Free practice test
Google interview questions: 40 GCA practice problems with answers
General Cognitive Ability (GCA) is the Google interview round that tests how you reason through problems you have not seen before: estimates, logic, cases and judgment calls. Here are 40 practice problems in five types, each checked instantly and explained step by step. Free, no sign-up.
Take the 10-question test
Ten cards, two of each problem type, one at a time and under a timer if you want one. Each answer is checked the moment you submit it, and your result comes at the end.
10 questions, one at a time
Pick a pace. The timer stops when you check an answer, and the worked method opens straight away. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Keys: 1 to 4 pick an option, Enter checks and moves on.
40
practice problems with worked answers
5
problem types: logic, estimates, cases, trade-offs, pressure
9
decision frameworks for judgment questions
6
languages, the same problems in each
20 questions, worked through
Logic, Fermi estimates, cases, trade-offs and pressure: the method and the answer for each, with a pause to try it first.
Five chapters: twenty of these questions read out, ten seconds to try each one, then the method step by step, the answer, and the decision framework behind the judgment calls.
What does a GCA interview ask?
A GCA round mixes five types of problem, and each one rewards a different move. Practice them one type at a time before you mix them, so you learn the move rather than the answer.
- Abstract LogicRules hidden in a wordy setup, one right answer.Practice Abstract Logic
- Fermi EstimationA number you cannot look up, built from parts you can.Practice Fermi Estimation
- Business CaseA business symptom to split before you guess at a cause.Practice Business Case
- Strategy & Trade-offTwo options with costs on both sides, and a recommendation.Practice Strategy & Trade-off
- Pressure ScenarioA conflict or a crisis, judged on your priorities.Practice Pressure Scenario
How is a GCA answer judged?
On how you get there. Interviewers listen for a structure stated up front, assumptions said out loud, a sanity check on the result and a clear recommendation. A right number reached in silence scores below a reasoned estimate that lands in the right range.
That is why every problem here shows its worked method after you answer. Read it even when you were right: the method is what you will say in the room.
Which decision framework fits a judgment question?
Strategy and pressure questions have no single right answer, but a strong answer has a structure. These nine frameworks cover most of them, and the trade-off and pressure problems ask you to pick the one that fits.
- Reversible vs irreversible
- Decide fast when a choice can be undone, and slow down for the ones that cannot (Jeff Bezos' one-way and two-way doors).
- Regret minimization
- Ask which you would regret more in the long run: doing it, or not doing it (Jeff Bezos).
- Cynefin
- First name the situation: clear, complicated, complex or chaotic. In a crisis, act first; in a complicated case, analyze first (Dave Snowden).
- Expected value
- Weigh each outcome by its odds: the chance of a gain times its size, minus the chance of a loss times its size.
- Pre-mortem
- Imagine the plan has already failed, list why, and build the defenses in now (Gary Klein).
- WRAP
- Widen your options, reality-test your assumptions, attain distance, prepare to be wrong (Chip and Dan Heath).
- 10/10/10
- Ask how the choice will look in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years (Suzy Welch).
- The 70% rule
- Decide once you have about 70% of the information you wish you had, then adjust as you learn (Jeff Bezos).
- OODA loop
- Observe, orient, decide, act, and loop again faster than the situation changes (John Boyd).
More on the Google interview
What is free, and what does Pro add?
Free
All 40 problems, here and in the JobMentis gym, where they run under a timer with a scratchpad, a think-aloud recording and your practice history.
Pro
New problems written around a job you track or a company you are interviewing with, and a review of your reasoning, not only of the result.
Practice under the clock
The gym runs the same problems timed, keeps your history and shows which type to work on next.
GCA interview questions: FAQ
What is the Google GCA interview?
GCA stands for General Cognitive Ability. It is one of the attributes Google hires for, and the round that tests it uses open problems: estimates, hypotheticals, cases and judgment calls. It checks how you structure and reason through a problem you have not seen, not what you know about the role.
Is GCA the same as GCC?
No. GCA, General Cognitive Ability, is Google's name for this round. GCC usually means a Global Capability Centre or the Gulf Cooperation Council, so a search for a GCC interview mostly returns jobs in those, not this round.
How should I prepare for a GCA round?
Practice each problem type on its own, out loud and against a clock. For each problem, state your structure first, say every assumption, check the result for sense, and finish with a recommendation. Then read the worked method and compare it with yours.
Are these real Google interview questions?
No. They are practice problems of the types GCA rounds use, written by JobMentis. No company is claimed to ask them, and none of them is copied from a reported interview.
How is my answer checked here?
In code, never by a model. Logic and case problems have one right option. An estimate inside the reference range is correct, and one within a factor of three counts as close. Trade-off and pressure problems check the decision framework you pick.