ACT MATHS practice paper

DIRECTIONS: Solve each problem, choose the correct answer, and then fill in the
corresponding oval on your answer document. Do not linger over problems that take too much
time. Solve as many as you can; then return to the others in the time you have left for this test.
You are permitted to use a calculator on this test. You may use your calculator for any problems
you choose, but some of the problems may best be done without using a calculator. Note:
Unless otherwise stated, all of the following should be assumed.
1. Illustrative figures are NOT necessarily drawn to scale.
2. Geometric figures lie in a plane.
3. The word line indicates a straight line.
4. The word average indicates arithmetic mean.

1. Carmen is playing with blocks. She arranges stacks of blocks so that each successive level of
blocks has 1 fewer block than the level below it and the top level has 1 block. Such a stack with
3 levels is shown below. Carmen wants to make such a stack with 12 levels. How many blocks
would she use to build this stack?

A. 66
B. 78
C. 132
D. 144
E. 156

2. To keep up with rising expenses, a motel manager needs to raise the $40.00 room rate by
22%. What will be the new rate?

F. $40.22
G. $42.20
H. $48.00
J. $48.80
K. $62.00
3. As a salesperson, your commission is directly proportional to the dollar amount of sales you
make. If your sales are $800, your commission is $112. How much commission would you earn
if you had $1,400 in sales?

A. $210
B. $196
C. $175
D. $128
E. $ 64

4. If 7 + 3x = 22, then 2x = ?
F. 5
G. 10
H. 12
J. 14
K. 58/3

5. The total cost of renting a car is $30.00 for each day the car is rented plus 28 ¢ for each mile
the car is driven. What is the total cost of renting the car for 5 days and driving 350 miles?
(Note: No sales tax is involved.)
A. $ 104.75
B. $ 159.98
C. $ 249.75
D. $ 300.00
E. $1,147.50

6. In any parallelogram ABCD, it is always true that the measures of ∠ABC and ∠BCD:

F. add up to 180°.
G. add up to 90°.
H. are each greater than 90°.
J. are each 90°.
K. are each less than 90°.

7. What is the least common denominator for adding the fractions 4/15 ,1/12 and 3/18 ?
A. 40
B. 120
C. 180
D. 480
E. 1,440
8. The product (2x4 y)(3x 5 y8 ) is equivalent to:
F. 5x9 y9
G. 6x9 y8
H. 6x9 y9
J. 5x20y8
K. 6x20y8

9. It costs a dollars for an adult ticket to a reggae concert and s dollars for a student ticket. The
difference between the cost of 12 adult tickets and 18 student tickets is $36. Which of the
following equations represents this relationship between a and s ?
A. = 36
B. 216as = 36
C. ⎪12a – 18s⎪ = 36
D. ⎪12a + 18s⎪ = 36
E. ⎪18a + 12s⎪ = 36

10. If x > 1, then which of the following has the LEAST value?
F. x
G. 2x
H. x · x
J. xx
K. x · x

11. Charles defined a new operation, ♦, on pairs of ordered pairs of integers as follows: (a,b) ♦
(c,d)= . What is the value of (2,1) ♦ (3,4) ?
A. –2
B. –1
C. 2
D. 5
E. 10

12. In the figure below, ∠BAC measures 30°, ∠ABC measures 110°, and points B, C, and D
are collinear. What is the measure of ∠ACD ?

F. 150°
G. 140°
H. 130°
J. 120°
K. 110°

13. In the isosceles right triangle below, AB = 10 feet. What is the length, in feet, of AC ___ ?

A. 5
B. 10
C. 20
D. 20
E. 102

14. In a bag of 400 jelly beans, 25% of the jelly beans are red in color. If you randomly pick a
jelly bean from the bag, what is the probability that the jelly bean picked is NOT one of the red
jelly beans?

