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Basic Numeracy Test

Name: Basic Numeracy Tests
Brand: Practice Aptitude Tests
Rating: 4.9 (132 reviews)

Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, rounding and averages, at the pace employers actually test. Every question below comes with the working shown.

10 questions
10 minutes
Worked solutions
Printable PDF

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Excellent, 4.9/5 · 132 reviews

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Written by Guy Thornton, Founder, Practice Aptitude Tests

Published 15 February 2022 · Updated 11 September 2026

Built to frameworks from chartered occupational psychologists, and checked against real candidate results

What is a basic numeracy test?

A basic numeracy test measures how confidently you handle everyday arithmetic without a calculator. Employers use it to check the core maths a role relies on before interview. You work through addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages and simple fractions, then choose the correct answer from the options given. Accuracy under a little time pressure is what it rewards.

Free basic numeracy test

What's inside

6 easy 4 medium 0 hard

Skills covered

percentages
fractions
ratios
averages
unit conversion
multi-step calculation
data interpretation
rates

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Worked solutions included. No sign-up.

Question 1 of 10

01 / 10 Percentages Easy

Of 480 survey responses received, 35% were positive. How many responses were positive?

A 168

B 312

C 35

D 16.8

Show worked solution

To find 35% of a number, multiply by 0.35: 480 × 0.35 = 168 positive responses. Working out the 65% that were not positive instead gives 480 × 0.65 = 312, which answers the opposite of the question. Reading the “35%” as a plain count of 35 ignores the 480 responses it is a share of. Using 3.5% by mistake (0.035 × 480) gives 16.8, which slips the decimal point one place and shrinks the answer tenfold.

Question 2 of 10

02 / 10 Fractions Easy

A fuel tank is filled to three-eighths of its 2,400-litre capacity. How many litres of fuel are in the tank?

A 900 litres

B 300 litres

C 1,500 litres

D 6,400 litres

Show worked solution

Three-eighths means three parts out of eight. One eighth is 2,400 ÷ 8 = 300 litres, so three eighths is 3 × 300 = 900 litres. Stopping at one eighth gives 300 and forgets to multiply by the three parts asked for. The other five eighths, the empty space, is 5 × 300 = 1,500 litres, which measures what is missing rather than what is present. Dividing by the fraction instead of multiplying, 2,400 × 8 ÷ 3, gives 6,400, but taking a fraction of an amount always makes it smaller, not larger.

Question 3 of 10

03 / 10 Ratios Easy

A 72 kg batch of trail mix combines nuts, raisins and seeds in the ratio 3:4:2 by weight. How much does the heaviest ingredient weigh?

A 32 kg

B 24 kg

C 16 kg

D 8 kg

Show worked solution

Add the ratio parts: 3 + 4 + 2 = 9 parts in total. One part is 72 ÷ 9 = 8 kg. The heaviest ingredient is raisins at 4 parts, so 4 × 8 = 32 kg. Nuts are 3 parts, 3 × 8 = 24 kg, and seeds are 2 parts, 2 × 8 = 16 kg; these three figures sum back to 72 kg as a check. Answering 24 or 16 reads off the wrong ingredient, and answering 8 stops at the value of a single part instead of the four parts the heaviest ingredient is made of.

Question 4 of 10

04 / 10 Averages Easy

A museum recorded the following daily visitor numbers over five days. What was the mean number of visitors per day?

Daily visitor numbers at a museum, Monday to Friday
Day	Visitors
Monday	320
Tuesday	450
Wednesday	380
Thursday	510
Friday	340

A 400

B 500

C 380

D 415

Show worked solution

The mean is the total divided by how many values there are. The total is 320 + 450 + 380 + 510 + 340 = 2,000 visitors across 5 days, so the mean is 2,000 ÷ 5 = 400 per day. Dividing by 4 instead of 5 gives 500, which loses one of the days. Picking 380 gives the middle value when the days are sorted, which is the median, not the mean. Averaging only the highest and lowest days, (510 + 320) ÷ 2, gives 415, but the mean has to take every day into account, not just the two extremes.

