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PSAT/NMSQT Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield PSAT/NMSQT facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here โ€” free, no sign-up.

98 questions
134 min time limit
50% to pass
  1. Which choice BEST replaces the vague phrase to make the sentence more precise? 'The new policy will affect [many things] in the school district.' โ†’ funding, staffing, and curriculum decisions
  2. In a science passage, the best evidence for an experimental conclusion usually appears in which section? โ†’ The results or discussion describing what the data showed
  3. A car uses 4 gallons of gas to travel 120 miles. What is its fuel efficiency in miles per gallon? โ†’ 30 mpg
  4. A dataset has values from 15 to 63. What is the range? โ†’ 48
  5. Choose the correct word: 'The committee will announce ___ decision Friday.' โ†’ its
  6. A 45-45-90 triangle has legs of length 7. What is the hypotenuse? โ†’ 7โˆš2
  7. What is the area of a circle with radius 3? (Use ฯ€.) โ†’ 9ฯ€
  8. If 3x + 7 = 22, what is the value of x? โ†’ 5
  9. In context, 'arbitrary' in 'the rule seemed arbitrary' most nearly means: โ†’ Based on random choice rather than reason
  10. If 2^x = 32, what is the value of x? โ†’ 5
  11. In a box plot, the line inside the box represents which statistic? โ†’ The median
  12. How do you interpret a data point that is significantly higher or lower than the others? โ†’ The data point may be an outlier and should be carefully examined.
  13. Which of the following is equivalent to (xยฒ โˆ’ 9)(x + 3)? โ†’ xยณ + 3xยฒ โˆ’ 9x โˆ’ 27
  14. Triangle ABC is similar to triangle DEF. If AB = 4, DE = 12, and BC = 6, what is EF? โ†’ 18
  15. A graph's vertical axis starts at 90 instead of 0, exaggerating differences. This is an example of what? โ†’ A misleading or distorted scale
  16. When a quantitative (data) Command of Evidence question accompanies a graph, what should you do first? โ†’ Read the axis labels and units before interpreting the data
  17. What is the value of the expression (x^3 ยท x^4) when written as a single power of x? โ†’ x^7
  18. Two parallel lines are cut by a transversal. If one angle is 70ยฐ, what is its corresponding angle? โ†’ 70ยฐ
  19. An author writes that a policy 'may have unintended consequences.' Which evidence best supports calling the author's stance cautious? โ†’ The hedging phrase 'may have' showing uncertainty
  20. What is a thesis statement? โ†’ A statement that presents the main argument or claim of the essay.
  21. How does the author support their argument? โ†’ By presenting statistical data and expert opinions.
  22. A right triangle has legs of length 6 and 8. What is the hypotenuse? โ†’ 10
  23. Which expression is equivalent to 4(x + 3) - 2x? โ†’ 2x + 12
  24. Which sentence corrects the faulty comparison: 'Her score is higher than the other students.'? โ†’ Her score is higher than that of the other students.
  25. If 5x - 6 = 14, what is the value of 2x + 7? โ†’ 15
  26. What is the main idea of the passage? โ†’ The primary point or theme of the passage
  27. What is the area of a rectangle with length 5 units and width 3 units? โ†’ 15 square units
  28. What is the value of x when 5x - 3 = 2x + 9? โ†’ 4
  29. Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon? โ†’ The test was hard; many students struggled.
  30. If 2(x - 4) = 3x + 1, what is the value of x? โ†’ -9
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