AFQT study guide
AFQT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) is the enlistment-eligibility score the U.S. military derives from performance on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). The ASVAB is described by its official program as a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military; the same source reports it is administered annually to more than one million military applicants, high school, and post-secondary students. Applicants do not register for a separate AFQT sitting - the score comes out of the ASVAB session they already take. Topics on this exam: Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Word Knowledge (WK), and Paragraph Comprehension (PC). The AFQT study guide has 4 sections and about 1,105 words.
01Arithmetic Reasoning
Arithmetic Reasoning is not a calculation contest; it is a translation contest. Most items describe a situation and ask for a quantity. Identify the unknown, assign it a variable or a blank, and write an equation or a sequence of operations before computing. Core topics include rates and unit prices, proportions and scaling, percent increase and decrease, weighted averages, distance-rate-time, work rates, simple interest, and perimeter, area, and volume of rectangles, triangles, and circles.
305 words, about 2 min02Mathematics Knowledge
Mathematics Knowledge covers school mathematics through beginning algebra and geometry: order of operations, fractions and decimals, exponents and roots, algebraic expressions, linear equations and inequalities, factoring, quadratics, ratios, percent, angles, triangles, circles, area and volume, coordinate geometry, and basic probability. The test rewards precision more than speed. Order of operations: exponents before multiplication; multiplication and division left to right. Negative signs: -3^2 = -9, while (-3)^2 = 9.
258 words, about 1 min03Word Knowledge
Word Knowledge measures vocabulary in a short context. Most items ask for the closest meaning of an underlined word; others test a word used in an uncommon sense. Study prefixes, roots, and suffixes, but also practice replacing the target word with each answer choice and rereading the sentence. The correct choice must fit both the meaning and the grammar of the sentence.
251 words, about 1 min04Paragraph Comprehension
Paragraph Comprehension asks you to read a short passage and answer questions about main idea, supporting details, sequence, cause and effect, comparison, vocabulary in context, inference, and the author's purpose or tone. Nearly every answer is supported by a specific sentence or by a logical combination of sentences. Your job is to find that support, not to bring in outside knowledge. True but unsupported.
291 words, about 1 min