GED Mathematical Reasoning

TEST (16)
50 Question | 115 minutes

1. In its first year, an Internet company spent $27.9 billion on advertising and
made $9.3 billion in profits. What was the ratio of advertising dollars to
profits? Reduce your answer to simplest terms.
(A) 1:3
(B) 3:1
(C) 3:9
(D)9:3
(E) 27:9
2. The Consumer Products Safety Commission recently found that 4 out of 5
cribs provided at U.S. hotels are unsafe. What percentage of the cribs are
unsafe?
(A)75%
(B) 80%
(C) 88%
(D)90%
(E) 125%
3. Sue Ellen spent $45.00 on a glass vase for her antiques shop. She wants to
make a profit of $4.00 on every $6.00 she spends. Which expression shows
the price at which she should sell the vase?
(A)45 x 3.4
6
(B) 45 x
4
4𝑥45
(C)
6
4
(D)45 + ( x 45)
6
(E) 45 + (45 x 4)
4. Sue Ellen is buying a new shelving system for her store. She can buy glass
shelves that are 6 inches deep and 3 feet wide, or she can buy wooden
shelves that are twice as wide and twice as deep. How many times as much
space is there on each wooden shelf?
Mark your answer in the circles in the grid on the answer sheet.
5. Melanie wants to know how far she has driven in one day. The drawings
below show the mileage gauge on her car at the beginning and at the end
of her trip. To the nearest tenth of a mile, how far did Melanie travel? Mark
your answer in the circles in the grid on the answer sheet.

6. Which of the following expressions has the same value as x2 x x5?

(A)x7
(B) x10
(C) 2x7
(D)2x10
(E) x11
2
7. In a certain restaurant chain, a serving of macaroni and cheese is cup.
3
Which expression shows how many servings are in a 5-gallon (80-cup) tub
of macaroni and cheese?
2
(A)80 x
3
3
(B) 80 x
2
80+2
(C)
3
80−2
(D)
3
80−2
(E)
2
8. What is the slope of the line that passes through points A and B?
 5
(A)
2
5
(B) -
2
4
(C) -
3
3
(D)
4
3
(E) -
5
Question 9 refers to the following map.

9. Which is the best estimate of how many square miles of dry land
Kennelworth Park contains?

(A)1.1
(B) 1.5
(C) 1.75
(D)1.8
(E) 2.1

Directions: Questions 10-12 refer to the following chart.

COST OF RUNNING VARIOUS TYPES OF WATER HEATERS

(To estimate your water heating bill, locate the price you pay for gas,
electricity, or propane on the chart below.)

10. If the fuel prices shown on this chart are typical, which type of water heater
is least expensive to run?
(A) natural gas
(B) propane
(C) electric
(D) It depends on how much hot water you use.
(E) Not enough information is given.
11. Which of these graphs best shows the relationship between the price per
gallon of propane and the yearly cost of running a propane water heater?
 (A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

12. What would it cost to run a natural gas water heater for one year in an area
where natural gas costs 90¢ per therm? Mark your answer in the circles in
the grid on the answer sheet.
13. Ray is 6 feet tall. One afternoon he measures the length of his own shadow
(0.8 feet) and the length of the shadow cast by his house (7 feet). To the
nearest tenth of a foot, how tall is the house? Mark your answer in the
circles in the grid on the answer sheet.
14. The owner of Harry's Bicycle Shop is conducting a survey to find out why
people shop at his competitor's store. Which of the following would be the
best group for him to survey?
(A)200 children at local grade schools
(B) 200 shoppers stopped on a downtown street
(C) 200 participants in the town's annual bike tour
(D)2 people stopped outside the competitor's store
(E) 1000 people who subscribe to a national magazine on biking
15. The table below shows how people in different age groups responded to
the question, "How would you rate the service you've received at Harry's
Bicycle Shop?

These data suggest that the staff at Harry's should concentrate most on
improving service to people in which age group?
(A) young children
(B) teenagers
(C) young adults
 (D) people over 25
(E) senior citizens
16. Suppose you toss three pennies into the air and they land on the floor. What
is the probability that two pennies will land heads up and one will land tails
up?
(A) 1 chance out of 6
(B) 1 chance out of 8
(C) 2 chances out of 8
(D) 3 chances out of 6
(E) 3 chances out of 8
17. For the equation y = 3x — 2, what are the coordinates of a point when x =
2.
Mark your answer on the coordinate plane grid on the answer sheet.

Directions: Questions 18-20 refer to the graphs below.

