ATI TEAS Sample Questions and Explanations

A primary source is a first-hand record made by someone who was there at the time, such as a diary, letter, or photo. The nurse's diary was written during the outbreak. The other items were made later to explain the event, so they are secondary sources.

Wrong choices

• The documentary film made in 2018: It was made long after the event by people who were not there, so it is secondary.
• The 2010 textbook chapter on pandemics: A textbook explains events later, so it is a secondary source.
• The encyclopedia article about the flu: An encyclopedia summarizes other sources, so it is secondary.

The mean (average) is the sum divided by how many values there are.

1. Sum: 3 + 9 + 4 + 10 + 4 = 30
2. Count: 5 values
3. Mean: 30 ÷ 5 = 6

Check: 6 × 5 = 30.

Wrong choices

• 4: 4 is the median and the mode, not the mean.
• 7: 7 is the range (10 − 3).
• 30: 30 is the sum; you still need to divide by 5.

The left ventricle is the heart's strongest chamber. It pumps oxygen-rich blood into the aorta, the largest artery, which branches to carry blood to the whole body.

Wrong choices

• Pulmonary artery: The pulmonary artery carries oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle to the lungs.
• Superior vena cava: This vein brings oxygen-poor blood from the upper body back to the right atrium.
• Pulmonary vein: Pulmonary veins bring oxygen-rich blood from the lungs into the left atrium, not out to the body.

To show that something belongs to more than one person when the plural ends in s, add only an apostrophe after the s: nurses → nurses'. For one nurse, it would be nurse's.

Wrong choices

• nurse's: This shows ownership by one nurse, but the coats belong to several nurses.
• nurses: This is the plain plural with no apostrophe, so it does not show ownership.
• nurses's: For a plural that ends in s, add only an apostrophe, not 's.

The main idea is the one point that every sentence supports. The first sentence says gardens "do more than grow vegetables," and the next three sentences list benefits: neighbors meet, children learn, and empty lots improve. All of these add up to "gardens help neighborhoods in several ways."

Wrong choices

• Children should learn where their food comes from.: This is one supporting detail, not the point that the whole passage makes.
• Empty lots in cities often collect trash.: This is part of one detail. The passage is about gardens, not about trash.
• Vegetables are easy to grow in the city.: The passage never says that growing vegetables is easy.

Put the data in order first, then find the middle.

1. In order: 7, 9, 11, 12, 15, 20
2. There are 6 values, so the two middle values are 11 and 12.
3. Median = (11 + 12) ÷ 2 = 11.5

Check: three values (7, 9, 11) are below 11.5 and three (12, 15, 20) are above.

Wrong choices

• 12: This picks a middle number without putting the data in order first.
• 11: With an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values.
• About 12.3: This is the mean (74 ÷ 6), not the median.

Alveoli are tiny air sacs at the ends of the smallest airways. Their thin walls are surrounded by capillaries (tiny blood vessels), so oxygen moves into the blood and carbon dioxide moves out. This is called gas exchange.

Wrong choices

• Bronchi: Bronchi are large air tubes that carry air into each lung; gas exchange does not happen there.
• Trachea: The trachea (windpipe) only carries air to and from the lungs.
• Larynx: The larynx (voice box) holds the vocal cords.

A semicolon can join two complete sentences that are closely related, without "and" or "but." "The storm knocked out the power" and "we lit candles" can each stand alone, so a semicolon works between them.

Wrong choices

• Because the storm knocked out the power; we lit candles.: The part before the semicolon is not a complete sentence; use a comma here.
• The storm; knocked out the power.: A semicolon should not split a subject from its verb.
• We lit candles; and flashlights.: "And flashlights" is not a complete sentence.

An inference is a conclusion built from clues in the text. The early alarm, packed lunch, coffee, work boots, and safety vest all point to one thing: Marcus is preparing for an early workday. The other choices are not supported or go against the clues.

Wrong choices

• Marcus is packing for a beach vacation.: Work boots and a safety vest do not fit a beach trip.
• Marcus works in a quiet office.: Heavy work boots and a reflective vest suggest outdoor or site work, not an office.
• Marcus does not like coffee.: He fills a thermos with coffee, so this is not supported.

To change a fraction to a percent, divide and then multiply by 100.

1. 3 ÷ 4 = 0.75
2. 0.75 × 100 = 75%

Check: 75% of 4 is 3, so 3/4 = 75%.

Wrong choices

• 34%: This just puts the 3 and 4 side by side; it is not a conversion.
• 7.5%: The decimal point is in the wrong place; 0.75 × 100 = 75, not 7.5.
• 43%: This reverses the digits and does not convert the fraction.