.00 = $27.00:D

[Torres]

Whiskery, my faith in pilots is restored. Ten points my good man! It wasn't a maths question, merely logics - but you are one of the very few who have ever worked it out.

Gaunty, forget looking for the missing buck - Whiskery's got it.

:D :D :D

[Skypatrol]

Yardy,
Another example of thinking outside the square.

In my interview I was asked the share price which, let's say was, 3 dollars at the time.
The next question was "what if someone bought all of our shares today, how much would they pay?"
Now, really, who knows the answer to that? Hardly anyone, but they wanted to see how I would handle it.
I remembered that another airline bought 25% for (let's say) 250 million dollars 15 years previously so I multiplied that by 4 as my answer.
Great they said but our share price was about half of what it is today. Fine, multiply it by 2 and that was my answer.
They didn't tell me whether it was right or wrong as I'm sure they probably didn't know, but that wasn't the point of the question. It was how I would go about it!!

So, don't take it personally in the interview, just have a go. It is a very broad interview covering many topics. Remember they're after human beings who have strengths and weaknesses, who can admit when they're wrong, and will get along with the crew on long trips. Not some robtic geek who might be a braniac but has the social skills of a dead toad and can't get along with anyone!

:D :D :D

[Intrepid]

BIK,

You're correct.

Market Cap = No. of shares on issue * current share price.

However I think the point he was making is how your composure holds up when you get a curly question and how you would use deductive reasoning to arrive at an answer.

What I really want an answer to is the question about speed and relative distance to the sun. What a cool question! Obviously you would just have to fly at a speed which is the same as the earth's rotational speed (in the opposite direction to stay under the sun)in order to maintain the same relative distance from the sun. How fast does the earth rotate?

I come up with 1140 statute miles/hour or 975kts.

I would be happy for someone to prove me wrong as my maths has always been terrible.

Cheers

[exmexican]

Intrepid,
Wouldn't the speed vary according to your altitude? The higher you are, the longer your orbit, the faster you must fly to maintain position relative to the earth?
OR
Are you maintaining a constant position relative to the sun, therefore the closer you are to the earth, the further you are from the sun, the longer your orbit of the sun, the faster you must fly?
I have a headache.

[Skypatrol]

BIK,

You're probably right and good for you, but as Intrepid made comment on, you missed my point completely. I didn't know the answer, nor did I think to research it before the interview, but was able to have a pretty good crack at it by using other means!

There's always more than one way to skin a cat!

[The_Hun.]

How about a easy and ACCURATE way of working out something like 20/ 3.6??? any help greatly appreciated.

[scruzer]

now your testing my tiny brain but i say 5.55 r.

method: get em into whole numbers by multiplying by 10..thus
20 becomes 200
3.6 becomes 36

question is now 200/36

calc max 36's b4 exceeding 200 = 5

ie: 5x36 = 5x30 (150) + 5x6 (30) = 180.

thus 200-180 = 20 balance which needs dividing by 36...

thus thus 20/36 = 0.5 and so on.

actually was easier mentally than trying to type it.

the main thing is to get rid of the scary decimals by multiplying both out to whole numbers before dividing.

[*Lancer*]

Intrepid, more like 900kt based on the equatorial circumference of just under 25000 km isn't it? ;)

[GearOff]

If the earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, that's 15 degrees an hour. So say you're at the equator where each degree equals 60nm, that equals 900kts to keep the sun in the same position. If you move away from the equator you'd have to take convergence into account (i.e. the 60nm reduces with the cosine of latitude).

This doesn't seem to take into account that the sun also appears to move in a North/South direction throughout the year relative to the Earth. So given that, you'd probably also need to head slightly North or South of West depending on the time of year.

Am I way off?

[Truckmasters]

Is a degree of Latitude the same distance as a degree of Longitude at the Equator?:confused:

[AMRAAM]

Yardy

The questions here are all great, and most have the answer or the logic to answering it.

BUT the actual question is irrelevant, its the answer thats important. Remember Douglas Adams, Hitch Hickers Guide to the Galaxy, answer 42, but what is the question?

In an interview as BIC and Hugearse aluded to its the method used and the way you coped with the question.

It is a basic interview pannel rule to be sure to get a wrong answer, and then play on it. The answer is not important, its the way you handle the pressure when confronted with it.
FACT : almost all males hate bieng told they are wrong, and usualy deny or self delude when confronted with it.

That is what they are looking for, and more imprtantly to see if you can cope and go on from it.

I have found over the years that, you are best to get the wrong answer out of the way early, because if you keep getting them right, they will usually keep trying to trip you up on one, or even worse think you are a smart arse. And at this stage its the impression that they have of you, when you leave the room that is EVERYTHING.

Remember that all of the guys on the pannel have done it many hundreds of times and have many years of the trip, trick and usless knowledge questions to draw from.

A few years ago I heard this one from a mate who does preparation lessons for interviews for the RAAF.

During the interview while questions are being directed at a constant pace, one of the interviewers slips in this question (with the appropriate distastefull look on his face) " Have you ever slept with your father", it was needless to say a shock question which is both innocent and crude, how did the candidate take it ?

Thats the real answer, how do you handle shock or impossible tasks questions.

By the way, every body has slept with thier parents at some time in thier life.

You can make imstakes, its only human to do so, but its how you handle them thats important. Mistakes made can be corrected, its not uncommon to have a candidate that ****s some things up, but claws his way back with truth and common sense.

All the best with the interview, remember its all about the IMPRESSION you leave, when you leave.

[Poontang Luva]

Its definitely 900kts to keep the sun in the same position. Got it in my Nav exam last year.

[CallButton]

While it's great to see everyone throwing in their 2 bobs worth over what the interview questions are like and what the interviewers are looking for, I think Keg got it right first. (Before he went off and told an anecdote that doesn't relate to this type of interview!).:D

These are behavioural interviews and there is plenty of info out there on them. Prior to my interview a friend who works in senior management in health insurance and knows nothing about aviation started asking me 'sample' questions and they were exactly like the ones that I had heard were being asked at QF! (Meaning that this is a standard type of interview technique).

I believe that what they are looking for is how you have reacted in the past to certain situations and they want you to cite examples i.e. tell war stories. It is not how you react on the spot. (but you had better check this).

I do agree with Keg though that some questions, i.e. the maths one, are thrown in as a result of the psychometric testing in stage one.

2 friends of mine who both reckoned that they did 'poorly' on the maths side in Stage 1 were both asked that question in the interview. (BTW they both were successful).

Good luck.