Hints will display for most wrong answers; explanations for most right answers. You can attempt a question multiple times; it will only be scored correct if you get it right the first time.
I used the official objectives and sample test to construct these questions, but cannot promise that they accurately reflect what’s on the real test. Some of the sample questions were more convoluted than I could bear to write. See terms of use. See the MTEL Practice Test main page to view questions on a particular topic or to download paper practice tests.
MTEL General Curriculum Mathematics Practice
Question 1 |
The pattern below consists of a row of black squares surrounded by white squares.
How many white squares would surround a row of 157 black squares?
314Hint: Try your procedure on a smaller number that you can count to see where you made a mistake. | |
317Hint: Are there ever an odd number of white squares? | |
320Hint: One way to see this is that there are 6 tiles on the left and right ends, and the rest of the white tiles are twice the number of black tiles (there are many other ways to look at it too). | |
322Hint: Try your procedure on a smaller number that you can count to see where you made a mistake. |
Question 2 |
P is a prime number that divides 240. Which of the following must be true?
P divides 30Hint: 2, 3, and 5 are the prime factors of 240, and all divide 30. | |
P divides 48Hint: P=5 doesn't work. | |
P divides 75Hint: P=2 doesn't work. | |
P divides 80Hint: P=3 doesn't work. |
Question 3 |
The histogram below shows the frequency of a class's scores on a 4 question quiz.
What was the mean score on the quiz?
\( \large 2.75\) Hint: There were 20 students who took the quiz. Total points earned: \(2 \times 1+6 \times 2+ 7\times 3+5 \times 4=55\), and 55/20 = 2.75. | |
\( \large 2\) Hint: How many students are there total? Did you count them all? | |
\( \large 3\) Hint: How many students are there total? Did you count them all? Be sure you're finding the mean, not the median or the mode. | |
\( \large 2.5\) Hint: How many students are there total? Did you count them all? Don't just take the mean of 1, 2, 3, 4 -- you have to weight them properly. |
Question 4 |
A publisher prints a series of books with covers made of identical material and using the same thickness of paper for each page. The covers of the book together are 0.4 cm thick, and 125 pieces of the paper used together are 1 cm thick.
The publisher uses a linear function to determine the total thickness, T(n) of a book made with n sheets of paper. What are the slope and intercept of T(n)?
Intercept = 0.4 cm, Slope = 125 cm/pageHint: This would mean that each page of the book was 125 cm thick. | |
Intercept =0.4 cm, Slope = \(\dfrac{1}{125}\)cm/pageHint: The intercept is how thick the book would be with no pages in it. The slope is how much 1 extra page adds to the thickness of the book. | |
Intercept = 125 cm, Slope = 0.4 cmHint: This would mean that with no pages in the book, it would be 125 cm thick. | |
Intercept = \(\dfrac{1}{125}\)cm, Slope = 0.4 pages/cmHint: This would mean that each new page of the book made it 0.4 cm thicker. |
Question 5 |
The "houses" below are made of toothpicks and gum drops.
How many toothpicks are there in a row of 53 houses?
212Hint: Can the number of toothpicks be even? | |
213Hint: One way to see this is that every new "house" adds 4 toothpicks to the leftmost vertical toothpick -- so the total number is 1 plus 4 times the number of "houses." There are many other ways to look at the problem too. | |
217Hint: Try your strategy with a smaller number of "houses" so you can count and find your mistake. | |
265Hint: Remember that the "houses" overlap some walls. |
Question 6 |
The letters A, B, and C represent digits (possibly equal) in the twelve digit number x=111,111,111,ABC. For which values of A, B, and C is x divisible by 40?
\( \large A = 3, B = 2, C=0\) Hint: Note that it doesn't matter what the first 9 digits are, since 1000 is divisible by 40, so DEF,GHI,JKL,000 is divisible by 40 - we need to check the last 3. | |
\( \large A = 0, B = 0, C=4\) Hint: Not divisible by 10, since it doesn't end in 0. | |
\( \large A = 4, B = 2, C=0\) Hint: Divisible by 10 and by 4, but not by 40, as it's not divisible by 8. Look at 40 as the product of powers of primes -- 8 x 5, and check each. To check 8, either check whether 420 is divisible by 8, or take ones place + twice tens place + 4 * hundreds place = 18, which is not divisible by 8. | |
\( \large A =1, B=0, C=0\) Hint: Divisible by 10 and by 4, but not by 40, as it's not divisible by 8. Look at 40 as the product of powers of primes -- 8 x 5, and check each. To check 8, either check whether 100 is divisible by 8, or take ones place + twice tens place + 4 * hundreds place = 4, which is not divisible by 8. |
Question 7 |
The expression \( \large {{7}^{-4}}\cdot {{8}^{-6}}\) is equal to which of the following?
