TCAR POST TEST EXAM - 350 MULTIPLE
CHOICE QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS &
RATIONALES
SECTION 1: KINEMATICS & MECHANISM OF INJURY (Questions 1-35)
1. What is the first question to ask in any traumatic injury?
A) What is the patient's GCS?
B) What was the dose of energy involved (high or low)?
C) What is the patient's blood pressure?
D) Where did the injury occur?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The dose of energy determines the severity and pattern of injury.
High-energy mechanisms (e.g., falls from height, high-speed MVC) cause more
extensive damage than low-energy mechanisms. This guides the index of
suspicion for underlying injuries.
2. What are the three questions to ask in trauma assessment?
A) What is the GCS? What is the blood pressure? What is the heart rate?
B) What was the dose of energy? Where did it go? What injuries are likely?
C) What is the age? What is the mechanism? What are the vital signs?
D) What is the past medical history? What medications? What allergies?
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The three questions guide trauma assessment: energy dose
predicts injury severity, trajectory determines which structures are at risk,
and likely injuries direct the focused physical examination and diagnostic
workup.
3. Helmets and automobile airbags work because they:
A) Prevent blows to the head
B) Reduce acceleration injuries
C) Increase deceleration speed
D) Add deceleration distance
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Helmets and airbags function by extending the time over which
deceleration occurs, thereby reducing the force applied to the body according
to Newton's second law (force = mass × acceleration), minimizing the risk of
severe brain or bodily injury.
4. Which statement best describes knife wounds?
A) Low velocity; temporary cavity depends on knife size; damage is usually
extensive
B) Low velocity; temporary cavity is insignificant; damage is limited to
structures directly in object's path
C) High velocity; temporary cavity is small; damage affects structures at
distance from wound tract
D) High velocity; temporary cavity is massive; damage results in widespread
tissue destruction
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Knife wounds are low-velocity penetrating injuries, creating a
permanent cavity along the blade's path without significant temporary
cavitation or shock waves. Damage is localized unless vital structures are
directly hit.
5. What is the caliber of a bullet?
A) The length of the bullet
B) The weight of the bullet
C) The diameter of the bullet
D) The velocity of the bullet
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Caliber refers to the diameter of the bullet. This measurement helps
determine the potential for tissue damage and the trajectory through the
body.
6. In gunshot wounds, what two questions should be asked?
A) Caliber and number of entrance/exit wounds
B) Caliber and type of gun
C) Type of gun and number of entrance/exit wounds
D) High/low velocity and caliber
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Caliber determines the size of the wound tract, while the number of
entrance/exit wounds helps determine the trajectory and number of
projectiles, which guides the extent of the evaluation.
, 7. Injury to which body structure is commonly a DELAYED finding in blast
trauma patients?
A) Heart
B) Bladder
C) Bowel
D) Spleen
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Bowel injuries from blast overpressure may present hours to days
later due to delayed perforation from ischemia. This makes them particularly
dangerous as they can be missed during the initial assessment.
8. Shock occurs when:
A) The sodium-potassium pump fails
B) ATP levels are less than lactic acid levels
C) Cellular oxygen demand is greater than supply
D) Aerobic metabolism exceeds anaerobic metabolism
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Shock is a state of cellular hypoxia where oxygen delivery fails to
meet metabolic demands, leading to anaerobic metabolism, lactic acidosis, and
potential multi-organ failure.
9. What is the most common cause of preventable death in trauma patients?
A) Infection
B) Hemorrhage
CHOICE QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS &
RATIONALES
SECTION 1: KINEMATICS & MECHANISM OF INJURY (Questions 1-35)
1. What is the first question to ask in any traumatic injury?
A) What is the patient's GCS?
B) What was the dose of energy involved (high or low)?
C) What is the patient's blood pressure?
D) Where did the injury occur?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The dose of energy determines the severity and pattern of injury.
High-energy mechanisms (e.g., falls from height, high-speed MVC) cause more
extensive damage than low-energy mechanisms. This guides the index of
suspicion for underlying injuries.
2. What are the three questions to ask in trauma assessment?
A) What is the GCS? What is the blood pressure? What is the heart rate?
B) What was the dose of energy? Where did it go? What injuries are likely?
C) What is the age? What is the mechanism? What are the vital signs?
D) What is the past medical history? What medications? What allergies?
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The three questions guide trauma assessment: energy dose
predicts injury severity, trajectory determines which structures are at risk,
and likely injuries direct the focused physical examination and diagnostic
workup.
3. Helmets and automobile airbags work because they:
A) Prevent blows to the head
B) Reduce acceleration injuries
C) Increase deceleration speed
D) Add deceleration distance
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Helmets and airbags function by extending the time over which
deceleration occurs, thereby reducing the force applied to the body according
to Newton's second law (force = mass × acceleration), minimizing the risk of
severe brain or bodily injury.
4. Which statement best describes knife wounds?
A) Low velocity; temporary cavity depends on knife size; damage is usually
extensive
B) Low velocity; temporary cavity is insignificant; damage is limited to
structures directly in object's path
C) High velocity; temporary cavity is small; damage affects structures at
distance from wound tract
D) High velocity; temporary cavity is massive; damage results in widespread
tissue destruction
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Knife wounds are low-velocity penetrating injuries, creating a
permanent cavity along the blade's path without significant temporary
cavitation or shock waves. Damage is localized unless vital structures are
directly hit.
5. What is the caliber of a bullet?
A) The length of the bullet
B) The weight of the bullet
C) The diameter of the bullet
D) The velocity of the bullet
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Caliber refers to the diameter of the bullet. This measurement helps
determine the potential for tissue damage and the trajectory through the
body.
6. In gunshot wounds, what two questions should be asked?
A) Caliber and number of entrance/exit wounds
B) Caliber and type of gun
C) Type of gun and number of entrance/exit wounds
D) High/low velocity and caliber
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Caliber determines the size of the wound tract, while the number of
entrance/exit wounds helps determine the trajectory and number of
projectiles, which guides the extent of the evaluation.
, 7. Injury to which body structure is commonly a DELAYED finding in blast
trauma patients?
A) Heart
B) Bladder
C) Bowel
D) Spleen
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Bowel injuries from blast overpressure may present hours to days
later due to delayed perforation from ischemia. This makes them particularly
dangerous as they can be missed during the initial assessment.
8. Shock occurs when:
A) The sodium-potassium pump fails
B) ATP levels are less than lactic acid levels
C) Cellular oxygen demand is greater than supply
D) Aerobic metabolism exceeds anaerobic metabolism
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Shock is a state of cellular hypoxia where oxygen delivery fails to
meet metabolic demands, leading to anaerobic metabolism, lactic acidosis, and
potential multi-organ failure.
9. What is the most common cause of preventable death in trauma patients?
A) Infection
B) Hemorrhage
