CNA & GNA STATE EXAM QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS 2026 | PRACTICE GUIDE PDF FOR
NURSING ASSISTANTS/(ALL ANSWERS AT THE
END OF DOCUMENT)
1. Strokes are seen in the elderly. Strokes are best described as:
a. when the muscles die
b. when the brain is deprived of oxygen
c. when the heart fails
d. when the lungs fill with fluid
2. The thinning of the fatty layer under the skin could cause the resident to:
a. lose their appetite
b. have difficulty walking
c. develop pressure sores
d. have slowed mental responses
3. Elderly residents sometimes appear stooped over and like they have lost height. This is due to:
a. the resident’s increased difficulty in breathing
b. the deterioration of muscle tissue
c. loss of calcium causing changes in the spinal column
d. decreased cardiac output
4. One of the major reasons the elderly person is incontinent of urine is:
a. they are too lazy to go to the bathroom
b. they can’t get a nurse aide to help them to the bathroom
c. the circulatory system is failing
d. the muscle that keeps urine in the bladder weakens
5. Constipation and indigestion can be result from:
a. slowed respirations
b. slowed mental response
,c. slowed peristalsis
d. slowed brain waves
6. Many elderly residents lose their appetite due to:
a. a decrease in saliva
b. hardening of the arteries
c. decrease in number of taste buds
d. both a and c
7. Which statement is TRUE concerning sexuality in the elderly:
a. sex and intimacy are not important
b. elderly women are not interested in sex
c. the elderly men and women are attracted to each other
d. elderly people are only interested in their health
8. One of the major causes of depression in the elderly is:
a. inability to run their own lives
b. going to nursing home activities
c. living with their children
d. lack of money
9. Which of the following statements about aging is true:
a. most elderly people are confused
b. most older people live in nursing homes
c. most older people are alert and oriented
d. most older people are sick and helpless
10. When dry, hard stool fills the rectum and will not pass, it is called:
a. edema
b. incontinence
c. atrophy
d. impaction
11. A sitting or semi-setting position with the head of the bed elevated is called:
, a. prone
b. supine
c. lateral
d. fowlers
12. Which of the following statements about nursing home admissions is false:
a. most families prefer to care for elderly relatives at home
b. some elderly people are unsafe at home
c. most people prefer to put elderly relatives in a long term care facility
d. family members may be unable to care for elderly relatives at home
3
13. Wasting or a decrease in the size of a muscle is called:
a. decubitus
b. atrophy
c. impaction
d. edema
14. A confused resident tells you there is a monster in the closet. The nurse aide should:
a. pretend to kill the monster in the closet
b. tell the resident there are no such things as monsters
c. open the closet and show the resident nothing is there
d. tell the resident you will take the monster home with you
15. All of the following are clues to aggressive behavior EXCEPT:
a. clenched jaw
b. depressed mood
c. pacing
d. rocking
16. The primary reason for combative behavior in a resident is:
a. anger and fear
b. confusion
c. the resident is evil
ANSWERS 2026 | PRACTICE GUIDE PDF FOR
NURSING ASSISTANTS/(ALL ANSWERS AT THE
END OF DOCUMENT)
1. Strokes are seen in the elderly. Strokes are best described as:
a. when the muscles die
b. when the brain is deprived of oxygen
c. when the heart fails
d. when the lungs fill with fluid
2. The thinning of the fatty layer under the skin could cause the resident to:
a. lose their appetite
b. have difficulty walking
c. develop pressure sores
d. have slowed mental responses
3. Elderly residents sometimes appear stooped over and like they have lost height. This is due to:
a. the resident’s increased difficulty in breathing
b. the deterioration of muscle tissue
c. loss of calcium causing changes in the spinal column
d. decreased cardiac output
4. One of the major reasons the elderly person is incontinent of urine is:
a. they are too lazy to go to the bathroom
b. they can’t get a nurse aide to help them to the bathroom
c. the circulatory system is failing
d. the muscle that keeps urine in the bladder weakens
5. Constipation and indigestion can be result from:
a. slowed respirations
b. slowed mental response
,c. slowed peristalsis
d. slowed brain waves
6. Many elderly residents lose their appetite due to:
a. a decrease in saliva
b. hardening of the arteries
c. decrease in number of taste buds
d. both a and c
7. Which statement is TRUE concerning sexuality in the elderly:
a. sex and intimacy are not important
b. elderly women are not interested in sex
c. the elderly men and women are attracted to each other
d. elderly people are only interested in their health
8. One of the major causes of depression in the elderly is:
a. inability to run their own lives
b. going to nursing home activities
c. living with their children
d. lack of money
9. Which of the following statements about aging is true:
a. most elderly people are confused
b. most older people live in nursing homes
c. most older people are alert and oriented
d. most older people are sick and helpless
10. When dry, hard stool fills the rectum and will not pass, it is called:
a. edema
b. incontinence
c. atrophy
d. impaction
11. A sitting or semi-setting position with the head of the bed elevated is called:
, a. prone
b. supine
c. lateral
d. fowlers
12. Which of the following statements about nursing home admissions is false:
a. most families prefer to care for elderly relatives at home
b. some elderly people are unsafe at home
c. most people prefer to put elderly relatives in a long term care facility
d. family members may be unable to care for elderly relatives at home
3
13. Wasting or a decrease in the size of a muscle is called:
a. decubitus
b. atrophy
c. impaction
d. edema
14. A confused resident tells you there is a monster in the closet. The nurse aide should:
a. pretend to kill the monster in the closet
b. tell the resident there are no such things as monsters
c. open the closet and show the resident nothing is there
d. tell the resident you will take the monster home with you
15. All of the following are clues to aggressive behavior EXCEPT:
a. clenched jaw
b. depressed mood
c. pacing
d. rocking
16. The primary reason for combative behavior in a resident is:
a. anger and fear
b. confusion
c. the resident is evil
