HESI A2 · Free diagnostic

HESI A2 diagnostic test

Forty questions from every academic HESI A2 section.

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HESI A2 quick diagnostic

40 questions
Reading · Vocabulary · Grammar · Math · Biology · Chemistry · Anatomy & Physiology
36 min in exam mode
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Questions are original practice items written to the published exam content, not real exam questions.

The Doctor Who Asked Colleagues to Wash
Today, cleaning hands before and after touching a patient is one of the most basic rules in any hospital. It was not always so. In the 1840s, the idea that a doctor's own hands could carry disease from one patient to another was still new, and few physicians acted on it.
In 1846, Ignaz Semmelweis, a physician at the General Hospital of Vienna, noticed a troubling pattern. The hospital had two maternity clinics. In the First Clinic, babies were delivered by medical students and physicians; in the Second Clinic, they were delivered by midwives. Mothers in the First Clinic consistently died at a higher rate, many of them from puerperal fever, also called childbed fever. Semmelweis observed that physicians often came to the First Clinic straight from the autopsy room and that their hands still had an unpleasant odor even after washing with soap and water. He proposed that "cadaverous particles" carried on their hands were causing the fever.
Perhaps because chlorine compounds were known to remove odors, Semmelweis required students and physicians, beginning in May 1847, to clean their hands with a chlorine solution between patients. The maternal death rate in the First Clinic then dropped dramatically and stayed low for years. According to the CDC, his work was the first evidence that cleaning heavily contaminated hands with an antiseptic between patient contacts may prevent the spread of disease better than washing with plain soap and water.
Semmelweis was not alone. In 1843, the American physician Oliver Wendell Holmes had independently concluded that childbed fever was spread by the hands of health personnel, but his recommendations had little effect on how doctors practiced at the time. Only gradually did handwashing come to be accepted as one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of germs in health care. In the United States, the CDC published formal written guidelines on handwashing in hospitals in 1975 and again in 1985.
Even so, the lesson has not been fully learned. Although most hospitals have adopted hand hygiene guidelines, the CDC has reported that health care workers' adherence to recommended handwashing practices has remained low. The story that began in a Vienna maternity ward more than 170 years ago is still unfinished.
Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?
Correct answer: C
The main idea ties together the beginning, middle, and end of a passage. In a history passage, the author often uses past events to make a point about the present, so read the final paragraph closely. A single dated event is a supporting detail, not the main idea.
- A Too narrow: this is one important event in the story, but it does not cover the slow acceptance or the modern problem.
- B Contradicted: the last paragraph says adherence has remained low and the story is "still unfinished."
- C Correct: the passage traces handwashing from early discoveries, through slow acceptance, to today's low adherence.
- D Misreads a detail: the passage says Holmes reached the idea independently in 1843; it does not argue about who deserves credit, and that is not the focus.
Learn this topic: How to summarize a passage that runs over several paragraphs 5-minute lesson

Source: CDC MMWR, Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings (2002), Historical Perspective · PubMed: De Costa CM, "The contagiousness of childbed fever": a short history of puerperal sepsis and its treatment, Med J Aust 2002 ·
The Doctor Who Asked Colleagues to Wash
Today, cleaning hands before and after touching a patient is one of the most basic rules in any hospital. It was not always so. In the 1840s, the idea that a doctor's own hands could carry disease from one patient to another was still new, and few physicians acted on it.
In 1846, Ignaz Semmelweis, a physician at the General Hospital of Vienna, noticed a troubling pattern. The hospital had two maternity clinics. In the First Clinic, babies were delivered by medical students and physicians; in the Second Clinic, they were delivered by midwives. Mothers in the First Clinic consistently died at a higher rate, many of them from puerperal fever, also called childbed fever. Semmelweis observed that physicians often came to the First Clinic straight from the autopsy room and that their hands still had an unpleasant odor even after washing with soap and water. He proposed that "cadaverous particles" carried on their hands were causing the fever.
Perhaps because chlorine compounds were known to remove odors, Semmelweis required students and physicians, beginning in May 1847, to clean their hands with a chlorine solution between patients. The maternal death rate in the First Clinic then dropped dramatically and stayed low for years. According to the CDC, his work was the first evidence that cleaning heavily contaminated hands with an antiseptic between patient contacts may prevent the spread of disease better than washing with plain soap and water.
Semmelweis was not alone. In 1843, the American physician Oliver Wendell Holmes had independently concluded that childbed fever was spread by the hands of health personnel, but his recommendations had little effect on how doctors practiced at the time. Only gradually did handwashing come to be accepted as one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of germs in health care. In the United States, the CDC published formal written guidelines on handwashing in hospitals in 1975 and again in 1985.
Even so, the lesson has not been fully learned. Although most hospitals have adopted hand hygiene guidelines, the CDC has reported that health care workers' adherence to recommended handwashing practices has remained low. The story that began in a Vienna maternity ward more than 170 years ago is still unfinished.
In the last paragraph, the word "adherence" most nearly means
Correct answer: A
Many words have more than one meaning, so the context decides. "Adhere" can mean to stick physically, but "adherence to recommended practices" describes how faithfully people follow a rule. Try each meaning in the sentence and keep the one that makes sense with the words around it.
- A Correct: adherence to recommended practices means sticking to, or following, those practices.
- B Knowing about a rule is different from doing it; the sentence is about practices actually carried out.
- C This is a real meaning of "adhere" (as glue adheres to paper), but it does not fit a sentence about following handwashing practices.
- D This is close to the opposite; the sentence is about how well workers follow the rules.
Learn this topic: How to figure out a word's meaning from context 5-minute lesson

