Free and New GED Test Sample Questions for Govt. Jobs
Answers for free questions are in RED font.
What is GED?
It technically stands for General Educational Development.
The GED program started back in the 1940s, and it was created to help ensure that veterans returning from war were able to become essential productive member of society, by entering the work force or going to college to get an education. Millions of young men (and thousands of young women) had gone off to war, and many of them had done so before they had earned a high school diploma. Without some way of quickly getting these people into school or work, the nation would have had major problems on its hands. In order to avoid this, educational experts created a group of tests which became the GED battery. Passing these tests signified that a person had the same knowledge and skills as an average high school graduate in the areas of reading, writing, science, social studies and math.
Here are the sections on the GED test:
GED Test Breakdown
SECTION
|
Total amount of time allowed
|
Number of questions
|
Time to answer each question
|
Writing Skills Test – Part I
|
75 min
|
50
|
1.5 min
|
Writing Skills Test – Part II
|
45 min
|
1
|
45 min
|
Social Studies Test
|
70 min
|
50
|
1.4 min
|
Science Test
|
80 min
|
50
|
1.6 min
|
Interpreting Literature and the Arts Test
|
65 min
|
40
|
1.6 min
|
Mathematics Test
|
90 min
|
50
|
1.8 min
|
Free and New GED Test Sample Questions (1-25)
Q 1
Add 0.98 + 45.102 + 32.3333 + 31 + 0.00009
A. 368.573
B. 210.536299
C. 109.41539
D. 99.9975
E. 80.8769543
Q 2
Find 0.12 ÷ 1
A. 12
B. 1.2
C. .12
D. .012
E. .0012
Q 3
(9 ÷ 3) x (8 ÷ 4) =
A. 1 ,
B. 6 ,
C. 72 ,
D. 576,
E. 752
Q 4
6 x 0 x 5
A. 30
B. 11
C. 25
D. 0
E. 27
Q 5
7.95 ÷ 1.5
A. 2.4, B. 5.3, C. 6.2, D. 7.3, E. 7.5
Q 6
If John can type a page in p minutes, what piece of the page can she do in 5 minutes?
A. 5/p
B. p - 5
C. p + 5
D. p/5
E. 1- p + 5
Q 7
If Sam can paint a house in 4 hours, and John can paint the same house in 6 hour, how long will it take for both of them to paint the house together?
A. 2 hours and 24 minutes
B. 3 hours and 12 minutes
C. 3 hours and 44 minutes
D. 4 hours and 10 minutes
E. 4 hours and 33 minutes
Q 8
Employees of a discount appliance store receive an additional 20% off of the lowest price on an item. If an employee purchases a dishwasher during a 15% off sale, how much will he pay if the dishwasher originally cost $450?
A. $280.90
B. $287
C. $292.50
D. $306
E. $333.89
Q 9
The sales price of a car is $12,590, which is 20% off the original price. What is the original price?
A. $14,310.40
B. $14,990.90
C. $15,290.70
D. $15,737.50
E. $16,935.80
Q 10
Solve the following equation for A: 2A/3 = 8 + 4A
A. -2.4
B. 2.4
C. 1.3
D. -1.3
E. 0
Q 11
If Leah is 6 years older than Timmy, and John is 5 years older than Leah, and the total of their ages is 41. Then how old is Sue?
A. 8
B. 10
C. 14
D. 19
E. 21
Q 12
Alfred wants to invest $4,000 at 6% simple interest rate for 5 years. How much interest will he receive?
A. $240
B. $480
C. $720
D. $960
E. $1,200
Q 13
Jim is able to sell a hand-carved statue for $670 which was a 35% profit over his cost. How much did the statue originally cost him?
A. $496.30
B. $512.40
C. $555.40
D. $574.90
E. $588.20
Q 14
The city council has decided to add a 0.3% tax on motel and hotel rooms. If a traveler spends the night in a motel room that costs $55 before taxes, how much will the city receive in taxes from him?
A. 10 cents
B. 11 cents
C. 15 cents
D. 17 cents
E. 21 cents
Answers & Explanations
1. C
2. C
3. B
4. D
5 B
6. A: The following proportion may be written: 1/p=x/5. Solving for the variable, x, gives xp = 5, where x=5/p. So, Lynn can type 5/p pages, in 5 minutes.
7. A: Sally can paint 1/4 of the house in 1 hour. John can paint 1/6 of the same house in 1 hour. In order to determine how long it will take them to paint the house, when working together, the following equation may be written: 1/4 x+1/6 x=1. Solving for x gives 5/12 x=1, where x = 2.4 hours, or 2 hours, 24 minutes.
8. D: Sale Price = $450 - 0.15($450) = $382.50, Employee Price = $382.50 - 0.2($382.50) = $306
9. D: $12,590 = Original Price - 0.2(Original Price) = 0.8(Original Price), Original Price = $12,590/0.8 = $15,737.50
10. A: In order to solve for A, both sides of the equation may first be multiplied by 3. This is written as 3(2A/3)=3(8+4A) or 2A=24+12A. Subtraction of 12A from both sides of the equation gives -10A=24. Division by -10 gives A = -2.4.
11. A: Three equations may initially be written to represent the given information. Since the sum of the three ages is 41, we may write, l + s + j = 41, where l represents Leah's age, s represents Sue's age, and j represents John's age. We also know that Leah is 6 years older than Sue, so we may write the equation, l = s + 6. Since John is 5 years older than Leah, we may also write the equation, j = l + 5. The expression for l, or s + 6, may be substituted into the equation, j = l + 5, giving j = s + 6 + 5, or j = s + 11. Now, the expressions for l and j may be substituted into the equation, representing the sum of their ages. Doing so gives: s + 6 + s + s + 11 = 41, or 3s = 24, where s = 8. Thus, Sue is 8 years old.
