Mathematics for Nursing School Entrance Exam Practice Problems

The study guides for this practice quiz can be found at:

Word Problems

You will find word problems using fractions, decimals, and percentages as these specific sections come up later in this chapter. For now, practice using the translation table on problems that just require you to work with basic arithmetic. Answers are at the end of the chapter.

Joan went shopping with $100 and returned home with only $18.42. How much money did she spend?
1. $81.58
2. $72.68
3. $72.58
4. $71.68
5. $71.58
Each of five physical therapists at the therapy center works six hours per day. Each therapist can work with three patients per hour. In total, how many patients can be seen each day at the center?
1. 18
2. 30
3. 60
4. 75
5. 90
The office secretary can type 80 words per minute on his word processor. How many minutes will it take him to type a report containing 760 words?
1. 8
2. 8
3. 9
4. 9
5. 10
Mr. Wallace is writing a budget request to upgrade his personal computer system. He wants to purchase a cable modem, which will cost $100, two new software programs at $350 each, a color printer for $249, and an additional color cartridge for $25.What is the total amount Mr. Wallace should write on his budget request?
1. $724
2. $974
3. $1,049
4. $1,064
5. $1,074

Fractions

Reduce these fractions to lowest terms:

Raise these fractions to higher terms:

Try these addition problems:

Try these subtraction problems:

Now, let's put what you have learned about adding and subtracting fractions to work in some real-life problems:

Before leaving the hospital, the ambulance driver noted that the mileage gauge on Ambulance 2 registered 4,357 miles. When he arrived at the scene of the accident, the mileage gauge then registered 4,400 miles. How many miles did he drive from the hospital to the accident?

Try these multiplication problems:

Now, try these multiplication problems with mixed numbers and whole numbers:

Here are a few more real-life problems to test your skills:

After driving Convert of the 15 miles to work, Dr. Stone received an emergency call from the hospital. How many miles had he driven when he got the call?

If Henry spent of a 40-hour week learning to use new laboratory equipment, how many hours did he spend in training?
1. 7
2. 10
3. 20
4. 25
5. 30
Technician Chin makes $14.00 an hour. When she works more than 8 hours a day, she gets overtime pay of 1 times her regular hourly wage for the extra hours. How much did she earn for working 11 hours in one day?
1. $77
2. $154
3. $175
4. $210
5. $231

Here are a few division problems to try:

Let's wrap this up with some real-life problems.

If Dr. McCarthy's four assistants evenly divided 6 pounds of candy, how many pounds of candy did each assistant get?

How many -pound chunks of cheese can be cut from a single 20-pound piece of cheese?
1. 2
2. 4
3. 6
4. 8
5. 10
Ms. Goldbaum earned $36.75 for working 3 hours. What was her hourly wage?
1. $10.00
2. $10.50
3. $10.75
4. $12.00
5. $12.25

Decimals

Change these decimals or mixed decimals to fractions:

0.005
3.48
123.456

Try these addition and subtraction problems:

0.905 + 0.02 + 3.075
0.005 + 8 + 0.3
3.48 – 2.573
123.456 – 122
James drove 3.7 miles to his physical therapist's office. He then walked 1.6 miles on the treadmill to strengthen his legs. He got back into the car, drove 2.75 miles to his radiology appointment, and then drove 2 miles back home. How many miles did he drive in total?
1. 8.05
2. 8.45
3. 8.8
4. 10
5. 10.05
The average number of emergency room visits at City Hospital fell from 486.4 per week to 402.5 per week. By how many emergency room visits per week did the average fall?
1. 73.9
2. 83
3. 83.1
4. 83.9
5. 84.9

You can practice multiplying decimals with these:

0.05 × 0.6
0.053 × 6.4
38.1 × 0.0184
Joe earns $14.50 per hour as an occupational therapist. Last week, he worked 37.5 hours. How much money did he earn that week?
1. $518.00
2. $518.50
3. $525.00
4. $536.50
5. $543.75
Nuts cost $3.50 per pound. Approximately how much will 4.25 pounds of nuts cost?
1. $12.25
2. $12.50
3. $12.88
4. $14.50
5. $14.88