\( \large \dfrac{8}{{{\left( 56 \right)}^{4}}}\) Hint: The bases are whole numbers, and the exponents are negative. How can the numerator be 8? | |
\( \large \dfrac{64}{{{\left( 56 \right)}^{4}}}\) Hint: The bases are whole numbers, and the exponents are negative. How can the numerator be 64? | |
\( \large \dfrac{1}{8\cdot {{\left( 56 \right)}^{4}}}\) Hint: \(8^{-6}=8^{-4} \times 8^{-2}\) | |
\( \large \dfrac{1}{64\cdot {{\left( 56 \right)}^{4}}}\) |
Question 8 |
Which of the following is equal to eleven billion four hundred thousand?
\( \large 11,400,000\) Hint: That's eleven million four hundred thousand. | |
\(\large11,000,400,000\) | |
\( \large11,000,000,400,000\) Hint: That's eleven trillion four hundred thousand (although with British conventions; this answer is correct, but in the US, it isn't). | |
\( \large 11,400,000,000\) Hint: That's eleven billion four hundred million |
Question 9 |
Solve for x: \(\large 4-\dfrac{2}{3}x=2x\)
\( \large x=3\) Hint: Try plugging x=3 into the equation. | |
\( \large x=-3\) Hint: Left side is positive, right side is negative when you plug this in for x. | |
\( \large x=\dfrac{3}{2}\) Hint: One way to solve: \(4=\dfrac{2}{3}x+2x\) \(=\dfrac{8}{3}x\).\(x=\dfrac{3 \times 4}{8}=\dfrac{3}{2}\). Another way is to just plug x=3/2 into the equation and see that each side equals 3 -- on a multiple choice test, you almost never have to actually solve for x. | |
\( \large x=-\dfrac{3}{2}\) Hint: Left side is positive, right side is negative when you plug this in for x. |
Question 10 |
The Americans with Disabilties Act (ADA) regulations state that the maximum slope for a wheelchair ramp in new construction is 1:12, although slopes between 1:16 and 1:20 are preferred. The maximum rise for any run is 30 inches. The graph below shows the rise and runs of four different wheelchair ramps. Which ramp is in compliance with the ADA regulations for new construction?

AHint: Rise is more than 30 inches. | |
BHint: Run is almost 24 feet, so rise can be almost 2 feet. | |
CHint: Run is 12 feet, so rise can be at most 1 foot. | |
DHint: Slope is 1:10 -- too steep. |
Question 11 |
Which of the following is equivalent to
\( \large A-B+C\div D\times E\)?
\( \large A-B-\dfrac{C}{DE}
\) Hint: In the order of operations, multiplication and division have the same priority, so do them left to right; same with addition and subtraction. | |
\( \large A-B+\dfrac{CE}{D}\) Hint: In practice, you're better off using parentheses than writing an expression like the one in the question. The PEMDAS acronym that many people memorize is misleading. Multiplication and division have equal priority and are done left to right. They have higher priority than addition and subtraction. Addition and subtraction also have equal priority and are done left to right. | |
\( \large \dfrac{AE-BE+CE}{D}\) Hint: Use order of operations, don't just compute left to right. | |
\( \large A-B+\dfrac{C}{DE}\) Hint: In the order of operations, multiplication and division have the same priority, so do them left to right |
Question 12 |
What set of transformations will transform the leftmost image into the rightmost image?
A 90 degree clockwise rotation about (2,1) followed by a translation of two units to the right.Hint: Part of the figure would move below the x-axis with these transformations. | |
A translation 3 units up, followed by a reflection about the line y=x.Hint: See what happens to the point (5,1) under this set of transformations. | |
A 90 degree clockwise rotation about (5,1), followed by a translation of 2 units up. | |
A 90 degree clockwise rotation about (2,1) followed by a translation of 2 units to the right.Hint: See what happens to the point (3,3) under this set of transformations. |
Question 13 |
The column below consists of two cubes and a cylinder. The cylinder has diameter y, which is also the length of the sides of each cube. The total height of the column is 5y. Which of the formulas below gives the volume of the column?
\( \large 2{{y}^{3}}+\dfrac{3\pi {{y}^{3}}}{4}\) Hint: The cubes each have volume \(y^3\). The cylinder has radius \(\dfrac{y}{2}\) and height \(3y\). The volume of a cylinder is \(\pi r^2 h=\pi ({\dfrac{y}{2}})^2(3y)=\dfrac{3\pi {{y}^{3}}}{4}\). Note that the volume of a cylinder is analogous to that of a prism -- area of the base times height. | |
\( \large 2{{y}^{3}}+3\pi {{y}^{3}}\) Hint: y is the diameter of the circle, not the radius. | |
\( \large {{y}^{3}}+5\pi {{y}^{3}}\) Hint: Don't forget to count both cubes. | |
\( \large 2{{y}^{3}}+\dfrac{3\pi {{y}^{3}}}{8}\) Hint: Make sure you know how to find the volume of a cylinder. |
Question 14 |
Use the graph below to answer the question that follows:
The graph above best matches which of the following scenarios:
George left home at 10:00 and drove to work on a crooked path. He was stopped in traffic at 10:30 and 10:45. He drove 30 miles total.Hint: Just because he ended up 30 miles from home doesn't mean he drove 30 miles total. | |
George drove to work. On the way to work there is a little hill and a big hill. He slowed down for them. He made it to work at 11:15.Hint: The graph is not a picture of the roads. | |
George left home at 10:15. He drove 10 miles, then realized he‘d forgotten something at home. He turned back and got what he‘d forgotten. Then he drove in a straight line, at many different speeds, until he got to work around 11:15.Hint: A straight line on a distance versus time graph means constant speed. | |
George left home at 10:15. He drove 10 miles, then realized he‘d forgotten something at home. He turned back and got what he‘d forgotten. Then he drove at a constant speed until he got to work around 11:15. |
Question 15 |
Each individual cube that makes up the rectangular solid depicted below has 6 inch sides. What is the surface area of the solid in square feet?
