20 free HiSET practice questions

Correct answer: C · She is more anxious than her calm shrug suggests

Folding the same towel three times is a nervous, repeated action, and it happens right after she shrugs as if nothing is wrong. The contrast between the shrug and her hands shows worry she is trying to hide, so the anxious reading fits best. Wanting her uncle to notice her speed does not fit, because redoing one towel is slow, not quick. Her uncle tells her the inspection is on Thursday, and nothing shows she forgot it. A dislike of the bakery clashes with her sweeping twice and filling the bins before her uncle arrived.

Look for this next time: When a character's words or gestures say one thing and a small action says another, the action usually reveals the real feeling.

Correct answer: A · The truck is noisy and worn but still dependable

The simile matches the truck's coughing and grumbling to a dog that complains on every walk, and the key detail is that the dog never refuses one. That points to a vehicle that is old and loud but still does its job, so noisy, worn and dependable is the supported meaning. Nothing in the sentence mentions animals reacting to the truck. No plan to replace it appears, and the comparison praises its reliability rather than hinting at a replacement. The dog is a figure of speech, not a clue that the truck hauls animals.

Look for this next time: To read a simile, list what the two things share in the sentence; the shared traits are the meaning.

Correct answer: D · Gardens offer social benefits beyond the food they produce

The passage sets up the usual measure, pounds of vegetables, and then turns to what the neighbors counted instead: knowing more neighbors and less litter. Its last sentence states the point directly, that the garden rebuilt connections a scale cannot measure, so social benefits beyond food is the main idea. The passage never says the garden grew more food than expected. Selling lots to builders is not discussed at all. Nobody in the passage argues about how to weigh the harvest; the harvest scale is mentioned only to show what it misses.

Look for this next time: A main idea covers the whole passage; check the opening contrast and the final sentence before choosing.

Correct answer: B · Most new evening card sign-ups came from people with day jobs

Ortiz claims the later hours served people who work during the day, so the strongest support is evidence that connects the evening hours to those workers. Learning that most new evening sign-ups came from people with day jobs does exactly that. A fresh coat of paint might attract visitors, but it says nothing about who came in the evening. The manager's years at the branch speak to her experience, not to the claim itself. Other branches keeping their old hours gives no information about who used Riverside's new ones.

Look for this next time: Evidence strengthens a claim only when it is about the specific thing the claim says, not just about the same place or person.

Correct answer: B · As a result

Sentence 2 reports what followed the new bike lanes, the doubling of cyclists, so the transition must signal a result. As a result links the cause in sentence 1 to the effect in sentence 2. Even so signals that something happened despite what came before, but more cyclists after new bike lanes is not a surprise that needs a contrast. For instance would make the cyclist count an example of the bike lanes, which it is not. In contrast would set the two facts against each other, when the second follows from the first.

Look for this next time: Choose a transition by naming the relationship first: cause and effect, contrast, example, or time order.

Correct answer: D · As I ran to catch the bus, my backpack ripped open and spilled my notes.

An opening phrase like Running to catch the bus describes whatever noun comes right after it, so the sentence needs a clear runner. The revision that begins As I ran to catch the bus names the runner inside the phrase, which leaves the backpack free to rip open. Adding which ripped open keeps the backpack right after the phrase, so the backpack is still running. Moving the phrase into the middle still attaches it to the backpack. Putting my notes after the phrase only changes the runner from the backpack to the notes.

Look for this next time: If an opening -ing phrase has no clear doer right after it, name the doer in the phrase or in the subject.

Correct answer: A · The committee has decided to postpone the meeting.

Postpone already means to move something to a later time, so until a later date in the future repeats the idea twice, and has decided already places the decision in the present, so at this point in time adds nothing. The short revision keeps the full meaning with none of the repetition. The version with at this time and until later keeps two of the redundant pieces. The version with a later future date still repeats the idea of later. The version with right now and until later on is just as wordy as the original.

