HESI A2 · Math section
HESI A2 Math Practice Test: Fractions, Conversions, Roman Numerals and 24-Hour Time
Practice set 1 has 20 HESI A2 math questions on whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percents, ratios, simple algebra, household and metric conversions, Roman numerals and 24-hour time, on an exam-style screen with an on-screen calculator. Check each answer to see the working and a note on every option. Schools publish the section's details (Tarrant County College lists 55 math questions). These questions are free, with no sign-up.
Practice sets
HESI A2 math practice sets
Five sets of math questions. Each opens on an exam-style test screen, one question at a time: answer, select Check answer, and see the correct answer, the explanation and a note on every option before you go on. A basic calculator opens from the tool bar. Untimed, and your progress is saved in this browser.
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
Set 1 spreads its 20 questions over ten topics; the topic cards below show how many fall in each group. The math section of Practice Exam 1 suggests about 60 seconds a question; your school or testing site sets the real timing (Tarrant County College allows 5 hours for its five sections). When the sets feel easy, take the full-length HESI A2 Practice Exam 1, with each section on its own clock.
Sample HESI A2 math questionFrom practice set 1, with the answer and a note on every option
What is 125 - 38 - 27?
Answer: 60
Subtract in order: 125 - 38 = 87, then 87 - 27 = 60. Replacing the expression with 125 - (38 - 27) changes the subtraction grouping.
60: Correct. Both subtractions give a final value of 60.
87: This completes only the first subtraction.
98: This subtracts only 27.
114: This subtracts the difference of 38 and 27 instead of subtracting both.
Whole numbers, fractions and decimals · Whole numbers, order of operations
Content
What the HESI A2 math section covers
Schools describe the content of the A2 math section on their own pages. The practice sets here draw on the topics below, grouped the way they are easiest to study.
- Questions
- 50
- In Practice Exam 1 here; Tarrant County College lists 55
- Suggested time
- 50 min
- Your school or testing site sets the limit
- Per question
- 60 s
- At the suggested time
- Calculator
- On screen
- In this section of the practice exam
Whole numbers, fractions and decimals
The base of the section: order of operations, adding and subtracting mixed numbers, multiplying and dividing fractions, and keeping the decimal point in the right place in products and quotients. A four-function calculator works only in decimals, so a fraction answer such as 4 3/8 has to come from your own working.
- Whole numbers, order of operations
- Fractions and mixed numbers
- Decimals
Percents, ratios and proportions
A percent of a number, the percent one number is of another, discounts and increases; ratios that split a total into parts; and proportions such as a map scale or a recipe scaled up. Nearly all of them can be set up as two equal fractions and solved by cross-multiplying.
- Percents
- Ratios and proportions
Algebra and word problems
One-variable equations solved by undoing each operation in turn, and word problems in everyday and health-care settings that take two or three steps. Write the equation from the words before you reach for the calculator, and check that your answer is the quantity the question asks for.
- Basic algebra (solve for x)
- Word problems in everyday and health-care settings
Conversions, Roman numerals and 24-hour time
The topics most applicants have not used since school: household units against metric ones, Roman numerals, and the 24-hour clock that many health-care settings use. Each is a short list of rules to learn, and the table further down this page has them in one place.
- Household and metric conversions (cups, ounces, pounds, teaspoons, tablespoons, inches, feet; mL, L, g, kg, cm)
- Roman numerals
- Military (24-hour) time
What schools say about the math section
| Source | What its page says |
|---|---|
| Tarrant County College | Math is one of four sections of 55 questions, and an on-screen calculator is available during testing. The exam is computerized and multiple choice, with five sections in 5 hours. |
| Central New Mexico Community College | Math is one of six sections. The testing center provides a calculator, pencils and paper, allows no outside materials, and provides no conversion table. Applicants to its nursing program need 75% on every sub-test and a 75% composite. |
| Germanna Community College (Academic Center for Excellence) | Its guide (updated January 2023) gives 55 math questions and a basic on-screen calculator. It expects the four operations with whole numbers, fractions and decimals; moving between decimals, fractions and percents; proportions; unit conversions such as milliliters to ounces; the 12-hour clock against military time, and Roman numerals; and some basic algebra. |
| Community College of Rhode Island (Tutoring Center) | Lists order of operations; conversions between metric and household units, Celsius and Fahrenheit, and military and standard time; fractions, decimals and percents; ratios and proportions; and simple algebra with word problems. It says the list is not exhaustive. |
Sources: Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023); Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Math
Question formats
How HESI A2 math questions work
Each question here is right or wrong, with no partial credit. In Practice Exam 1 you can flag a question, see which are still blank and go back to any question in the section until you end it. Testing sites differ here: Germanna Community College's guide says its students cannot skip a question or go back to one they have already answered.
| Format | How you answer | In set 1 here |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple choice | Choose the one correct option of four | 15 of 20 |
| Fill in the blank | Type the number, rounded as the question says; the unit is printed beside the box | 5 of 20 |
Most questions in the math sets here are multiple choice with four options. The rest ask you to type a number, rounded to the place the question names, with the unit printed beside the box. They leave no options to work backward from, which makes them a stricter check of the same skills. Tarrant County College describes its HESI A2 as a computerized multiple-choice exam.
Calculator and scratch paper
The calculator rule is your testing site's, so check it. Tarrant County College offers an on-screen calculator in math, and Germanna Community College's guide a basic on-screen one; Central New Mexico Community College hands out a calculator, pencils and paper and allows no calculator of your own. The practice sets here have a basic on-screen calculator in their tool bar.