Try your skills on these division problems:

If James Worthington drove the mobile blood bank unit 92.4 miles in 2.1 hours, what was his average speed in miles per hour?
1. 41
2. 44
3. 90.3
4. 94.5
5. 194.04
Mary Sanders walked a total of 18.6 miles in 4 days. On average, how many miles did she walk each day?
1. 4.15
2. 4.60
3. 4.65
4. 22.60
5. 74.40

Percents

Try changing these decimals to percents:

0.45
0.008
0.16

Now, change these percents to decimals:

12%
87%
250%

Try changing these fractions to percents:

Now, change these percents to fractions:

95%
37%
125%

Find a percent of a whole:

1% of 25
18.2% of 50
37% of 100
125% of 60

Find what percent one number is of another number:

10 is what % of 20?
4 is what % of 12?
12 is what % of 4?

Find the whole when the percent of it is given:

15% of what number is 15?
37% of what number is 3?
200% of what number is 20?

Now, try your percent skills on some real-life problems:

Last Monday, 20% of the 140-member nursing staff was absent. How many nurses were absent that day?
1. 14
2. 20
3. 28
4. 112
5. 126
Forty percent of General Hospital's medical technologists are women. If there are 80 female medical technologists, how many medical technologists are male?
1. 32
2. 112
3. 120
4. 160
5. 200
Of the 840 biopsies performed last month, 42 were positive. What percent of the biopsies were positive?
1. 5%
2. 2%
3. 5%
4. 20%
5. 50%
Sam's Shoe Store put all of its merchandise on sale for 20% off. If Jason saved $10 by purchasing one pair of shoes during the sale, what was the original price of the shoes before the sale?
1. $12
2. $20
3. $40
4. $50
5. $70

Averages

Try these average questions:

Bob's bowling scores for the last five games were 180, 182, 184, 186, and 188.What was his average bowling score?
1. 182
2. 183
3. 184
4. 185
5. 186
Ambulance Driver Conroy averaged 30 miles an hour for the two hours he drove in town and 60 miles an hour for the two hours he drove on the highway. What was his average speed in miles per hour?
1. 18
2. 22
3. 45
4. 60
5. 90
There are ten females and 20 males in the first aid course. If the females achieved an average score of 85 and the males achieved an average score of 95, what was the class average? (Hint: Don't fall for the trap of taking the average of 85 and 95; there are more 95s being averaged than 85s, so the average is closer to 95.)
1. 90
2. 91
3. 92
4. 92
5. 95

Length and Time

Convert as indicated.

2 ft. = _____ in.
3 cm = _____ mm
16 m = _____ cm
294 cm = _____ m

Add and simplify.

Subtract and simplify.

Now, try these time problems:

Jan ran three tests in the lab that each required 45 minutes. If she then ran a final test and all four tests required a total of hours, how long did the final test take?

If each of eight radiology rooms is in use for 5 hours 15 minutes per day, and a total of 84 procedures are performed, how long does each procedure take on average?
1. 20 minutes
2. 30 minutes
3. 40 minutes
4. 50 minutes
5. 1 hour
Clara cultured a particular virus at 2:30 P.M. on Monday and stored the culture in the refrigerator until 11:30 A.M. on Wednesday. How long was the culture in the refrigerator?
1. 3 hours
2. 21 hours
3. 27 hours
4. 45 hours
5. 69 hours

Algebra

Solve each equation:

x + 5 = 12
3x + 6 = 18
x = 7

Now, solve these problems with signed numbers.

1 – 3(–4) = x
–3x + 6 = –18
– + 3 = –7

Evaluate these expressions.

