All challenges with answers
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The team quiz questions
Asked: I'm running the quiz at the Fernway summer social. Give me a few science and general knowledge facts I can turn into questions.
- Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at standard sea-level air pressure. Fine (Correct). This is a stable, widely documented fact. The boiling point drops at altitude, which is why the answer mentions sea-level pressure.
- Our solar system has nine planets, and Pluto is the smallest of them. Flag it (Out of date). This was the standard answer until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. The solar system now has eight planets, and a quiz team would rightly challenge this one.
- The United Kingdom is made up of four nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Fine (Correct). This is correct and has been stable for about a century. It is safe to use as a quiz question.
- Venus is the closest planet to the Sun, which is also why it is the hottest. Flag it (Made up). Half right, which is what makes it convincing. Venus is the hottest planet, but Mercury is the closest to the Sun; Venus is hotter because its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere traps heat.
- For a tie-breaker, a question with a number for an answer, where the closest guess wins, usually works better than another true-or-false question. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). This is sensible, hedged advice about running a quiz, not a factual claim. Nothing here needs checking before you use it.
Rule: A fact that was true when it was written can still be out of date, so check anything that could have changed.
The hybrid policy for a new starter
Asked: Using the extract from our hybrid working policy below, write a short summary of the key points for a new starter in Operations.
Fernway Group: Hybrid and Remote Working Policy, version 2.1 (fictional sample document)
2.2 The standard expectation is a minimum of two days per week in the office, ordinarily including a shared team "anchor day" so colleagues can collaborate in person.
2.4 Fully remote arrangements are available by exception and must be agreed with your line manager and the Head of Operations.
4.1 Core hours are 10:00 to 16:00, during which colleagues are expected to be contactable, regardless of location.
5.2 Fernway Group will provide standard equipment (laptop and, where needed, a monitor, keyboard, and mouse). Requests go through Maya Roberts.
7.1 Reasonable, pre-agreed costs may be claimed through the standard expenses process. Home broadband and general utility costs are not routinely reimbursed.
- You're expected in the office at least two days a week, usually including your team's anchor day. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). This matches section 2.2 closely, including the anchor day.
- Once you've settled in, you can move to fully remote working by agreeing it with your line manager. Flag it (Real source, misread). Section 2.4 says fully remote working is available only by exception and needs agreement from both the line manager and the Head of Operations. The summary makes an exception sound routine and drops one of the two approvers.
- Core hours are 10:00 to 16:00, when you should be contactable wherever you're working. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). This is a fair restatement of section 4.1.
- Fernway pays a home-working allowance of £25 a month towards broadband. Flag it (Made up). Nothing in the extract mentions an allowance, and section 7.1 says broadband costs are not routinely reimbursed. The figure has been invented because home-working policies often include one.
- For a laptop, monitor, keyboard or mouse, ask Maya Roberts. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). Section 5.2 says equipment requests go through Maya Roberts.
Rule: When you gave it the document, every claim should be something you can point to in the document.
The who's who for the induction pack
Asked: Here's our org chart. Write a short who's who for the induction pack, saying who new starters should go to for what.
Fernway Group: Org Chart (fictional company)
Erin Vaughan, Managing Director
Priya Shah, Head of Operations
Maya Roberts, Office Manager
Leah Bennett, Operations Assistant
Ravi Menon, IT & Systems
Tom Elliott, Sales Lead
Sam Price, Account Manager (South)
Alex Doyle, Account Manager (Midlands)
Dan Okafor, Finance
Grace Lynch, Finance Assistant- Maya Roberts is the Office Manager and reports to Priya Shah, Head of Operations. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). Both the job title and the reporting line are shown in the chart.
- Ravi Menon runs IT and Systems with a small team of three support technicians. Flag it (Made up). The chart shows Ravi Menon with nobody reporting to him. The team of three has been invented, and a new starter might go looking for people who do not exist.
- Sam Price looks after customers in the South and Alex Doyle looks after the Midlands. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). The chart gives each Account Manager's region exactly like this.
- Grace Lynch approves expense claims, so send those to her. Flag it (Not supported by the evidence). The chart only says Grace Lynch is a Finance Assistant. It says nothing about who approves expenses, so the answer has guessed a responsibility from a job title.