18. In 1998, American builders constructed 307,000 apartment buildings that

contained five or more units. Which expression shows the total number of
apartment buildings and homes constructed that year?
(A)19 x 307,000
19
(B) 307,000 x
100
19
(C) x 100
307,000
307,000
(D)
0.19
(E) Not enough information given
19. How many times as many duplexes (2-unit apartment buildings) were
constructed in 1970 as in 1998?
(A) 2
(B) 2.4
(C) 3
(D)3.5
(E) Not enough information is given
20. Which of the following generalizations can be made based solely on the
data in these graphs?
(A) More housing was built in 1998 than in 1970.
(B) Apartment buildings are less profitable today than in 1970.
(C) People had more money to spend on housing in 1998 than in 1970.
(D) In 1970, there were more people living in houses than in apartments.
(E) For every apartment building constructed in 1998, nearly four houses
were built.
21. When Sheetal drives 80 kilometers per hour, it takes her 4 hours to get to
her mother's house. To the nearest tenth of an hour, how many hours would
it take her if she drove 100 kilometers per hour?
Mark your answer in the circles in the grid on the answer sheet.
Directions: Question 22 refers to the following diagram.
22. This hot-air balloon is anchored to the ground with 400-meter cables.
About how many meters above the ground is the top of the balloon? Round
your answer to the nearest whole meter. Mark your answer in the circles
in the grid on the answer sheet.
23. Yolanda's new living room is 180 inches long. Which expression shows
how many yards that is?
180
(A)
12 𝑥 3
180
(B)
12
180
(C)
12 ÷4
(D) 180 x 12 x 3
180 𝑥 3
(E)
12

Directions: Question 24 refers to the following chart.

24. Which formula expresses the relationship between the number of

bedrooms in an apartment (b) and the monthly rent charged for it?
(A) rent = $450b
(B) rent = $125b
(C) rent = $275b
(D)rent = $450(b + 1)
(E) rent = $450 + $125b
25. Ten thousand shares of stock have been issued for Wise Electronics. A
businessman owns 1,345 shares now. He wants to own 51% of the
company's stock. Which expression shows how many shares he must buy?
51
(A) x 10,000
100
(B) 0.51(10,000) — 1345
51
(C) (10,000 — 1345)
100
(D)0.51(10,000) — 0.51(1345)
51 (10,000)−1345
(E) x 100
100
Directions: Questions 26 and 27 refer to the following diagrams which
show a triangular cake that must be cut from a cake baked in a square pan.

26. Which option below shows how the final cake must be cut from a cake that
is a 9-inch square?
(A)
 (B)

(C)

(D)

(E) The cake cannot be cut from a 9-inch square.

27. The baker can be certain that her cake is identical (congruent) to the model
if her cake has which of the following?
(A) at least two 9-inch sides
(B) three angles whose sum is 180°
(C) a 45° angle and at least two 9-inch sides
(D)at least two 60° angles and one 9-inch side
(E) three angles identical to the angles in the model
28. Toni thinks that the outer walls of a certain high-rise are perfectly parallel,
but a friend insists that they tilt inward. Toni could prove that the walls are
parallel if she showed that which of the following is true? (Assume that the
walls do not curve.)
(A) The roof is a perfect square.
(B) All four walls are the same height.
(C) There are the same number of rooms on each floor.
(D)The building's shadow is perpendicular to the building.
(E) The walls all form 90-degree angles with the flat ground
Directions: Question 29 refers to the following diagram.

29. To program the computer on an exercise bike, you must enter the
circumference of the front wheel. Which expression shows the
circumference, in inches, of the bicycle wheel above?
(A) 3.14 x 6
(B) 3.14 x 8
(C) 3.14 x 10
(D) 3.14 x 12
(E) Not enough information is given.
Directions: Questions 30 and 31 refer to the following map which shows
measurements taken by a naturalist studying the spread of wild garlic
mustard.
30. The patch of garlic mustard is doubling in size every 4 years. Which table
correctly shows how large the patch will be at various points in the future?
(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)
31. What fraction of City Park is now covered with garlic mustard? Express
your answer in simplest terms. Mark your answer in the circles in the grid
on the answer sheet.

Directions: Questions 32 and 33 refer to the following chart.