Source: CDC MMWR, Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings (2002), Historical Perspective · PubMed: De Costa CM, "The contagiousness of childbed fever": a short history of puerperal sepsis and its treatment, Med J Aust 2002 ·
The Doctor Who Asked Colleagues to Wash
Today, cleaning hands before and after touching a patient is one of the most basic rules in any hospital. It was not always so. In the 1840s, the idea that a doctor's own hands could carry disease from one patient to another was still new, and few physicians acted on it.
In 1846, Ignaz Semmelweis, a physician at the General Hospital of Vienna, noticed a troubling pattern. The hospital had two maternity clinics. In the First Clinic, babies were delivered by medical students and physicians; in the Second Clinic, they were delivered by midwives. Mothers in the First Clinic consistently died at a higher rate, many of them from puerperal fever, also called childbed fever. Semmelweis observed that physicians often came to the First Clinic straight from the autopsy room and that their hands still had an unpleasant odor even after washing with soap and water. He proposed that "cadaverous particles" carried on their hands were causing the fever.
Perhaps because chlorine compounds were known to remove odors, Semmelweis required students and physicians, beginning in May 1847, to clean their hands with a chlorine solution between patients. The maternal death rate in the First Clinic then dropped dramatically and stayed low for years. According to the CDC, his work was the first evidence that cleaning heavily contaminated hands with an antiseptic between patient contacts may prevent the spread of disease better than washing with plain soap and water.
Semmelweis was not alone. In 1843, the American physician Oliver Wendell Holmes had independently concluded that childbed fever was spread by the hands of health personnel, but his recommendations had little effect on how doctors practiced at the time. Only gradually did handwashing come to be accepted as one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of germs in health care. In the United States, the CDC published formal written guidelines on handwashing in hospitals in 1975 and again in 1985.
Even so, the lesson has not been fully learned. Although most hospitals have adopted hand hygiene guidelines, the CDC has reported that health care workers' adherence to recommended handwashing practices has remained low. The story that began in a Vienna maternity ward more than 170 years ago is still unfinished.
Which conclusion about the Second Clinic is best supported by the passage?
Correct answer: C
A sound inference connects two things the passage actually says. Here the passage contrasts the two clinics and explains the difference with the autopsy room, so the best-supported conclusion uses that same explanation. Choices that require facts the passage never gives, such as the midwives' habits or Semmelweis's private beliefs, go beyond the text.
- A Not supported: the passage gives no information about any change in the Second Clinic's death rate.
- B Not stated: the passage says nothing about how the midwives cleaned their hands.
- C Correct: the passage links the higher First Clinic deaths to physicians arriving from the autopsy room; nothing ties the midwives to autopsies, so the Second Clinic's lower rate fits his explanation.
- D Not stated: Semmelweis's explanation was about particles on hands, not about anyone's training or skill.
Learn this topic: How to make inferences and draw conclusions from a passage 5-minute lesson

Source: CDC MMWR, Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings (2002), Historical Perspective · PubMed: De Costa CM, "The contagiousness of childbed fever": a short history of puerperal sepsis and its treatment, Med J Aust 2002 ·
Reading the Label Before You Eat
Two boxes of crackers can sit side by side on a grocery shelf, look almost the same, and still be very different foods. The Nutrition Facts label on the side or back of the box is the best way to tell them apart, but only if you know how to read it.
Start at the top, with the serving size. MedlinePlus advises checking the serving size first, because all of the other information on the label is based on it. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains that the serving size reflects the amount people typically eat or drink; it is not a recommendation of how much you should eat. Just below it is the number of servings per container. Many packages hold more than one serving, so a person who finishes a bag that contains three servings has eaten three times the calories and nutrients listed for one serving.
Next comes the calorie count, which tells you the number of calories in one serving. Below that are the nutrients, each followed by a percent Daily Value, or %DV. These percentages are based on 2,000 calories a day, a general guide for nutrition advice, although a person's own needs may be higher or lower. The FDA offers a quick rule for using them: 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low, and 20% DV or more is considered high. The rule makes comparison simple. If one cracker lists 18% DV for sodium per serving and another lists 4%, the second is the low-sodium choice, which matters because MedlinePlus advises eating no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day.
The label also shows added sugars. These include sugars put in during processing, such as sucrose or dextrose, as well as sugars from syrups, honey, and concentrated juices.
Learning to read a label takes a few minutes of practice, and it is worth every one of them. A shopper who understands serving sizes and the 5-and-20 rule can compare two products in seconds instead of trusting the pictures and slogans on the front of the box. In a store full of clever marketing, the plain black-and-white label may be the most honest thing on the package.
According to the passage, a nutrient that has 20% DV or more per serving is considered
Correct answer: C
Detail questions often place several numbers close together. Find the exact number in the stem (20% DV) in the passage and read the whole sentence it appears in. Then check that the choice matches that sentence, not a nearby number.
- A The passage says 5% DV or less is low; 20% or more is the opposite end.
- B Mixes two numbers: %DV is based on 2,000 calories, and 2,300 milligrams is the sodium limit.
- C Correct: the FDA rule in the passage says 20% DV or more per serving is considered high.
- D The passage says the serving size is not a recommendation, and %DV is a guide, not an amount to eat.
Learn this topic: How to use evidence from a passage to support, predict and conclude 5-minute lesson

