AFOQT key terms

A word that carries the same or nearly the same meaning as another word, such as 'brief' and 'short'. Analogy and word-knowledge items often turn on matching words with closely similar meanings.

A word whose meaning is opposite to that of another word, such as 'expand' and 'contract'. Spotting opposites helps you eliminate choices that reverse the intended relationship.

A pair of words linked by a specific logical relationship, presented so that the same relationship can be found in a second pair. The task is to identify the rule the first pair shares.

A short sentence you write to state the link between the first two words of an analogy, then test on each answer choice. It makes a hidden relationship explicit and easy to compare.

A link in which one item is a component of the other, as a wheel is part of a car. Direction matters, since reversing a part-to-whole pair produces a wrong answer.

A link in which one thing produces or brings about the other, as a virus produces an illness. Check that the direction of influence matches the original word pair.

A link based on intensity, where one word is a weaker or stronger version of the other, like 'warm' and 'hot'. The two words share meaning but differ in strength.

The emotional or evaluative shading a word carries beyond its literal meaning, such as the difference between 'thrifty' and 'stingy'. Positive, negative, or neutral tone can decide an answer.

A comparison of two quantities by division, often written as a fraction or with a colon. It states how many units of one amount exist for each unit of another.

An equation stating that two ratios are equal. Solving one usually means cross-multiplying to find an unknown quantity in a comparison problem.

A number expressed as a fraction of one hundred, used to describe parts of a total. Converting among decimals, fractions, and percents is a frequent arithmetic-reasoning step.

The sum of a set of values divided by the number of values. Word problems often supply the mean and ask you to recover a missing value or the overall total.

A ratio comparing quantities with different units, such as miles per hour or dollars per pound. Units must be made consistent before multiplying or dividing.

A whole number greater than one whose only positive divisors are one and itself, such as seven or thirteen. Factorization questions depend on recognizing primes quickly.

The smallest positive number that is a multiple of two or more given numbers. It is used to build a common denominator or to find when repeating events coincide.

The agreed sequence for evaluating an expression: parentheses, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right. Ignoring it changes the result.

A raised number showing how many times a base is used as a factor, so three to the fourth means three multiplied by itself four times. Rules for combining exponents appear in math-knowledge items.

The rule that in a right triangle the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides. It is used to find an unknown side length.

A measure of how steep a line is, computed as the vertical change divided by the horizontal change between two points. On a graph it represents the rate of change.

A spatial task in which you determine how many identical cubes make up a stack, including cubes hidden behind or beneath visible ones. Every stack must rest on the floor or on another cube.

A pictorial view showing three faces of a stack at once, typically with vertical edges and slanted depth lines. It lets you read height, width, and depth from a single picture.

A cube that is fully or partly hidden from the viewing angle but must exist to support blocks above it or to fill an unseen column. Miscounting these is the standard trap.

The act of imagining how a shape would appear after being turned a stated number of degrees, without changing its size or proportions. A mirrored shape is not the same as a rotated one.

The amount a figure is turned about a point, usually given in degrees such as ninety or one hundred eighty, with direction noted as clockwise or counterclockwise. It defines the orientation you should expect.

A puzzle in which a simple geometric shape is concealed inside a more complex drawing of overlapping lines. The target shape appears at the same size and orientation, never resized.

The ability to separate a target shape from surrounding background lines that pull the eye away. Tracing outlines deliberately improves accuracy under time pressure.

A speeded task requiring you to locate the value at a specified row and column in a data table and report it accurately. Consistent scanning habits matter more than raw speed.

The single cell where a named row and a named column cross, holding the value requested by a table item. Misreading the row or column label is the most common error.

Estimating a value that falls between two printed entries in a table by assuming the change across the gap is steady. It is used when the exact figure is not listed.

A gyroscopic instrument that displays the aircraft's pitch and bank relative to the horizon, using a fixed miniature aircraft and a moving horizon bar. It shows climb, dive, and angle of bank.

A gyroscopic instrument showing the direction the nose of the aircraft points, read in degrees from zero to three hundred fifty-nine. It must be reset periodically to agree with the magnetic compass.

An instrument that displays height above a chosen reference level, normally sea level, in feet. On a basic dial the short hand reads thousands and the long hand reads hundreds.

An instrument showing the aircraft's speed through the air in knots, marked with colored arcs for safe operating ranges. It does not measure speed over the ground.

An instrument with a small aircraft symbol that shows the rate and quality of a turn and whether the turn is coordinated. Centering the inclinometer ball indicates a balanced turn.

An instrument that shows whether the aircraft is climbing, descending, or holding level, and how fast, in feet per minute. A zero reading means altitude is not changing.

The direction the aircraft is pointed, measured in degrees clockwise from magnetic north. It differs from true heading by the local magnetic variation.

The mass of a substance per unit of volume, often stated in grams per cubic centimeter. An object floats in a fluid when its density is less than the fluid's density.

The principle that force equals mass times acceleration, so a fixed force produces less acceleration as mass grows. It also explains why weight changes with gravitational strength.

The factor by which a simple machine multiplies an applied force, found by dividing output force by input force. Longer lever arms and extra supporting rope segments generally raise it.

The energy an object possesses because of its motion, increasing with the square of its speed. Doubling the speed of an object quadruples its kinetic energy if mass is unchanged.