The format, and what it implies
The no-calculator block at the start is the most useful thing to know in advance. Its existence tells you exactly what those five questions will be: arithmetic that a person is expected to do by hand. Fractions, percentages of round numbers, order of operations, simple ratios. Practise those separately, without a calculator, because arriving at the test having done all your practice with one is a predictable way to lose five marks in the first ten minutes.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Section name | Mathematical Reasoning |
| Questions | 46 |
| Time | 115 minutes |
| Calculator | First 5 questions without; on-screen TI-30XS MultiView for the remaining 41 |
| Passing score | 145 out of 200 |
| College Ready | 165 and above |
| College Ready plus Credit | 175 and above |
| Content split | Approximately 55% algebraic, 45% quantitative problem solving |
Practice: the no-calculator opening
What is 15% of 60?
9. The efficient method by hand is to split the percentage: 10% of 60 is 6, and 5% is half of that, so 3. Adding gives 9. Every percentage question in the no-calculator block yields to this decomposition - 10% is a decimal shift, 5% is half of that, 1% is another shift - and it is far faster than setting up a proportion.
Simplify: 3 plus 4 times (8 minus 6) squared divided by 2
11. Work in order of operations: the bracket first gives 2, squaring gives 4, then 4 times 4 is 16, divided by 2 is 8, and 3 plus 8 is 11. The common error is working strictly left to right and getting a different result. Order-of-operations questions are near-guaranteed in the non-calculator block precisely because they test procedure rather than arithmetic.
A recipe calls for three quarters of a cup of flour. How much flour is needed for two and a half times the recipe?
One and seven eighths cups. Multiply three quarters by five halves: the numerators give 15 and the denominators give 8, so 15 over 8, which is one and seven eighths. Fraction arithmetic without a calculator is worth deliberate practice - it is the single most common source of lost marks in the opening block.
Practice: algebraic problem solving
The larger half of the test. Most questions describe a situation and expect you to build the equation yourself.
Solve for x: 3(x minus 4) = 2x plus 5
x = 17. Expand the left side to get 3x minus 12, then subtract 2x from both sides to get x minus 12 = 5, so x = 17. Always substitute back to check: 3 times 13 is 39, and 2 times 17 plus 5 is 39. On a timed test the check costs five seconds and catches sign errors, which are the most common mistake here.
A phone plan costs $25 per month plus $0.10 for each gigabyte used above 5 GB. What is the cost in a month when 9 GB are used?
$25.40. Only the usage above 5 GB is charged, which is 4 GB, so the extra is 4 times $0.10, which is $0.40, on top of the $25 base. The trap is charging for all 9 GB and getting $25.90. Read the threshold condition carefully - GED questions build in conditions like above, after and more than precisely to test whether you noticed.
A worker earns $18 per hour for the first 40 hours in a week and 1.5 times that rate for each additional hour. What is the pay for a 46-hour week?
$882. The first 40 hours give 40 times 18, which is $720. The overtime rate is 1.5 times 18, which is $27, and there are 6 overtime hours, giving $162. The total is $882. Multi-rate problems appear often because they mirror real pay slips; set out the two parts separately rather than trying to hold both in your head.
Practice: quantitative problem solving
A rectangular garden measures 12 feet by 8 feet. A path 2 feet wide is built all the way around the outside. What is the area of the path?
96 square feet. The outer rectangle measures 16 by 12, because the path adds 2 feet on each of two opposite sides, giving an area of 192 square feet. The garden itself is 96 square feet. The path is the difference: 192 minus 96, which is 96 square feet. The near-universal error is adding 2 rather than 4 to each dimension - draw the figure and label both sides.
The mean of five numbers is 14. Four of them are 10, 12, 16 and 18. What is the fifth?
14. If the mean of five numbers is 14, their total is 5 times 14, which is 70. The four known values sum to 56, so the fifth is 70 minus 56, which is 14. Work backwards from the total whenever a mean is given - reconstructing the sum is the step that turns almost every mean question into subtraction.
On a map, 1 inch represents 25 miles. Two towns are 3.5 inches apart on the map. What is the actual distance?
87.5 miles. Multiply 3.5 by 25. Scale and proportion questions are common because they model real tasks, and they are safest handled as a unit rate - write down what one inch represents, then multiply - rather than as a cross-multiplied proportion, which invites setting the ratio up upside down.
Practice this now
How to prepare if maths has never gone well for you
Many people taking the GED are returning to mathematics after years away, often after a bad experience of it at school. That situation calls for a different plan from a student revising a subject they studied last year.
- ✓Diagnose before you study. Take a practice set and sort your errors into three piles: did not know the method, knew it but made an arithmetic slip, and misread the question. Each needs a different fix, and the third is usually the biggest pile.
- ✓Rebuild fractions, decimals and percentages first, by hand. Everything else on the test sits on top of them, and they are also exactly what the no-calculator block examines.
- ✓Learn the on-screen calculator before test day. The TI-30XS MultiView has a specific key sequence for fractions and exponents, and discovering that during the exam is an avoidable cost.
- ✓Use the provided formula sheet during practice, so you know what is on it and stop memorising things you will be given.
- ✓Practise reading questions twice and underlining the condition - above, at least, not including - before calculating anything.
- ✓Work in short, frequent sessions rather than long ones. Retrieval spread over time is what makes procedures stick.