Source: MedlinePlus, How to read food labels · FDA, How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label ·
Reading the Label Before You Eat
Two boxes of crackers can sit side by side on a grocery shelf, look almost the same, and still be very different foods. The Nutrition Facts label on the side or back of the box is the best way to tell them apart, but only if you know how to read it.
Start at the top, with the serving size. MedlinePlus advises checking the serving size first, because all of the other information on the label is based on it. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains that the serving size reflects the amount people typically eat or drink; it is not a recommendation of how much you should eat. Just below it is the number of servings per container. Many packages hold more than one serving, so a person who finishes a bag that contains three servings has eaten three times the calories and nutrients listed for one serving.
Next comes the calorie count, which tells you the number of calories in one serving. Below that are the nutrients, each followed by a percent Daily Value, or %DV. These percentages are based on 2,000 calories a day, a general guide for nutrition advice, although a person's own needs may be higher or lower. The FDA offers a quick rule for using them: 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low, and 20% DV or more is considered high. The rule makes comparison simple. If one cracker lists 18% DV for sodium per serving and another lists 4%, the second is the low-sodium choice, which matters because MedlinePlus advises eating no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day.
The label also shows added sugars. These include sugars put in during processing, such as sucrose or dextrose, as well as sugars from syrups, honey, and concentrated juices.
Learning to read a label takes a few minutes of practice, and it is worth every one of them. A shopper who understands serving sizes and the 5-and-20 rule can compare two products in seconds instead of trusting the pictures and slogans on the front of the box. In a store full of clever marketing, the plain black-and-white label may be the most honest thing on the package.
Which statement from the passage expresses an opinion?
Correct answer: A
Words such as "considered" or "should" do not automatically mark an opinion; ask who is making the claim and whether it can be checked. A rule published by an agency is a verifiable fact. An opinion is the author's own evaluation, often signaled by descriptive judgments like "clever" or "most honest."
- A Correct: calling marketing "clever" and the label "the most honest thing" are the author's judgments, which cannot be proved.
- B This is a fact reported from the FDA; the word "should" is part of the definition, not the author's judgment.
- C This sounds like a judgment because of "low" and "high," but it is a published FDA standard that can be checked.
- D This is a fact that anyone can confirm by reading package labels.
Learn this topic: How to tell fact from opinion and spot bias 5-minute lesson

Source: MedlinePlus, How to read food labels · FDA, How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label ·
Reading the Label Before You Eat
Two boxes of crackers can sit side by side on a grocery shelf, look almost the same, and still be very different foods. The Nutrition Facts label on the side or back of the box is the best way to tell them apart, but only if you know how to read it.
Start at the top, with the serving size. MedlinePlus advises checking the serving size first, because all of the other information on the label is based on it. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explains that the serving size reflects the amount people typically eat or drink; it is not a recommendation of how much you should eat. Just below it is the number of servings per container. Many packages hold more than one serving, so a person who finishes a bag that contains three servings has eaten three times the calories and nutrients listed for one serving.
Next comes the calorie count, which tells you the number of calories in one serving. Below that are the nutrients, each followed by a percent Daily Value, or %DV. These percentages are based on 2,000 calories a day, a general guide for nutrition advice, although a person's own needs may be higher or lower. The FDA offers a quick rule for using them: 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is considered low, and 20% DV or more is considered high. The rule makes comparison simple. If one cracker lists 18% DV for sodium per serving and another lists 4%, the second is the low-sodium choice, which matters because MedlinePlus advises eating no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day.
The label also shows added sugars. These include sugars put in during processing, such as sucrose or dextrose, as well as sugars from syrups, honey, and concentrated juices.
Learning to read a label takes a few minutes of practice, and it is worth every one of them. A shopper who understands serving sizes and the 5-and-20 rule can compare two products in seconds instead of trusting the pictures and slogans on the front of the box. In a store full of clever marketing, the plain black-and-white label may be the most honest thing on the package.
Which of the following best summarizes the passage?
Correct answer: C
A summary should cover the passage's major parts and its main point without adding or twisting claims. Check each choice for three problems: too narrow (one paragraph), distorted (a detail stated wrongly), or exaggerated (stronger than the author's words). The choice that avoids all three is the summary.
- A Overstates the author's point: the passage mentions marketing only at the end and never claims companies hide ingredients.
- B Too narrow: this combines two details from the third paragraph and leaves out serving size and the passage's overall purpose.
- C Correct: it follows the passage's order (serving size, calories, %DV, added sugars) and states its point that label reading allows quick comparison.
- D Contradicts the passage: the FDA says the serving size is not a recommendation of how much to eat.
Learn this topic: How to summarize a passage that runs over several paragraphs 5-minute lesson

Source: MedlinePlus, How to read food labels · FDA, How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label ·
During the checkup, the nurse practitioner noted a palpable but painless lump under the skin of the arm. Which word or phrase is closest in meaning to palpable?
Correct answer: A
Palpable means capable of being touched or felt, so a palpable lump is one that can be felt with the fingers. The word says nothing about pain, size or depth. Words that sit near it in a sentence, such as "under the skin" or "painless", can tempt you toward superficial or tender, so match the word itself, not the details around it.
- A Correct: palpable means capable of being touched or felt.
- B Located near the surface is the meaning of superficial; the sentence says the lump is under the skin, but palpable itself means able to be felt.
- C Swollen and stretched out is the meaning of distended, not palpable.
- D Tender when pressed describes pain, and the sentence says the lump is painless; palpable only means it can be felt.
Learn this topic: Health-care words for body position, location and direction 5-minute lesson

Source: Merriam-Webster, palpable · Merriam-Webster, distend · Merriam-Webster, superficial ·
By the end of her long shift on her feet, Mrs. Alvarez noticed edema in both ankles. Which word or phrase is closest in meaning to edema?
Correct answer: A
Edema is an abnormal collection of watery fluid in a body tissue or cavity, so the area looks puffy or swollen. The word comes from a Greek word meaning swelling. Picture puffy ankles at the end of a long day on your feet: that puffiness is edema.
- A Correct: edema is an abnormal buildup of watery fluid in body tissue, which shows up as swelling.
- B Bruising from blood leaking into tissue is a bruise (ecchymosis), not a buildup of watery fluid.
- C Abnormal redness of the skin is erythema; edema is swelling, not a color change.
- D Itching is pruritus; edema describes swelling, not an itchy feeling.
Learn this topic: Health-care words for body position, location and direction 5-minute lesson

