What to study for TEAS

Rhone · Apr 11, 2008

For Math: Along with the stuff you listed, for Algebra you should know how to solve equations for variables, and how to set up equations for word problems. Know how to factor. For Geometry, you should be fine if you can calculate areas and perimeters for circles, rectangles, and triangles, know the Pythagorean Theorem for right triangles--a^2 + b^2 = c^2--and understand angles.

The big secret to the math section, IMO, is not just understanding your math enough to be able to work out everything on paper, but understanding it enough to take some mental short-cuts and avoid having to work out most of the problems on paper. Sure, you'll have a few problems for which you'll have to, say, add up several big numbers and compute an average, but you'll also have several problems where you could potentially figure out the answer in a few seconds without having to write anything down.

For example, you might see (x + y)(x - y)... you could FOIL it to work out the answer (which is x^2 - y^2), but it's a very commonly used example and if you recognize it, then you've got the answer much quicker. Or you might have a right triangle question where it asks you to find the length of the hypotenuse if the shorter sides are 30 and 40. You could square those and add them up, then square root that... but you'll get the answer (50) much quicker if you recognize that as the common 3-4-5 right triangle.

When I took the test, the proctor set a timer for each section and the timer automatically beeped when there were 10 minutes and then 5 minutes left. There was PANIC in the room when the 10 minute beep went off, but I was fine because I recognized many of the short-cuts and, by the 10-minute warning, I only had 2 questions left.

As for the science questions, yes, know the basics of the subjects you mentioned and also Biology and a little Anatomy. Nothing really in depth, just the basics. Also, understand the scientific method and be able to answer questions like "Bob thinks that blah blah blah, he could best test his idea by..."

Lajimolala, BSN, RN, NP · Apr 11, 2008

Thanks so much! This will definitely help me with my studying. I understand that we're not allowed to use calculators... so does this mean that the math portion will be very basic?

Rhone · Apr 11, 2008

Well, definitely be prepared to have to use the scratch paper to solve some problems... for example, the very first question on my TEAS required finding the average of several 5-digit numbers... so I had to add them all up, and then divide to get the average... and then I saw my answer wasn't one of the answer choices, so I had to check my work and I saw I had written ONE digit in one of the numbers down wrong! So I had to fix it and redo the problem... it freaked me out because I knew I only had just over a minute per problem and I'd already taken so long for #1!

But fortunately it turned out there were several problems I was able to answer very quickly, and I was very careful not to make more careless mistakes.

If you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide; do all those things with fractions and exponents; convert between mixed numbers and improper fractions (e.g. 2 3/4 = 11/4); reduce fractions; and solve equations for variables, then you should be able to solve the math fine on paper without a calculator.

But, as I warned before, if you're having to use the scratch paper for most of the problems then you are probably A) missing some short-cuts, and B) going to have trouble finishing all the questions before you run out of time.

The only thing I studied from was the E-book at http://www.mo-media.com/teas/ -- I feel like it covered all of the math topics you're likely to encounter on the actual test. The example questions at http://www.testprepreview.com/teas_practice.htm are pretty close to what the test questions are like too.