- The chart doesn't show a date, so it's worth confirming it is current before it goes in the pack. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). This is true of the supplied chart and is sensible, hedged advice.
Rule: If the source doesn't say it, the answer shouldn't say it either.
The supplier price rise
Asked: Summarise this news story for the team and tell us what it means for Fernway.
The Paperclip Ledger (fictional trade newsletter), 15 September 2026
Bramblecote Paper Mills to raise prices from November
Bramblecote Paper Mills, which supplies copier paper and card to office suppliers across England, will increase its list prices by 6 per cent from 1 November 2026. The company said higher pulp and energy costs were behind the change. Customers on fixed-price contracts will keep their current prices until their contract renewal date.
Managing director Hollis Tranter said: "We have held our prices for two years and we have not taken this decision lightly." The company did not say whether further increases are planned.
- Bramblecote Paper Mills is raising its list prices by 6 per cent from 1 November 2026, blaming higher pulp and energy costs. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). The figure, the date and the reason all appear in the first paragraph of the story.
- Customers on fixed-price contracts will also move to the new prices from 1 November. Flag it (Real source, misread). The story says the opposite: fixed-price customers keep their current prices until their renewal date. This is exactly the detail Fernway needs to get right.
- Managing director Hollis Tranter said this should be "the last increase for the foreseeable future". Flag it (Invented quotation). The only quotation in the story is about holding prices for two years. The article says the company did not say whether more increases are planned, so this quotation contradicts the source as well as being invented.
- Two other paper mills have announced similar rises this month, so this looks like a sector-wide trend. Flag it (Made up). The story mentions no other mills. The answer has filled in a plausible pattern and then drawn a conclusion from it.
- If Fernway buys from Bramblecote on a fixed-price contract, the renewal date is the one to check, as that is when the new prices would start to apply. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). This follows directly from the story and is properly hedged with "if". It is a useful next step, not a claim of fact about Fernway.
Rule: A quotation belongs in the answer only if you can find it, word for word, in the source.
The actions nobody agreed
Asked: Turn these meeting notes into a list of actions with owners and dates.
Operations catch-up, 16 September 2026 (fictional)
Present: Priya Shah, Maya Roberts, Ravi Menon, Leah Bennett
1. Printer lease: current lease ends in December. Maya to get two quotes by 3 October. Ravi to check whether ending early carries an exit fee.
2. Anchor day: team happy to keep Wednesday. Review in January.
3. Kitchen refurbishment: discussed options. No decision. Priya to ask Erin whether there is budget this year.
4. Fire marshal rota: Leah to update before the next drill (date to be confirmed by building management).
- Maya Roberts: get two quotes for a new printer lease by 3 October. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). Owner, task and date all appear in item 1.
- Ravi Menon: give notice on the current printer lease once the quotes are in. Flag it (Made up). Ravi's action was only to check whether ending early carries an exit fee. Nobody agreed to give notice, and doing so could commit Fernway to a cost.
- Wednesday stays as the Operations anchor day, with a review in January. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). This matches item 2.
- Kitchen refurbishment agreed in principle; Priya to confirm the budget with Erin. Flag it (Real source, misread). The notes say "No decision". Priya's action is right, but "agreed in principle" turns an open discussion into a decision that was never taken.
- Leah Bennett: update the fire marshal rota by 30 September, ahead of the drill. Flag it (Stated as fact, actually uncertain). The notes say the drill date is still to be confirmed. The answer has filled the gap with a date that nobody set, and it reads as settled.
Rule: An owner, a date or a decision that isn't in the notes is one nobody agreed.
The regional sales comparison
Asked: Compare April sales for the South and Midlands regions from this extract of our sales sheet.
