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Free TEAS practice questions with answers
Practice for the nursing school entrance exam: anatomy and physiology, biology and chemistry, math and conversions, and medical vocabulary. Check each answer and read the explanation.
Question 1 · TEAS Biology & Chemistry
Both parents are known heterozygous carriers (Bb) for a recessive genetic disorder. The nurse is counseling the couple about the probability that their child will display the recessive phenotype. Based on a Punnett square of Bb x Bb, what should the nurse tell the couple?
Show answer and rationale
Answer: A. A Punnett square cross of Bb x Bb produces offspring genotypes in the ratio of 1 BB : 2 Bb : 1 bb, meaning 3 of the 4 possible offspring display the dominant phenotype and only 1 of 4 (bb) displays the recessive phenotype, giving a 25% probability. There is a nonzero chance since both parents carry the recessive allele, so 0% is incorrect. The 50% option incorrectly reflects the chance of being a carrier (Bb), not the chance of showing the recessive trait. 100% would only be correct if both parents were homozygous recessive (bb x bb), not heterozygous carriers.
Checked against: OpenStax Medical-Surgical Nursing, 30.2; OpenStax Maternal-Newborn Nursing, 10.4
Question 2 · TEAS Math & Conversions
A nurse is measuring a patient who is 5 feet 6 inches tall and needs to document the height in centimeters. What is the patient's height in centimeters?
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Answer: A. First convert the height to total inches: 5 feet 6 inches equals 66 inches (5 x 12 + 6). Then multiply by 2.54 cm per inch: 66 x 2.54 = 167.6 cm. One hundred sixty centimeters and 175.0 cm do not match this calculation and likely come from rounding or unit errors. One hundred thirty-two centimeters would result from mistakenly using only 52 inches. Accurate height conversion is important for calculations such as body mass index and body surface area.
Checked against: OpenStax Pharmacology for Nurses, 40.4; OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 15.1
Question 3 · Medical Vocabulary & Word Parts for Nurses
During a respiratory assessment, the nurse documents "intercostal retractions." Based on the prefix used, where are these retractions located?
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Answer: D. The prefix inter- means "between," so "intercostal" refers to the space between the ribs, exactly where retractions are visualized during increased work of breathing. "Within" would correspond to the prefix intra-, not inter-, making that option incorrect. "Above the ribcage" and "beneath the diaphragm" describe different anatomical locations not indicated by inter-. Correctly interpreting inter- helps the nurse accurately localize and document physical exam findings.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 23.1
Question 4 · TEAS Math & Conversions
A patient's weight is recorded as 70 kg on the chart. The provider needs the weight in pounds for a comparison with a home scale reading. What is the patient's weight in pounds?
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Answer: C. To convert kilograms to pounds, multiply by 2.2: 70 kg x 2.2 = 154 lb. One hundred forty pounds would result from multiplying by 2.0 instead of 2.2, an inaccurate conversion factor. Seventy-seven pounds is roughly half of the correct value and reflects a calculation error. Thirty-two pounds would actually be an approximate conversion of kilograms in the reverse direction. Since many medication doses are calculated using kilograms, accurate kg-to-lb conversion is essential in nursing practice.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 15.1; OpenStax Pharmacology for Nurses, 40.4
Question 5 · TEAS Biology & Chemistry
An arterial blood gas reveals a patient's blood pH is 7.25. Understanding that normal blood pH is 7.35-7.45, how should the nurse interpret this value?
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Answer: C. On the pH scale, values below 7 are acidic and each whole unit represents a tenfold change in acidity; a pH of 7.25 is below the normal blood range of 7.35-7.45, indicating the blood is more acidic than normal (acidosis). A value above 7.45 would indicate the blood is more basic (alkalosis), which is not the case here. Because 7.25 falls below the normal range, it is not within normal limits. Neutral pH is 7.0, which is different from blood's normal near-neutral but slightly basic range.
Checked against: OpenStax Fundamentals of Nursing, 20.2; OpenStax Medical-Surgical Nursing, 10.4
Question 6 · TEAS Math & Conversions
A nurse needs to prepare a solution and must solve the proportion 5/8 = x/24 to determine the correct amount. What is the value of x?
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Answer: D. In a proportion, cross-multiply to solve: 8 times x equals 5 times 24, so 8x = 120, and x = 15. Twelve does not satisfy the cross-multiplication equation. Nineteen point two results from dividing incorrectly rather than cross-multiplying properly. Thirty would result from multiplying 5 by 24 and forgetting to divide by 8. Proportions are used often in dosage calculations, so cross-multiplication must be applied correctly.