Source: Merriam-Webster, edema · Merriam-Webster, ecchymosis · Merriam-Webster, erythema · Merriam-Webster, pruritus ·
When Jordan stood up too quickly, his friend noticed a sudden pallor in his face. Which word or phrase is closest in meaning to pallor?
Correct answer: B
Pallor means a deficiency of color, especially in the face, or simply paleness. It comes from a Latin word meaning paleness, and the everyday word pale comes from the same Latin base. Memory hook: pallor and pale both start with "pal."
- A A sudden reddening of the face is flushing; pallor is the opposite, a loss of color.
- B Correct: pallor means a lack of color, especially of the face; paleness.
- C A bluish or purplish discoloring is cyanosis, not pallor.
- D A yellowish tint of the skin is jaundice; pallor means pale, not yellow.
Learn this topic: Health-care words for body position, location and direction 5-minute lesson

Source: Merriam-Webster, pallor · Merriam-Webster, pale · Merriam-Webster, flushed · Merriam-Webster, cyanosis · Merriam-Webster, jaundice ·
After her inner-ear infection, Aisha had vertigo whenever she rolled over in bed. Which word or phrase is closest in meaning to vertigo?
Correct answer: A
Vertigo is a sensation of motion in which a person or the person's surroundings seem to whirl dizzily. It comes from the Latin vertere, "to turn," the same root as revert. People often mix it up with a fear of heights, but that is acrophobia.
- A Correct: vertigo is a sensation that you or your surroundings are whirling or spinning.
- B Fear of heights is acrophobia; vertigo is a feeling of motion, not a fear.
- C Ringing or roaring heard in the ears is tinnitus, a different ear-related symptom.
- D Pain in the ear is an earache; vertigo is about a false sense of motion, not pain.
Learn this topic: Health-care words for body position, location and direction 5-minute lesson

Source: Merriam-Webster, vertigo · Merriam-Webster, revert · Merriam-Webster, tinnitus · Merriam-Webster, acrophobia · Merriam-Webster, earache ·
The city planted more shade trees to mitigate the summer heat in crowded neighborhoods. Which word or phrase is closest in meaning to mitigate?
Correct answer: C
To mitigate is to make something less severe, harmful or intense. Merriam-Webster lists alleviate as a synonym. Do not confuse it with migrate (move) or litigate (go to court): to mitigate is to soften the blow.
- A Moving from one place or region to another is the meaning of migrate, a look-alike word.
- B Carrying on a legal contest in court is the meaning of litigate, another look-alike.
- C Correct: mitigate means to make something less severe, painful or intense.
- D Making something worse or more intense is the meaning of aggravate, nearly the opposite of mitigate.
Learn this topic: How to work out an unfamiliar word from context clues 5-minute lesson

Source: Merriam-Webster, mitigate · Merriam-Webster, migrate · Merriam-Webster, litigate · Merriam-Webster, aggravate ·
The care plan for Mrs. Kowalski lists dysphagia as a current problem. Based on its word parts, what is the best definition of dysphagia?
Correct answer: A
Dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing. Break it apart: dys- means difficult, abnormal or impaired, and phag- means eating. Watch its near twin dysphasia, with an s, which is a problem using or understanding language.
- A Correct: dys- means difficult or impaired and phag- refers to eating, so dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing.
- B Difficult or painful urination is dysuria; the root -uria refers to urine, not swallowing.
- C Trouble using or understanding language is dysphasia, a look-alike that differs by one letter (s for g).
- D Difficult or labored breathing is dyspnea; dysphagia has nothing to do with breathing.
Learn this topic: How to decode a word from its roots, prefixes and suffixes 5-minute lesson

Source: Merriam-Webster, dysphagia · Merriam-Webster, dys- · Merriam-Webster, phag- · Merriam-Webster, dysphasia · Merriam-Webster, dysuria · Merriam-Webster, -uria · Merriam-Webster, dyspnea ·
In which sentence is the word chart used as a verb?
Correct answer: B
A word's part of speech depends on the job it does in its sentence, not on the word itself. A verb shows an action or a state of being; in choice D, chart is the action the nurses perform. In the other sentences, chart names a thing and follows a word such as the or each, so it is a noun.
- A Here chart names a thing (the chart on the wall) and is the subject, so it is a noun; the verb is lists.
- B Correct: chart is the action the nurses perform, so it works as a verb in this sentence.
- C Here chart names an object and follows each, so it is a noun; the verb is has.
- D Here chart is the thing she placed, a direct object, so it is a noun; the verb is placed.
Learn this topic: How to tell which job a word is doing in a sentence 5-minute lesson

Source: Mt. San Antonio College Writing Center, DLA: Word Forms (PDF) · Purdue OWL, Parts of Speech Overview ·
In which sentence is the word after used as a conjunction?
Correct answer: C
After can be a preposition or a conjunction, depending on what follows it. When only a noun or pronoun follows (after dinner, after them), after is a preposition. When a whole clause with its own subject and verb follows (after the alarm stopped), after is a conjunction that begins a dependent clause.
- A Only a noun phrase (the staff meeting) follows after, with no verb of its own, so after is a preposition here.
- B Only the noun dinner follows after, so after is a preposition here.
- C Correct: after begins the clause the alarm stopped, which has its own subject (alarm) and verb (stopped), so after works as a conjunction.
- D Only the pronoun them follows after, so after is a preposition here; a pronoun alone is not a clause.
Learn this topic: How to tell which job a word is doing in a sentence 5-minute lesson

Source: Purdue OWL, Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses · City College of New York Writing Center, Introduction to the Parts of Speech (PDF) ·
Which sentence uses the verb correctly?
Correct answer: A
Irregular verbs have a past form and a separate past participle, and the past participle is the one used after has, have or had. Swim, swam, swum; drink, drank, drunk; write, wrote, written; and ring, rang, rung all follow this pattern. So had swum is correct, while had drank, has wrote and had rang use the simple past where the participle belongs.
- A Correct: swum is the past participle of swim, so had swum is the right form after the helper had.
- B Drank is the simple past; after had, the past participle drunk is needed (had drunk).
- C Wrote is the simple past; after has, the past participle written is needed (has written).
- D Rang is the simple past; after had, the past participle rung is needed (had rung).
Learn this topic: How to spot the grammar mistakes your ear misses 6-minute lesson

