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Accuplacer/CPT Sample Questions

Reading Comprehension

This test contains 20 questions. Some ask you to decide how two sentences are related. Questions are answered after reading passages of various lengths.

Narrative Question:

Read the statement or passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the statement or passage.

There are two types of pottery that I do. There is production pottery — mugs, tableware, the kinds of things that sell easily. These pay for my time to do other work, which is more creative and satisfies my needs as an artist.

The author of this passage implies that:

1. artists tend to waste valuable time.
2. creativity and mass-production are incompatible.
3. most people do not appreciate good art.
4. pottery is not produced by creative artists.

Sentence Relationship Question:

Two underlined sentences are followed by a question or statement about them. Read each pair of sentences and then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

The Midwest is experiencing its worst drought in fifteen years. Corn and soybean prices are expected to be very high this year.

What does the second sentence do?

1. It restates the idea found in the first.
2. It states an effect.
3. It gives an example.
4. It analyzes the statement made in the first.

Sentence Skill Questions

Two kinds of questions are given in this test, You will be asked to correct a sentence by choosing a word or phrase to substitute for the underlined portion. You will be presented a total of 20 questions.

Sentence Correction Question:

Select the best version of the underlined part of the sentence. The first choice is the same as the original sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.

Ms. Rose planning to teach a biology course next summer.

1. planning
2. are planning
3. with a plan
4. plans

Construction Shift Question:

Rewrite the sentence in your head, following the directions given below. Keep in mind that your new sentence should be well written and should have essentially the same meaning as the sentence given you.

Being a female jockey, she was often interviewed.

Re-write, beginning with She was often interviewed...

The next words will be

1. on account of she was
2. by her being
3. because she was
4. being as she was

Arithmetic Option

The Arithmetic test measures your skills in three primary categories:

1. Operations with whole numbers and fractions.
2. Operations with decimals and percents.
3. Applications and problem solving.

A total of 16 questions are asked.

Sample Questions for Arithmetic:

Solve the following problems and choose your answer from the alternatives given. You may use scratch paper.

All of the following are ways to write 20 percent of N, except:

1. 0.2N
2. 20N/100
3. 1N/5
4. 20N

Which of the following is closest to the square root of 10.5?

1. 3
2. 4
3. 5
4. 8

Three people who work full time are to work together on a project, but their total time on the project is to be equivalent to that of only one person working full time. If one of the people is budgeted for 1⁄2 of his time to the project and second person for 1⁄3 of her time, what part of the third worker's time should be budgeted to this project?

1. 1⁄3
2. 1⁄4
3. 1⁄6
4. 1⁄8

Elementary Algebra Option

There are three categories in the Elementary Algebra test.

1. Operations with integers and rational numbers.
2. Operations with algebraic expressions.
3. Equation solving, inequalities, and word problems.

A total of 12 questions are asked.

Sample Questions for Elementary Algebra:

If a number is divided by 4, and then 3 is subtracted, the result is 0. What is the number?

1. 12
2. 4
3. 3
4. 2

Factor 16x − 8

1. 8x
2. 8(2x − x)
3. 8(2x − 1)
4. 8(2x − 8)

If x² − x − 6 = 0 then x is:

1. either −1 or 3
2. either −1 or 6
3. either 1 or −6
4. either 2 or −3

College-Level Mathematics Option

The College-Level mathematics assesses proficiency from intermediate algebra through precalculus. The categories include:

1. Algebraic operations.
2. Solutions of equations and inequalities.
3. Coordinate geometry.
4. Application and other algebra topics.
5. Functions and trigonometry.

Sample Questions for College Level Mathematics:

If f(x) = x4 − x + 2, then f(−x) =

1. x4 − x
2. x4 + x
3. x4 − x + 2
4. x4 + x + 2

The equation x² + 2ix − 4 = 0 has as its roots

1. √5 − 1, −√5 − 1
2. √5 − 1, √5 + 1
3. √3 − 1, −√5 + 1
4. √3 − 1, √3 + 1
5. √3 − 1, −√3 − 1

Answer Key