, NURS 5461 EXAM 3
Adult Gerontology Primary Care
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
100-Question Original Practice Examination
2026/2027 Edition
Practice focus: comprehensive geriatric assessment, polypharmacy, medication safety, falls, orthostasis, cognition and
delirium, urinary incontinence, chronic disease management, transitions of care, palliative care, prevention, and functional
independence.
1. An 82-year-old lives alone and can bathe and dress independently but has begun missing medications and
unpaid bills. Which tool best evaluates the abilities most relevant to independent community living?
A) Katz Activities of Daily Living index.
B) Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale.
C) Geriatric Depression Scale.
D) Braden Scale.
Correct Answer: Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale.
Rationale:
Instrumental ADLs assess higher-level tasks such as medication management, finances, shopping, transportation, and
meal preparation. Basic ADLs focus on self-care tasks such as bathing and dressing, so they may remain intact even when
independent community functioning is beginning to decline.
2. Which activity is classified as a basic activity of daily living?
A) Managing a weekly pill organizer.
B) Shopping for groceries.
C) Managing a bank account.
D) Transferring from bed to chair.
Correct Answer: Transferring from bed to chair.
Rationale:
Basic ADLs measure essential self-care functions such as bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, and feeding.
Managing finances, shopping, and medications are instrumental activities that require more complex cognitive and
organizational abilities.
3. A 79-year-old has lost 8 pounds unintentionally, walks slowly, and reports exhaustion. Which geriatric
syndrome should be considered?
A) Benign prostatic hyperplasia.
B) Primary insomnia only.
C) Frailty.
D) Presbycusis.
Correct Answer: Frailty.
Rationale:
Frailty is a state of reduced physiologic reserve and increased vulnerability to stressors. Unintentional weight loss,
weakness, slowness, exhaustion, and low activity are classic components and are associated with falls, hospitalization,
disability, and mortality.
4. Which finding most strongly suggests sarcopenia?
A) Progressive loss of skeletal muscle strength and mass.
B) Increased bone mineral density.
C) Increased fat-free mass.
D) Isolated hearing loss.
NURS 5461 Exam 3 Practice Examination 1 2026/2027 Edition
, Correct Answer: Progressive loss of skeletal muscle strength and mass.
Rationale:
Sarcopenia involves age-associated decline in muscle mass and strength, often contributing to impaired mobility, falls, and
reduced independence. Strength and performance are clinically important because muscle quantity alone does not fully
capture functional impact.
5. A comprehensive geriatric assessment is most useful because it:
A) Integrates medical, functional, cognitive, psychological, and social domains.
B) Focuses only on laboratory abnormalities.
C) Replaces all disease-specific care.
D) Measures only chronological age.
Correct Answer: Integrates medical, functional, cognitive, psychological, and social domains.
Rationale:
Older adults often have interacting medical, functional, cognitive, medication, social, and caregiving issues. Comprehensive
geriatric assessment brings these domains together so the care plan can target function, safety, goals, and quality of life
rather than a single diagnosis.
6. Which observation best reflects mobility performance rather than self-report?
A) Reviewing a medication list.
B) Asking whether the patient feels steady.
C) Checking vaccination status.
D) Timed Up and Go testing.
Correct Answer: Timed Up and Go testing.
Rationale:
Performance-based tests such as the Timed Up and Go directly assess balance, transfers, gait, and mobility. Self-report
remains valuable but may underestimate or overestimate actual performance, so objective testing adds useful information.
7. An older adult reports difficulty climbing stairs and carrying groceries but remains independent in bathing
and dressing. What does this pattern suggest?
A) Delirium by definition.
B) Early functional decline affecting higher-level activities.
C) No functional impairment.
D) Complete dependence in basic ADLs.
Correct Answer: Early functional decline affecting higher-level activities.
Rationale:
Higher-level instrumental activities often decline before basic self-care activities. Difficulty with complex tasks may be an
early sign of frailty, cardiopulmonary limitation, musculoskeletal disease, cognitive change, or inadequate support and
warrants further assessment.
8. Which factor is most important when interpreting weight loss in an older adult?
A) Hair color.
B) Hand dominance.
C) Chronological age alone.
D) Whether the loss was unintentional and associated with declining intake, function, or illness.
Correct Answer: Whether the loss was unintentional and associated with declining intake, function, or illness.
Rationale:
Unintentional weight loss can signal malignancy, depression, dementia, medication effects, dysphagia, social isolation, food
insecurity, or chronic disease. The context and trajectory matter far more than age alone.
9. A patient has normal strength but needs help with shopping, cooking, and transportation after losing a
spouse. What should the clinician assess next?
