Also called: TEAS-style math · HESI A2-style math · nursing entrance exam math · pre-nursing math
Free Pre-nursing math (entrance exam) practice problems with diagrams, hints and full worked solutions. New values every time, at three levels: numbers, fractions and percents, ratios, equations and data, word problems and multi-step.
Nice work. Want the next one?Ready for the next one? 5 new problems every day, in every topic.
Nursing school entrance exams test the math you learned in middle and high school, not university math. The questions are short, and most can be done without a calculator if you know the methods.
The topics come back again and again:
Speed matters, so learn the methods until they are automatic, and always check whether your answer is a sensible size.
Answer: Arithmetic, fractions, percents, basic algebra, measurement and data. Entrance exams check the foundations you need to start the programme. Dosage calculations build on them and are taught later; calculus and inference are not part of these exams.
Work out an expression in this order, remembered as PEMDAS (or BODMAS): Parentheses, Exponents, then Multiplication and Division from left to right, then Addition and Subtraction from left to right.
Watch the minus sign with powers: (−3)² = 9, but −3² = −(3²) = −9.
Fractions. To add or subtract, rewrite them with a common denominator, then add or subtract the numerators only. To multiply, multiply tops and bottoms. To divide, multiply by the reciprocal (flip the second fraction). Turn mixed numbers into improper fractions first, and give the answer in lowest terms.
Answer: 7/12. The common denominator is 12: 9/12 − 2/12 = 7/12. Subtracting the tops and adding the bottoms (2/10) is the classic mistake: denominators are never added or subtracted.
Fractions, decimals and percents are three ways to write the same number: 3/8 = 0.375 = 37.5%.
Percent of a number: p% of N = (p/100) × N. Percent change compares the change with the original value:
Discount and tax: 25% off leaves 75% of the price; then a 6% tax multiplies by 1.06. Reverse percent: if a sale price after 20% off is $48, the original is 48 ÷ 0.80 = $60, not 48 × 1.20.
Answer: 25%. The change is $10, and you divide by the original $40: 10/40 = 0.25 = 25%. Dividing by the new price gives 20%, the most common wrong answer.
A proportion says two ratios are equal. Solve it by cross-multiplying:
To share an amount in the ratio 2 : 3, split it into 2 + 3 = 5 equal parts first.
Equations: undo what is done to x, in reverse order, doing the same to both sides. In 4x − 7 = 21, add 7 first (4x = 28), then divide by 4 (x = 7). Check by putting the answer back in.
Word problems: name the unknown, write one equation and solve it. A fixed fee plus a rate per unit gives total = fee + rate × units.
A phone plan costs $20 a month plus $0.10 per text. One month’s bill is $27.50. How many texts were sent?
Let t be the number of texts.
Subtract 20: 0.10t = 7.50. Divide by 0.10: t = 75.
20 + 0.10 × 75 = 20 + 7.50 = 27.50. It works.
75 texts.
To convert units, multiply by a factor that equals 1, written so that the old unit cancels. A smaller unit gives a bigger number.
Data: the mean is the sum divided by the count; the median is the middle value of the ordered list; the mode is the most frequent value; the range is largest minus smallest.
On a chart, read the scale first: how much is one gridline worth? A pie-chart sector of p% stands for p% of the total and an angle of p% of 360°.
Answer: 7. In order the values are 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, and the middle one is 7. Taking the middle of the unordered list gives 9; 6.8 is the mean and 10 the range.
Area is in square units and volume in cubic units: write the unit with every answer.
Strategy: estimate before you calculate, so you can spot an answer that is ten times too big. Read what is asked: “how many more” means subtract, “in all” means add, and a question about the son’s age is not answered by the mother’s.
Answer: 78.5 cm². The radius is 5 cm, so the area is 3.14 × 5² = 78.5 cm². Using the diameter in π·r² gives 314 cm², and 31.4 cm is the circumference, a length.
Fraction answers are chosen from four options in lowest terms, as on the real exams; all other answers are typed as numbers.
Learn it step by step in the appLearn it step by step in the app
What is 90% of 30? Find x.
Find x
Percent means per hundred: p% of a number is (p/100) × the number. To find what percent A is of B, divide A by B and multiply by 100. A percent change compares the change with the original value: percent change = (new − original)/original × 100.
Which fraction or mixed number in lowest terms equals the decimal 1.74? Click it.
Fractions, decimals and percents are three ways to write the same number. Fraction → decimal: divide the numerator by the denominator. Decimal → percent: multiply by 100 (move the point two places right). Percent → decimal: divide by 100. Decimal → fraction: write the digits over 10, 100 or 1000 (one zero per decimal place) and simplify.
A recipe uses 1.25 cups of flour for 5 batches of muffins. At the same rate, how many cups of flour x are needed for 20 batches?
Find x (cups)
Ratios and proportions: a ratio a : b compares two amounts. In a proportion two ratios are equal, a/b = c/d, and you solve it by cross-multiplying: a·d = b·c. To share an amount in the ratio m : n, divide it into m + n equal parts; one share is m parts, the other n parts.
Nursing school entrance exams test the math you learned in middle and high school, not university math. The questions are short, and most can be done without a calculator if you know the methods.
The topics come back again and again:
Every problem has new values, so you learn the method instead of an answer. Stuck? Open a small hint first, and the full explanation only when you need it.