CJBAT · Section II
Section II shows you a picture of a scene, takes it away, and asks what was in it: how many people stood by the door, the number on a car, what someone held. It is 10 items on the real test. Here you practice the same skill with written scenes: read one, hide it, then answer its questions.
From the Pearson VUE candidate handbook:
Looking at the whole picture and hoping it sticks is a gamble under a time limit. Scan in the same order every time, so you know what you've already covered:
Say counts to yourself ("three at the door, two in the car"); it gives you a second way to recall them.
Scene for questions 1–4
Study the following scene description for one minute, then answer without looking back.
Beach boardwalk near the pier entrance, 3:05 p.m. Officer Maddox takes a report of a stolen purse. The victim, a woman in a turquoise swimsuit cover-up and a wide straw hat, says the thief grabbed her purse from a bench and ran south toward the arcade. She describes him as a thin teenage boy, about 5 ft 7 in, with curly red hair and a sunburned nose, wearing a sleeveless black shirt and neon green swim trunks, barefoot. The purse is brown leather with a gold buckle and holds $120 cash and a blue phone. Lifeguard tower number 9 stands directly behind the bench. A vendor in a white apron sells lemonade beside the bench.
Study the scene, then hide it and answer from memory.
Scene hidden. Answer questions 1–4 from memory.
Which direction did the thief run?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: East is never mentioned in the scene.
Incorrect: North is the opposite of what the victim reported.
Correct: The victim says the thief ran south, toward the arcade.
Incorrect: West is never mentioned in the scene; the thief ran toward the arcade.
Besides the cash, what was in the purse?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: Gold appears only as the buckle on the purse; no bracelet is described.
Incorrect: Turquoise is the color of the victim's swimsuit cover-up, not the phone.
Incorrect: The purse itself is brown leather; no wallet is mentioned inside it.
Correct: The purse held $120 in cash and a blue phone.
What number was on the lifeguard tower behind the bench?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: The 3 comes from the time of the report, 3:05 p.m., not the tower.
Incorrect: No 6 appears anywhere in the scene.
Correct: Lifeguard tower number 9 stands directly behind the bench.
Incorrect: 7 comes from the thief's height, 5 ft 7 in, not the tower.
What color were the thief's swim trunks?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: Turquoise is the victim's cover-up, not anything the thief wore.
Incorrect: Black was the thief's sleeveless shirt, not his trunks.
Correct: The thief's swim trunks were neon green.
Incorrect: Brown is the color of the stolen purse.
Scene for questions 5–8
Study the following scene description for one minute, then answer without looking back.
Formal count, Pod B, 16:00. Correctional Officer Wexler stands at the pod door with the count sheet; his radio call sign is Bravo-4. The pod has eight cells, B-1 through B-8. Each inmate stands at his cell door, with these exceptions: cell B-3 is empty because its occupant is at medical; in B-5 an inmate lies on his bunk facing the wall; in B-7 two inmates stand at the door instead of one, and one of them wears a green kitchen-worker smock. A towel hangs over the window of cell B-2. The count sheet shows 8 inmates expected. The pod clock reads 15:58.
Study the scene, then hide it and answer from memory.
Scene hidden. Answer questions 5–8 from memory.
What was hanging over the window of cell B-2?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: The count sheet is in Officer Wexler's hands at the pod door.
Correct: A towel hangs over the window of cell B-2.
Incorrect: The green smock is worn by an inmate in B-7; it is not hanging anywhere.
Incorrect: No blanket is mentioned in the scene.
Which cell was empty during the count?
Answer explanations
Correct: Cell B-3 is empty because its occupant is at medical.
Incorrect: In B-5 an inmate is present but lying on his bunk facing the wall.
Incorrect: B-2 is the cell with a towel over its window; its inmate is not reported missing.
Incorrect: B-7 has two inmates at the door, the opposite of empty.
In which cell were two inmates standing at the door?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: B-8 is not singled out; its inmate stands at the door as expected.
Incorrect: B-3 is the empty cell.
Correct: Two inmates stand at the door of B-7, one of them in a green kitchen smock.
Incorrect: B-5 holds the inmate lying on his bunk instead of standing.
What was Officer Wexler's radio call sign?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: Bravo-7 borrows the 7 from cell B-7.
Incorrect: Bravo-8 borrows the 8 from the eight cells and eight expected inmates.
Incorrect: Baker-4 keeps the number but changes the word.
Correct: Wexler's call sign is Bravo-4.
Scene for questions 9–12
Study the following scene description for one minute, then answer without looking back.