Source: Purdue OWL, Irregular Verbs · OpenStax Writing Guide with Handbook, Handbook (H7 Irregular Verbs) ·
Which word best completes the sentence? The students left ___ backpacks in the hallway.
Correct answer: B
Their is the possessive form that goes in front of a noun to show the noun belongs to them. They're is a contraction of they are, and there points to a place or begins a there is sentence. Expanding they're is a quick check: the students left they are backpacks makes no sense.
- A There points to a place or begins a there is sentence; it cannot show that the backpacks belong to the students.
- B Correct: their shows ownership and comes before the noun backpacks.
- C Theirs is a possessive pronoun that stands alone (the backpacks are theirs); it cannot come right before a noun.
- D They're means they are, and the students left they are backpacks makes no sense.
Learn this topic: How to choose between words that sound alike 6-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Writing Guide with Handbook, Handbook (Table H4, their/there/they're) · Purdue OWL, Spelling: Common Words that Sound Alike ·
Which of the following is a sentence fragment?
Correct answer: A
A sentence fragment is a group of words punctuated as a sentence that is not a complete thought. A clause that begins with a subordinating word such as because, although or when is a dependent clause and cannot stand alone, even though it has a subject and a verb. Fix it by attaching it to a main clause: We went home because the lab closed early.
- A Correct: because turns the clause into a dependent clause that leaves the reader waiting for the rest of the thought.
- B This is a complete sentence with a subject (lab) and verb (closed) that expresses a full thought.
- C This joins two independent clauses with a comma and the coordinating conjunction so, which is correct.
- D The dependent clause when the lab closed is attached to the independent clause we went home, so the sentence is complete.
Learn this topic: How to build and fix a complete sentence 6-minute lesson

Source: Purdue OWL, Sentence Fragments · OpenStax Writing Guide with Handbook, Handbook (H4 Sentence Errors: Fragments, Comma Splices, Run-ons) ·
Which sentence uses capital letters correctly?
Correct answer: D
Capitalize proper nouns, the specific names of people, places and organizations, such as Mercy Hospital. Family words such as aunt and mother are lowercase after a possessive word like my, and job titles such as nurse are lowercase when they are not part of a name. A word is capitalized because it is a name, not because it seems important.
- A Aunt follows my and is not used as a name, so it should be lowercase.
- B Mercy Hospital is the name of a specific hospital, so both words must be capitalized.
- C Nurse is a common job title and should be lowercase, and hospital is part of the proper name, so it needs a capital.
- D Correct: aunt and nurse are common nouns, and Mercy Hospital is the full name of a specific place.
Learn this topic: How to punctuate by rule, not by pause 6-minute lesson

Source: Purdue OWL, A Little Help with Capitals · OpenStax Writing Guide with Handbook, Handbook (H9 Punctuation: Commas, Semicolons; H10 Capital Letters) ·
Which of the following is the correctly written standard Roman numeral for 999?
Correct answer: C
Write 999 one place value at a time: 900 + 90 + 9. In standard form, 900 = CM, 90 = XC and 9 = IX, so 999 = CMXCIX. Shortcuts that subtract I from a much larger symbol (IM, IC) break the rule that I may come only before V or X.
- A This writes 99 as IC, but I can be subtracted only from V and X, so 99 must be XCIX.
- B This subtracts I from M (1,000 − 1); I can be subtracted only from V and X.
- C Correct: CM (900) + XC (90) + IX (9) = 999.
- D This has the right value but writes 900 as DCCCC, repeating C four times; the standard form for 900 is CM.
Learn this topic: How to read and write Roman numerals 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Contemporary Mathematics, 4.2 Early Numeration Systems · The Math Doctors, How Roman Numerals Work ·
Math practice: an order reads 7.5 mg of Medication X per kilogram. The person weighs 50 lb. The liquid on hand contains 80 mg in 5 mL. Using 1 kg = 2.2 lb, how many milliliters is the dose? Round only the final answer to the nearest tenth.
Correct answer: A
Keep every digit until the end: 50 ÷ 2.2 = 22.7272... kg, and 22.7272... × 7.5 = 170.4545... mg. Then 170.4545... ÷ 80 × 5 mL = 10.653... mL, which rounds to 10.7 mL. Rounding the weight early to 22.7 kg gives 10.64 mL and a different final tenth, which is why the stem says to round only at the end.
- A Correct: 50 ÷ 2.2 × 7.5 ÷ 80 × 5 = 10.65... mL, which rounds to 10.7 mL.
- B This uses 50 lb as if it were 50 kg (50 × 7.5 = 375 mg, 375 ÷ 80 × 5 ≈ 23.4 mL), skipping the pound-to-kilogram step.
- C This rounds the weight to 22.7 kg in the middle of the problem, which gives 10.64 mL and rounds to 10.6 instead of 10.7.
- D This multiplies by 2.2 instead of dividing (110 kg × 7.5 = 825 mg, 825 ÷ 80 × 5 ≈ 51.6 mL).
Learn this topic: How to solve dosage calculation math problems 6-minute lesson

