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ASVABFORDUMmIES‰2NDEDITIONby Rod Powerswith Jennifer Lawler

ASVABFORDUMmIES‰2NDEDITIONby Rod Powerswith Jennifer Lawler

ASVAB For Dummies , 2nd EditionPublished byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.comCopyright 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, IndianaPublished simultaneously in CanadaNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 ofthe 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization throughpayment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923,978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department,Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax 317-572-4355, or online athttp://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, TheDummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be usedwithout written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is notassociated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONSOR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK ANDSPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THEADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLDWITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OROTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENTPROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FORDAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK ASA CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR ORTHE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORKMAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S.at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available inelectronic books.Library of Congress Control Number: 2007925977ISBN: 978-0-470-10671-6Manufactured in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the AuthorsRod Powers joined the United States Air Force in 1975 intending to become a spy. He wasdevastated to learn that he should’ve joined the CIA instead because the military doesn’thave that particular enlisted job. Regardless, he fell in love with the military and made itboth a passion and a career, retiring with 23 years of service. Rod spent 11 of those years asa first sergeant, helping to solve the problems of the enlisted corps.Since his retirement from the military in 1998, Rod has become a world renowned militarycareers expert. Through his highly popular U.S. Military Information Web site on About.com(http://usmilitary.about.com), Rod has advised thousands of troops about all aspectsof the U.S. Armed Forces career information.Rod is the proud father of twin girls, both of whom enjoy successful careers in the UnitedState Air Force. Rod currently resides in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he attempts to provethat there’s no such thing as too much sunshine. Even today, Powers tries to run his lifeaccording to long-lived military ideals and standards, but he gets a bit confused about whynobody will obey his orders anymore.Jennifer Lawler has published nearly 20 books on topics ranging from country music to kickboxing. One of her books, Martial Arts For Dummies, was published by Wiley. A former collegeEnglish teacher, she taught test-prep skills to students before leaving the teaching profession tobecome a full-time writer — not that teaching made her tear her hair out or anything.Lawler never made it to boot camp, but she can do more pushups than a lot of people herage. She teaches martial arts to children with special needs and lives with her daughter andtwo rambunctious dogs.

DedicationTo Jeanie and Chrissy — because everything is for you. Always.— Rod PowersAuthors’ AcknowledgmentsThe authors want to thank SFC Thomas Johnson, test control officer/guidance counselor forthe Indiana Army National Guard, for reviewing the final manuscript for technical accuracy.We would also like to thank Brian “Chip” Anderson, math teacher extraordinaire, for editingthe math chapters and reminding us how to solve for x.Special thanks goes out to Tracy Boggier, our Acquisitions Editor; Kristin DeMint, our wonderful Project Editor; and our top-notch Copy Editor, Carrie Burchfield, who dotted our i’sand crossed our t’s.Finally, we send more special thanks to the recruiting commands of the United States Army,Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard for providing invaluable resource information.