North recreation yard, 2:10 p.m. Correctional Officer Varga radios that a fight has ended. Two inmates sit on the ground by the handball wall with their hands on their heads. The first, inmate Carver, has a bloody nose and wears gray shorts and a white tank top; he is missing one shoe. The second, inmate Dunlap, has a torn orange shirt and a scrape on his left knee. Eight other inmates stand at the far fence where they were ordered to go. A second officer, Correctional Officer Nash, holds a can of pepper spray. A handball lies near the drain in the corner, and a single white sneaker lies in the center of the court. The yard clock reads 2:07.
Study the scene, then hide it and answer from memory.
Scene hidden. Answer questions 9–12 from memory.
Where was Dunlap's scrape?
Answer explanations
Correct: Dunlap has a scrape "on his left knee."
Incorrect: The knee is right but the side is wrong; the scrape is on his left knee.
Incorrect: The bloody nose belongs to Carver, not Dunlap.
Incorrect: The side is right but the body part is wrong; no elbow injury is described.
What was lying in the center of the court?
Answer explanations
Correct: A single white sneaker lies in the center of the court.
Incorrect: The handball lies near the drain in the corner, not the center.
Incorrect: The pepper spray is in Officer Nash's hand.
Incorrect: Dunlap's torn orange shirt is still on him.
Who was missing a shoe?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: Nash is the second officer, the one holding the pepper spray.
Correct: Carver, the inmate with the bloody nose, is missing one shoe.
Incorrect: Dunlap has a torn shirt and a scraped knee; nothing says he lost a shoe.
Incorrect: Varga is the officer who radios that the fight is over.
How many inmates stood at the far fence?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: Ten counts everyone involved: the group at the fence plus the pair on the ground.
Incorrect: Two is the number of inmates sitting by the handball wall.
Incorrect: Seven is one short of the number at the far fence.
Correct: Eight other inmates stand at the far fence.
Scene for questions 13–16
Study the following scene description for one minute, then answer without looking back.
Sea Breeze Motel, room 117, 2:05 p.m. Officer Ellis responds to a welfare check. The door is unlocked. On the bed near the window lie an open blue duffel bag and a stack of prepaid gift cards held with a rubber band. On the nightstand are a room key card, a pill bottle with the label torn off, and a notepad with the words GAS 400 written on it. A laptop on the desk is open to a map. A black hoodie hangs on the bathroom door. In the parking space directly outside the room is a gray Hyundai Elantra, tag MRV-218, with a child's pink booster seat in the back. The housekeeper, in a lavender uniform with the name ROSA, stands in the doorway.
Study the scene, then hide it and answer from memory.
Scene hidden. Answer questions 13–16 from memory.
What was on the bed near the window?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: The hoodie hangs on the bathroom door, not on the bed.
Incorrect: The notepad and the key card are on the nightstand.
Incorrect: The laptop is on the desk, not the bed.
Correct: The bed held an open blue "duffel bag and gift cards," the cards held with a rubber band.
What was written on the notepad?
Answer explanations
Correct: The notepad reads "GAS 400."
Incorrect: The number matches but the word was GAS, not GATE.
Incorrect: 117 is the room number, not part of the note.
Incorrect: 218 is part of the Elantra's tag, MRV-218.
What was in the back seat of the Elantra?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: The black hoodie hangs on the bathroom door.
Correct: A child's pink booster seat is in the back of the Elantra.
Incorrect: Lavender is the color of the housekeeper's uniform; the seat is pink.
Incorrect: The blue duffel bag is on the bed in the room.
What was the number of the motel room?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: 107 changes the middle digit of the room number.
Incorrect: 171 swaps the last two digits of the room number.
Incorrect: 218 is from the car's tag, MRV-218.
Correct: The scene opens at Sea Breeze Motel, room 117.
Answer every question to see your score
Each scene opens with its own questions. Read it, press the button that hides it, then answer. Our scenes are written descriptions, which test the same recall but read differently from a picture, so add practice with real photos of streets, rooms and parking lots.
The detail you didn't think mattered
The handbook asks you to memorize as many details as possible, so don't stop at the main event (a man running, an officer talking). A number on a sign behind it, or which hand held an object, counts as a detail too. Let your scan cover background text and numbers before it comes back to the people.
CJBAT practice app
More CJBAT practice questions with explanations, in a study app. Not affiliated with FDLE.
1 minute to study each picture, then 1½ minutes for its questions, per the handbook. Section II has 10 items in all.
Text lets every question come with an explanation that points to the exact detail. The skill is the same: notice, count, place. Combine these with photo practice so the real format isn't a surprise.