ASVAB Arithmetic Reasoning Practice — 12 Real Questions (2026) | AFQT
12 real ASVAB Arithmetic Reasoning (AR) math word problems with worked answers — rates, percents, ratios, averages, interest, and the classic average-speed trap. Arithmetic Reasoning is one of the four AFQT subtests that decide enlistment eligibility. Practice the full ASVAB free at quibank.com/en/a
Transcript
This is ASVAB Arithmetic Reasoning, one of the four AFQT that decide whether you can enlist. It's math word problems, no formulas given, you set them up. Here are 12. The key skill is translation.
Turn the words into one clear operation. Most problems are rates, percents, ratios, or averages. Read carefully, write the setup, then compute. Number one, a car travels 300 miles in five hours.
It's average speed. Speed is distance divided by time. 300 over five is 60 miles per hour. Number two, what is 20% of 80?
20% is 0.2. 0.2 times 80 is 16. Number three, five test scores. 82, 90, 78, 84, and 86.
The average, they add to 420. Divide by five to get 84. Number four, what is two thirds of 90? 90 divided by three is 30, times two is 60.
Number five, two numbers are in the ratio three to five and add up to 40. The larger one, three plus five is eight parts. 40 over eight is five per part. Five times five is 25.
Number six, a 60 unit jacket is marked down 25%. The sale price, 25% off leaves 75%. 60 times 0.75 is 45. Number seven, 800 units at 5% simple interest for three years.
Interest earned, 800 times 5% is 40 a year, times three is 120. Number eight, if 12 pencils cost 36 units, what do five cost? 36 over 12 is three units each. Three times five is 15.
Number nine, how many feet are in four yards? One yard is three feet, so four times three is 12 feet. Number 10, a price rose 20% to 72 units. What was the original?
72 divided by 1.2 is 60. Number 11, a cyclist rides 36 miles in three hours then 24 miles in two hours. Average speed for the whole ride? Don't average the two speeds, use total distance over total time.
60 miles over five hours is 12 miles per hour. Number 12, a 40 liter mixture is 25% acid. How many liters of acid? 25% of 40 is 10 liters.
Recap, it's all about the setup. And watch the classic trap, average speed is total distance over total time, never the average of the two speeds. Translate, setup, compute. That's 12 for the full arithmetic reasoning set and every other ASVAB, practicefreeat.com.
You've got this.