ATI TEAS 7 · Science section
TEAS Science Practice Test: Anatomy, Biology, Chemistry and Scientific Reasoning
The TEAS science section has 50 questions in 60 minutes, about 72 seconds each, in four areas. Practice set 1 has 20 science questions on a TEAS-style screen with the on-screen calculator; check each one to see the correct answer, the explanation and a note on every option. These questions are free, with no sign-up.
Practice sets
TEAS science practice sets
Five sets of science questions. Each opens on a TEAS-style test screen, one question at a time: answer, select Check answer, and see the correct answer, the explanation and why every option is right or wrong before you go on. A basic calculator is in the tool bar. Untimed, and your progress is saved in this browser.
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
20 questions
Set 1 covers human anatomy and physiology (8), biology (4), chemistry (4) and scientific reasoning (4). On the TEAS the science section allows about 72 seconds a question. When the sets feel easy, take the full-length TEAS Practice Exam 1, each section timed as on the TEAS.
Sample TEAS science questionFrom practice set 1, with the answer and a note on every option
Which body plane divides the body into left and right portions?
Answer: Sagittal
A sagittal plane divides left and right portions. A midsagittal plane makes those portions equal, while other sagittal planes need not. A frontal plane instead separates anterior and posterior portions.
Transverse: This divides superior and inferior portions.
Frontal: This divides anterior and posterior portions.
Oblique: This cuts at an angle rather than specifying the left-right division.
Sagittal: Correct. A sagittal plane divides left and right portions.
Human anatomy and physiology · Anatomical planes: sagittal division
Content
What the TEAS science section tests
The TEAS divides Science into four sub-content areas, each with a fixed number of scored questions, which schools' TEAS guides publish. The 6 unscored pretest questions are spread through the section, and you cannot tell which they are.
- Questions
- 50
- 44 scored, 6 unscored
- Time
- 60 min
- Four sections; this is the third
- Per question
- 72 s
- On average
- Content areas
- 4
- Sub-content areas, in the exam's terms
Human anatomy and physiology
The biggest area of the section. Know each organ system's parts and jobs, and the general vocabulary: directional terms, body planes and cavities, and the levels of organization from cell to organism. Learn how systems work together, such as the lungs and heart in gas exchange or the nervous and endocrine systems in feedback control.
Topics to cover
- General: anatomical terms, directional terms, body planes, body cavities, levels of organization
- Respiratory system
- Cardiovascular system and blood
- Digestive system
- Nervous system and senses
- Muscular system
- Reproductive system
- Integumentary system
- Endocrine system
- Urinary system
- Immune and lymphatic systems
- Skeletal system
Biology
Cells and what each organelle does, the four kinds of macromolecules, cell division, DNA and protein synthesis, inheritance with Punnett squares, and microorganisms. Be able to say how mitosis (two identical cells with the full set of chromosomes) differs from meiosis (four cells with half the set).
Topics to cover
- Biological macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids)
- Cell structure and organelles
- Mitosis and meiosis
- DNA, genes and chromosomes; DNA replication and protein synthesis
- Mendelian genetics and Punnett squares
- Microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi)
Chemistry
Atoms (protons, neutrons, electrons and their charges) and the periodic table, changes of state, balancing equations, solutions and pH. A balanced equation has the same number of each kind of atom on both sides; a pH below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic.
Topics to cover
- Atomic structure and the periodic table
- Physical properties and changes of state
- Chemical reactions and balancing equations
- Properties of solutions (solute, solvent, concentration, dilution)
- Acids, bases and pH
Scientific reasoning
Questions describe an experiment or show its data and ask about the method: which variable was changed (independent), which was measured (dependent), what was held constant, what the control group is for, and whether a conclusion follows from the results. It rewards careful reading more than memorized facts.