Extract from fernway-sales.csv (fictional data), April rows for South and Midlands
Date,Region,Rep,Product,Units,Unit Price,Total
2026-04-03,South,Sam Price,Starter Plan,8,49.00,392.00
04/04/2026,Sotuh,Sam Price,Pro Plan,3,120.00,
07/04/2026,Midlands,Alex Doyle,Starter Plan,15,49.00,735.00
08/04/2026,Midlands,Alex Doyle,Add-on Pack,20,15.00,300.00
10/04/2026,South,Sam Price,Add-on Pack,,15.00,
11/04/2026,Midlands,Alex Doyle,Pro Plan,6,120.00,720.00
15/04/2026,South,Sam Price,Starter Plan,11,49.00,539.00
17/4/2026,Midlands,Alex Doyle,Starter Plan,7,49.00,343.00
18/04/2026,South,Sam Price,Pro Plan,2,120.00,240.00
22/04/2026,Midlands,Alex Doyle,Add-on Pack,18,15.00,270.00
23/04/2026,South,Sam Price,Starter Plan,10,49.00,490.00
25/04/2026,Midlnads,Alex Doyle,Pro Plan,4,120.00,480.00
28/04/2026,South,Sam Price,Add-on Pack,22,15.00,330.00
30/04/2026,Midlands,Alex Doyle,Starter Plan,14,49.00,686.00
- The Midlands, covered by Alex Doyle, sold £3,054 in April. Flag it (Real source, misread). £3,054 is the total of the rows labelled exactly "Midlands". The 25 April sale of £480 is labelled "Midlnads" and has been left out, so the real April total is £3,534.
- Alex Doyle's biggest single sale by value was 15 Starter Plan units on 7 April, worth £735. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). £735 is the highest Midlands total in the extract, and the row matches.
- The South, covered by Sam Price, sold £1,991, so the Midlands outsold the South by 53.4 per cent. Flag it (Misleading precision). £1,991 only adds up the South rows that have a total. The misspelt "Sotuh" row is worth £360 and the 10 April row has no units at all, so the South sold at least £2,351 and the real gap is nearer 50 per cent, give or take the missing row. A figure to one decimal place hides all of that.
- Both regions sold all three products in April: Starter Plan, Pro Plan and Add-on Pack. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). Each product appears at least once for each region in the extract.
- A few rows have blank totals or misspelt region names, so these figures may change once the data is tidied up. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). This is true and properly hedged. The trouble is that the answer mentions the problem and then ignores it in its own sums.
Rule: Before you trust a total, ask which rows it left out.
What's new in the desk booking app
Asked: We're on the Standard plan of Deskwren, our desk booking app. Using these release notes, tell me what's new that I should mention to staff.
Deskwren 4.2 release notes, September 2026 (fictional product)
New: Recurring room bookings. Book a room weekly or fortnightly, for up to 26 occurrences.
New: Two-way calendar sync. Changes made in your calendar now update Deskwren, and the other way round. Available on the Business plan. Standard plan accounts keep one-way sync (Deskwren to calendar).
Improved: The desk map loads faster on mobile.
Changed: Guest invitations now expire after 14 days (previously 30).
Coming later: Automatic release of desks when nobody checks in. Currently in beta with selected customers.
- You can now set up recurring room bookings, weekly or fortnightly, for up to 26 occurrences. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). This matches the first item in the release notes exactly.
- Calendar sync now works both ways, so staff can move a booking in their calendar and Deskwren will update to match. Flag it (Real source, misread). Two-way sync is only on the Business plan. The person said they are on Standard, which keeps one-way sync, so staff who try this will find it doesn't work.
- Parking spaces can now be booked from the desk map as well. Flag it (Made up). Parking is not mentioned anywhere in the release notes. Booking apps often have this feature, which is why the answer found it easy to invent.
- Automatic release of unused desks arrives for all customers in November. Flag it (Stated as fact, actually uncertain). The notes only say "coming later" and that it is in beta with selected customers. There is no date and no promise it will reach every plan.
- Guest invitations now expire after 14 days instead of 30. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). This matches the "Changed" item in the release notes.
Rule: A feature claim is only as good as the plan, version and date it applies to, so check all three.
The four-day week briefing
Asked: Find me two or three good sources on whether a four-day week improves productivity. It's for a short briefing to Erin, our MD.
- The evidence on four-day weeks is mixed: many published trials are small, involve organisations that chose to take part, and rely partly on self-reported measures, so results may not carry over to every workplace. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). This is a fair, hedged description of the kind of limits any workplace trial has. It makes no specific claim that needs a citation.