4a + 3b; a = 2 and b = –1
3mn – 4m + 2n; m = 3 and n = –3
–2x – y + 4z; x = 5, y = –4, and z = 6
The volume of a cylinder is given by the formula V = πr²h, where r is the radius of the base and h is the height of the cylinder. What is the volume of a cylinder with a base radius of 3 and height of 4? (Leave π in your answer.)

Use the previous rules to solve these problems in squares and square roots.

(3 + x)² = 49

Geometry

These word problems require you to find the measures of angles.

In order to paint the second story of his house, Alex leaned a ladder against the side of his house, making an acute angle of 58° with the ground. Find the size of the obtuse angle the ladder made with the ground.

Geometry

Confusion Corner is an appropriately named intersection that confuses drivers unfamiliar with the area. Referring to the street plan on the right, find the size of the marked angle.

Geometry

Determine the measure of the marked angles.

Geometry

Find the perimeters for these word problems:

Maryellen has cleared a 10-foot-by-6-foot rectangular plot of ground for her herb garden. She must completely enclose it with a chain-link fence to keep her dog out. How many feet of fencing does she need, excluding the 3-foot gate at the south end of the garden?
Terri plans to hang a wallpaper border along the top of each wall in her square dressing room. Wallpaper border is sold only in 12-foot strips. If each wall is 8 feet long, how many strips should she buy?

Find the area of the following triangles:

Geometry

Find the missing angles

Geometry

Find the perimeter and area of each triangle (Hint: Use the Pythagorean theorem):

Geometry

Irene is fishing at the edge of a 40-foot-wide river, directly across from her friend Sam, who is fishing at the edge of the other side. Sam's friend Arthur is fishing 30 feet down the river from Sam. How far is Irene from Arthur?

Geometry

Following are two word problems involving perimeters of quadrilaterals:

What is the length of a side of a square room whose perimeter is 58 feet?
1. 8 ft.
2. 14 ft.
3. 14.5 ft.
4. 29 ft.
5. 232 ft.
Find the dimensions of a rectangle with perimeter of 16 feet and whose long size is three times its short side.
1. 4 ft. by 4 ft.
2. 4 ft. by 12 ft.
3. 3 ft. by 5 ft.
4. 2 ft. by 6 ft.
5. 2 ft. by 8 ft.

Now, try some area word problems:

Tristan is laying 12-inch by 18-inch tiles on the laboratory floor. If the lab measures 15 feet by 18 feet, how many tiles does Tristan need, assuming there's no waste? (Hint: Do all your work in either feet or inches.)
1. 12
2. 120
3. 180
4. 216
5. 270
What is the length in feet of a rectangular parking lot that has an area of 8,400 square feet and a width of 70 feet?
1. 12
2. 120
3. 1,200
4. 4,000
5. 4,130

These word problems require you to find the circumference:

What is the circumference of a circular room whose diameter is 15 feet?
1. 7.5π ft.
2. 15π ft.
3. 30π ft.
4. 45π ft.
5. 225π ft.
What is the approximate circumference of a round tower whose radius is feet?
1. 10 ft.
2. 20 ft.
3. 33 ft.
4. 40 ft.
5. 48 ft.
Find the circumference of a water pipe whose radius is 1.2 inches.
1. 1.2π in.
2. 1.44π in.
3. 2.4π in.
4. 12π in.
5. 24π in.

Try these word problems on the area of a circle:

What is the area in square inches of the bottom of a beaker with a diameter of 6 inches?
1. 6π
2. 9π
3. 12π
4. 18π
5. 36π
James Band is believed to be hiding within a 5-mile radius of his home. What is the approximate area, in square miles, of the region in which he may be hiding?
1. 15.7
2. 25
3. 31.4
4. 78.5
5. 157
If a circular parking lot covers an area of 2,826 square feet, what is the size of its radius? (Use 3.14 for π.)
1. 30 ft.
2. 60 ft.
3. 90 ft.
4. 450 ft.
5. 900 ft.