Look for this next time: Cut words that repeat what another word already says, such as later after postpone.

Correct answer: C · Neither the coach nor the players were ready for the early start.

With neither and nor, the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. Here that subject is players, which is plural, so were is correct. In the camping sentence, the subject is list, not supplies or trips, so it needs is, not are. In the volunteer sentence, the subject is each, which is singular, so it needs has, not have. In the bus sentence, the subject is team; a phrase set off with along with does not make the subject plural, so it needs is, not are.

Look for this next time: Find the true subject first: ignore prepositional phrases and along with phrases, and with neither/nor match the nearer subject.

Correct answer: A · $63.00

Take 25% off first: 80 × 0.75 = 60, so the sale price is $60. Then add 5% tax on that sale price: 60 × 1.05 = 63, so the total is $63.00. $60.00 is the sale price with the tax left out. $64.00 comes from adding 5% of the original $80 (that is, $4) to the sale price, but the stem says the tax is charged on the sale price. $56.00 comes from subtracting 30% at once, treating the tax as an extra discount instead of an added charge.

Look for this next time: Apply each percent to the amount the problem names, one step at a time: a discount lowers the price, and a tax adds to it.

Correct answer: D · 12 feet

The wall, the ground, and the ladder form a right triangle, and the ladder is the hypotenuse, the longest side. By the Pythagorean Theorem, height² + 5² = 13², so height² = 169 − 25 = 144 and the height is 12 feet. 8 feet comes from subtracting the lengths, and 18 feet from adding them; neither uses the theorem. About 13.9 feet comes from adding the squares (169 + 25 = 194), which treats the ladder as one of the shorter sides. PSI's Test at a Glance says the Pythagorean Theorem is not on the HiSET formula sheet.

Look for this next time: In a right triangle, the hypotenuse squared equals the sum of the other two sides squared; subtract to find a missing leg.

Correct answer: C · 10 months

Write the total as the fee plus the monthly charges: 30 + 15m = 180. Subtract the fee from both sides to get 15m = 150, then divide by 15, so m = 10 months. Check: 30 + 15 × 10 = 180. 12 months comes from dividing the whole $180 by $15, which ignores the sign-up fee. 14 months comes from adding the fee instead of subtracting it (210 ÷ 15). 6 months comes from dividing $180 by the $30 fee, which mixes up the one-time charge with the monthly one.

Look for this next time: Turn a fee-plus-rate problem into fixed amount + rate × count = total, then undo the steps in reverse order.

Correct answer: B · The cost in dollars for each mile of the ride

In C = 2.5m + 4, the number 2.5 multiplies the miles, so the cost goes up by $2.50 for every added mile; it is the rate, or slope. The 4 is the part that does not depend on miles, so the fixed charge for every ride is $4, not $2.50. A 4-mile ride would cost 2.5 × 4 + 4 = $14, so 2.5 is not that total. Miles per dollar would be the reverse rate, 1 ÷ 2.5 = 0.4 miles for each dollar, which the equation does not show directly.

Look for this next time: In a linear model y = mx + b, the number multiplying the variable is the rate per unit and the constant is the starting amount.

Correct answer: D · Grow several bean plants in each group instead of a single plant

With only one plant per group, a single unusual seed could make the fertilizer look helpful or useless by chance. Growing several plants in each group and comparing the groups reduces that chance, which makes the result more reliable. Changing the soil for one plant adds a second difference between the groups, so any height change could come from the soil instead of the fertilizer. Measuring only the fertilized plant leaves nothing to compare it with. Giving the fertilized plant more light also adds a second variable, the same problem as the soil change.

Look for this next time: A fair test changes one variable, keeps everything else the same, and repeats the trial with more than one subject.