- Brackwell, O. and Quarry, D. (2023). "Compressed Hours and Output in Mid-Size Service Firms." Quarterly Review of Compressed Working, 14(2), pp. 211 to 229. doi:10.5555/qrcw.2023.0142. Flag it (Fabricated citation). In this exercise the journal, the authors and the article are all fictional. The tells: a title that matches the question almost perfectly, and a neat set of volume, page and DOI details that look right and prove nothing until opened.
- Across four-day week trials, productivity rose by an average of 24.6 per cent. Flag it (Misleading precision). No trial, report or definition of productivity is given for this figure. A number to one decimal place with no source is exactly the specific that gets quoted in a board paper and cannot be traced later.
- The Harbourline Institute for Working Time put it plainly in 2024: "The four-day week is now the default expectation of the under-35 workforce." Flag it (Invented quotation). The institute and the quotation are fictional here. A punchy quotation with no link, no document title and no page is a classic sign of invention.
- "Four-day week" can mean compressed hours (the same hours over four days) or reduced hours (fewer hours, usually for the same pay), and results for one don't tell you much about the other. Fine (Correct). This is an accurate and useful distinction. It helps Erin read any source that follows with the right question in mind.
Rule: A reference is not a source until you have opened it and found the claim inside it.
The customer survey headlines
Asked: Pull out the headline figures from our delivery survey for the board pack.
Fernway customer delivery survey 2026 (fictional data)
Customers invited: 400
Responses received: 160
Rated delivery "good" or "very good": 96
Rated delivery "poor": 24
2025 survey: 150 responses; 52% of respondents rated delivery "good" or "very good".
Context: Fernway changed its delivery courier in March 2026.
- 160 of the 400 customers invited responded, a response rate of 40 per cent. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). 160 divided by 400 is 40 per cent, and both figures are in the survey summary.
- Only 24 per cent of customers rated delivery good or very good. Flag it (Real source, misread). This divides the 96 positive ratings by the 400 people invited. The 240 who didn't respond gave no rating, so the right base is the 160 respondents: 60 per cent rated delivery good or very good.
- 15 per cent of respondents rated delivery as poor. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). 24 divided by 160 is 15 per cent, on the correct base of respondents.
- Good or very good ratings rose from 52 per cent of respondents in 2025 to 60 per cent in 2026, a rise of 8 percentage points. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). Both figures use respondents as the base and the difference is correctly described in percentage points. As a relative change it would be about 15 per cent, which is why the wording matters.
- The improvement shows that switching courier in March has worked. Flag it (Not supported by the evidence). The survey shows two numbers and mentions the courier change as context. It does not show the change caused the rise; other things may have changed, and the samples are different customers.
- Because 60 per cent of invited customers didn't respond, the results may not reflect the views of all customers. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). 240 of 400 is 60 per cent, and the caution is fair and properly hedged. It belongs in the board pack next to the headline.
Rule: Every percentage has a base, so check what it was divided by before you repeat it.
What counts as special category data
Asked: Using this summary of the ICO guidance, explain which kinds of customer and staff information count as special category data, so the sales team knows what to be careful with.
Summary of the ICO page "What is special category data?" (checked September 2026)
The UK GDPR sets out nine types of special category data: personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; trade union membership; genetic data; biometric data (where used for identification purposes); data concerning health; data concerning a person's sex life; and data concerning a person's sexual orientation.
Criminal offence data is not one of the special categories. It is covered separately, with similar extra safeguards.
- There are nine types of special category data, including health data and trade union membership. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). The summary lists nine types and both of these are among them.
- Biometric data is always special category data, so the staff photos on the intranet fall into this category. Flag it (Real source, misread). The summary says biometric data counts "where used for identification purposes", and the answer has dropped that condition. An ordinary staff photo is generally only biometric data when it is processed with specific technical means, such as facial recognition, to identify someone.
- Criminal offence data is handled separately from special category data, although it needs similar safeguards. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). This matches the last paragraph of the summary.
- Some ordinary-looking details, such as a dietary requirement noted for a customer event, might reveal health or religious belief, so it's worth asking your data protection lead how Fernway treats them. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). This is hedged with "might" and sends the question to the right person. It doesn't claim to settle a point the summary doesn't cover.
- The sales team is unlikely to hold any special category data, so this won't affect their day-to-day work. Flag it (Not supported by the evidence). The AI has no idea what Fernway's sales team records in notes, emails or its customer system. This sounds reassuring and is based on nothing.
