sum/count; middle of ordered list; most frequent; max − min
Length, capacity, time
1 km = 1000 m, 1 m = 100 cm, 1 ft = 12 in, 1 yd = 3 ft, 1 mi = 5280 ft, 1 gal = 4 qt = 16 cups, 1 h = 60 min
Temperature
°F = °C·9/5 + 32, °C = (°F − 32)·5/9; a change of 1 °C = 1.8 °F
Area
rectangle l·w, triangle ½·b·h, circle π·r²
Perimeter and circumference
rectangle 2l + 2w, circle π·d = 2π·r
Volume
box l·w·h, cylinder π·r²·h; 1000 cm³ = 1 L
Speed
distance ÷ time (time in hours for mph or km/h)
Method
Read the last sentence first: what exactly is asked, and in which unit or form (lowest terms, nearest cent, one decimal place)?
Write the numbers in one form: turn mixed numbers into improper fractions, percents into decimals, and hours and minutes into one unit.
Pick the method: PEMDAS for expressions, a common denominator for adding fractions, part ÷ whole × 100 for percents, cross-multiplying for proportions, inverse operations for equations.
Work one step at a time and write each line down; round only at the very end.
Check the size of the answer with an estimate, and put an equation’s answer back in.
Nursing math & unit conversions
Metric steps
1 kg = 1000 g, 1 g = 1000 mg, 1 mg = 1000 mcg, 1 L = 1000 mL
Weight and length
1 kg = 2.2 lb, 1 lb = 16 oz, 1 in = 2.54 cm, 1 ft = 12 in
Household measures
1 tsp = 5 mL, 1 tbsp = 15 mL, 1 fl oz = 30 mL, 1 cup = 8 fl oz = 240 mL
Write the given quantity with its unit and the unit you want.
Pick the equivalent: 1000 between kg, g, mg and mcg or L and mL; 1 kg = 2.2 lb; 1 tsp = 5 mL, 1 tbsp = 15 mL, 1 fl oz = 30 mL, 1 cup = 240 mL.
Write it as a fraction so that the unwanted unit cancels; for a rate, use one fraction per unit that changes.
Check the direction: a smaller unit gives a bigger number.
Round only the final answer, to the precision the question names.
Reading comprehension (entrance exams)
Method
Read the question first so you know what you are looking for.
Skim the passage for its topic and main point; the first or last sentence often states it.
Go back to the exact lines that answer the question.
For inferences, choose the option the clues most strongly support, not one that goes further.
For labels and tables, apply every rule that fits the case and do the small calculation carefully.
Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)
Method
Read the whole sentence and look for a context clue: a definition, a contrast, an example or a cause and effect.
Split an unfamiliar word into prefix, root and suffix and translate each part.
Read a medical term from the suffix back to the start (hepat-itis: inflammation of the liver).
Put each option into the sentence and check that the meaning still fits.
Choose the meaning used in this sentence, even if the word has another everyday meaning.
English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)
Method
Find the subject and the verb of the sentence before choosing a form.
Strip away phrases (of the …, along with …) and extra people (you and …) to test agreement and pronoun case.
Check each clause: can it stand alone? Join independent clauses with a comma + conjunction or a semicolon.
Check modifiers and lists: the describing phrase next to its word, items in the same form.
For word choice and register, pick the precise, formal and concise option.
Biology for nursing entrance exams
Method
Name the topic of the question: cell parts, transport, division, DNA and protein synthesis, inheritance, biomolecules, microorganisms or experimental design.
Recall the key rule: A–T and G–C, diffusion from high to low, water moves towards more solute, mitosis keeps and meiosis halves the chromosome number.
For crosses, write the parents’ genotypes, list the gametes and fill a Punnett square before counting.
For experiments, label the independent, dependent and controlled variables, and ask whether the evidence supports or only suggests the conclusion.
Check each option against the question asked, not just whether it is a true statement.
Chemistry for nursing entrance exams
Method
Identify what is given and asked: particles, a formula, a state change, a concentration, a pH or a mass.
Use the periodic table: the atomic number gives protons, the group gives valence electrons and the usual ion charge.
Balance equations with coefficients only, element by element, oxygen and hydrogen last.
For amounts, go mass → moles → mole ratio → moles → mass, and for solutions use M = mol/L and C₁V₁ = C₂V₂.
Remember that pH is logarithmic: one unit is a factor of 10.
2Practice problems
1.Pre-nursing math (entrance exam)Medium
Solve for x: 7(x + 18) = 70.
7(x + 18) = 70
x =
2.Pre-nursing math (entrance exam)Hard
Your first 5 exam scores are 95, 80, 95, 90, 88. What score x do you need on the next exam for a mean of exactly 88 over all 6 exams?