Source: Open RN Nursing Skills, 5.11 Weight-Based Calculations (LibreTexts) · Open RN Nursing Skills, 5.5 Rounding (LibreTexts) · Open RN Nursing Skills, 5.6 Using Dimensional Analysis (LibreTexts) ·
A clinic orders 14 boxes of exam gloves. Each box holds 150 gloves. How many gloves does the clinic order in all?
Correct answer: C
Equal groups mean multiplication: 14 boxes × 150 gloves per box. Multiply 14 × 15 = 210, then attach the one zero from 150 to get 2,100. A quick estimate (about 15 × 150 = 2,250) confirms the answer is in the low thousands.
- A This multiplies 14 × 15 and drops the zero from 150, so the answer is ten times too small.
- B This adds 14 + 150 instead of multiplying; equal groups (boxes of 150) call for multiplication.
- C Correct: 14 × 150 = 2,100 gloves.
- D This attaches one zero too many (14 × 1,500); 14 × 15 = 210, and the single zero in 150 gives 2,100.
Learn this topic: How to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions, decimals and negatives 7-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Prealgebra 2e, 1.4 Multiply Whole Numbers ·
A nursing student walks 3.5 km on Monday, 0.75 km on Tuesday, and 12 km on Saturday. What is the total distance?
Correct answer: C
Line up the decimal points and fill empty places with zeros: 3.50 + 0.75 + 12.00. The tenths and hundredths give 0.50 + 0.75 = 1.25, so carry 1 into the ones place. The whole numbers give 3 + 0 + 12 + 1 = 16, for a total of 16.25 km.
- A This writes the 12 under the 75, as if it were 0.12, instead of placing it to the left of the decimal point (3.5 + 0.75 + 0.12 = 4.37); whole numbers go in the ones and tens places (12 = 12.00).
- B This adds the digits after the decimal points as if they were whole numbers (5 + 75 = 80), so 3.5 + 0.75 becomes 3.80 instead of 4.25; written as 0.50 + 0.75, the decimal parts make 1.25.
- C Correct: 3.50 + 0.75 + 12.00 = 16.25 km.
- D This forgets to carry: 0.50 + 0.75 = 1.25, so 1 must be carried into the ones place.
Learn this topic: How to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions, decimals and negatives 7-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Prealgebra 2e, 5.2 Decimal Operations ·
A baker adds 2/3 cup of milk to a batter and then another 3/4 cup. How much milk is in the batter in all?
Correct answer: D
Use the least common denominator, 12: 2/3 = 8/12 and 3/4 = 9/12. Add the numerators to get 17/12. Since 12 twelfths make one whole, 17/12 = 1 5/12 cups.
- A This adds the numerators and the denominators (2 + 3 over 3 + 4); fractions need a common denominator before adding.
- B This gets 17/12 but splits 17 into a 1 and a 7; 17/12 means 12/12 + 5/12, which is 1 5/12.
- C This uses the common denominator 12 but keeps the old numerators (2/12 + 3/12); each numerator must be multiplied too (8/12 and 9/12).
- D Correct: 8/12 + 9/12 = 17/12 = 1 5/12 cups.
Learn this topic: How to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions, decimals and negatives 7-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Prealgebra 2e, 4.5 Add and Subtract Fractions with Different Denominators ·
What is 3/8 written as a decimal?
Correct answer: C
A fraction bar means division, so 3/8 = 3 ÷ 8. Write 3 as 3.000 and divide: 8 goes into 30 three times (remainder 6), into 60 seven times (remainder 4), and into 40 five times, giving 0.375. Check: 3/8 is a little less than 4/8 = 0.5.
- A This puts an extra zero after the decimal point; 3/8 is a little less than 1/2, so it must be close to 0.4, not 0.04.
- B This divides 8 by 3; a fraction bar means numerator ÷ denominator, so divide 3 by 8.
- C Correct: 3 ÷ 8 = 0.375.
- D This just writes the numerator and denominator on either side of a decimal point; a fraction bar is not a decimal point.
Learn this topic: How to convert between fractions, decimals and percents 6-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Prealgebra 2e, 5.3 Decimals and Fractions ·
A cleaning solution is mixed in a ratio of 3 parts concentrate to 5 parts water. How many cups of concentrate are needed to make 24 cups of the mixed solution?
Correct answer: B
The ratio 3:5 compares part to part, so the whole mixture has 3 + 5 = 8 equal parts. Each part is 24 ÷ 8 = 3 cups. Concentrate is 3 parts, or 3 × 3 = 9 cups (water is 5 × 3 = 15 cups, and 9 + 15 = 24 checks).
- A This takes 3/5 of 24, treating 24 cups as the water; 24 cups is the whole mixture, which has 3 + 5 = 8 parts.
- B Correct: 24 ÷ 8 = 3 cups per part, and 3 parts × 3 cups = 9 cups.
- C This inverts the ratio and multiplies 24 by 5/3; the concentrate cannot be more than the whole 24-cup batch.
- D This is the amount of water (5 parts of 3 cups each), not the concentrate.
Learn this topic: How to work with ratios, unit rates and rate of change 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Prealgebra 2e, 5.6 Ratios and Rate · OpenStax Prealgebra 2e, 6.5 Solve Proportions and their Applications ·
A diploid cell with 8 chromosomes (2n = 8) undergoes meiosis. At the end of meiosis I, how many chromosomes does each new cell have, and what is true of the sister chromatids?
Correct answer: C
Meiosis I is the reduction division: homologous chromosomes separate in anaphase I, so each new cell gets one chromosome from each pair and becomes haploid (n = 4). The sister chromatids of each chromosome stay joined at the centromere until anaphase II. No DNA is copied between meiosis I and meiosis II.
- A Halving 8 gives 4, not 2; and the sister chromatids have not yet separated at this point.
- B The number is right, but sister chromatids separate in anaphase II, not in meiosis I.
- C Correct: separating homologous pairs halves the number to 4, and sister chromatids stay joined until meiosis II.
- D Keeping all 8 chromosomes describes mitosis; meiosis I separates homologs and halves the number.
Learn this topic: How one cell becomes two, or four 6-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Biology 2e, 11.1 The Process of Meiosis · OpenStax Biology 2e, 10.1 Cell Division ·
A molecule is made of one glycerol molecule bonded to three fatty acid chains. What type of molecule is it?
Correct answer: D
Fats are lipids built from one glycerol and three fatty acids, which is why they are also called triglycerides. Phospholipids have only two fatty acids; a phosphate group takes the third spot, and they form cell membranes. Steroids, such as cholesterol, look very different: four carbon rings linked together.
- A A phospholipid has only two fatty acid chains on its glycerol backbone; a phosphate group takes the third spot.
- B A steroid is built from four linked carbon rings, not from glycerol and fatty acids.
- C A polysaccharide is a long chain of sugar units such as glucose; it has no fatty acids.
