Electrical apprenticeship · IBEW aptitude test
IBEW aptitude test practice test: five questions, answers included.
The aptitude test that IBEW and NECA apprenticeship programs (JATCs) give applicants has two timed sections: Algebra and Functions, 33 questions in 46 minutes, and Reading Comprehension, 36 questions in 51 minutes. No calculator. Try three math questions and a short passage with two reading questions below, then open the explanations. Every question in the full bank explains all four options.
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Algebra and Functions: three sample questions
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The combined resistance of two resistors connected in parallel is R = xy/(x + y), where x and y are the two resistances in ohms. Find R when x = 6 and y = 12.
- 4 ohms
- 18 ohms
- 24 ohms
- 72 ohms
Show the answer
A. Correct. The top is 6 × 12 = 72 and the bottom is 6 + 12 = 18, so R = 72/18 = 4.
Why not the others
B. This only adds the two values (6 + 12 = 18), which is the series total. In this formula the sum belongs in the denominator.
C. This ignores the parentheses, dividing 72 by 6 and then adding 12: 12 + 12 = 24.
D. This finds the product xy but never divides by x + y.
ID IBEW-A-014 · Task IBEW-A-1 (Evaluate a formula)
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Which expression is equivalent to (5x - 2)(x + 4)?
- 5x² - 8
- 5x² + 18x + 8
- 5x² + 22x - 8
- 5x² + 18x - 8
Show the answer
D. Correct. (5x - 2)(x + 4) = 5x² + 20x - 2x - 8 = 5x² + 18x - 8.
Why not the others
A. Multiplies only the first terms and the last terms and skips the outer and inner products 20x and -2x.
B. Gets the middle term right but writes -2 × 4 as +8; the constant should be -8.
C. Treats -2 × x as +2x, so the middle term becomes 20x + 2x = 22x instead of 18x.
ID IBEW-A-048 · Task IBEW-A-2 (Equivalent expressions)
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What number comes next in this series? 11, 17, 15, 21, 19, 25, ...
- 23
- 27
- 29
- 31
Show the answer
A. Correct. The steps alternate +6, -2. The last step was 19 + 6 = 25, so next is 25 - 2 = 23.
Why not the others
B. Adds 2, the right size of step with the wrong sign; the pattern subtracts 2 after each +6.
C. Adds 4, the net change over each pair of steps; the next single step is -2.
D. Adds 6 again; the steps alternate, and 25 came from a +6 step, so the next step is -2.
ID IBEW-A-095 · Task IBEW-A-3 (Number series)
Reading Comprehension: a short passage and two questions
The questions name paragraphs by number, as the full bank does. Read the passage once, then answer.
Reading passage · 5 numbered paragraphs · 376 words
The Box That Changed Shipping
1For most of history, loading a ship was slow, hard work. Cargo arrived at the docks as sacks, barrels, crates, and loose bundles, and crews of dockworkers, called longshoremen, carried or hoisted each item aboard and packed it into the hold by hand. At the other end of the voyage, the whole process was repeated in reverse. A cargo ship could spend days or even weeks in port, and goods were often damaged or stolen along the way. This method is known as break-bulk shipping.
2In the 1950s a North Carolina trucking businessman named Malcom McLean saw a better way. Instead of unpacking each truck at the dock, why not lift the entire trailer body off its wheels and set it on a ship? At the next port, a crane could lower the box onto a waiting truck, and the goods inside would never be handled at all.
3On April 26, 1956, McLean put the idea to the test. A converted World War II tanker called the Ideal-X sailed from Port Newark, New Jersey, to Houston, Texas, carrying 58 metal containers on its deck. The savings were dramatic. By one estimate, loading loose cargo cost about $5.86 per ton, while loading the containers cost only about 16 cents per ton.