Sources: Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023); Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam
Method
How to prepare for HESI A2 math
What to study first and how to pace the section, for math in particular.
- 01Learn the conversion factors by heartSome questions state the factor they want you to use; do not count on it. Central New Mexico Community College says no conversion table is provided at its testing center. Learn the equivalents in the table below, then practice chains such as cups to tablespoons to milliliters.
- 02Work fractions by handChange mixed numbers to improper fractions, find a common denominator to add or subtract, multiply straight across, and divide by multiplying by the reciprocal. Simplify at the end. The calculator helps with the arithmetic inside these steps, not with the fraction itself.
- 03Set up proportions with the units written inWrite a ratio, scale or conversion problem as two equal fractions with the units labelled, such as 1 cm / 2.5 km = 3 cm / x km, then cross-multiply. Matching units on top and bottom shows at once whether the answer should be larger or smaller.
- 04Read Roman numerals left to rightAdd the symbols from left to right, except where a smaller one stands before a larger one: then subtract it (IV is 4, XL is 40, XC is 90, CM is 900). To write a number, break it into hundreds, tens and ones: 249 is 200 + 40 + 9, so CC + XL + IX = CCXLIX.
- 05Convert 24-hour time without slipsFrom 1:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m., add 12 to the hour: 3:45 p.m. is 1545. Midnight starts the day at 0000, so 12:30 a.m. is 0030, and noon is 1200. For a duration, subtract hours and minutes separately and borrow 60 minutes, not 100: from 0945 to 1310 is 3 hours 25 minutes.
- 06Round once, at the end, and check the sizeA typed answer must be rounded to the place the question names. Keep every digit through the working, round only the final number, and ask whether it makes sense: a 6-foot pole is about 180 centimeters tall, not 18 or 1,800.
- 07Pace at about 60 seconds a questionPractice Exam 1 here suggests 50 minutes for 50 math questions; your school or testing site sets the real timing (Tarrant County College allows 5 hours for its five sections). Work the quick conversions and one-step problems first in your head, and give the saved time to the word problems; if one stalls, make your best choice and move on.
Conversions
Conversions and rules for HESI A2 math
The equivalents and rules behind the conversion, Roman numeral, time and percent questions. When a question gives its own conversion factor, use that one.
| Topic | Equivalent or rule |
|---|---|
| Household volume | 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon; 2 tablespoons = 1 fluid ounce; 16 tablespoons = 8 fluid ounces = 1 cup; 2 cups = 1 pint; 2 pints = 1 quart; 4 quarts = 1 gallon |
| Household to metric volume | 1 teaspoon ≈ 5 mL; 1 tablespoon ≈ 15 mL; 1 fluid ounce ≈ 30 mL; 1 cup ≈ 240 mL; 1 quart ≈ 946 mL (32 fl oz × 30 mL gives 960 mL: the rounded factors disagree slightly, so use the factor the question gives); 1 gallon ≈ 3.785 L; 1 liter = 1,000 mL |
| Weight | 16 ounces = 1 pound; 1 ounce ≈ 28.35 grams; 1 kilogram ≈ 2.2 pounds; 1 kilogram = 1,000 grams; 1 gram = 1,000 milligrams |
| Length | 12 inches = 1 foot; 3 feet = 1 yard; 5,280 feet = 1 mile; 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters; 1 meter = 100 centimeters; 1 centimeter = 10 millimeters |
| Temperature | °F = (°C × 9/5) + 32; °C = (°F − 32) × 5/9; 37 °C = 98.6 °F; water freezes at 0 °C (32 °F) |
| Roman numerals | I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500, M = 1,000; a smaller numeral before a larger one is subtracted: IV = 4, IX = 9, XL = 40, XC = 90, CD = 400, CM = 900 |
| 24-hour time | Midnight = 0000; 6:15 a.m. = 0615; noon = 1200; 1:00 p.m. = 1300; 11:59 p.m. = 2359; add 12 to the hour from 1:00 p.m. on |
| Percent | Part = percent (as a decimal) × whole; percent = part ÷ whole × 100; percent change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100 |
| Proportion | If a/b = c/d, then a × d = b × c: cross-multiply to find the missing term |
| Order of operations | Parentheses, then exponents, then multiplication and division from left to right, then addition and subtraction from left to right |
FAQ
HESI A2 math: questions people ask
What kind of math is on the HESI A2?
How many questions are on the HESI A2 math section?
How hard is the HESI A2 math section?
How do you pass HESI A2 math?
Can you use a calculator on the HESI A2 math section?
What conversions should you know for the HESI A2 math?
Is HESI A2 math harder than TEAS math?
Is there a free HESI A2 math practice test?
Are these real HESI A2 math questions?
Keep practicing
Next practice exercise
HESI A2 Reading Comprehension, practice set 1: 20 questions on the same screen. Take the sections your school requires first, then come back to the one you find hardest.
Pages this page relies on: Tarrant County College, HESI A2 Exam Information; Central New Mexico Community College, HESI A2 Exam; Germanna Community College, HESI A2 Nursing Entrance Exam Preparation Guide (PDF, updated January 2023); Community College of Rhode Island Tutoring Center, HESI Math; Western Technical College Library, Nursing: TEAS Prep Guide
Checked against the schools' pages and last reviewed November 4, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.