GED Math Practice Test: Fractions, Exponents and Scientific Notation
- Number Sense: Fractions, Exponents and Scientific Notation
- 10 questions
- 15 minutes
These questions check the number skills that the rest of the GED Math test builds on. Work step by step and follow the order of operations exactly.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
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Question 1
What is 34 + 23?
Correct answer: A
Use the common denominator 12: 9/12 + 8/12 = 17/12. The answer 5/7 adds the tops and the bottoms separately, which is not how fractions are added.
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Question 2
What is 25 ÷ 415?
Correct answer: C
Multiply by the reciprocal: 2/5 × 15/4 = 30/20 = 3/2. The answer 8/75 multiplies the fractions instead of dividing.
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Question 3
What is (8.4 × 109) ÷ (2.1 × 103) written in scientific notation?
Correct answer: D
Divide the numbers and subtract the exponents: 8.4 ÷ 2.1 = 4 and 109 − 3 = 106. The answer 4 × 103 divides the exponents instead of subtracting them.
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Question 4
Which expression is equal to x3 · x4?
Correct answer: B
When you multiply powers with the same base, add the exponents: 3 + 4 = 7. Multiplying the exponents to get x12 is the rule for a power raised to a power.
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Question 5
What is the value of 5 − 3(4 − 6)2?
Correct answer: A
Parentheses first: 4 − 6 = −2, then the exponent: (−2)2 = 4, then multiply: 3 × 4 = 12, and finally 5 − 12 = −7. The answer 8 subtracts 5 − 3 before multiplying.
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Question 6
Which list shows the numbers in order from least to greatest?
Correct answer: C
As decimals, 5/8 = 0.625 and 2/3 ≈ 0.667, so the order is 0.6, 0.625, 0.65, 0.667. A common slip is to think 0.65 is less than 0.625 because it has fewer digits.
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Question 7
Between which two consecutive whole numbers does 90 lie?
Correct answer: D
92 = 81 and 102 = 100, and 90 is between 81 and 100, so the square root of 90 is between 9 and 10. The pair 44 and 46 comes from dividing 90 by 2 instead of taking the root.
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Question 8
What is the value of |4 − 11| + |−2| × 3?
Correct answer: B
|4 − 11| = |−7| = 7 and |−2| = 2. Multiply before adding: 7 + 2 × 3 = 7 + 6 = 13. The answer 27 adds before multiplying.
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Question 9
What is the value of 5−2?
Correct answer: A
A negative exponent means the reciprocal: 5−2 = 1 ÷ 52 = 1/25. A negative exponent does not make the number negative, so −25 is wrong.
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Question 10
The average distance from Earth to the Sun is about 93,000,000 miles. How is this number written in scientific notation?
Correct answer: C
Move the decimal point 7 places to the left to get 9.3, so the number is 9.3 × 107. The form 93 × 107 is 930,000,000, and 93 is not between 1 and 10 anyway.
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