Question 5 of 10

05 / 10 Unit conversion Easy

A bottling line fills 250-millilitre bottles. How many litres of liquid are needed to fill 60 bottles?

A 15 litres

B 15,000 litres

C 150 litres

D 1.5 litres

Show worked solution

First find the total in millilitres: 250 × 60 = 15,000 ml. There are 1,000 millilitres in a litre, so divide by 1,000: 15,000 ÷ 1,000 = 15 litres. Leaving the answer as 15,000 forgets to convert millilitres into litres at all. Dividing by 100 gives 150 and treats a litre as 100 ml, and dividing by 10,000 gives 1.5, shifting the decimal one place too far. The conversion is always 1,000 millilitres to a litre.

Question 6 of 10

06 / 10 Percentages Easy

A subscription currently costs £40 per month. The price is increased by 15%. What is the new monthly price?

A £46.00

B £6.00

C £55.00

D £34.00

Show worked solution

A 15% increase adds 15% of £40 on top of the original. 15% of 40 is 40 × 0.15 = £6, so the new price is 40 + 6 = £46.00. Answering £6.00 gives only the size of the increase and forgets to add it to the original price. Adding £15 rather than 15% gives 40 + 15 = £55.00, confusing a percentage with a flat amount of money. Subtracting the increase instead of adding it gives 40 − 6 = £34.00, but a price rise makes the figure larger, not smaller.

Question 7 of 10

07 / 10 Multi-step calculation Medium

A warehouse receives 8 pallets, each holding 45 boxes. During the day 296 boxes are shipped out. How many boxes remain in the warehouse?

A 64

B 360

C 296

D 24

Show worked solution

First find how many boxes arrived: 8 pallets × 45 boxes = 360 boxes. Then subtract the 296 shipped out: 360 − 296 = 64 boxes remain. Answering 360 stops at the total received and forgets the boxes that left. Answering 296 gives the number shipped rather than the number left behind, which is the quantity the question asks for. Answering 24 comes from a multiplication slip: 8 × 40 = 320 while forgetting the 8 × 5 = 40, then 320 − 296 = 24; the full product is 8 × 45 = 360.

Question 8 of 10

08 / 10 Data interpretation Medium

What percentage of the monthly budget is spent on rent?

Monthly household budget of £2,000
Category	Amount (£)
Rent	800
Food	400
Transport	300
Other	500
Total	2,000

A 40%

B 25%

C 66.7%

D 4%

Show worked solution

The rent share is the rent divided by the whole budget: 800 ÷ 2,000 = 0.40, which is 40%. Using the £500 “Other” row by mistake gives 500 ÷ 2,000 = 25%, the wrong row. Dividing rent by the £1,200 spent on everything except rent (2,000 − 800) gives 800 ÷ 1,200 = 66.7%, which uses the wrong base: the base must be the full budget, not the budget with rent removed. Reading 0.40 as 0.04 gives 4% and misplaces the decimal point by one place.

Question 9 of 10

09 / 10 Averages Medium

Four delivery drivers logged the parcels shown below in one day. What was the mean number of parcels per driver?

Parcels delivered per driver in one day
Driver	Parcels delivered
Driver A	84
Driver B	96
Driver C	72
Driver D	88

A 85

B 340

C 86

D 113

Show worked solution

Add the four figures: 84 + 96 + 72 + 88 = 340 parcels. Divide by the 4 drivers: 340 ÷ 4 = 85 parcels per driver. Answering 340 gives the total and forgets to divide. Answering 86 takes the median instead: sorted, the middle two are 84 and 88, and (84 + 88) ÷ 2 = 86, which is not the mean. Dividing by 3 rather than 4, 340 ÷ 3 = 113, counts one driver too few; there are four drivers to share the total between.

Question 10 of 10

10 / 10 Rates Medium

Five identical pumps can drain a reservoir in 6 hours. Working at the same rate, how long would 3 of the pumps take to drain the same reservoir?

