What Are the Questions on a GED Test?

Prepare for your GED test with adequate practice.

The General Educational Development test, more commonly known as the GED, is offered to adults of any age who did not graduate from high school with a diploma and wish to receive a degree equal to one that is also accepted by colleges, universities and employers around the country. While the questions on the GED differ between tests, you will have to know basic concepts and functions for topics such as math, social studies, science, writing and reading.

Math

Basic knowledge of math is necessary in order to pass the mathematics questions offered in the test. In most cases, you may expect to find approximately 50 math questions in the GED test, according to the American Council on Education. A math question on the GED may look like this: Jack scored 8 more points than Skip during the basketball playoff game and their combined scores totaled 112. How would you write out this equation? Another example is: Sally buys five dresses at 20 percent off the regular cost of $25 each. Which equation listed below offers the correct equation to determine how much money she saved on her purchases?

Language

Your GED test will determine your English language aptitude with another 50 questions divided between usage, mechanics, sentence structure and organization. The other half of your language test will require you to write an essay. A sample English question found on the test may look like this: Make the appropriate correction to the following sentence structure. "My education and experience coupled with your desire for an expert tutor have offered us each unique opportunities."

A. Insert a comma after experience

B. Change opportunities to opportunity

C. Change have offered to has offered

D. Remove us each from the sentence

E. Replace unique with different

Science

You'll find approximately 50 science-related questions on your GED exam. Expect roughly 35 percent of them to deal with physical science, 20 percent to correspond to earth and space questions, and about 45 percent with life sciences. For example, a science question may be devised similar to this: The student is determined to retrieve the table salt she's tossed into the boiling water for her spaghetti. Which process would offer her the best method for recovering the salt from the water?

A. Boiling the water until it evaporates

B. Placing the water in a mixer and spinning it

C. Straining the water through a cloth

D. Slowly dripping the water through a paper or coffee-type filter

E. Forcing oxygen bubbles through the water.

Social Studies

You'll find 50 questions related to social studies on your GED, divided among geography, history, economics and government. You may be presented with graphs, diagrams, cartoons or other visual aids that relate to the question being asked. You may also be asked a question about a principle of American government or politics or about a famous historical event. For example, you may be asked, "Which amendment to the Constitution grants Americans with the Right to Bear Arms?" or "What amendment to the Constitution granted women the right to vote?"

References

• Study Guide Zone: GED Test
• American Council on Education: GED Sample Test Questions

Resources

• ACE: Science