Angola Military Technical Institute (ISTM) Exam study guide
Angola Military Technical Institute (ISTM) Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Instituto Superior Técnico Militar (ISTM) admission exam is the entrance assessment used for candidates seeking places at Angola's military technical higher-education institute. It is aimed at secondary-school graduates who want to combine an engineering or technical university education with a military career, so it tests both academic readiness and the discipline expected of officer cadets. The Angola Military Technical Institute (ISTM) Exam study guide has 7 sections and about 2,329 words.
01Mathematics
Angola's ISTM mathematics paper rewards fluency in algebra, functions, geometry and basic statistics. Prioritise: simplifying algebraic expressions and factorising (common factor, difference of squares, trinomials); solving linear and quadratic equations (factorisation, the quadratic formula, completing the square); systems of two linear equations; inequalities and their sign rules; indices and surds; direct and inverse proportion; straight-line graphs (gradient, intercepts); areas and volumes of triangles, circles, cylinders and cones; Pythagoras and basic trigonometry (sine, cosine, tangent); percentages, ratio and averages (mean, median, mode).
317 words, about 2 min02Physics
The physics section tests mechanics, energy, electricity and waves at secondary-school level. Know: SI units and prefixes; scalars versus vectors; speed, velocity and acceleration (v = u + at, s = ut + ½at², v² = u² + 2as); Newton's three laws and weight W = mg (g ≈ 9.8 m/s², often rounded to 10); work W = Fd, power P = W/t, kinetic energy ½mv², gravitational potential energy mgh; conservation of energy; pressure P = F/A and liquid pressure; density ρ = m/V; Ohm's law V = IR and series/parallel resistance; electrical power P = VI; basic wave ideas (frequency, wavelength, speed v = fλ); reflection and refraction.
370 words, about 2 min03Chemistry
The chemistry paper covers atomic structure, the periodic table, chemical bonding, formulae and equations, moles, acids and bases, and simple organic chemistry. Understand: protons, neutrons and electrons; atomic number versus mass number; isotopes; electron shells and how they explain group and period position; ionic, covalent and metallic bonding; writing and balancing equations; relative atomic mass and the mole concept (n = m/M, Avogadro's number); concentration (c = n/V); pH and neutralisation; oxidation and reduction as electron loss and gain; the reactivity series and displacement reactions; hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes) and simple functional groups.
319 words, about 2 min04Portuguese Language
The Portuguese component tests reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and written expression in standard European/Angolan Portuguese. Focus on: identifying the main idea and supporting details in a text; distinguishing fact from opinion; classes of words (substantivo, adjectivo, verbo, advérbio, pronome, preposição, conjunção); verb tenses and moods (presente, pretérito perfeito e imperfeito, futuro, condicional, subjuntivo); agreement of gender and number between nouns, adjectives and articles; pronoun placement (próclise, ênclise, mesóclise); accentuation rules; synonyms, antonyms and word formation; and writing clear, coherent paragraphs with correct punctuation.
305 words, about 2 min05English
The English section tests reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and basic writing. Revise: verb tenses (present simple and continuous, past simple and continuous, present perfect, future forms); subject–verb agreement; articles (a, an, the); countable and uncountable nouns with quantifiers (much, many, some, any, a few, a little); prepositions of time and place; comparatives and superlatives; modal verbs (can, must, should, might) and their meanings; active and passive voice; reported speech; conditionals (first and second); common phrasal verbs and collocations; and reading skills such as skimming for the main idea and scanning for detail.
322 words, about 2 min06History and Geography of Angola
This section assesses knowledge of Angola's physical geography and national history. Geography: location in south-west Africa on the Atlantic coast; borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Namibia; the enclave of Cabinda; major relief features (the Bié Plateau, the coastal plain, the escarpment); rivers (Kwanza, Cunene, Cubango, Zambezi tributaries); climate zones from arid coastal desert to tropical highland; provinces and the capital, Luanda; principal economic activities (oil, diamonds, agriculture, fishing).
367 words, about 2 min07Logical Reasoning and General Knowledge
Logical reasoning tests your ability to draw valid conclusions, spot patterns and think quantitatively under time pressure. Practise: number and letter sequences (differences, ratios, alternation, squares and primes); analogies and odd-one-out items; syllogisms using all , some , no and none ; conditional reasoning ( if P then Q ; the valid inference is not Q, therefore not P ); coding and decoding; direction and seating puzzles; and simple probability and counting.
329 words, about 2 min