The hardest TEAS questions and how to answer them
Students often find the ATI TEAS test to be hard, especially in Math, Science, and Reading. Even smart students have a hard time when problems are meant to test reasoning and not just memory. This guide will show you the hardest types of TEAS questions, give you examples, and explain how to solve them step by step so you can feel sure when you take the test.
Why Some TEAS Questions Seem “Hard”
These are the things that make the hardest TEAS questions:
- They ask questions that test more than one skill.
- They put important information in long paragraphs.
- They need careful math to figure out.
- They test scientific reasoning, not facts (Science).
- They use answer choices that are very similar to trick students.
- The test gets a lot easier if you learn how to break these hard questions down.
- Difficult Math Questions on the TEAS
Word Problems with More Than One Step
These are hard because students have to pick which formula to use.
For example
A nurse puts together 120 mL of a drug solution that is 25% medicine. She wants to make it a 10% solution. How much water does she need to add?
Answer
Original medication = 25% of 120 mL → 0.25 × 120 = 30 mL of the drug
In the end, the medicine has to be 10%.
Let V be the final volume. 30 = 0.10V
Find the answer: V = 300 mL
Final volume minus original volume equals 300 minus 120, which equals 180 mL.
The right answer is 180 mL.
- Questions about ratios and proportions
For example, a patient needs to take 45 mg of medicine. It has 60 mg in every 2 mL. How many milliliters should the nurse give?
Set up a proportion: 60 mg = 2 mL; 45 mg = x mL
x = (45 × 2) / 60, which means x = 1.5 mL.
- TEAS Algebra Traps
Example: 3(2x − 4) − 5 = 4x + 7
Answer: 6x − 12 − 5 = 4x + 7
6x − 17 = 4x + 7
2x = 24 x = 12
- Hard Reading Questions for TEAS
Questions about inference
You have to read between the lines for these.
For example
Recently, the hospital put in place new ways to stop the spread of infections. Since then, it has taken patients less time to get better.
Question: What conclusion makes sense?
The right answer is: Better infection-control procedures may have helped people get better faster.
Why it’s hard: Students often pick stronger claims, like “infection control caused the improvement,” which is too strong.
- The author’s goal
Writers may want to teach, convince, explain, or describe.
For example, a passage that explains how to sterilize equipment.
Correct Purpose: To tell.
- Difficult Science Questions on the TEAS
Questions about how body systems work together
The hardest Science questions usually have to do with two or three systems.
For example
Which organs respond first to bring the body back to normal if blood pressure drops suddenly?
Solution Logic:
- Baroreceptors in the brain detect drops.
- Hormones are released by the endocrine system.
- The heart beats faster and harder.
Correct Answer: The brain (nervous system) and the endocrine system.
- Genetics and Punnett Squares
For example, a mother is heterozygous for a disease that is recessive (Aa). The father has the illness (aa).
How many kids will get it?
Answer: Cross: Aa × aa
Results: 50% Aa and 50% aa
So, half of the kids will get the disease.
- Questions about cellular respiration
For example, which process makes the most ATP?
The right answer is the electron transport chain.
A lot of students mix it up with glycolysis, which is a common mistake.
- Difficult TEAS English Questions:
Grammar and Sentence Structure
Example: Pick the right one:
- The nurses, who got their training last year, now work in the ICU.
- Last year’s trained nurses now work in the ICU.
- The nurses who went through training last year now work in the ICU.
The right answer is B.
Why?
“Nurses” means more than one.
So “were trained”
And “work”
- Words that go with the context
The TEAS often uses medical or scientific terms.
For example, “The patient’s condition started to get worse.”
“Deteriorate” means to get worse.
- How to Get Good at the Toughest TEAS Questions
Step 1: Take your time and read carefully
Most of the time, people get the wrong answer because they are in a hurry.
✔ Step 2: Mark important words
In particular, in Math and Reading.
✔ Step 3: Get rid of the wrong answers
Most of the time, two options are clearly wrong.
✔ Step 4: Work on problems with more than one step
To answer hard TEAS questions, you need to use logic, not memory.
✔ Step 5: Take official practice tests
They fit the format of the test best.
Last Tips
Hard questions are meant to test more than just what you know.
Your TEAS score will go up quickly if you learn how to break down hard problems.
For 2 to 3 weeks before the test, practice questions that are similar to the ones on the test.
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