HESI A2 — All Questions

Solve for x: 3(x + 2) = 18.

• a.6
• b.4✓
• c.8
• d.5

Distribute first to get 3x + 6 = 18, subtract 6 from both sides for 3x = 12, then divide by 3 to find x = 4. Dividing 18 by 3 and stopping there gives 6, and subtracting 2 before distributing gives the other values. Substituting 4 back in checks out, since 3 times 6 is 18.

Solve for x: x/5 + 3 = 8.

• a.55
• b.25✓
• c.1
• d.15

Subtract 3 from both sides to get x/5 = 5, then multiply both sides by 5 to find x = 25. Multiplying before subtracting gives 55, and dividing rather than multiplying at the last step gives 1.

Simplify: 4 + 6 x 2 - 3.

• a.17
• b.11
• c.13✓
• d.20

Order of operations requires the multiplication first: 6 x 2 is 12, so the expression becomes 4 + 12 - 3 = 13. Working strictly left to right gives 17, and subtracting before multiplying gives the other answers.

Solve for x: 2x + 5 = 3x - 4.

• a.1
• b.9✓
• c.-9
• d.4.5

Subtract 2x from both sides to get 5 = x - 4, then add 4 to both sides, giving x = 9. Sign errors when moving terms across produce 1 and negative 9. Checking confirms it: both sides equal 23 when x is 9.

What is the median of 4, 9, 7, 12 and 6?

• a.6
• b.7✓
• c.7.6
• d.8

Put the numbers in order first: 4, 6, 7, 9, 12. The middle value of five numbers is the third one, which is 7. The value 7.6 is the mean rather than the median, and 6 is the middle number only if the list is left unsorted.

Four test scores have a mean of 86. Three of them are 88, 92 and 79. What is the fourth score?

• a.86
• b.83
• c.85✓
• d.90

Four scores averaging 86 must total 4 x 86 = 344. The three known scores add to 259, so the missing score is 344 minus 259, which is 85. Assuming the missing score equals the mean is the common shortcut and is wrong unless the other three already balance.

Convert 95 degrees Fahrenheit to Celsius. (C = 5/9 x (F - 32))

• a.63 degrees
• b.52.8 degrees
• c.35 degrees✓
• d.203 degrees

Subtract 32 first to get 63, then multiply by 5/9: 63 x 5 is 315, and 315 divided by 9 is 35. Stopping after the subtraction leaves 63, forgetting to subtract 32 at all gives 52.8, and 203 is the result of running the Celsius-to-Fahrenheit formula on 95 by mistake.

An IV of 1,000 mL is to infuse over 8 hours. What is the hourly rate?

• a.80 mL per hour
• b.125 mL per hour✓
• c.100 mL per hour
• d.250 mL per hour

Divide the volume by the time: 1,000 divided by 8 equals 125 mL each hour. Dividing 8 into 1,000 incorrectly gives 80, 100 mL an hour would take ten hours, and 250 mL an hour would empty the bag in four.

A patient drank 240 mL of coffee, 120 mL of juice and 180 mL of water. What is the total intake?

• a.440 mL
• b.540 mL✓
• c.560 mL
• d.500 mL

Add the three volumes: 240 plus 120 is 360, and 360 plus 180 is 540 mL. The other totals come from carrying errors in the tens column, and a quick estimate of roughly 250 plus 120 plus 180 confirms the answer is just over 500.

An IV bag holds 450 mL and is running at 75 mL per hour. How long until it is empty?

• a.6 hours✓
• b.4 hours
• c.7.5 hours
• d.5 hours

Divide the volume remaining by the rate: 450 divided by 75 equals 6 hours. Four hours at that rate would deliver only 300 mL, and 7.5 hours comes from dividing by 60 instead of 75.

Read the passage: 'Hospitals schedule a handoff report at every shift change. The departing nurse reviews each patient's condition, medications and pending tests with the nurse arriving. Studies show that most serious errors in care begin with information lost at this moment.' What is the main idea?

• a.Handoff reports matter because lost information causes errors✓
• b.Nurses work in shifts that change several times each day
• c.Pending tests are the hardest information to pass along
• d.Most hospital errors happen during the night shift

Every sentence builds toward the risk created when information is dropped at shift change, so that is the main idea. Shift work is background detail, the passage never singles out pending tests as hardest, and it says nothing about which shift is most dangerous.

Read the passage: 'The body makes vitamin D when skin is exposed to sunlight. People who work indoors, live far from the equator, or cover their skin often fall short and may need it from food or supplements.' According to the passage, who is most likely to need a supplement?