Topics to cover
- Measurement and laboratory tools (metric units, choosing an instrument)
- Steps of the scientific method
- Experiment design: independent, dependent and controlled variables, control groups
- Interpret data from a described experiment or a table
- Use logic and evidence to make a prediction or judge a conclusion
Questions and scored questions per area: Western Technical College Library, Nursing: TEAS Prep Guide; Lee College Testing, TEAS; Highline College, TEAS 7 Exam Preparation Course: TEAS content/sub-content/concept Breakdown
Question formats
How TEAS science questions work
Each question is right or wrong, with no partial credit. Most TEAS questions are standard multiple choice; the rest use one of four other formats. Within the section you can go back, change answers and skip questions until you complete it.
| Format | On the TEAS | In set 1 here |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple choice | Four options and one correct answer. Some questions include a chart, an exhibit or a graphic. | Four options, one correct: 17 of 20 |
| Multiple select | Four or more options, more than one of them correct. The question says “select all that apply”, and every correct option must be chosen. | Select every correct option: 2 of 20 |
| Ordered response | You drag four to six options into the right order. | Put the options in order: 1 of 20 |
In the science sets here, the questions in other formats ask you to pick every correct statement about a structure or a process, or to put the steps of a process in order, such as the path of blood through the heart and lungs. The basic calculator in the sets' tool bar is there on every science question too, for the arithmetic in a solution, dilution or data question.
Calculator
A basic four-function calculator is built into the TEAS, and your own calculator is not allowed (North Central Texas College's and Broward College's testing pages). Highline College's TEAS course describes it as a standard, non-scientific calculator for the math section. The practice sets here keep a basic calculator in the tool bar.
Sources: Highline College Placement & Testing Center, TEAS; University of Texas at El Paso Student Testing, TEAS; Columbia Basin College Library, TEAS Test Preparation; Highline College, TEAS 7 Exam Preparation Course: TEAS 7 Test Information; North Central Texas College Testing, ATI-TEAS Exam; Broward College, Program Admission Tests
Method
How to prepare for TEAS science
What to study first and how to pace the 60 minutes, for this section in particular.
- 01Start with anatomy and physiologyIt carries 18 of the section's 44 scored questions (41%), more than biology and chemistry together (17). Cover every body system once before you go deep on any one of them.
- 02Trace processes in orderFollow air from the nose to the alveoli, blood through the four chambers of the heart and the two circuits, and food through the digestive tract. Ordered-response questions ask for steps like these in sequence.
- 03Use word parts on unfamiliar termsPrefixes and suffixes carry much of the meaning: cardi- (heart), nephr- (kidney), hepat- (liver), hypo- (below), hyper- (above), -itis (inflammation), -ectomy (removal). They also help in the English section's vocabulary questions.
- 04Name the variables before reading the optionsIn a scientific reasoning question, write down what was changed, what was measured and what was kept the same. Then check whether the data support the whole conclusion or only part of it.
- 05Keep a short list of chemistry factsCharges of the subatomic particles, the pH scale, how to count atoms when balancing an equation, solute and solvent, and that adding solvent lowers concentration.
- 06Pace at about 72 seconds a questionScience gives you 60 minutes for 50 questions. Answer what you know on the first pass, flag the rest and come back before you submit the section. Your score is the share of questions answered correctly, so answer every question, even with a guess.
FAQ
TEAS science: questions people ask
What is on the TEAS science section?
How many questions are on the TEAS science section, and how long is it?
Can you use a calculator on the TEAS science section?
What is the hardest section on the TEAS?
How do I study for the TEAS science section?
Is the TEAS harder than the NCLEX?
Is the TEAS only for nursing school?
Are these ATI's own TEAS science questions?
Keep practicing
Next practice exercise
TEAS English, practice set 1: 20 questions on the same screen. Work through the sections in the TEAS order and come back to the one you find hardest.
Pages this page relies on: Western Technical College Library, Nursing: TEAS Prep Guide; Lee College Testing, TEAS; Highline College, TEAS 7 Exam Preparation Course: TEAS content/sub-content/concept Breakdown; Highline College, TEAS 7 Exam Preparation Course: TEAS 7 Test Information; Highline College Placement & Testing Center, TEAS; University of Texas at El Paso Student Testing, TEAS; Columbia Basin College Library, TEAS Test Preparation; North Central Texas College Testing, ATI-TEAS Exam; Broward College, Program Admission Tests; Northeast Iowa Community College, ATI TEAS Admission Assessment; Towson University Department of Nursing, TEAS Test; Massasoit Community College, Nursing Assessment & Testing: TEAS Exam; Kennebec Valley Community College Library, TEAS: Required Scores
Checked against schools' published TEAS pages, read on November 4, 2026, and last reviewed November 4, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.