ASVAB - Arithmetic Reasoning Questions With Correct Answers

Dana receives $30 for her birthday and $15 for cleaning the garage. If she spends $16 on a CD, how much money does she have left? - Answer A. $29 B. $27 C. $24 D. $12 (A) Add the amount of money received and subtract the amount spent. $30 + $15 - $16 = $29. In a manufacturing plant that produces new computers, a 0.15 probability exists that a computer will be defective. If five computers are manufactured, what's the probability that all of them will be defective? - Answer A. 7.6 B. 0.60 C. 0. D. 0.00042 (C) The probability that all five computers will be defective is 0.15 × 0.15 × 0.15 × 0.15 × 0.15 = 0. (round up to 0.). A house contains one 12-foot-×-14-foot bedroom, one 12-foot-×-10-foot bedroom, and one 8-foot-×-12-foot bedroom. What's the total amount of carpeting needed to carpet all three bedrooms? - Answer A. 384 square yards B. 42 2/3 square yards C. 216 square yards D. 88 square yards (B) Find the area of each bedroom and add them together: 12 × 14 = 168; 12 × 10 = 120; 8 × 12 = 96. 168 + 120 + 96 = 384 square feet. Then, because 9 square feet make up a square yard, divide the total area in square feet by 9 to determine the number of square yards needed: 384 ÷ 9 = 42 2/3 square yards. If 4 people can run 8 machines, how many machines can 2 people run? - Answer A. 2 B. 1 C. 4 D. 3 (C) Two people is 1⁄2 as many as 4 people: 2 ÷ 4 = 1⁄2. Multiply the number of machines 4 people can run by 1⁄2 to determine how many machines 2 people can run: 8 × 1⁄2 = 4. The product of two consecutive odd numbers is 399. What are the numbers? - Answer A. 17 and 19 B. 19 and 21 C. 21 and 23 D. 25 and 27 The fastest way to solve this would be to simply multiply the possible choices together (19 × 21 = 399). You can also solve this with algebra. Let x equal the first number and x + 2 the second number. x(x + 2) = 399 x^2 + 2x = 399 (Note: This is a quadratic equation that can be solved by setting it equal to zero and factoring.) x^2 + 2x - 399 = 0 (x - 19)(x + 21) = 0 x - 19 = 0 x + 21 = 0 x = 19 x = -21 x + 2 = 21 x + 2 = -19 (B) Two solutions are possible: 19 and 21, and -21 and -19. Because the latter pair isn't one of the answer choices, the first pair is the correct answer. A bricklayer charges $8 per square foot to lay a patio. How much would it cost for the bricklayer to lay a 12-foot-×-16-foot patio? - Answer A. $960 B. $192 C. $224 D. $1536 (D) First determine the square footage of the patio: 12 feet × 16 feet = 192 square feet. Then multiply this number by the cost per square foot to determine what the brick layer charges: 192 × $8 = $1,536 Your piggy bank contains $19.75 in dimes and quarters. There are 100 coins in all. How many dimes are there? - Answer A. 25 B. 30 C. 35 D. 40 (C) Let x equal the number of dimes. Then 100 - x represents the number of quarters. There is $0.10x in dimes and $0.25(100 - x) in quarters. 0.10x + 0.25(100 - x) = 19.75 0.10x + 25 - 0.25x = 19.75 -0.15x = -5.25 x = -5.25/-0.15 x = 35 A treasure map is drawn to a scale of 2 inches = 3 miles. On the map, the distance between Point A and X-marks-the-spot is 9 1/2 inches. How many actual miles does this represent. - Answer A. 281/2 miles B. 141/4 miles C. 61/3 miles D. 19 miles (B) If 2 inches = 3 miles, then 1 inch equals 11⁄2 miles: 3 ÷ 2 = 1.5. Multiply 11⁄2 miles × 91⁄2 inches to determine the actual distance: 1.5 × 9.5 = 14.25 or 141⁄4 miles. Miguel passed seven of his history-class quizzes and failed three. The fraction of quizzes he passed is correctly expressed as: - Answer A. 7⁄3 B. 3⁄7 C. 7⁄10 D. 3⁄5 (C) The total number of quizzes is 10. If he passed seven of them, the fraction would be expressed as 7⁄10. 10: A bin of bolts at the hardware store contains 7-dozen bolts when full. The stock clerk is supposed to reorder bolts when the bin is 1⁄6 full. How many bolts are in the bin when it's time to reorder? - Answer A. 14 bolts B. 1 bolt C. 84 bolts D. 12 bolts