• a.Someone who eats a diet rich in fish
• b.Someone who works indoors all day✓
• c.Someone who lives near the equator
• d.Someone who exercises outdoors each morning

The passage names indoor workers, people far from the equator and people who keep their skin covered as the groups at risk. A fish-rich diet supplies vitamin D, and living near the equator or exercising outdoors both mean more sun exposure, not less.

Read the passage: 'Devon set his alarm for four in the morning, laid out his clothes the night before, and reread the directions to the testing centre twice.' What can you infer about Devon?

• a.He has taken the test before
• b.He lives far from the testing centre
• c.He is anxious about being late✓
• d.He dislikes waking up early

Each action is a precaution against arriving late, so nervousness about the schedule is the reasonable inference. Nothing in the passage says he has tested before, and although he checks directions twice, the distance is never stated. His early alarm shows determination rather than a preference.

Read the passage: 'The manual was a disgrace. Sentences ran on for half a page, the diagrams were mislabelled, and the index pointed to pages that did not exist.' What is the author's tone?

• a.Neutral
• b.Regretful
• c.Amused
• d.Scornful✓

Words such as disgrace and the pile-up of faults make the tone openly contemptuous. A neutral tone would simply list the features without judgement, regret would suggest sadness at something lost, and nothing here is played for humour.

Read the passage: 'The clinic opened in 1998 and now serves about 4,000 patients a year. It is by far the finest clinic in the county.' Which sentence from the passage is an opinion?

• a.That the clinic opened in 1998
• b.That it serves about 4,000 patients a year
• c.That the clinic is located in a county
• d.That it is the finest clinic in the county✓

Finest is a judgement that cannot be checked against a record, so it is opinion. The opening year and the yearly patient count are both verifiable facts, and the clinic's location is simply stated rather than judged.

Read the passage: 'Because the ward was short-staffed, the charge nurse had to triage requests, answering call lights for pain and breathing first and postponing those for a change of linens.' In this passage, the word 'triage' most nearly means:

• a.refuse politely
• b.rank by urgency✓
• c.answer in order received
• d.record for later review

The passage itself shows the meaning: urgent needs are handled first and lesser ones wait. Nothing is refused or merely recorded, and answering in the order received is the opposite of what the charge nurse did.

Read the passage: 'Check the label against the order three times: when you take the medication from the shelf, when you prepare it, and again at the bedside.' What is the author's purpose?

• a.To persuade the reader to work carefully
• b.To entertain the reader with a story
• c.To give instructions✓
• d.To compare two ways of giving medication

The passage is a set of numbered steps in the imperative, which is instruction. It does not argue a case, tell a story, or set two approaches side by side for comparison.

Read the passage: 'Every patient on the unit received the new discharge booklet. Readmissions within thirty days fell by a quarter over the following year, although the unit also hired two additional case managers during that period.' What conclusion is best supported?

• a.The booklet alone caused readmissions to fall
• b.Something on the unit reduced readmissions, but the cause is unclear✓
• c.Hiring case managers has no effect on readmissions
• d.Readmission rates always fall after a year

Two changes happened at once, so the drop cannot be assigned to either with confidence. Crediting the booklet ignores the new staff, dismissing the case managers ignores the same problem in reverse, and one unit over one year says nothing about what always happens.

Read the passage: 'Wash and dry the thermometer. Next, place the probe under the tongue. Wait for the tone. Finally, record the reading in the chart.' How is this passage organized?

• a.By comparison and contrast
• b.From most to least important
• c.By cause and effect
• d.In chronological steps✓

The signal words next and finally mark a sequence of actions in time. Nothing is compared, no ranking of importance is offered, and no cause produces an effect.

Read the passage: 'Heavy rain fell for three days. The river rose over its banks, and by Thursday the low road into town was closed.' What is the effect described?

• a.Three days of heavy rain
• b.The town was built near a river
• c.The low road was closed✓
• d.Thursday came at the end of the week

The rain is the cause, the rising river the link, and the closed road the final effect. The town's location is background rather than an effect, and the day of the week is only a time marker.

Read the passage: 'Coral reefs cover less than one percent of the ocean floor, yet about a quarter of all marine species depend on them for food or shelter.' What is the best title for this passage?

• a.Small Reefs, Enormous Importance✓
• b.How Coral Reefs Are Formed
• c.The Shrinking of the World's Oceans
• d.Fish Species of the Deep Sea

The passage contrasts the reefs' tiny area with the huge number of species that rely on them, which is exactly what the title captures. Formation is never described, the oceans are not said to be shrinking, and the deep sea is a different habitat entirely.