Publisher’s AcknowledgmentsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located atwww.dummies.com/register/.Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media DevelopmentProject Editor: Kristin DeMint(Previous Edition: Marcia L. Johnson)Acquisitions Editor: Tracy BoggierComposition ServicesProject Coordinator: Lynsey OsbornLayout and Graphics: Carrie A. Foster, Denny Hager,Joyce Haughey, Stephanie D. JumperCopy Editor: Carrie A. Burchfield(Previous Edition: Mike Baker)Anniversary Logo Design: Richard PacificoTechnical Editor: SFC Thomas Johnson, Indiana ArmyNational GuardIndexer: Valerie Haynes PerryProofreaders: Laura Albert, Joanne KeatonSenior Editorial Manager: Jennifer EhrlichEditorial Assistants: Erin Calligan Mooney, Joe Niesen,Leeann HarneyCartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)Publishing and Editorial for Consumer DummiesDiane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer DummiesJoyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer DummiesKristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer DummiesMichael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, TravelKelly Regan, Editorial Director, TravelPublishing for Technology DummiesAndy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General UserComposition ServicesGerry Fahey, Vice President of Production ServicesDebbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents at a GlanceIntroduction.1Part I: Forewarned Is Forearmed: Understanding the ASVAB .5Chapter 1: The ASVAB in a Nutshell.7Chapter 2: So, You Want to be a Tank Driver? What It Takes to Get Your Dream Job .17Chapter 3: Test-Taking and Study Techniques .23Part II: Words to Live By: Communication Skills.31Chapter 4: Word Knowledge .33Chapter 5: Paragraph Comprehension .43Chapter 6: All’s Well That Tests Well: Communication Practice Questions.55Part III: All’s Fair in Math and War: Arithmetic Skills .63Chapter 7: Arithmetic Reasoning .65Chapter 8: Mathematics Knowledge .81Chapter 9: Brother, Can You Spare an Equation? Arithmetic Practice Questions .99Part IV: The Whole Ball of Facts: Technical Skills.107Chapter 10: General Science .109Chapter 11: Auto & Shop Information .127Chapter 12: Mechanical Comprehension .141Chapter 13: Electronics Information.157Chapter 14: Assembling Objects .169Chapter 15: Facing the Facts: Technical Skills Practice Questions.175Part V: Practice ASVAB Exams .185Chapter 16: Practice Exam 1 .189Chapter 17: Practice Exam 1: Answers and Explanations .219Chapter 18: Practice Exam 2 .231Chapter 19: Practice Exam 2: Answers and Explanations .261Chapter 20: Practice Exam 3 .273Chapter 21: Practice Exam 3: Answers and Explanations .305Chapter 22: Practice AFQT Exam .319Chapter 23: Practice AFQT Exam: Answers and Explanations .335Part VI: The Part of Tens.341Chapter 24: Ten Sure-Fire Ways to Fail the ASVAB .343Chapter 25: Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your ASVAB Score.347Appendix: Matching ASVAB Scores to Military Jobs .351Index.371

ContentsIntroduction .1About This Book.1Conventions Used in This Book .2What You’re Not to Read.2Foolish Assumptions .2How This Book Is Organized.2Part I: Forewarned Is Forearmed: Understanding the ASVAB.3Part II: Words to Live By: Communication Skills .3Part III: All’s Fair in Math and War: Arithmetic Skills .3Part IV: The Whole Ball of Facts: Technical Skills .3Part V: Practice ASVAB Exams .3Part VI: The Part of Tens .3Icons Used in This Book.4Where to Go from Here.4Part I: Forewarned Is Forearmed: Understanding the ASVAB .5Chapter 1: The ASVAB in a Nutshell .7An ASVAB by Any Other Name: Different Faces of the ASVAB .7Mapping Out the ASVAB Subtests.8The AFQT: Your Most Important Score .9Interpreting the Multitude of Scores .10Defining all the scores .10Understanding the big four: Your AFQT scores .12Failing to Qualify and Retaking the ASVAB .14U.S. Army retest policy .15U.S. Air Force retest policy.15U.S. Navy retest policy.16U.S. Marine Corps retest policy .16U.S. Coast Guard retest policy .16Chapter 2: So, You Want to be a Tank Driver? What It Takesto Get Your Dream Job .17Determining How Your ASVAB Scores Affect Your Enlistmentin Job-Training Programs .17Familiarizing Yourself with the Service Branches and Their Line Scores .18Line scores and the army .19Line scores and the navy and Coast Guard .20Line scores and the Marine Corps .21Line scores and the air force .22Chapter 3: Test-Taking and Study Techniques .23Knowing What You’re Up Against: The Pros and Cons of Paper versus Computer .23The old-fashioned way: Advantages and disadvantages of the paper ASVAB.24Modern technology: Advantages and disadvantages of the CAT-ASVAB .24Attacking the Infamous Multiple-Choice Questions .25Conundrum! When You Have to Guess.26Training the Way You Fight: Study Tips and Practice Tests .2724 Hours and Counting: Pretest Preparations.29