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GED Test (Mathematical Reasoning, Science, Social Studies, Reasoning Through Language Arts)

Number sense and rational numbers: practice questions

Our GED bank has 37 questions on this topic. Here are 5 of them with answers; the full mock exam draws from every topic, like the real one.

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Question 1

A runner covers 5 kilometers. About how many meters is that?

  1. 500
  2. 50,000
  3. 5,000
  4. 50
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C. 5,000 — 1 km = 1,000 m, so 5 km = 5,000 m.

Question 2

Write 0.00045 in scientific notation.

  1. 4.5 × 10⁻³
  2. 4.5 × 10⁻⁴
  3. 4.5 × 10⁴
  4. 45 × 10⁻⁵
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B. 4.5 × 10⁻⁴ — Move the decimal 4 places right to get 4.5, so the exponent is −4. 45 × 10⁻⁵ is equal in value but not in scientific notation.

Question 3

A recipe uses 3 cups of flour for 24 cookies. How many cups are needed for 40 cookies?

  1. 8
  2. 5
  3. 6
  4. 4
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B. 5 — 3/24 = x/40, so x = 120/24 = 5.

Question 4

What is (−6)(−4) − 10?

  1. −34
  2. 14
  3. 34
  4. −14
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B. 14 — (−6)(−4) = 24; 24 − 10 = 14.

Question 5

What is (5²)³?

  1. 5⁵
  2. 5⁹
  3. 5⁸
  4. 5⁶
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D. 5⁶ — A power of a power multiplies exponents: 2 × 3 = 6.

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