\( \large 11\text{ f}{{\text{t}}^{2}}\) Hint: Check your units and make sure you're using feet and inches consistently. | |
\( \large 16.5\text{ f}{{\text{t}}^{2}}\) Hint: Each square has surface area \(\dfrac{1}{2} \times \dfrac {1}{2}=\dfrac {1}{4}\) sq feet. There are 9 squares on the top and bottom, and 12 on each of 4 sides, for a total of 66 squares. 66 squares \(\times \dfrac {1}{4}\) sq feet/square =16.5 sq feet. | |
\( \large 66\text{ f}{{\text{t}}^{2}}\) Hint: The area of each square is not 1. | |
\( \large 2376\text{ f}{{\text{t}}^{2}}\) Hint: Read the question more carefully -- the answer is supposed to be in sq feet, not sq inches.
|
Question 16 |
Which of the following is closest to the height of a college student in centimeters?
1.6 cmHint: This is more the height of a Lego toy college student -- less than an inch! | |
16 cmHint: Less than knee high on most college students. | |
160 cmHint: Remember, a meter stick (a little bigger than a yard stick) is 100 cm. Also good to know is that 4 inches is approximately 10 cm. | |
1600 cmHint: This college student might be taller than some campus buildings! |
Question 17 |
Which of the following is the equation of a linear function?
\( \large y={{x}^{2}}+2x+7\) Hint: This is a quadratic function. | |
\( \large y={{2}^{x}}\) Hint: This is an exponential function. | |
\( \large y=\dfrac{15}{x}\) Hint: This is an inverse function. | |
\( \large y=x+(x+4)\) Hint: This is a linear function, y=2x+4, it's graph is a straight line with slope 2 and y-intercept 4. |
Question 18 |
Use the expression below to answer the question that follows.
\( \large \dfrac{\left( 4\times {{10}^{3}} \right)\times \left( 3\times {{10}^{4}} \right)}{6\times {{10}^{6}}}\)
Which of the following is equivalent to the expression above?
2Hint: \(10^3 \times 10^4=10^7\), and note that if you're guessing when the answers are so closely related, you're generally better off guessing one of the middle numbers. | |
20Hint: \( \dfrac{\left( 4\times {{10}^{3}} \right)\times \left( 3\times {{10}^{4}} \right)}{6\times {{10}^{6}}}=\dfrac {12 \times {{10}^{7}}}{6\times {{10}^{6}}}=\)\(2 \times {{10}^{1}}=20 \) | |
200Hint: \(10^3 \times 10^4=10^7\) | |
2000Hint: \(10^3 \times 10^4=10^7\), and note that if you're guessing when the answers are so closely related, you're generally better off guessing one of the middle numbers. |
Question 19 |
Use the table below to answer the question that follows:
Gordon wants to buy three pounds of nuts. Each of the stores above ordinarily sells the nuts for $4.99 a pound, but is offering a discount this week. At which store can he buy the nuts for the least amount of money?
Store AHint: This would save about $2.50. You can quickly see that D saves more. | |
Store BHint: This saves 15% and C saves 25%. | |
Store C | |
Store DHint: This is about 20% off, which is less of a discount than C. |
Question 20 |
Use the problem below to answer the question that follows:
T shirts are on sale for 20% off. Tasha paid $8.73 for a shirt. What is the regular price of the shirt? There is no tax on clothing purchases under $175.
Let p represent the regular price of these t-shirt. Which of the following equations is correct?
\( \large 0.8p=\$8.73\) Hint: 80% of the regular price = $8.73. | |
\( \large \$8.73+0.2*\$8.73=p\) Hint: The 20% off was off of the ORIGINAL price, not off the $8.73 (a lot of people make this mistake). Plus this is the same equation as in choice c. | |
\( \large 1.2*\$8.73=p\) Hint: The 20% off was off of the ORIGINAL price, not off the $8.73 (a lot of people make this mistake). Plus this is the same equation as in choice b. | |
\( \large p-0.2*\$8.73=p\) Hint: Subtract p from both sides of this equation, and you have -.2 x 8.73 =0. |
|
List |
If you found a mistake or have comments on a particular question, please contact me (please copy and paste at least part of the question into the form, as the numbers change depending on how quizzes are displayed). General comments can be left here.