Read the passage: 'The applicant arrived twenty minutes early, greeted the receptionist by name, and had brought a spare copy of her transcript.' Which word best describes the applicant?

• a.Prepared✓
• b.Impatient
• c.Anxious
• d.Indifferent

Arriving early with an extra copy of a document shows planning. Impatience would show in complaint rather than courtesy, anxiety is not indicated by any nervous behaviour, and indifference is contradicted by the effort described.

Read the passage: 'Do not leave the unit without telling the charge nurse. A missing staff member during a code delays care for the patient.' What is implied about codes?

• a.They happen most often on understaffed units
• b.They require every team member to be accounted for✓
• c.They are rare enough not to worry about
• d.They are managed entirely by physicians

The warning only makes sense if a code needs the full team present, which is the implication. How often codes occur is never mentioned, the tone treats them as serious rather than rare, and the passage addresses nursing staff rather than physicians.

Read the passage: 'Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. Taking them for a cold gives no benefit, and it clears the way for any resistant bacteria already in the body to multiply.' Which detail supports the idea that unnecessary antibiotics are harmful?

• a.Antibiotics kill bacteria
• b.Colds are caused by viruses
• c.Antibiotics are widely available
• d.Resistant bacteria are left free to multiply✓

Only the multiplying of resistant bacteria describes actual harm to the patient and to others. That antibiotics kill bacteria is their intended action, the viral cause of colds explains why they do not help, and availability is never mentioned in the passage.

Read the passage: 'Our town has debated the new bypass for six years. Supporters point to shorter commutes; opponents note that three farms would be divided by the route.' What is the author's approach?

• a.Balanced, presenting both sides✓
• b.Strongly in favour of the bypass
• c.Strongly opposed to the bypass
• d.Humorous about the whole debate

Each side is given one reason in the same measured language, so the writing is even-handed. No word of praise or condemnation appears, and there is nothing playful in the tone.

Read the passage: 'She had rehearsed the presentation a dozen times, but when the room went quiet her mouth went dry and the first slide blurred in front of her.' What can you infer?

• a.Practice did not prevent her stage fright✓
• b.She had not prepared for the presentation
• c.The projector was out of focus
• d.She forgot the content of her talk

Rehearsing a dozen times shows real preparation, yet her body reacts anyway, so nerves overcame practice. The blur is her own vision rather than the equipment, and nothing says the material left her memory.

Read the passage: 'Sunscreen should be applied twenty minutes before going outdoors and reapplied every two hours, or immediately after swimming.' When should sunscreen be reapplied?

• a.Only after swimming
• b.Every two hours, or right after swimming✓
• c.Twenty minutes before going outdoors
• d.Once at the start of each day

The passage names two triggers for reapplying, the two-hour interval and swimming, so both must appear in the answer. The twenty-minute rule governs the first application, and a single daily application contradicts the instruction outright.

Read the passage: 'The museum's newest wing is a triumph of glass and light, and anyone who fails to visit it this spring will regret the omission for years.' What is the author's purpose?

• a.To inform the reader about the building's design
• b.To describe the museum's history in detail
• c.To criticise the museum's new addition
• d.To persuade the reader to visit✓

The passage praises the wing and warns of regret, which is an appeal to act. A few words about glass and light are not a full description, no history is given, and the tone is admiring rather than critical.

Read the passage: 'Unlike the paper chart, the electronic record can be read by two people at once and cannot be misplaced. It is slower to update, however, and fails whenever the network does.' How is this passage organized?

• a.In order of time
• b.By listing steps in a process
• c.By comparison and contrast✓
• d.From a general idea to specific examples

The passage sets the electronic record against the paper chart, weighing advantages against drawbacks. There is no timeline, no procedure to follow and no broad claim narrowed down by examples.

Read the passage: 'After the storm passed, volunteers cleared branches from the road by hand, since the county's only chipper had been damaged the week before.' Why did volunteers work by hand?

• a.The storm blocked the county roads
• b.The chipper was already damaged✓
• c.Volunteers preferred working by hand
• d.The county had no volunteers available

The word since introduces the reason: the machine was out of service. The blocked road is the problem being solved rather than the reason for the method, and nothing suggests a preference or a shortage of people.

Read the passage: 'The recipe calls for a scant cup of flour. Use slightly less than a full measure, or the dough will turn out tough.' In this passage, 'scant' most nearly means:

• a.heaping
• b.exactly level
• c.barely enough✓
• d.doubled

The second sentence defines the word by telling the cook to use slightly less than a full cup. Heaping and doubled both mean more rather than less, and exactly level would be a full measure, which is what the passage warns against.