A 10 hours

B 3.6 hours

C 18 hours

D 30 hours

Show worked solution

The whole job takes 5 pumps × 6 hours = 30 pump-hours of work. With only 3 pumps, the time is 30 ÷ 3 = 10 hours. Fewer pumps means more time, so the answer must be larger than 6. Answering 3.6 hours treats it as direct proportion, 6 × 3 ÷ 5, making the time fall when pumps are removed, which is backwards. Answering 18 hours multiplies the 6 hours by the 3 pumps, and answering 30 hours stops at the 30 pump-hours of total work without dividing it among the 3 pumps.

How to interpret your score

Illustrative bands for a 10-question basic numeracy test, not measured pass marks
Score	What it suggests
9 to 10	Comfortably above the bar for most graduate schemes
7 to 8	Around the typical pass mark. Worth practising for speed
5 to 6	Below most employer thresholds. Focus on method before speed
4 or fewer	Work through the worked solutions above before retrying

Employers set their own thresholds and many sift on the top percentage of applicants rather than a fixed mark, so treat these as a guide.

How to move up the scale

One test tells you the style. A pack gives you the pace: batches under time pressure, marked, with the working shown.

Unlock 16 Basic Numeracy tests £39 a year, or £29 a month. Cancel any time

16: Basic Numeracy tests
310: questions, all solved

What is a basic numeracy test?

A basic numeracy test measures whether you can do everyday maths quickly and accurately, without a calculator in most cases. It is a foundation-level assessment aimed at the arithmetic almost every job touches: handling money, checking figures, working out totals and reading simple data.

The maths sits at secondary school level, around age sixteen. You will be asked to add, subtract, multiply and divide, to work with fractions, decimals and percentages, to round numbers sensibly and to find averages. Questions are almost always multiple choice.

What makes it a test rather than a worksheet is the clock. You typically get between 45 seconds and two minutes per question, so being well practised and efficient matters as much as knowing the method.

What maths is covered in a basic numeracy test?

Basic numeracy tests cover the core arithmetic taught by age sixteen, applied to short, practical questions. The topics are predictable, which is exactly why practice pays off.

Expect questions on:

The four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, often with larger numbers than you would do casually in your head.
Fractions and decimals: converting between them, and using them in calculations.
Percentages: finding a percentage of an amount, and percentage increase or decrease.
Rounding: to the nearest whole number, decimal place or significant figure.
Averages: the mean, median and mode of a set of numbers.
Ratios and proportion: splitting an amount, or scaling a recipe or rate.
Number sequences: spotting the rule and continuing the pattern.

Some publishers also present short tables or charts and ask you to read a figure and calculate from it, which is where basic numeracy starts to look like numerical reasoning.

How do you work out the mean, median and mode?

The mean, median and mode are three different kinds of average, and mixing them up is one of the most common mistakes in the whole test. Each has a one-line definition worth committing to memory.

Mean: add every value, then divide by how many there are. For -5, 12, 24, 46 and 60, the total is 137 and there are five values, so the mean is 137 divided by 5, which is 27.4.
Median: the middle value once the numbers are in order. Put them in order first, then take the middle one. With an even count, take the mean of the middle two.
Mode: the value that appears most often. A set can have more than one mode, or none at all.

When a question names one of the three, underline it. The answer options are usually built so that the mean, median and mode all appear, and picking the wrong average is the trap.

Can you use a calculator in a basic numeracy test?

Often not, and that is the single biggest thing to check before you sit one. Many basic numeracy tests are designed to assess mental arithmetic, so a calculator is not allowed and the numbers are kept manageable by hand.

Where a calculator is permitted, an on-screen or basic model is usual. If you are sitting the test at an assessment centre you may be given one, but it is worth taking your own where the rules allow, because you will be faster on buttons you know.

Either way, estimating first saves time. If you can see an answer is roughly a quarter, or clearly more than half, you can often eliminate two or three options before doing the exact sum. Check the instructions in your invitation, because the calculator rule changes the right approach.

How are basic numeracy tests scored?

