PAX Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield PAX facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. The evolutionary ancestor of both fungus and plants, according to scientists, was: → Protists
2. How many questions are in the PAX Mathematics section? → 40
3. Select the answer choice that correctly completes the following: Some human beings are mortal. Plato is a human being. → Plato may be mortal
4. Which fraction is equivalent to 0.625? → 5/8
5. Which word means 'to make something less severe'? → Mitigate
6. How many questions are in the PAX Verbal section? → 60
7. Particularly if they are eating with their fingers, people should only eat with their right hands. → their
8. Genetic material exchanged during prophase 1 of meiosis between homologous chromosomes. → Crossing over
9. If a patient's temperature is 100.4°F, what is it in Celsius? (C = (F − 32) × 5/9) → 38.0°C
10. What is a 'composite score' on the PAX exam? → A combined score derived from all three section scores
11. What happens during an exothermic reaction? → Energy is released to the surroundings
12. Why does activation energy exist? → The minimum amount of energy required for a reaction to proceed
13. As a result, etiquette guidelines vary depending on where a person resides. → Therefore, the etiquette rules differ
14. The Richter scale is used to measure the: → Magnitude of earthquakes
15. What is the term for a plate boundary where two plates slide horizontally past each other? → Transform boundary
16. What is the role of DNA in a cell? → Store genetic information
17. Where does photosynthesis primarily occur in plant cells? → Chloroplasts
18. A student scored 78, 85, 92, and 89 on four PAX practice tests. What is their average score? → 86
19. Which is true about PAX exam retake policies? → Retake policies are set by each individual nursing school
20. What is the speed of light in a vacuum approximately equal to? → 300,000 km/s
21. Which sentence is grammatically correct? → The patient's chart was updated.
22. What is humus in the context of soil science? → Decomposed organic matter in soil
23. What happens to the volume of a gas when temperature increases at constant pressure (Charles's Law)? → Volume increases
24. What type of energy does a moving object possess? → Kinetic energy
25. Used to represent squared and cubed roots. → Radical
26. A patient receives 2.5 mg of a medication every 6 hours. How many mg does the patient receive in one day (24 hours)? → 10 mg
27. Which macromolecule serves as the primary energy source for the body? → Carbohydrates
28. Choose the word that best completes the sentence: 'The nurse spoke to the patient in a ______ tone to help calm her fears.' → Soothing
29. What type of rock is formed when magma cools and solidifies? → Igneous
30. Which type of cell division produces gametes (sex cells)? → Meiosis