F. ½
G. ¼
H.¾
J.1/16
K. 15/16

15. What polynomial must be added to x2 – 2x + 6 so that the sum is 3x2 + 7x ?

A. 4x2 + 5x + 6
B. 3x2 + 9x + 6
C. 3x2 + 9x – 6
D. 2x2 + 9x – 6
E. 2x2 – 5x + 6

16. What is the slope of any line parallel to the line 8x + 9y = 3 in the standard (x,y) coordinate
plane?
F. –8
G. – 8/9
H. 8/3
J. 3
K. 8
17. In the standard (x,y) coordinate plane, a line segment has its endpoints at (3,6) and (9,4).
What are the coordinates of the midpoint of the line segment?
A. ( 3,–1)
B. ( 3, 1)
C. ( 6, 2)
D. ( 6, 5)
E. (12,10)

18. When y = x2 , which of the following expressions is equivalent to –y ?

F. (–x) ^2
G. –x^2
H. –x
J. x^–2
K. x

19. For the function h(x)=4x2 – 5x, what is the value of h(–3) ?
A. –93
B. –9
C. 21
D. 51
E. 159

20. For all triangles XYZ where side XZ ___ is longer than side YZ ___, such as the triangle
shown below, which of the following statements is true?

F. The measure of ∠X is always less than the measure of ∠Y.

G. The measure of ∠X is always equal to the measure of ∠Y.
H. The measure of ∠X is always greater than the measure of ∠Y.
J. The measure of ∠X is sometimes less than the measure of ∠Y and sometimes equal to the
measure of ∠Y.
K. The measure of ∠X is sometimes greater than the measure of ∠Y and sometimes equal to
the measure of ∠Y.

21. ⎪7(–3) + 2(4)⎪ = ?

A. –28
B. –13
C. 13
D. 28
E. 29

22. If x > ⎪y⎪, which of the following is the solution statement for x when y = –4 ?

F. x is any real number.

G. x > 4 H. x < 4
J. –4 < x < 4
K. x > 4 or x < –4

23. The perimeter of a parallelogram is 72 inches, and 1 side measures 12 inches. What are the
lengths, in inches, of the other 3 sides?

A. 12, 12, 36
B. 12, 18, 18
C. 12, 24, 24
D. 12, 30, 30
E. Cannot be determined from the given information

24. The lengths of the corresponding sides of 2 similar right triangles are in the ratio of 2:5. If the
hypotenuse of the smaller triangle is 5 inches long, how many inches long is the hypotenuse of
the larger triangle?
F. 2
G. 2.5
H. 7
J. 10
K. 12.5

25. The sides of a square are 3 cm long. One vertex of the square is at (3,0) on a square
coordinate grid marked in centimeter units. Which of the following points could also be a vertex
of the square?
A. ( 6, 0)
B. 4 ,1
C. ( 1, 2)
D. ( 0, –2)
E. (–3, 0)

26. In the circle shown below, M is the center and lies on RU ___ and ST ___ . Which of the
following statements is NOT true?
 F. ∠TUM measures 65°
G. TU ____ is parallel to RS ___
H. TXU measures 50°
J. RM ____ ≅ TM ____
K. RS ___ ≅ SM ____

27. John Jones has decided to go into the business of producing and selling boats. In order to
begin this venture, he must invest $10 million in a boat production plant. The cost to produce
each boat will be $7,000, and the selling price will be $20,000. Accounting for the cost of the
production plant, which of the following expressions represents the profit, in dollars, that John
will realize when x boats are produced and sold?
A. 13,000x – 10,000,000
B. 27,000x – 10,000,000
C. 9,973,000x
D. 20,000x
E. 13,000x

28. If 2x2 + 6x = 36, what are the possible values of x ?

F. –12 and 3
G. –6 and 3
H. –3 and 6
J. –3 and 12
K. 12 and 15

29. As a class experiment, a cart was rolled at a constant rate along a straight line. Shawn
recorded in the chart below the cart’s distance (x), in feet, from a reference point at the start of
the experiment and for each of 5 times (t), in seconds.

Which of the following equations represents this data?

