Definition 1 of 2
Definition
A type of multiple-choice test question in which the correct answer is the option that is false, incorrect, or does not belong with the others. The stem typically contains a word such as 'except,' 'not,' or 'least' to signal that the usual logic of the question is reversed.
Plain English
A test question where you have to pick the wrong answer instead of the right one. The question is built so that three of the choices are true and one is false — and you're being asked to find the false one.
Context Anchor
Used in flight instructor training, ground lessons, cockpit teaching, and postflight debriefs when discussing how instructors ask questions.
Derivation
Reverse' comes from the Latin 'revertere,' meaning to turn back or turn around. In a normal question you pick the correct answer; in a reverse question the logic is turned around — you pick the incorrect one.
Why Pilots Care
Missing the reversal is one of the most common ways pilots lose easy points on FAA written exams. Spotting words like 'except' or 'not' in the question stem changes which answer you should choose.
Intuition Check
Do not read “reverse question” as a trick question or a backward sentence. In flight training, it means the instructor sends the student's question back to the student to prompt thinking.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor warned the class to slow down on reverse questions and underline the word 'except' before choosing an answer.
Example Sentence 2
After the reverse question about a tailwind on final, the student realized the approach speed adjustment worked the opposite way from what the handbook example showed.