CTBS - Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Mathematics Computation Questions and Answers

Question 1

An auditorium has 1,250 seats. For a school play, 78% of the seats were sold. How many seats were NOT sold?

Accepted Answer

275

Answer

First, calculate the number of seats sold by finding 78% of 1,250: 0.78 * 1250 = 975 seats sold. Then, subtract the number of sold seats from the total number of seats to find the seats that were not sold: 1250 - 975 = 275.

Question 2

A carpenter has a piece of wood that is 10 1/2 feet long. He needs to cut a piece from it that is 3 2/3 feet long. After he cuts the piece, what is the length of the remaining wood?

Accepted Answer

6 5/6 feet

Answer

To subtract the mixed numbers, first find a common denominator for the fractions, which is 6. Convert 10 1/2 to 10 3/6 and 3 2/3 to 3 4/6. Since 3/6 is smaller than 4/6, you need to borrow from the whole number. 10 3/6 becomes 9 + 1 + 3/6 = 9 9/6. Now subtract: 9 9/6 - 3 4/6 = 6 5/6 feet.

Question 3

Solve the following expression: 3 + 2 x (6 - 1) ÷ 5

Accepted Answer

5

Answer

Following the order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS): First, solve the parentheses (6 - 1) = 5. The expression becomes 3 + 2 x 5 ÷ 5. Next, perform multiplication and division from left to right: 2 x 5 = 10, then 10 ÷ 5 = 2. The expression is now 3 + 2. Finally, perform the addition: 3 + 2 = 5.

Question 4

A catering company needs to transport 248 dinner plates to an event. If each box can hold a maximum of 18 plates, what is the minimum number of boxes required to transport all the plates?

Accepted Answer

14

Answer

To find the number of boxes, divide the total number of plates by the number of plates per box: 248 ÷ 18 = 13 with a remainder of 14. This means 13 boxes will be completely full, but there will be 14 plates left over. A separate box is needed for these remaining plates, so the total number of boxes required is 13 + 1 = 14.

Question 5

What is the result of 45.81 divided by 0.9?

Accepted Answer

50.9

Answer

To divide by a decimal, move the decimal point in the divisor (0.9) one place to the right to make it a whole number (9). You must also move the decimal point in the dividend (45.81) one place to the right, making it 458.1. Now, perform the division: 458.1 ÷ 9 = 50.9.

CTBS - Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Practice Test

CTBS - Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Practice Test

CTBS - Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills Mathematics Computation Questions and Answers