GED Math Test #5 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A car travels 180 miles on 6 gallons of gas. At the same rate, how many gallons of gas are needed to travel 270 miles?
- 7 gallons
- 8 gallons
- 9 gallons (Correct answer)
- 10 gallons
Correct answer: 9 gallons
First find the unit rate: 180 miles / 6 gallons = 30 miles per gallon. Then divide the total distance by the rate: 270 miles ÷ 30 mpg = 9 gallons. You can also set up a proportion: 180/6 = 270/x, cross-multiply to get 180x = 1620, so x = 9.
Question 2: A set of 7 test scores is: 82, 76, 91, 88, 76, 95, 84. What is the median score?
- 76
- 84 (Correct answer)
- 88
- 84.57
Correct answer: 84
To find the median, first arrange the scores in order from least to greatest: 76, 76, 82, 84, 88, 91, 95. The median is the middle value. With 7 scores, the middle is the 4th value, which is 84. The mean (average) would be 592 ÷ 7 ≈ 84.57, but that is not the median.
Question 3: A rectangular garden has a length of 14 meters and a width of 9 meters. What is the total area of the garden?
- 46 square meters
- 92 square meters
- 126 square meters (Correct answer)
- 196 square meters
Correct answer: 126 square meters
The area of a rectangle is calculated using the formula A = length × width. Here, A = 14 × 9 = 126 square meters. The perimeter would be 2(14 + 9) = 2(23) = 46 meters, which is a different measurement.
Question 4: A store sells a jacket for $85. The store bought the jacket from a supplier for $50. Which equation correctly represents the store's percent markup, m?
- 50 × m = 85
- 50 + (50 × m) = 85 (Correct answer)
- 85 × m = 50
- 85 - (85 × m) = 50
Correct answer: 50 + (50 × m) = 85
Percent markup is based on the cost price. The selling price equals the cost plus the markup amount: cost + (cost × markup rate) = selling price. So 50 + (50 × m) = 85. Solving: 50m = 35, so m = 0.70 or 70% markup. Option A incorrectly omits the base cost, and options C and D use the selling price as the base.
Question 5: Simplify: 3² × 2³
- 36
- 48
- 72 (Correct answer)
- 216
Correct answer: 72
3² means 3 × 3 = 9. 2³ means 2 × 2 × 2 = 8. Multiply the results: 9 × 8 = 72. A common mistake is to add the exponents (which only applies when multiplying the same base) or to multiply the bases and add the exponents. Each base must be evaluated separately.
Question 6: A scientist measures a bacterium to be 0.000047 meters long. Which of the following correctly expresses this measurement in scientific notation?
- 4.7 × 10⁻⁴
- 47 × 10⁻⁶
- 4.7 × 10⁻⁵ (Correct answer)
- 0.47 × 10⁻⁴
Correct answer: 4.7 × 10⁻⁵
Scientific notation requires the coefficient to be a number between 1 and 10. Move the decimal point in 0.000047 to the right until you get 4.7. You move it 5 places to the right, so the exponent is -5. The answer is 4.7 × 10⁻⁵. Option A uses -4 (only 4 places), option B does not have a coefficient between 1 and 10, and option D also has a coefficient less than 1.
GED Math Test #5 2
A car travels 180 miles on 6 gallons of gas.
At the same rate, how many gallons of gas are needed to travel 270 miles?