ASVAB study guide
ASVAB · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The ASVAB Career Exploration Program (ASVAB CEP) is a career-planning program sponsored by the Department of Defense. It is not simply a pass/fail test: the program pairs a validated aptitude test with an interest assessment, and the results feed career-planning tools that help participants compare their measured skills and interests against real occupations and post-secondary routes - college, certifications, apprenticeships, licensures, and more. The ASVAB study guide has 8 sections and about 2,366 words.
01General Science
General Science tests breadth, not depth. Expect life science (cell structures, photosynthesis and respiration, DNA and heredity, ecosystems, human body systems), chemistry (atomic structure, the periodic table, physical vs chemical change, states of matter, acids and bases), physics (Newton's laws, work and energy, heat transfer, waves, simple circuits), and earth/space science (the water cycle, rock types, plate tectonics, seasons, moon phases, planets).
310 words, about 2 min02Arithmetic Reasoning
Most Arithmetic Reasoning items are dressed-up versions of a few templates: percent change, rates (distance = rate times time), proportions, averages, work rates, simple interest, and unit conversions. Translate each sentence into an equation before computing, and label every number with its unit.
304 words, about 2 min03Word Knowledge
Word Knowledge asks for the closest meaning, usually a synonym and occasionally an antonym. Words range from common to fairly advanced, so the winning strategy combines vocabulary with elimination.
290 words, about 1 min04Paragraph Comprehension
Main idea or author's purpose: what the passage as a whole is about. Detail: a fact stated directly in the text.
308 words, about 2 min05Mathematics Knowledge
Mathematics Knowledge is straight computation: fractions and decimals, percents, exponents and roots, order of operations, factoring, linear equations and inequalities, systems of equations, quadratics, and geometry covering angles, triangles, the Pythagorean theorem, circles, area, and volume. Order of operations: exponents before multiplication, multiplication before addition; work parentheses from the inside out.
270 words, about 1 min06Electronics Information
Voltage (V, volts) is electrical pressure; current (I, amperes) is the flow; resistance (R, ohms) opposes it. Power: P = VI, and by substitution P = I squared times R, or V squared divided by R.
307 words, about 2 min07Auto & Shop Information
The four-stroke cycle repeats intake, compression, power, exhaust. The power stroke follows the spark plug firing just after compression.
264 words, about 1 min08Mechanical Comprehension
Lever, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. Mechanical advantage is output force divided by input force; it multiplies force at the cost of distance.
313 words, about 2 min