95, 80, 95, 90, 88x̄ = 88
x =
3.Nursing math & unit conversionsMedium
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A dose calculation for an injection gives 8.5042 mL. The rule in this exercise is that volumes of 1 mL or more are rounded to the nearest tenth of a mL. What value x do you record?
8.5042 mL
x = mL
4.Nursing math & unit conversionsHard
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A prescription reads ½ tbsp of an oral suspension three times a day for 5 days. The suspension comes in 100 mL bottles. Using 1 tbsp = 15 mL, how many whole bottles N must be supplied so the course is complete?
½ tbspthree times a day5 days100 mL1 tbsp = 15 mL
N =
5.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)Medium
“Sofia remembered the day she arrived in the city ten years earlier, holding one small suitcase and not speaking a word of the language. Now she stood at the front of a classroom, teaching that language to others.” Which technique does the author use?
AA list of instructions
BA conversation between two people
CA prediction about the future
DA flashback to an earlier time
6.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)Hard
“By 1900, cities were growing fast. Factories drew workers from farms, and crowded housing led to the spread of disease.” Which cause-and-effect chain does the passage describe?
AFarms grew larger, so fewer people lived in the growing cities.
CDisease spread, so workers moved from cities to farms.
DHousing improved, so diseases became much less common.
7.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)Medium
Choose the meaning of the word in bold: “Nurses use therapeutic communication with patients.”
ACasual and chatty in tone, like with friends
BPromoting healing and well-being
CWritten down rather than spoken
DRequired by law in every case
8.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)Hard
What does the term lithotripsy mean?
ACrushing of stones
BAn X-ray of the stones
CDissolving stones with drugs
DRemoval of a kidney
9.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)Medium
Which word should replace the underlined informal word for a formal report? “The results were awesome.”
Amind-blowing
Bsuper cool
Cexcellent
Depic
10.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)Hard
Which sentence uses the present perfect correctly?
AI have visited Paris last year.
BI have visit Paris twice.
CI have visited Paris twice.
DI visited Paris since 2020.
11.Human anatomyMedium
Which type of epithelium lines the urinary bladder?
ATransitional epithelium (urothelium)
BSimple columnar epithelium
CPseudostratified columnar epithelium
DSimple squamous epithelium
12.Human anatomyHard
Which coronary artery most often supplies the sinoatrial (SA) node?
ALeft anterior descending artery
BRight coronary artery
CCircumflex artery
DLeft main coronary artery
13.Human physiologyMedium
Which receptors respond mainly to a fall in arterial oxygen levels?
ABaroreceptors in the carotid sinus
BStretch receptors in the lungs
CPeripheral chemoreceptors in the carotid and aortic bodies
DCentral chemoreceptors in the medulla
14.Human physiologyHard
Why does a person with a high spinal cord injury above T1 risk low blood pressure?
AThe sympathetic outflow to the vessels and heart is cut off
BRenin release from the kidney stops completely
CThe vagus nerve is cut, so the heart rate rises
DThe phrenic nerve can no longer control the tone of the arteries
15.Biology for nursing entrance examsMedium
Which process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?
ADecomposition
BCellular respiration
CPhotosynthesis
DBurning fossil fuels
16.Biology for nursing entrance examsHard
Cyanide stops mitochondria from making ATP. Which process in the affected cells would stop first?
APumping of Na⁺ and K⁺ by the sodium-potassium pump
BSimple diffusion of oxygen into the cell
CFacilitated diffusion of glucose down its gradient
DOsmosis of water across the membrane
17.Chemistry for nursing entrance examsMedium
At constant temperature, the volume of a gas is halved. What happens to its pressure?
AIt becomes four times smaller
BIt doubles
CIt halves
DIt stays the same
18.Chemistry for nursing entrance examsHard
Alkanes follow the general formula CₙH₂ₙ₊₂. What is the formula of the alkane with 4 carbon atoms?
AC₄H₁₀
BC₄H₁₂
CC₄H₈
DC₄H₆
3Solutions
1.Pre-nursing math (entrance exam)
Answer: x = −8
Solving equations: do the same thing to both sides until x stands alone. Undo operations in reverse order: first undo addition or subtraction, then multiplication or division. Clear parentheses with the distributive property, a(x + b) = ax + ab, and collect the x terms on one side. Check the answer by substituting it back.
Divide both sides by 7 (or multiply out the parentheses).
x + 18 = 10
Subtract 18 from both sides.
x = −8
Check
7·(−8 + 18) = 70
Answer
x = −8
2.Pre-nursing math (entrance exam)
Answer: x = 80
Mean, median, mode and range: the mean (average) is the sum divided by the number of values. The median is the middle value once the values are in order; with an even number of values it is the mean of the two middle ones. The mode is the value that occurs most often. The range is the largest value minus the smallest.