Read the passage: 'Three of the four exits were blocked by stacked chairs on the night of the inspection. The inspector issued a citation and gave the hall ten days to correct the violation.' What is the main idea?

• a.Inspections take place at night
• b.Blocked exits led to a citation✓
• c.Stacked chairs are a fire hazard everywhere
• d.The hall will probably close within ten days

The passage reports a specific violation and its consequence. The timing of one inspection is incidental, the passage does not generalise about chairs, and it says the hall has ten days to correct the problem, not that it will close.

Read the passage: 'Some claim that memory works like a video recording. In fact, each time a memory is recalled it is rebuilt, and small details can change with every retelling.' What is the author correcting?

• a.The belief that memories can be recalled at all
• b.The belief that video recordings are accurate
• c.The belief that people lie about what they remember
• d.The belief that memories are stored unchanged✓

The phrase in fact signals that the video-recording comparison is the mistake being corrected. The passage accepts that recall happens, makes no claim about actual video, and describes unconscious change rather than deliberate lying.

Read the passage: 'The trail rose gently for the first mile. After that it turned to loose rock, and the last half mile required both hands.' What can you conclude about the trail?

• a.It is dangerous from the very beginning
• b.It is shorter than most local trails
• c.It is impossible without climbing equipment
• d.It grows harder as it goes on✓

The description moves from a gentle grade to loose rock to scrambling, so difficulty increases with distance. The first mile is explicitly gentle, no other trail is mentioned for comparison, and using both hands is not the same as needing equipment.

Read the passage: 'Keep the dressing dry for forty-eight hours. If it becomes wet, or if you see redness spreading from the edge of the wound, call the clinic.' What should a patient do if the dressing gets wet?

• a.Remove the dressing and let the wound air dry
• b.Call the clinic✓
• c.Wait forty-eight hours and then check it
• d.Apply a second dressing over the wet one

The instruction names two situations that require a call, and a wet dressing is one of them. Removing the dressing, waiting, or layering a second one are all actions the passage never authorises.

Read the passage: 'Rosa has worked at the plant for thirty years. She trained half the crew on the floor, and when a machine jams it is her name that is called.' What can you infer about Rosa?

• a.She is about to be promoted to supervisor
• b.Her coworkers respect her expertise✓
• c.She is the oldest worker at the plant
• d.She prefers machines to people

Being the trainer of half the crew and the first person called shows earned authority. No promotion is mentioned, length of service is not the same as age, and nothing indicates what she prefers.

Read the passage: 'The report states that 62 percent of respondents skipped breakfast at least three times a week. The author concludes that the modern workday has become too rushed for a morning meal.' Which part is the author's interpretation rather than data?

• a.That 62 percent of respondents were surveyed
• b.That respondents skipped breakfast three times a week
• c.That the report exists and was written
• d.That the workday is too rushed for breakfast✓

The survey result is a measurement; the reason offered for it is the author's inference and is not established by the number. The percentage, the frequency it describes, and the existence of the report are all stated facts.

Read the passage: 'Bring photo identification, your appointment letter and a list of current medications. Applicants without identification will be rescheduled.' What happens to an applicant who forgets identification?

• a.The appointment is rescheduled✓
• b.The appointment goes ahead as planned
• c.The applicant is turned away permanently
• d.A medication list is accepted instead

The passage states plainly that applicants without identification will be rescheduled. It does not permit the appointment to continue, does not bar the applicant for good, and never offers the medication list as a substitute.

Read the passage: 'Honeybees communicate the location of flowers by dancing. The angle of the dance relative to the sun gives the direction, and the length of the run gives the distance.' What does the length of the dance tell other bees?

• a.Which direction to fly
• b.How much nectar is available
• c.Which flowers taste best
• d.How far away the flowers are✓

The passage pairs the angle with direction and the length with distance. Direction is given by the angle instead, and the amount or quality of nectar is never mentioned.

Read the passage: 'The gymnasium had not been cleaned in weeks. Dust lay thick on the bleachers, a broken window let in the cold, and the scoreboard had gone dark years ago.' What mood does the passage create?

• a.Excitement
• b.Calm
• c.Neglect✓
• d.Nostalgia

Dust, a broken window and a dead scoreboard together build a sense of abandonment. Nothing is lively enough to be exciting, the details are too bleak to read as calm, and no fond memory of the past is offered.

Read the passage: 'A tornado watch means conditions are favourable for a tornado to form. A tornado warning means one has been spotted or detected on radar and people should take shelter at once.' What is the difference between a watch and a warning?