12. E: Simple interest is represented by the formula, I = Prt, where P represents the principal amount, r represents the interest rate, and t represents the time. Substituting $4,000 for P, 0.06 for r, and 5 for t gives I = (4000)(0.06)(5), or I = 1,200. So, he will receive $1,200 in interest.
13. A: $670 = Cost + 0.35(Cost) = 1.35(Cost), Cost = $670/1.35 = $496.30
14. D: The amount of taxes is equal to $55*0.003, or $0.165. Rounding to the nearest cent gives 17 cents.
15. C: The GPA may be calculated by writing the expression, ((3*2)+(4*3)+(2*4)+(3*3)+(4*1))/13, which equals 3, or 3.0.
16. C: From 8:15 A.M. to 4:15 P.M., he gets paid $10 per hour, with the total amount paid represented by the equation, $10*8=$80. From 4:15 P.M. to 10:30 P.M., he gets paid $15 per hour, with the total amount paid represented by the equation, $15*6.25=$93.75. The sum of $80 and $93.75 is $173.75, so he was paid $173.75 for 14.25 hours of work.
17. D: If she removes 13 jellybeans from her pocket, she will have 3 jellybeans left, with each color represented. If she removes only 12 jellybeans, green or blue may not be represented.
18. A: The value of z may be determined by dividing both sides of the equation, r=5z, by 5. Doing so gives r/5=z. Substituting r/5 for the variable, z, in the equation, 15z=3y, gives 15(r/5)=3y. Solving for y gives r = y.
19. A: 50 cents is half of one dollar, thus the ratio is written as half of 300, or 150, to x. The equation representing this situation is 300/x*1/2=150/x.
20. B: The following proportion may be used to determine how much Lee will make next week: 22/132=15/x. Solving for x gives x = 90. Thus, she will make $90 next week, if she works 15 hours.
21. C: The given equation should be solved for x. Doing so gives x = 6. Substituting the x-value of 6 into the expression, 5x + 3, gives 5(6) + 3, or 33.
22. C: The amount you will pay for the book may be represented by the expression, 80+(80*0.0825). Thus, you will pay $86.60 for the book. The change you will receive is equal to the difference of $100 and $86.60, or $13.40.
23. B: The amount you have paid for the car may be written as $3,000 + 6($225), which equals $4,350.
24. A: You will need 40 packs of pens and 3 sets of staplers. Thus, the total cost may be represented by the expression, 40(2.35) + 3(12.95). The total cost is $132.85.
25. C: Substituting 3 for y gives 33 (33-3), which equals 27(27 - 3), or 27(24). Thus, the expression equals 648.
____________________________________________________________
Q 15
A student receives his grade report from a local community college, but the GPA is smudged. He took the following classes: a 2 hour credit art, a 3 hour credit history, a 4 hour credit science course, a 3 hour credit mathematics course, and a 1 hour science lab. He received a “B” in the art class, an “A” in the history class, a “C” in the science class, a “B” in the mathematics class, and an “A” in the science lab. What was his GPA if the letter grades are based on a 4 point scale? (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0)
A. 2.7
B. 2.8
C. 3.0
D. 3.1
E. 3.2
Q 16
Simon arrived at work at 8:15 A.M. and left work at 10: 30 P.M. If Simon gets paid by the hour at a rate of $10 and time and ½ for any hours worked over 8 in a day. How much did Simon get paid?
A. $120.25
B. $160.75
C. $173.75
D. $180
E. $182.50
Q 17
Grace has 16 jellybeans in her pocket. She has 8 red ones, 4 green ones, and 4 blue ones. What is the minimum number of jellybeans she must take out of her pocket to ensure that she has one of each color?
A. 4
B. 8
C. 12
D. 13
E. 16
Q 18
If r = 5 z then 15 z = 3 y, then r =
A. y
B. 2 y
C. 5 y
D. 10 y
E. 15 y
Q 19
If 300 jellybeans cost you x dollars than how many jellybeans can you purchase for 50 cents at the same rate?
A. 150/x
B. 150x
C. 6x
D. 1500/x
E. 600x
Q 20
Lee worked 22 hours this week and made $132. If she works 15 hours next week at the same pay rate, how much will she make?
A. $57
B. $90
C. $104
D. $112
E. $122
Q 21
If 8x + 5x + 2x + 4x = 114, the 5x + 3 =
A. 12
B. 25
C. 33
D. 47
E. 86
Q 22
You need to purchase a textbook for nursing school. The book cost $80.00, and the sales tax where you are purchasing the book is 8.25%. You have $100. How much change will you receive back?
A. $5.20
B. $7.35
C. $13.40
D. $19.95
E. $21.25
Q 23
You purchase a car making a down payment of $3,000 and 6 monthly payments of $225. How much have you paid so far for the car?
A. $3225
B. $4350
C. $5375
D. $6550
E. $6398
Q 24
Your supervisor instructs you to purchase 240 pens and 6 staplers for the nurse's station. Pens are purchased in sets of 6 for $2.35 per pack. Staplers are sold in sets of 2 for 12.95. How much will purchasing these products cost?
A. $132.85
B. $145.75
C. $162.90
D. $225.25
E. $226.75
Q 25
If y = 3, then y3 (y3-y)=
A. 300
B. 459
C. 648
D. 999
E. 1099
