NOCE Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the NOCE exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 NOCE Exam Format at a Glance
📚 NOCE Topics to Study (24)
✍️ Sample NOCE Questions & Answers
1. What name is given to the propensity of the eye to turn from its natural position?
When binocular seeing is disrupted, an eye alignment problem is known as a phoria. When the eyes are tired and only seldom noticeable, the person is unable to correct for the deviation. A tropia is when the eye never straightens out and is constantly turned in, out, up, or down, in contrast to a phoria. Exophoria is a transitory condition in which the eyes migrate outward. It is typically brought on by eye fatigue, stress, or occupations requiring close vision. Even when both eyes are open and attempting to cooperate, exotropia—an outward turning of the eyes—is more common and apparent. Exophoria is a transitory condition in which the eyes migrate outward. It is typically brought on by eye fatigue, stress, or occupations requiring close vision. Exotropia is another condition in which the eyes move outward, but it is more common and obvious, even when both eyes are open and attempting to function simultaneously.
2. Which coating property of a modern top coat reduces fingerprint smudging and water spotting on AR-coated lenses by lowering surface energy?
Oleophobic coatings repel oils (including skin oils from fingerprints) by lowering the surface energy of the lens, causing oils and water to bead up rather than spread across the surface.
3. A patient is looking 5 mm below the optical center of a lens with the prescription -4.00 -2.00 x 180. According to Prentice's Rule, what is the amount and direction of the vertical prism induced?
Prentice's Rule states that Prism (Δ) = Power (D) x Decentration (cm). First, determine the power of the lens in the vertical (90°) meridian. Since the axis is 180°, the full cylinder power is felt at 90°. The power at 90° is the sphere power plus the cylinder power: -4.00 D + (-2.00 D) = -6.00 D. The decentration is 5 mm, which is 0.5 cm. Now apply Prentice's Rule: Δ = |-6.00| x 0.5 = 3.0 Δ. For a minus lens, the base of the prism is in the opposite direction of the decentration. Since the patient is looking down, the prism induced is Base Up.
4. The push-up test during soft contact lens fitting is used to assess what parameter?
The push-up test assesses lens mobility by using a finger to push the lower lid against the lens edge; a properly fitting lens should move smoothly and return to its original position.
5. What is the term for the distance between the inside surface of a corrective lens and the surface of the eye?
Vertex distance is a measurement of how far a corrective lens is placed from the eye, and if it differs from the distance the doctor used during the eye exam, it may have an impact on the patient's effective power of correction.
6. What determines the distance that a lens must travel to focus light?
The distance from the lens's center to the place where the light rays condense into a single point, or focus, is known as the focal length.