- D Correct: glycerol plus three fatty acids is a fat, also called a triglyceride ("tri" for the three fatty acids).
Learn this topic: The four macromolecules of life and how cells build them 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Biology 2e, 3.3 Lipids ·
Cells in the adrenal cortex make large amounts of steroid hormones, which are lipids. Which organelle would you expect to be especially well developed in these cells?
Correct answer: B
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) comes in two forms. Rough ER is covered with ribosomes and makes proteins; smooth ER has no ribosomes and makes lipids, including phospholipids and steroid hormones. Match the cell's main product to the organelle that makes it.
- A Rough ER is studded with ribosomes and mainly makes proteins, such as secreted enzymes, not lipid hormones.
- B Correct: smooth ER is the main site of lipid synthesis, including phospholipids and steroid hormones.
- C Lysosomes hold enzymes that break down worn-out cell parts; they digest molecules rather than build hormones.
- D The nucleolus is the region of the nucleus where ribosomes are made; it does not make lipids.
Learn this topic: How a cell is built, fed, and copied 6-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 3.2 The Cytoplasm and Cellular Organelles · OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 17.6 The Adrenal Glands · OpenStax Biology 2e, 4.3 Eukaryotic Cells ·
In pea plants, round seeds (R) are dominant to wrinkled seeds (r), and yellow seeds (Y) are dominant to green seeds (y). The two genes sort independently. Two plants that are both RrYy are crossed. What fraction of the offspring are expected to have round, yellow seeds?
Correct answer: A
When two genes sort independently, solve each gene as its own one-gene cross, then multiply. Rr × Rr gives 3/4 round, and Yy × Yy gives 3/4 yellow, so 3/4 × 3/4 = 9/16 are both round and yellow. This is where the classic 9:3:3:1 ratio of a dihybrid cross comes from.
- A Correct: each trait alone gives 3/4 dominant, and for independent genes you multiply: 3/4 × 3/4 = 9/16.
- B 3/16 is the fraction with one dominant and one recessive trait, such as round and green (3/4 × 1/4).
- C 1/16 is the fraction with both recessive traits, wrinkled and green (1/4 × 1/4).
- D 3/4 is the chance of one dominant trait; for both traits at once you must multiply the two chances.
Learn this topic: How traits pass from parents to children 6-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Biology 2e, 12.3 Laws of Inheritance ·
The coding part of an mRNA molecule is 300 nucleotides long, not counting the stop codon. How many amino acids does this sequence code for?
Correct answer: D
The genetic code is read in groups of three nucleotides called codons, and each codon in the coding part stands for one amino acid. Divide the number of coding nucleotides by 3 to get the number of amino acids. A stop codon ends translation and adds no amino acid, which is why it is left out of the count.
- A This assumes each nucleotide codes for one amino acid, but each amino acid takes three nucleotides.
- B This treats a codon as two nucleotides; codons are three nucleotides long.
- C This multiplies by 3 instead of dividing; each amino acid uses three nucleotides, so there are fewer amino acids than nucleotides.
- D Correct: each three-nucleotide codon codes for one amino acid, so 300 ÷ 3 = 100.
Learn this topic: How a gene in DNA becomes a protein 6-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Biology 2e, 15.1 The Genetic Code ·
A bottle holds 2.5 L of saline solution. How many milliliters is this? (1 L = 1,000 mL)
Correct answer: A
The prefix milli- means one-thousandth, so 1 mL is 1/1,000 of a liter and 1 L = 1,000 mL. To change liters to milliliters, multiply by 1,000, which moves the decimal point three places to the right. Changing to a smaller unit always gives a bigger number.
- A Correct: 2.5 × 1,000 = 2,500 mL.
- B This multiplies by 100 instead of 1,000, moving the decimal point only two places.
- C This multiplies by 10,000, moving the decimal point one place too far.
- D This divides by 1,000; going from a larger unit to a smaller one, the number must get bigger, not smaller.
Learn this topic: How to measure like a scientist: units, prefixes, tools and readings 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Chemistry 2e, 1.4 Measurements ·
A student stirs sugar into a glass of water at room temperature. After a while, extra sugar stays on the bottom no matter how long she stirs. How is the liquid above the undissolved sugar best described?
Correct answer: D
Solubility is the most solute that can dissolve in a given amount of solvent at a given temperature. A solution below that limit is unsaturated, a solution at the limit is saturated, and a solution holding more than the limit is supersaturated and unstable. Extra solid that will not dissolve is a clear sign the liquid is saturated.
- A An unsaturated solution can still dissolve more solute, so the extra sugar would keep dissolving.
- B A supersaturated solution holds more than its solubility limit and is unstable; leftover solid on the bottom means the liquid is holding exactly its limit.
- C Dilute means only a small amount of solute is dissolved; this liquid holds as much sugar as it can at this temperature.
- D Correct: no more solute will dissolve and extra solid remains, so the solution is at its solubility limit, which is saturated.
Learn this topic: How solutions work: what dissolves, how much, and why cells swell or shrink 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Chemistry 2e, 11.3 Solubility ·
Which equation shows a synthesis reaction?
Correct answer: A
Count what goes in and what comes out. In a synthesis reaction, two or more substances join to form one product (A + B → AB). Decomposition is the reverse (AB → A + B), and in exchange (replacement) reactions, parts of the reactants trade partners.
- A Correct: two reactants join to form a single product, the pattern A + B → AB.
- B One reactant breaks into simpler products (AB → A + B), so this is decomposition.
- C Zinc takes the place of hydrogen in its compound, so this is a single-replacement (exchange) reaction.
- D The two compounds swap partners and a solid forms, so this is a double-replacement (exchange) reaction.
Learn this topic: How to read, balance, and classify a chemical reaction 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 2.3 Chemical Reactions · OpenStax Chemistry 2e, 4.2 Classifying Chemical Reactions ·
Carbonic acid, H₂CO₃, gives up one hydrogen ion (H⁺) in water. What is its conjugate base?
Correct answer: B
In the Brønsted-Lowry model, an acid donates H⁺, and what remains is its conjugate base. The two differ by exactly one H⁺, so remove one H from the formula and lower the charge by one: H₂CO₃ becomes HCO₃⁻ (bicarbonate). Carbonic acid and bicarbonate together form an important buffer in human blood.