Correct answer: A · The enzyme worked fastest near 40°C among the temperatures tested

The largest amount, 31 mg, was broken down at 40°C, so among the five temperatures tested the enzyme worked fastest near 40°C. The claim that it works faster each time the temperature rises fails, because the amount drops from 31 mg at 40°C to 14 mg at 50°C. The claim that it stops working above 40°C also fails: it still broke down 14 mg at 50°C and 3 mg at 60°C. A value of 40 mg at 45°C was never measured and is higher than any result in the table, so the data cannot support it.

Look for this next time: A supported conclusion stays inside the data you have; it does not ignore results or predict values far beyond them.

Correct answer: C · It speeds up to the right, pushed by a net force of 6 newtons

Forces in opposite directions subtract: 10 newtons right minus 4 newtons left leaves a net force of 6 newtons to the right. NASA's summary of Newton's laws explains that an object keeps a constant velocity only when there is no net force, so an unbalanced force makes the cart speed up in its direction. The cart would stay at rest only if the two pushes were equal. It cannot move left, because the larger push is to the right. Adding the forces to 14 newtons ignores their directions, and a net force changes speed rather than holding it steady.

Look for this next time: Combine forces with their directions; a nonzero net force makes an object speed up, slow down, or turn.

Correct answer: B · Soil from a construction site upstream is making the water cloudy.

An observation records what the student can see or measure; a hypothesis offers a possible explanation that still has to be tested. Saying that soil from a construction site upstream is causing the cloudy water explains the cause, and the student could test it, for example by sampling the water above and below the site. The brown, cloudy color is something she sees. The 30-centimeter rise is a measurement. Branches and leaves caught on the pillars are also seen directly. None of those three explains why anything happened.

Look for this next time: If a statement explains why something happens and still needs testing, it is a hypothesis; if it records what was seen or measured, it is an observation.

Correct answer: A · To revise the Articles of Confederation

The National Archives explains that the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in May 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation; the delegates went on to write the Constitution. Independence had already been declared in 1776, eleven years earlier, so the convention was not meeting to declare it. The first ten amendments, the Bill of Rights, amend the Constitution, so they could only be added after the Constitution existed. A peace treaty with Britain was not the convention's task, which was to rework the framework of the national government.

Look for this next time: Put events in order before judging causes: the Articles came first, the 1787 convention was called to fix them, and amendments came later.

Correct answer: D · The sentence calling the soil program the wisest plan

A fact can be checked against evidence, while an opinion expresses a judgment that people could reasonably dispute. Calling the soil program the wisest plan anyone in Washington has ever made is a judgment, and the word wisest signals it. Fence posts buried by dust storms could be checked by looking at the fences. The 80 acres of wheat could be confirmed from planting records. The share of wheat that came up could be counted in the field. Each of those three reports something that could be verified.

Look for this next time: Superlatives and judgment words such as wisest, best, or worst usually signal an opinion; counts and events usually signal facts.

Correct answer: B · It does not become law, because the Senate vote fell short of two-thirds

Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution says a vetoed bill becomes law only if two-thirds of each house approves it. With all 435 representatives voting, two-thirds is 290, and 300 clears it. With all 100 senators voting, two-thirds is about 66.7, so at least 67 votes are needed, and 62 falls short. A simple majority in both chambers is not enough to override. The House vote alone cannot make the bill law, because both houses must reach two-thirds. The Supreme Court has no role in overriding a veto.

Look for this next time: A veto override needs two-thirds in the House and two-thirds in the Senate; missing either one means the veto stands.

Correct answer: C · $4 a pint

Equilibrium is the price at which the quantity buyers want equals the quantity growers offer. At $4, both are 350 pints, so the market clears there. At $2, buyers want 300 more pints than growers offer, a shortage that tends to push the price up. At $3, buyers still want 100 more pints than are offered, so there is still a shortage. At $5, growers offer 200 more pints than buyers want, a surplus that tends to push the price down. Only $4 leaves neither a shortage nor a surplus.

Look for this next time: Find equilibrium where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied; below it there is a shortage, above it a surplus.