A. x = t + 10
B. x = 4t + 6
C. x = 4t + 10
D. x = 10t + 4
E. x = 14t

30. To increase the mean of 4 numbers by 2, by how much would the sum of the 4 numbers
have to increase?
F. 2
G. 4
H. 6
J. 8
K. 16

31. Meg pounded a stake into the ground. When she attached a leash to both the stake and her
dog’s collar, the dog could reach 9 feet from the stake in any direction. Using 3.14 for π, what is
the approximate area of the lawn, in square feet, the dog could reach from the stake?
A. 28
B. 57
C. 113
D. 254
E. 283

32. Television screen sizes are the diagonal length of the rectangular screen. Hector recently
changed from watching a television with a 13-inch screen to a television with a similar 19-inch
screen. If a boxcar appeared 8 inches long on the 13-inch screen, how long, to the nearest inch,
will it appear on the 19-inch screen?
F. 10
G. 12
H. 14
J. 16
K. 18

33. In the figure below, ABCD is a square. Points are chosen on each pair of adjacent sides of
ABCD to form 4 congruent right triangles, as shown below. Each of these has one leg that is
twice as long as the other leg. What fraction of the area of square ABCD is shaded?
A.1/9
B. 2/9
C.4/9
D.5/9
E.8/9

34. A surveyor took and recorded the measurements shown in the figure below. If the surveyor
wants to use these 3 measurements to calculate the length of the pond, which of the following
would be the most directly applicable?

F. The Pythagorean theorem

G. A formula for the area of a triangle
H. The ratios for the side lengths of 30°-60°-90° triangles
J. The ratios for the side lengths of 45°-45°-90° triangles
K. The law of cosines: For any ABC, where a is the length of the side opposite ∠A, b is the
length of the side opposite ∠B, and c is the length of the side opposite ∠C, a2 = b2 + c2 – 2bc
cos(∠A)

35. Which of the following is the graph of the equation 2x + y = 4 in the standard (x,y) coordinate
plane?
 36. Which of the following figures in a plane separates it into half-planes?
F. A line
G. A ray
H. An angle
J. A point
K. A line segment

37. What is the maximum number of distinct diagonals that can be drawn in the hexagon shown
below?

A. 4
B. 5
C. 6
D. 9
E. 12

38. In the standard (x,y) coordinate plane, the center of the circle shown below lies on the
x-axis at x = 4. If the circle is tangent to the y-axis, which of the following is an equation of the
circle?
 F. (x + 4)2 + y2 = 4
G. (x – 4)2 + y2 = 16
H. (x – 4)2 – y2 = 16
J. (x – 4)2 + y2 = 4
K. x2 + (y – 4)2 = 16

39. In what order should 5/3, 7/4, 6/5, and 9/8 be listed to be arranged by increasing size?
A. 9/8< 6/3< 5/3<7/4
B. 9/8<6/3<7/4<5/3
C.7/4 <5/3<9/8<6/3
D. 6/3< 9/8<5/3 <7/4
E. 5/3<6/3 <7/4 <9/8
41. If A/30+ B/105= (7A+2B)/x and A, B, and x are integers greater than 1, then what must x
equal?
A. 9
B. 135
C. 210
D. 630
E. 3,150

Use the following information to answer questions 42-44

42. Kaylee found a used car she is thinking about purchasing. The list price is $8,795. She
calculates that she will need to borrow $6,500. Approximately what would her monthly payment
be if she borrowed the money for 36 months at an annual interest rate of 10% ?

F. $164.84
G. $171.21
H. $209.76
J. $234.72
K. $283.81

43. A local dealership is having an end-of-the-model-year clearance sale and is offering 5%

annual interest on new-car loans for 36, 48, or 60 months. The maximum amount Kaylee can
budget for her monthly car payment is $300. Of the following loan amounts, which one is the
maximum Kaylee can borrow at 5% annual interest and stay within her budget?
A. $10,000
B. $13,000
C. $14,000
D. $15,000
E. $20,000

44. Another dealership is offering 5-year loans with a 9% annual interest rate. Kaylee uses her
chart to estimate the payment per $1,000 borrowed. Of the following, which is most likely the
monthly payment per $1,000 borrowed?
F. $20.52
G. $20.76
H. $20.85
J. $21.00
K. $21.74
47. If r and s can be any integers such that s > 10 and 2r + s = 15, which of the following is the
solution set for r ?
A. r ≥ 3
B. r ≥ 0
C. r ≥ 2
D. r ≤ 0
E. r ≤ 2
48. Which of the following expressions has a positive value for all x and y such that x > 0 and y
<0?
F. y – x
G. x + y
H. x^3 y
J. x^2/y
K. x/ y^ 2