Total needed
88 × 6 = 528
Score needed
x = 528 − 448 = 80
Answer
x = 80
3.Nursing math & unit conversions
Answer: x = 8.5 mL
Rounding: look at the digit just after the place you round to: 5 or more rounds up, 4 or less leaves the digit as it is. Round only the final answer, never the steps. Typical exam rules: volumes of 1 mL or more to the nearest tenth, volumes below 1 mL to the nearest hundredth, drip rates to whole drops and weights to one decimal place; always follow the rule the question states.
Digit in the tenths place
8.5042 → 5
Only the next digit decides
8.5042 → 0
0 is 4 or less, so 5 stays.
The digits after it (42) are ignored: round once, never step by step.
Round
x = 8.5 mL
Answer
x = 8.5 mL
4.Nursing math & unit conversions
Answer: N = 2
Dimensional analysis: write the given quantity, then multiply by conversion factors written as fractions (for example 60 min/1 h or 1 mg/1000 mcg) so that each unwanted unit appears once on top and once underneath and cancels. When only the wanted unit is left, calculate. Use the equivalents the question gives and round only the final answer.
Total volume
7.5 mL × 3 × 5 = 112.5 mL
Bottles
112.5/100 = 1.125 → N = 2
Answer
N = 2
5.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)
Answer: D · A flashback to an earlier time
Why this is the answer
The author takes the reader back ten years before returning to the present, which is a flashback.
Answer
D · A flashback to an earlier time
6.Reading comprehension (entrance exams)
Answer: B · Factories brought workers, crowding followed, disease spread.
Why this is the answer
Factories attracted workers to cities, which caused crowded housing, which in turn helped disease spread.
Answer
B · Factories brought workers, crowding followed, disease spread.
7.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)
Answer: B · Promoting healing and well-being
Why this is the answer
Therapeutic means having a healing or helpful effect.
Answer
B · Promoting healing and well-being
8.Healthcare vocabulary (entrance exams)
Answer: A · Crushing of stones
Why this is the answer
Lithotripsy breaks up stones, such as kidney stones, often using shock waves from outside the body.
Answer
A · Crushing of stones
9.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)
Answer: C · excellent
Why this is the answer
Formal writing uses precise, standard words such as “excellent”. The other choices are slang.
Answer
C · excellent
10.English grammar & language usage (entrance exams)
Answer: C · I have visited Paris twice.
Why this is the answer
The present perfect (have + past participle) is used for experiences with no specific finished time. A finished time like “last year” needs the simple past, and “since” needs the present perfect.
Answer
C · I have visited Paris twice.
11.Human anatomy
Answer: A · Transitional epithelium (urothelium)
Why this is the answer
Transitional epithelium can change shape from rounded to flattened cells as the bladder stretches, while staying watertight.
Answer
A · Transitional epithelium (urothelium)
12.Human anatomy
Answer: B · Right coronary artery
Why this is the answer
The SA nodal artery arises from the right coronary artery in roughly 60% of people and from the circumflex artery in the rest.
Answer
B · Right coronary artery
13.Human physiology
Answer: C · Peripheral chemoreceptors in the carotid and aortic bodies
Why this is the answer
The carotid and aortic bodies detect low PaO₂ (and also high CO₂ and H⁺). The central chemoreceptors respond to CO₂ but not directly to oxygen.
Answer
C · Peripheral chemoreceptors in the carotid and aortic bodies
14.Human physiology
Answer: A · The sympathetic outflow to the vessels and heart is cut off
Why this is the answer
Sympathetic outflow leaves the cord at T1–L2. A lesion above it removes vasomotor tone and cardiac sympathetic drive while the vagus still works, causing hypotension and bradycardia (neurogenic shock).
Answer
A · The sympathetic outflow to the vessels and heart is cut off
15.Biology for nursing entrance exams
Answer: C · Photosynthesis
Why this is the answer
Plants, algae and some bacteria take in CO₂ during photosynthesis and build it into sugars. Respiration, combustion and decomposition all release CO₂.
Answer
C · Photosynthesis
16.Biology for nursing entrance exams
Answer: A · Pumping of Na⁺ and K⁺ by the sodium-potassium pump
Why this is the answer
Only active transport uses ATP, so the sodium-potassium pump fails when ATP runs out. Diffusion, osmosis and facilitated diffusion are passive and are driven by concentration gradients.
Answer
A · Pumping of Na⁺ and K⁺ by the sodium-potassium pump
17.Chemistry for nursing entrance exams
Answer: B · It doubles
Why this is the answer
P₁V₁ = P₂V₂, so halving V doubles P. The same particles hit a smaller area more often.
Answer
B · It doubles
18.Chemistry for nursing entrance exams
Answer: A · C₄H₁₀
Why this is the answer
For n = 4: H = 2(4) + 2 = 10, so the formula is C₄H₁₀ (butane). C₄H₈ fits CₙH₂ₙ, the alkene formula.
Answer
A · C₄H₁₀
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