CTC Online Assessment — Free Practice Simulator
A full-length, browser-based simulation of the Chicago Trading Company (CTC) style online assessment: 50 questions in 15 minutes, mixing numerical, spatial, verbal, and logic reasoning — with no negative marking, exactly as the real format is reported to work. Free, no signup, freshly generated questions every attempt.
Full CTC-style simulation
50 questions · 15 minutes · all four sections mixed · no negative marking · results at the end (like the real thing)
What the CTC OA actually looks like
| Length | 50 questions · 15 minutes (≈18 seconds per question) |
|---|---|
| Scoring | +1 per correct answer · no penalty for wrong answers |
| Format | Multiple choice, four question families mixed together |
| Sections | Numerical reasoning · Spatial/abstract reasoning · Verbal reasoning · Logic & attention to detail |
The four question families
1. Numerical reasoning
Business-flavored arithmetic under time pressure: percentage increases and discounts, number series, averages with a missing value, compound depreciation, work rates, simple probability, and pay-structure algebra. Nothing beyond solid mental arithmetic — the trap is that 18 seconds leaves no room to set up equations slowly. Drill until the approach is instant: the computing is the easy part.
2. Spatial / abstract reasoning
Pattern completion (a shape rotating by a fixed angle each step, or gaining one side per step) and odd-one-out puzzles. These reward recognizing which rule family you're looking at within a couple of seconds — rotation, counting, or fill/outline alternation cover most of what appears.
3. Verbal reasoning
Antonyms of capitalized words, fill-in-the-blank sentence completion, and analogies (BAG is to CARRY as…). For non-native English speakers this is usually the highest-variance section — the math is learnable in a week, but vocabulary isn't. If that's you, start verbal practice earliest and keep a running list of every word you miss.
4. Logic & attention to detail
Column-comparison questions (how many of five company names match exactly between two columns?), letter-series puzzles where each position steps through the alphabet independently, and True/False/Uncertain syllogisms. The attention-to-detail questions are free points if you scan systematically — left to right, pair by pair — instead of eyeballing.
Strategy that actually moves your score
- Never leave blanks. No negative marking means an unanswered question is a guaranteed zero while a guess is a free 20% (or better after eliminating one option). In the last 30 seconds, answer everything remaining.
- Bank the fast families first. Attention-to-detail and syllogism questions take 8–10 seconds with a system; a multi-step depreciation problem can take 40. Learn your own per-family speed and stop being a perfectionist on the slow ones.
- Train switching, not just solving. The real difficulty is context-switching between a percentage problem, a rotating hexagon, and an antonym in consecutive questions. Full mixed simulations train exactly this; isolated drills don't.
- Fix your weakest family in isolation. After each full run, this page shows your per-section breakdown. Take your weakest section into untimed practice mode (with explanations) until it stops being the bottleneck.
FAQ
What is the CTC Online Assessment?
Chicago Trading Company (CTC) screens candidates for trading and related roles with a timed online aptitude test. It is widely reported as 50 questions in 15 minutes, mixing four question families: numerical reasoning, spatial/abstract reasoning, verbal/linguistic reasoning, and logic & attention to detail. That's an average of 18 seconds per question.
Is there negative marking on the CTC OA?
Candidates report there is no penalty for wrong answers — your score is simply the number of correct answers. That has a direct strategic consequence: never leave a question blank. If time is running out, guess on everything remaining.
What score do you need to pass?
CTC does not publish a pass mark, and it likely varies by role and cycle. The practical goal is maximizing raw correct answers under severe time pressure — most candidates find the constraint is time, not difficulty.
How should I prepare for the CTC OA?
Practice under real timing. The questions themselves are not individually hard — the challenge is answering 50 of them in 15 minutes while switching between four very different question styles. Full timed simulations train the pacing; untimed section practice fixes your weakest family.
Is this the real CTC test?
No. This is an independent practice reconstruction based on publicly available descriptions of the format. Questions are freshly generated each attempt — they train the same skills and timing, but they are not CTC's actual questions. TradeMind is not affiliated with Chicago Trading Company.
TradeMind is an independent training tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Chicago Trading Company. This simulator is a reconstruction based on publicly available descriptions of the assessment format, built for practice purposes only. Question content is procedurally generated and does not reproduce actual test material.