Most employers score you against other candidates, not against a fixed pass mark: your raw score becomes a percentile. Competitive graduate schemes commonly sift at around the 70th to 80th percentile. Attempting questions matters, because most tests are built so few candidates finish, and guessing usually pays: negative marking is rare, but check the instructions.

Average score88%

75th-percentile score100%

0%50%100%

Average75th percentile

Source: Practice Aptitude Tests

Based on 184 completed practice sittings, all time. Checked 14 September 2026.

The 75th percentile marks the boundary of the top quarter of recorded scores; tied scores can share that boundary. These are our practice results, not employer pass marks.

How we calculate these figures

We use all-time completed, scored attempts at this practice test. Repeat attempts count separately, so the sample is sittings rather than unique people.

The average is the mean score across those sittings. The 75th percentile comes from their recorded score distribution. The “checked” date is when we retrieved the figures, not the period when the tests were taken.

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Sharing these figures? Please credit Practice Aptitude Tests and link to this page.

Who uses basic numeracy tests?

Basic numeracy tests are used wherever a role involves handling figures, which covers a huge range of operational, customer service, administration, help desk and commercial jobs. If the work touches money, stock or data, expect one.

Most employers license their tests from a small number of publishers, and the timing and question style vary between them, so find out which publisher your employer uses before you prepare seriously. It is usually named in the invitation email. Our test publisher guides cover each format, and the employer guides cover specific companies’ processes.

How do you manage your time under the clock?

Work out your budget before you start and stick to it, because getting stuck on one question is what sinks most candidates. Divide the time by the number of questions and you have a rough seconds-per-question figure to pace against.

Three habits help:

Do not stall. If a question is not coming, mark it, move on, and return if time allows. The easy marks later are worth more than one hard mark now.
Use rough paper. Where it is allowed, writing your working down cuts slips and lets you pick up a half-finished calculation without starting over.
Read the units and the question again. Many wrong answers come from misreading what was asked, not from bad arithmetic, so a quick re-read before you commit is cheap insurance.

Video tutorials

The methods behind the questions above, from our team

Graph Interpretation 2 mins

Currency Conversion 2 mins

Percentage Change 2 mins

Frequently asked questions

What candidates ask us most often

How long is a basic numeracy test?

It varies by employer, but most run to a fixed number of questions with a tight per-question allowance of roughly 45 seconds to two minutes. The overall test is often short, which is why pace matters. Your invitation email will state the length.

Is a basic numeracy test hard?

The maths is secondary school level, so the content is not hard, but the timing and the no-calculator rule make it feel harder than it looks. Most people who struggle do so on speed and mental arithmetic, both of which practice fixes quickly.

What score do I need to pass?

There is rarely a fixed pass mark. Many employers compare your score against other applicants and set the bar from there, so a strong result is one that beats the field rather than one that clears a set number. Aim to answer accurately and finish.

Can I retake a basic numeracy test?

Sometimes, but usually only if the employer invites you to, for example after a technical problem. Assume your first attempt is the one that counts and prepare so you do not need a second. If you are offered a retake, use practice tests first.

What is the best way to prepare?

Practise under the real time limit from the start, and review every answer you got wrong; untimed work builds accuracy but not the speed the test measures. Our basic numeracy guide covers the full sequence.

Basic numeracy vs numerical reasoning: what is the difference?

A basic numeracy test checks foundation arithmetic itself: percentages, ratios, averages and the four operations, at speed. A numerical reasoning test checks how well you interpret data under pressure, with the arithmetic as the tool rather than the point. Numeracy tests are common in operational and administrative hiring; numerical reasoning in graduate and analyst recruitment.

Reviews

Rated 4.9 out of 5 across 132 reviews. A selection:

Good exercise to get in the right frame of mind.

I enjoyed the simplicity, structure and ease of being able to participate and complete the test. The questions got me thinking and demonstrated to me that I have to clean the cobwebs from my brain.

Time management and understanding

I liked everything about the test: the questions were very clear and easy to answer, it's just that you have to be careful when reading and understand clearly what is asked.

Very informative

I like the layout, very easy to read and understand. The way the answers were shown were simple to follow and efficient and informative. Great practice test.

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