Rule: When an answer drops a condition from the guidance, it has changed what the guidance says.
The study for the lunch-and-learn
Asked: Summarise the findings of this study for one slide at our AI lunch-and-learn.
Abstract, Northfold Review of Organisational Practice (fictional journal)
We surveyed 212 administrative staff across nine UK organisations about their use of AI writing assistants. Participants who used an assistant at least weekly reported spending less time on routine correspondence than non-users (median 3.1 vs 4.0 hours per week), although the difference was not statistically significant after adjusting for job grade. Weekly users were also more likely to report checking outputs "sometimes" rather than "always". The study is cross-sectional and relies on self-report; we cannot infer that assistant use caused the differences observed.
- The study surveyed 212 administrative staff across nine UK organisations. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). Both numbers are in the first sentence of the abstract.
- Weekly users reported spending less time on routine correspondence: a median of 3.1 hours a week, against 4.0 hours for non-users. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). The figures and the direction of the difference are taken straight from the second sentence.
- In other words, using an AI writing assistant saves admin staff almost an hour a week. Flag it (Not supported by the evidence). This comes from the same sentence as the claim before it, but drops the rest of that sentence: the difference was not significant after adjusting for job grade. The authors also say plainly that they cannot infer cause, so "saves" is exactly what the study does not show.
- This matches an earlier meta-analysis of 31 studies, which found a 20 per cent time saving (Ferrant and Oduya, 2022). Flag it (Fabricated citation). The abstract mentions no earlier work, and in this exercise the reference is fictional. A short author-and-year citation with no title or journal is easy to invent and hard to check at a glance.
- The authors say the study is cross-sectional and based on self-report, so it cannot show that the assistant caused the difference. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). This is a fair restatement of the abstract's last sentence.
- Weekly users also seemed more careful, and were more likely to say they always checked the AI's output. Flag it (Real source, misread). The abstract says the reverse: weekly users were more likely to say they checked "sometimes" rather than "always". For a talk about using AI well, that is the finding that matters most.
Rule: A summary that keeps the number and drops the caveat has changed the finding.
The supplier briefing before a meeting
Asked: I'm meeting Quillmere tomorrow about a possible office fit-out. Using their company profile, give me a quick briefing on them.
Quillmere Office Interiors: company profile (fictional company)
Founded in 2011. Previously based in Ashford, Kent, Quillmere moved its head office to Canterbury in 2023.
Revenue: £4.2m (2024), £5.1m (2025).
Delivery: next-day delivery on stocked furniture to all mainland UK postcodes, except the Scottish Highlands and islands, where delivery takes three to five working days.
Services: office fit-out, furniture supply, and space planning for businesses of 20 to 250 staff.
- Quillmere was founded in 2011 and does fit-outs, furniture supply and space planning for businesses of 20 to 250 staff. Fine (Correct, from the supplied material). Every detail here appears in the profile.
- Revenue reached £5.1m in 2024. Flag it (Real source, misread). £5.1m is a real figure from the profile, attached to the wrong year: it is the 2025 revenue. 2024 was £4.2m, so the claim also hides a year of growth.
- They offer next-day delivery on stocked furniture anywhere in mainland UK. Flag it (Real source, misread). This is a correct summary with the exception silently removed. The profile excludes the Scottish Highlands and islands, where delivery takes three to five working days.
- Their head office is in Ashford, Kent. Flag it (Out of date). This was true until 2023, when the head office moved to Canterbury. The old fact is in the source too, which makes it easy to pick up by mistake.
- Revenue grew by about a fifth between 2024 and 2025, which may mean they are busy or keen to grow; worth asking about capacity in the meeting. Fine (Reasonable, and properly hedged). £5.1m against £4.2m is growth of about 21 per cent, so "about a fifth" is right. The reading of it is hedged and turned into a question, which is how an inference should be handled.
- Quillmere is currently the largest independent office interiors firm in the South East. Flag it (Stated as fact, actually uncertain). The profile says nothing about market position, and "largest" depends on how you measure it. It is stated as settled fact with nothing behind it.
Rule: Check each figure against its year and each promise against its exceptions: the source can be right while the summary is wrong.