Checked against: OpenStax Pharmacology for Nurses, 2.4; OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 11.2
Question 7 · TEAS A&P
A nurse is reviewing the axial skeleton with a nursing student. Which structures are part of the axial skeleton? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
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Answer: A, C, D, E. The axial skeleton forms the body's central axis and includes the skull, vertebral column, rib cage, and sternum, totaling 80 bones in the adult. The femur is part of the appendicular skeleton because it is a bone of the lower limb, and the pelvic girdle is also appendicular since it attaches the limbs to the axial skeleton. Together the axial and appendicular skeletons make up the 206 bones of the adult skeleton.
Checked against: OpenStax Fundamentals of Nursing, 23.1
Question 8 · TEAS Reading & Reasoning Practice
"Medication reconciliation is a critical step in reducing errors during patient transitions of care. It involves comparing a patient's current medication orders to all medications the patient has been taking. Discrepancies are identified and resolved by the health care team. This process prevents omissions, duplications, and dangerous drug interactions when patients move between care settings." Which sentence is the topic sentence of this paragraph?
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Answer: B. The topic sentence states the paragraph's main idea and typically appears first, as it does here: medication reconciliation reduces errors during transitions of care. The other sentences describe how the process works and what it prevents, making them supporting details rather than the sentence that introduces the paragraph's central point.
Checked against: OpenStax Medical-Surgical Nursing, 3.4; OpenStax Population Health for Nurses, 30.3
Question 9 · TEAS A&P
A client with a temperature of 102.5°F (39.2°C) begins to shiver and states feeling cold despite the elevated temperature. The nurse recognizes the shivering as an example of which physiologic process?
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Answer: C. During a fever, the hypothalamus resets the body's temperature set point higher, and shivering generates heat through negative feedback to reach that new elevated target, which is why the client feels cold and shivers even though the temperature is already high. This is still negative feedback because the response works to correct the deviation from the current set point, not amplify it indefinitely, ruling out positive feedback. The shivering is raising, not lowering, temperature, so the option describing lowering temperature is incorrect. The response is part of the autonomic, homeostatic negative feedback loop, not something separate from it.
Checked against: OpenStax Fundamentals of Nursing, 7.1; OpenStax Pharmacology for Nurses, 4.4
Question 10 · TEAS Math & Conversions
Clinical Judgment: A nurse calculates a medication dose and gets an answer of 1010 mg for a drug typically given at doses around 100 mg. Using estimation, what should the nurse do first?
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Answer: C. Estimation by rounding helps a nurse quickly judge whether an exact answer is reasonable; since typical doses are around 100 mg, an answer of 1010 mg is far outside the expected range and signals a likely calculation or decimal-point error. Administering the dose as calculated without questioning it could cause a serious tenfold overdose. Arbitrarily rounding down to 100 mg without verifying the original calculation is not a safe practice, since the correct dose may differ. Giving half the calculated dose is also not a substitute for identifying and correcting the actual math error. Nurses must always verify calculations that produce clinically implausible results before administering medications.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 11.2; OpenStax Pharmacology for Nurses, 2.4
Question 11 · TEAS Biology & Chemistry
A nursing student is reviewing the four macromolecules of life. Which pairings of a macromolecule with its correct monomer are accurate? Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Show answer and rationale
Answer: A, B, C, D. Carbohydrates are built from sugar monomers, lipids from fatty acids and glycerol, proteins from amino acids, and nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) from nucleotides; these are the four correct macromolecule-monomer pairs. Proteins are made of amino acids, not nucleotides, so that pairing is wrong. Lipids are made of fatty acids and glycerol, not amino acids, so that pairing is also incorrect.
Checked against: OpenStax Fundamentals of Nursing, 21.1
Question 12 · TEAS Math & Conversions
Clinical Judgment: An IV bag contains 1000 mL of fluid to infuse over 8 hours. A nurse wants to find the unit rate in milliliters per hour before setting the infusion pump. What is the correct hourly rate?
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Answer: A. A unit rate is a ratio with a denominator of 1, so dividing 1000 mL by 8 hours gives 125 mL/hr, the amount to infuse each hour. One hundred mL/hr would under-infuse the total volume before the 8 hours are up, delivering only 800 mL total. Eight mL/hr is far too slow and reflects dividing the numbers backward (hours by volume). One thousand mL/hr would deliver the entire bag in just 1 hour, causing a dangerous fluid overload. Calculating correct unit rates is essential for setting safe and accurate IV pump rates.
Checked against: OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills, 13.3
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Every question on this page was approved by a licensed RN, and its answer was checked against open nursing references (mostly OpenStax nursing textbooks) before publishing. They are TEAS-style practice, not real TEAS items. NurseLingo is not affiliated with ATI. Spot a problem? Tell us.