- A CO₃²⁻ is what remains after two H⁺ ions are removed; a conjugate base differs from its acid by exactly one H⁺.
- B Correct: removing one H⁺ from H₂CO₃ leaves HCO₃⁻, the bicarbonate ion.
- C Adding an H⁺ makes a conjugate acid, not a conjugate base.
- D OH⁻ is the conjugate base of water, not of carbonic acid.
Learn this topic: How acids, bases, pH and buffers work 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Chemistry 2e, 14.1 Brønsted-Lowry Acids and Bases · OpenStax Chemistry 2e, 14.6 Buffers ·
Starch and cellulose are both polymers made only of glucose. Humans can digest starch but not cellulose. What best explains the difference?
Correct answer: D
Starch and cellulose are built from the same glucose units; the difference is how those units are linked. Starch uses alpha (α) glycosidic bonds, which human enzymes such as amylase break, while cellulose uses beta (β) 1-4 bonds that human enzymes cannot break. Cows and other grazing animals digest cellulose only with help from microbes in their gut that make the enzyme cellulase.
- A Cellulose is made only of glucose, so it contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen but no nitrogen.
- B Chain length is not the problem; the type of bond between the glucose units is what blocks human enzymes.
- C Starch is broken down by amylase enzymes from the salivary glands and pancreas, not by stomach acid.
- D Correct: cellulose's glucose units are joined by β 1-4 glycosidic bonds, and humans make no enzyme that breaks them.
Learn this topic: The four macromolecules of life and how cells build them 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Biology 2e, 3.2 Carbohydrates · OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, 23.7 Chemical Digestion and Absorption: A Closer Look ·
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cushions the brain and spinal cord. Between which two layers does CSF circulate around the outside of the brain?
Correct answer: C
From superficial to deep, the meninges are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater, which clings to the surface of the brain and spinal cord. CSF fills the subarachnoid space, between the arachnoid and the pia. CSF is produced by the choroid plexuses inside the ventricles.
- A The dura mater is the outermost meninx, lying against the skull; CSF does not circulate there.
- B The space just beneath the dura is not where CSF flows; CSF lies deep to the arachnoid.
- C Correct: CSF fills the subarachnoid space, between the arachnoid mater and the pia mater.
- D The pia mater sits directly on the brain surface, so there is no CSF-filled space beneath it.
Learn this topic: How the nervous system sends and sorts signals 6-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 13.3 Circulation and the Central Nervous System ·
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and oxytocin are released into the blood from the posterior pituitary. Where are these two hormones actually made?
Correct answer: D
ADH and oxytocin are made by neurons in the hypothalamus (ADH in the supraoptic nuclei, oxytocin in the paraventricular nuclei). They travel down axons to the posterior pituitary, which stores them and releases them into the blood. The posterior pituitary releases these hormones but does not make them.
- A The adrenal cortex makes steroid hormones such as aldosterone and cortisol.
- B The posterior pituitary only stores and releases these hormones; it does not synthesize them.
- C The anterior pituitary makes its own hormones, such as GH, TSH and ACTH, not ADH or oxytocin.
- D Correct: hypothalamic neurons make ADH and oxytocin and send them down their axons to the posterior pituitary.
Learn this topic: How hormones and negative feedback keep blood glucose steady 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 17.3 The Pituitary Gland and Hypothalamus ·
After passing through the capillaries of the heart wall, most oxygen-poor blood collects in the coronary sinus. Where does the coronary sinus empty?
Correct answer: C
The heart muscle has its own circulation. Coronary arteries supply the myocardium, and cardiac veins such as the great cardiac vein drain into the coronary sinus on the posterior surface of the heart. The coronary sinus empties directly into the right atrium, joining the oxygen-poor blood from the venae cavae.
- A The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the pulmonary veins, not venous blood from the heart wall.
- B The coronary arteries arise from the first part of the aorta; that is where blood enters the heart wall, not where it leaves.
- C Correct: the coronary sinus empties directly into the right atrium.
- D The coronary sinus opens straight into a heart chamber, not into the superior vena cava.
Learn this topic: How blood flows through the heart 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 19.1 Heart Anatomy ·
Which statement correctly compares the lobes of the two lungs?
Correct answer: A
The right lung has three lobes (superior, middle and inferior), while the left lung has two (superior and inferior). The left lung is smaller and has an indentation, the cardiac notch, that makes room for the heart.
- A Correct: the right lung has superior, middle and inferior lobes; the left lung has superior and inferior lobes.
- B Only the right lung has three lobes; the left lung has two and occupies less volume.
- C This reverses the sides: the right lung, not the left, has three lobes.
- D Only the left lung has two lobes; the right lung has three.
Learn this topic: How air reaches the alveoli and how oxygen and CO2 trade places 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 22.2 The Lungs ·
Which structure carries urine from a kidney to the urinary bladder?
Correct answer: C
Each kidney drains into a ureter, a tube that carries urine to the urinary bladder; waves of peristalsis in its wall push the urine along. The bladder stores urine, and the single urethra carries it out of the body. A quick way to remember: the ureter comes first, the urethra exits.
- A The urethra carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body, not from the kidney to the bladder.
- B Collecting ducts lie inside the kidney and deliver urine toward the renal pelvis, not to the bladder.
- C Correct: each ureter carries urine from a kidney to the bladder, propelled by peristalsis.
- D The renal artery brings blood to the kidney; it does not carry urine.
Learn this topic: How the kidneys filter blood and make urine 5-minute lesson

Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 25.2 Gross Anatomy of Urine Transport ·

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