Number of Diners at Maxine's Restaurant

32. Which expression shows the mean number of diners on Saturdays?

290−215
(A)
2
290−215
(B)
5
(C) 215 + 247 + 256 + 290 + 251
215+247+256+290+251
(D)
5
215 𝑥 247 𝑥 256 𝑥 290 𝑥 251
(E)
5
33. Which of the following is the best prediction of how many diners Maxine's
will have next Sunday?
(A)88
(B) 92
(C) 100
(D)117
(E) 121
34. Between 1997 and 2000, there was a 200% increase in direct payments the
government made to farmers. If the government gave farmers $1.8 billion
in 1997, which expression shows how many billions of dollars it gave
farmers in 2000?
(A) 1.8 x 3
(B) 1.8 x 2
(C) 1.8 x 0.2
(D)01.82
(E) Not enough information is given
35. A hiker goes to the end of a 2.86-mile trail and back, then hikes an
additional 0.23 miles around a lake. Rounded to the nearest tenth of a mile,
how many miles altogether did she hike?
(A)3.1
(B) 4.2
(C) 5.7
(D)6.0
(E) 6.5
36. Zack just started working out of his home, and he's trying to figure out how
much he should charge his clients per hour. On average he should get about
22 hours of work each week, including holidays. Which expression could
he use to estimate his yearly earnings at various rates of pay (r)?
(A) r x 22 x 52
22
(B) x 52
𝑟
22 𝑥 52
(C)
𝑟
52𝑟
(D)
22
22𝑟
(E)
52
37. Show the location of the point whose coordinates are (-1, —5).
Mark your answer on the coordinate plane grid on the answer sheet.
Directions: Questions 38-40 refer to the following graph which shows
how quickly a potter's kiln heats up.
38. If the burners are left on medium for 80 minutes, how hot will the kiln get
in degrees Fahrenheit?
(A) 1220°
(B) 1500°
(C) 1800°
(D)about 2000°
(E) Not enough information is given.
39. Which is the best estimate of how hot the kiln will be, in degrees
Fahrenheit, after 1 hour with the burners on medium?
(A) 1210°
(B) 1220°
(C) 1250°
(D)1350°
(E) 1500°
40. If you were to leave the burners on medium for 2 hours, and if the kiln
temperature increased at the same rate, how hot would the kiln get in
degrees Fahrenheit?
(A) 2400°
(B) 2700°
(C) 3000°
(D)3300°
(E) Not enough information is given.
41. In August of 1999, NASA used a slingshot maneuver to shoot a probe into
space. That maneuver slowed Earth's rotation by 10-12 seconds. Which of
the following shows 10-12?
10
(A)
12
(B) 0.00000000001
(C) 0.000000000012
(D)0.0000000000001
1
(E)
1,000,000,000,000
1
42. To build a bookcase, Paul needs 8 pieces of lumber, each 38 inches long.
2
What is the minimum number of 10-foot boards that he should buy?
(A)1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D)4
(E) 5
Directions: Question 43 refers to the following diagram.

43. Bill wants to hike directly from Mt. Scott to Mt. St. Clair. Use the diagram
to determine how far, in miles, Bill will hike.
Mark your answer in the circles in the grid on the answer sheet.
Directions: Questions 44-46 refer to the following graph which shows
various settings on a camera. All points on the curve let exactly the same
amount of light reach the film. An f-stop indicates the width of the opening
into the camera. Shutter speed indicates how long light is allowed through
that opening in fractions of a second.
44. On the graph, approximately what f-stop corresponds to a shutter speed of
300?
(A)4.5
(B) 5.5
(C) 6
(D)6.5
(E) 7
45. On this graph, every time the f-stop is divided in half, what happens to the
shutter speed?
(A) It is multiplied by four.
(B) 500 is added.
(C) It is doubled.
(D)200 is added.
(E) It is divided in half.
46. What is the x-intercept for this graph?
(A) (0, 1000)
(B) (1000, 0)
(C) (0, 1500)
(D)(1500, 0)
(E) There will not be one.

Directions: Questions 47-49 refer to the following information.

Nya makes and sells lawn chairs. The materials for each chair cost $18.00,
and she sells the chairs for $45.00 each.
47. What percentage of the sale price does Nya keep as profit? (Don't consider
expenses other than materials.)
(A) 16
(B) 27
(C) 40
(D)60
(E) 66
48. Besides materials, Nya spends money on advertising, taxes, and rent. Her
total yearly budget for those expenses is $13,400. Which expression shows
how many lawn chairs (x) she must sell before she starts making money?
(A) 45x = 13,400
13,400
(B) x =
18
(C) x (45 - 18) = 13,400
(D) x = 13,400 x (45 - 18)
(E) Not enough information is given.
49. Nya's local lumber yard uses the following formula to determine how much
to charge her.
total charge = I + 0.12I - 0.1I + $15.00
I is the amount of lumber Nya purchases, in board feet
 is the price per board foot
0.12 is sales tax
$15.00 is a delivery fee
0.1 is the 10% discount the lumberyard gives local tradespeople
Which expression simplifies this formula?
(A) 16.02I
(B) 16.02 + 3I
(C) 1.22I + 15.00
(D)0.20pI + 15.00
(E) 1.02I + 15.00
50. Antonio's Pizza would like to start selling square pizzas that require the
same quantity of dough and toppings as the round pizzas they sell now.
Which equation could the company use to figure out how many inches long
to make the sides (s) of each new square pizza? Let d represent the diameter
of the old, round pizzas.
𝑑
(A) = s
2
(B) 2d = s2
(C) d = s2
𝑑
(D) ( )2 = √𝑠
2
𝑑
(E) ( )2= s2
2