NURS 5461 Exam 3 Practice Examination 2 2026/2027 Edition
Adult Gerontology Primary Care
University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)
100-Question Original Practice Examination
2026/2027 Edition
Practice focus: comprehensive geriatric assessment, polypharmacy, medication safety, falls, orthostasis, cognition and
delirium, urinary incontinence, chronic disease management, transitions of care, palliative care, prevention, and functional
independence.
1. An 82-year-old lives alone and can bathe and dress independently but has begun missing medications and
unpaid bills. Which tool best evaluates the abilities most relevant to independent community living?
A) Katz Activities of Daily Living index.
B) Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale.
C) Geriatric Depression Scale.
D) Braden Scale.
Correct Answer: Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale.
Rationale:
Instrumental ADLs assess higher-level tasks such as medication management, finances, shopping, transportation, and
meal preparation. Basic ADLs focus on self-care tasks such as bathing and dressing, so they may remain intact even when
independent community functioning is beginning to decline.
2. Which activity is classified as a basic activity of daily living?
A) Managing a weekly pill organizer.
B) Shopping for groceries.
C) Managing a bank account.
D) Transferring from bed to chair.
Correct Answer: Transferring from bed to chair.
Rationale:
Basic ADLs measure essential self-care functions such as bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, and feeding.
Managing finances, shopping, and medications are instrumental activities that require more complex cognitive and
organizational abilities.
3. A 79-year-old has lost 8 pounds unintentionally, walks slowly, and reports exhaustion. Which geriatric
syndrome should be considered?
A) Benign prostatic hyperplasia.
B) Primary insomnia only.
C) Frailty.
D) Presbycusis.
Correct Answer: Frailty.
Rationale:
Frailty is a state of reduced physiologic reserve and increased vulnerability to stressors. Unintentional weight loss,
weakness, slowness, exhaustion, and low activity are classic components and are associated with falls, hospitalization,
disability, and mortality.
4. Which finding most strongly suggests sarcopenia?
A) Progressive loss of skeletal muscle strength and mass.
B) Increased bone mineral density.
C) Increased fat-free mass.
D) Isolated hearing loss.
NURS 5461 Exam 3 Practice Examination 1 2026/2027 Edition
, Correct Answer: Progressive loss of skeletal muscle strength and mass.
Rationale:
Sarcopenia involves age-associated decline in muscle mass and strength, often contributing to impaired mobility, falls, and
reduced independence. Strength and performance are clinically important because muscle quantity alone does not fully
capture functional impact.
5. A comprehensive geriatric assessment is most useful because it:
A) Integrates medical, functional, cognitive, psychological, and social domains.
B) Focuses only on laboratory abnormalities.
C) Replaces all disease-specific care.
D) Measures only chronological age.
Correct Answer: Integrates medical, functional, cognitive, psychological, and social domains.
Rationale:
Older adults often have interacting medical, functional, cognitive, medication, social, and caregiving issues. Comprehensive
geriatric assessment brings these domains together so the care plan can target function, safety, goals, and quality of life
rather than a single diagnosis.
6. Which observation best reflects mobility performance rather than self-report?
A) Reviewing a medication list.
B) Asking whether the patient feels steady.
C) Checking vaccination status.
D) Timed Up and Go testing.
Correct Answer: Timed Up and Go testing.
Rationale:
Performance-based tests such as the Timed Up and Go directly assess balance, transfers, gait, and mobility. Self-report
remains valuable but may underestimate or overestimate actual performance, so objective testing adds useful information.
7. An older adult reports difficulty climbing stairs and carrying groceries but remains independent in bathing
and dressing. What does this pattern suggest?
A) Delirium by definition.
B) Early functional decline affecting higher-level activities.
C) No functional impairment.
D) Complete dependence in basic ADLs.
Correct Answer: Early functional decline affecting higher-level activities.
Rationale:
Higher-level instrumental activities often decline before basic self-care activities. Difficulty with complex tasks may be an
early sign of frailty, cardiopulmonary limitation, musculoskeletal disease, cognitive change, or inadequate support and
warrants further assessment.
8. Which factor is most important when interpreting weight loss in an older adult?
A) Hair color.
B) Hand dominance.
C) Chronological age alone.
D) Whether the loss was unintentional and associated with declining intake, function, or illness.
Correct Answer: Whether the loss was unintentional and associated with declining intake, function, or illness.
Rationale:
Unintentional weight loss can signal malignancy, depression, dementia, medication effects, dysphagia, social isolation, food
insecurity, or chronic disease. The context and trajectory matter far more than age alone.
9. A patient has normal strength but needs help with shopping, cooking, and transportation after losing a
spouse. What should the clinician assess next?
NURS 5461 Exam 3 Practice Examination 2 2026/2027 Edition
