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FREE IBEW APTITUDE TEST PRACTICE 5 questions to shake off the rust.

In the full course, every math question is solved in a short film. Watch a sample film

All 5 questions, worked step by step.

Open a question for its choices, the answer and every step.

  1. 01

    Solve 6x − 8 = 34.

    MATH
    1. A

      7

      Correct answer

      Add 8 to both sides: 6x = 42. Divide by 6: x = 7. Check: 6 × 7 − 8 = 34.

    2. B

      17/3

      This divides 34 by 6 while the − 8 is still there. Undo the − 8 first: add 8 to both sides, then divide.

    3. C

      13/3

      This takes 8 away from 34. The equation already subtracts 8, so undoing it means adding 8: 6x = 42, not 26.

    4. D

      8

      Put it back into the equation: 6 × 8 − 8 = 40, not 34. That ten-second check catches a slip like this one.

    Step by step

    1. Solving means finding the value of x that makes 6x − 8 = 34 true. An equation stays balanced when the same operation is done to both sides.

    2. Undo the subtraction of 8 by adding 8 to both sides: 6x = 34 + 8.

    3. Calculate the right side: 34 + 8 = 42, so 6x = 42.

    4. 6x means 6 × x. Undo that multiplication by dividing both sides by 6: x = 42/6 = 7.

    5. Check in the original equation. First multiply: 6 × 7 = 42.

    6. Then subtract: 42 − 8 = 34, which matches the original right side. The answer is x = 7.

  2. 02

    Evaluate 6 + 2 × (8 − 5)².

    MATH
    1. A

      12

      This skips the power: 6 + 2 × 3 = 12. The ² means 3 × 3 = 9, so it is 6 + 2 × 9.

    2. B

      22

      This is 2 short. Go in order: 8 − 5 = 3, 3² = 9, 2 × 9 = 18, and 6 + 18 = 24.

    3. C

      24

      Correct answer

      Bracket first: 8 − 5 = 3. Then the power: 3² = 9. Then multiply: 2 × 9 = 18. The 6 is added last.

    4. D

      162

      This adds the 6 first and squares the total: 2 × 9² = 162. Only the bracket (8 − 5) is squared, and the 6 is added last.

    Step by step

    1. Evaluate the whole expression using this order: parentheses, powers, multiplication, then addition.

    2. Inside the parentheses, subtract: 8 − 5 = 3.

    3. The power ² means multiply that result by itself: 3² = 3 × 3 = 9.

    4. Apply the multiplication outside the square: 2 × 9 = 18.

    5. Finally add the starting number: 6 + 18 = 24. This is the answer.

  3. 03

    A table contains (x, y) pairs (0, 6), (1, 11), and (2, 16). The same linear rule continues. What is y when x = 7?

    MATH
    1. A

      47

      This adds the starting 6 twice: 35 + 6 + 6 = 47. The 6 counts once, as the value at x = 0.

    2. B

      46

      This goes one step too far: 46 is y when x = 8. From x = 0 it is 7 steps of 5, starting at 6.

    3. C

      41

      Correct answer

      y goes up 5 for every step of x and starts at 6, so y = 5x + 6. At x = 7: 35 + 6 = 41.

    4. D

      35

      This is 5 × 7 = 35 and stops there. The table starts at 6 when x = 0, so the 6 still has to be added: 35 + 6 = 41.

    Step by step

    1. The question explicitly says the same linear rule continues. A linear rule has the form y = slope × x + starting value; an arbitrary table would not justify assuming that rule.

    2. From the first pair to the second, x increases by 1 and y increases by 11 − 6 = 5. Therefore the slope is 5/1 = 5.

    3. Confirm with the next interval: 16 − 11 = 5 for another one-unit increase in x.

    4. At x = 0, the table gives y = 6. This is the starting value, or intercept, because slope × 0 = 0.

    5. The rule is therefore y = 5x + 6.

    6. Insert the requested input x = 7: y = 5(7) + 6.

    7. Multiply first: 5 × 7 = 35.

    8. Add the intercept: 35 + 6 = 41. The answer is y = 41.

  4. Passage for questions 4 and 5READING

    A simpler start

    A neighborhood group offered a free Saturday workshop on keeping simple household records. The first session included a long list of suggested categories. Participants asked many questions about where to put unusual items, and some stopped filling in the sample form while they waited for an answer.

    For the next session, the instructor began with just three broad categories and one worked example. Participants tried sorting a few items before discussing cases that did not fit neatly. The instructor then showed how they could add a category when it served a clear purpose, rather than trying to anticipate every possible item at the start.

    Most participants completed the second sample form. This did not show that three categories would suit every household forever. It suggested that a simple starting structure could help learners begin, after which they could adapt it to their own needs. The instructor kept the longer list as an optional reference instead of making it the first task.

    04

    What is the main idea of the passage?

    READING
    1. A

      The instructor solved the problem by anticipating every unusual item.

      The instructor stops trying to anticipate every item at the start and teaches how to add categories when useful.

    2. B

      A simpler starting structure helped learners begin before adding detail.

      Correct answer

      This combines the improved start with the later flexibility emphasized in the final paragraph.

    3. C

      Three categories were established as the best permanent system.

      The passage explicitly says completion does not show that three categories suit every household forever.

    4. D

      The detailed reference list was most useful as the first activity.

      The long list remains optional rather than becoming the first task again.

    Step by step

    1. A main-idea answer should cover the simpler starting activity and the possibility of adding detail later.

    2. Paragraph 3 says: "a simple starting structure could help learners begin, after which they could adapt it to their own needs."

    3. The instructor reduces initial complexity, allows later additions and retains the long list as a reference. The passage does not claim a permanent three-category solution.

    4. A simpler structure helps learners begin before they add detail as needed.

  5. 05

    What did participants do before discussing difficult cases in the second session?

    READING
    1. A

      Discussed how to name any new category they might need.

      The instructor shows how to add a category after the initial sorting and discussion, not as the preceding action asked about.

    2. B

      Used the longer list to resolve unusual examples together.

      The longer list is kept as an optional reference; it is not identified as the participants' action before this discussion.

    3. C

      Completed the whole form before trying individual items.

      The participants try sorting a few items before completing the sample form, not after completing the whole form.

    4. D

      Tried sorting a few items.

      Correct answer

      The word before explicitly puts sorting ahead of discussing cases that do not fit.

    Step by step

    1. For sequence, find what participants do before discussing difficult cases in the second session, not what the instructor teaches afterward.

    2. Paragraph 2 says: "Participants tried sorting a few items before discussing cases that did not fit neatly."

    3. The sentence supplies the order directly: initial sorting, then discussion. The later category-adding instruction is not the requested prior step.

    4. Participants first tried sorting a few items.

ABOUT THIS PRACTICE

The test

This practice is for the electrical training ALLIANCE aptitude test, formerly NJATC and widely called the IBEW aptitude test. It has two timed sections and no calculator: Algebra and Functions, 33 questions in 46 minutes, and Reading Comprehension, 36 questions in 51 minutes.

What is on the test Sources for these facts

These questions

3 math and 2 reading questions, written by us in the style of that test. Every answer is worked out step by step.

More math practice More reading practice

The full course

16 lessons and 180 questions, including 2 full-length timed practice tests.

See the course