4The early container lines did not all use the same size of box, so a container from one company might not fit another company's ships, cranes, or trucks. In the late 1960s, the International Organization for Standardization adopted common standards, including boxes 8 feet wide and 20 or 40 feet long, with strong fittings at each corner so the boxes could be lifted by cranes and locked together in stacks. The capacity of a container ship is still measured in twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs.
5Standard containers changed the economics of trade. Ships spend far less time in port, far fewer dockworkers are needed, and theft has dropped because sealed boxes usually stay closed between the factory and the final destination. Busy ports moved away from crowded old waterfronts to places with room for giant cranes and acres of stacked boxes. Most important, shipping became so cheap that companies could make parts in one country, assemble them in another, and sell the finished products almost anywhere.
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Based on the passage, which group was most likely hurt by the switch to containers?
- Companies that sell goods overseas
- Crane operators at the new ports
- Factories that buy parts from other countries
- Longshoremen who loaded cargo by hand
Show the answer
D. Correct. Paragraph 1 says longshoremen handled each item by hand, and paragraph 5 says far fewer dockworkers were needed once containers arrived, so many lost work.
Why not the others
A. Paragraph 5 says cheap shipping let companies sell almost anywhere, which helped them.
B. Paragraph 5 mentions cranes only as part of the new, larger ports and never suggests that crane operators lost work.
C. Paragraph 5 says cheaper shipping made it practical to make parts in one country and assemble them in another, which helped such factories.
ID IBEW-B-116 · Task IBEW-B-3 (Inference)
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A company ships machines in its own boxes that are 11 feet wide and 30 feet long. Based on paragraph 4, what problem is it most likely to face?
- Its boxes may not fit standard ships, cranes, or trucks.
- Its boxes will have to be opened at every port.
- Its boxes will be stolen more often than standard boxes.
- Its boxes will cost less to load than standard boxes.
Show the answer
A. Correct. Paragraph 4 says boxes of different sizes might not fit other companies' ships, cranes, or trucks, which is why standard 8-foot-wide, 20- or 40-foot boxes were adopted.
Why not the others
B. The passage says nothing about odd-sized boxes being opened; it links sealed boxes to less theft (paragraph 5).
C. Paragraph 5 connects theft to boxes being opened, not to box size; nothing supports this.
D. Paragraph 4 suggests the opposite: boxes that do not match the standard may not fit the equipment built for standard boxes.
ID IBEW-B-118 · Task IBEW-B-5 (Application)
Want more? Eight math practice questions, one of each type, and a full reading passage with all six questions, every option explained.
The test at a glance
How the IBEW aptitude test works.
- 1
Two sections, each with its own clock: math first, then reading, with a short break between. Every question has four options and one best answer.
69 Q · 97 min - 2
Your score is the number you get right, turned into a stanine from 1 to 9. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so answer every question.
no guessing penalty - 3
A qualifying score (often 4, sometimes 5) earns an interview, and the interview and your qualifications set your rank on the eligibility list.
then the interview - 4
The Electrical Training ALLIANCE makes you wait 90 days before a retest; some JATCs make it six months.
90-day retest
Each JATC sets its own application dates and fee and gives the test at its training center. A few JATCs use a different test made by GAN, which adds mechanical reasoning and paper folding; we don't cover it yet, so check which test your JATC gives. The IBEW aptitude test study guide covers each question type, timing and an 8-week plan.
The full practice bank
Practice both sections on the clock.
480 original IBEW aptitude test questions: 240 algebra and functions questions across all eight question types, and 240 reading questions on 40 original nonfiction passages, six per passage. Standard questions match the test; Advanced ones are harder, for when the Standard ones feel easy. Take a timed Math section (33 questions in 46 minutes), a timed Reading section (36 questions in 51 minutes) or a full test with both clocks, and see your percent correct per section. Every option is explained.
120 days of access · 7-day no-questions refund · Didn't get the score your JATC asked for? 120 more days free · not a subscription. Also in All Tests ($69), with every test we cover. Or start the free quiz: 10 math questions and 2 full passages, no account.
IBEW aptitude test questions
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