GED Mathematical Reasoning Practice

What the GED math test actually covers

The Mathematical Reasoning test runs 115 minutes and is split into two parts. The first five questions are answered without a calculator; for the rest you have an on-screen TI-30XS scientific calculator. Roughly 45 percent of the test covers quantitative problem solving — fractions, decimals, percents, ratios, and measurement — and the other 55 percent covers algebraic problem solving.

That split surprises people who expect arithmetic to dominate. Algebra carries the larger share, which means writing and solving equations, reading function notation, working with slope and linear relationships, and interpreting expressions that describe a real situation. Geometry appears mostly as area, perimeter, volume, surface area, and the Pythagorean theorem, all of which are supplied on the formula sheet you get during the test.

How to use this practice set

Start with the 30-question practice test to find out where you stand. Do not stop to look things up, and do not skip the questions that look unfamiliar — a guess that you mark as a guess is more useful information than a blank. When you finish, the result is reported on the same 100-200 scale the official test uses, so you can see how far you are from the 145 passing line rather than just a raw percentage.

Then work the topic drills that match your weakest area. Every question here includes a worked explanation, not just an answer key. Reading why a wrong choice was tempting is usually worth more than confirming the right one, because the GED builds its distractors from the specific errors test takers actually make: sign errors, using diameter where radius belongs, and averaging when the question asks for a median.

The formula sheet is not a shortcut

You are given a formula reference during the test, so memorizing area and volume formulas is a poor use of study time. What the sheet cannot tell you is which formula a word problem is asking for, or what to do once you have plugged in the numbers. Practice deciding, quickly, whether a problem is asking for area or perimeter, rate or total, part or whole. That decision is the skill being tested.