• a.A watch is issued only at night
• b.A warning covers a larger area than a watch
• c.A watch means people should shelter immediately
• d.A warning means a tornado has actually been detected✓

The passage draws the line at detection: a watch describes possible conditions, a warning an observed tornado. Time of day and size of area are never discussed, and immediate shelter belongs to the warning rather than the watch.

Read the passage: 'Mr. Alvarez waved off the wheelchair, said he had walked into the hospital and would walk out of it, then gripped the bed rail with both hands to stand.' What can you infer about Mr. Alvarez?

• a.He is completely recovered from his illness
• b.He has never used a wheelchair before
• c.He values his independence more than his comfort✓
• d.He dislikes the staff caring for him

Refusing help while visibly struggling shows pride in doing things himself. His grip on the rail suggests he is not fully recovered, his history with wheelchairs is unknown, and nothing is said about his feelings toward the staff.

Read the passage: 'The new policy requires two identifiers before any medication is given: the patient's full name and date of birth. A room number is not an acceptable identifier.' Which identifier does the policy forbid?

• a.The date of birth
• b.The patient's full name
• c.The medication label
• d.The room number✓

The passage states directly that a room number will not do, because patients move between rooms. Name and date of birth are the two the policy requires, and the medication label is not offered as an identifier at all.

Read the passage: 'Glaciers in the range have retreated an average of forty metres a year since 1980. Photographs taken from the same ridge in 1905 and last summer show the difference plainly.' What is the primary purpose?

• a.To argue for a change in government policy
• b.To describe the beauty of the mountain range
• c.To explain how glaciers are formed
• d.To present evidence of glacial retreat✓

Measurements and paired photographs are offered as evidence, and no action is urged. No policy is proposed, the scenery is not described, and glacier formation is never explained.

Read the passage: 'The soup was served lukewarm, the bread was stale, and yet somehow the meal was over in eleven minutes flat.' What is the tone?

• a.Sincerely grateful
• b.Coldly factual
• c.Openly furious
• d.Wryly critical✓

The complaints are real but the closing phrase turns them into dry humour, which is wry criticism. Gratitude is absent, a purely factual report would not add the ironic timing, and the mild register falls well short of fury.

Read the passage: 'Every county in the state reported a rise in flu cases last week except one. Public health officials expect that county's numbers to follow within days.' What do officials expect?

• a.The last county's cases will also rise✓
• b.The outbreak has already peaked statewide
• c.The last county has better public health measures
• d.Flu cases will fall in the other counties

Officials predict the remaining county will follow the same upward pattern. The passage gives no sign of a peak, never credits that county with better measures, and says nothing about cases falling anywhere.

Read the passage: 'Although she had cooked for crowds her whole life, Nadia measured each ingredient for the competition twice and set a timer she did not need.' What does this suggest about the competition?

• a.It was the first time she had cooked for others
• b.She expected the judges to be unfair
• c.The recipe was unfamiliar to her
• d.It mattered enough to change her habits✓

A cook of long experience taking extra precautions shows the stakes were unusually high. She has cooked for crowds for years, no complaint about the judges appears, and nothing indicates the recipe was new to her.

Read the passage: 'Store insulin in the refrigerator until it is opened. Once opened, a vial may be kept at room temperature for twenty-eight days and must then be discarded.' How long may an opened vial be kept at room temperature?

• a.Until the expiry date printed on the box
• b.Twenty-eight hours
• c.Twenty-eight days✓
• d.Only while it remains cold

The passage gives a clear limit of twenty-eight days after opening. The printed expiry date governs unopened vials, the unit is days rather than hours, and the whole point of the sentence is that room temperature storage is allowed.

Read the passage: 'Ninety percent of dentists surveyed recommend this toothpaste. Your smile deserves nothing less than the best on the market.' Which statement from the passage is opinion?

• a.That your smile deserves the best on the market✓
• b.That ninety percent of dentists were surveyed
• c.That dentists were asked for a recommendation
• d.That the product is a toothpaste

What a smile deserves is a value judgement no survey can establish. The survey figure, the fact that a recommendation was sought, and the nature of the product are all checkable claims.

Read the passage: 'The first drafts of the constitution were written on rag paper, which survives centuries. Documents from only fifty years ago, printed on wood-pulp paper, are already crumbling.' What conclusion is supported?

• a.Older documents are always better preserved
• b.Wood-pulp paper was never widely used
• c.Constitutions are printed on special paper today
• d.Rag paper lasts longer than wood-pulp paper✓

The contrast between centuries and fifty years points to the material rather than the age. Age alone is not the cause, wood-pulp paper is clearly common enough to hold many documents, and present-day printing is not discussed.