Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 2 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting Started With the ASVAB 5 Chapter 1: Putting the ASVAB under a Microscope 7 Knowing Which Version You''re Taking 7 Mapping Out the ASVAB Subtests 8 Deciphering ASVAB Scores 10 Defining all the scores 10 Understanding the big four: Your AFQT scores 12 Do-Over: Retaking the ASVAB 15 U S Army retest policy 15 U S Air Force retest policy 16 U S Navy retest policy 16 U S Marine Corps retest policy 17 U S Coast Guard retest policy 17 Chapter 2: Knowing What It Takes to Get Your Dream Job 19 Eyeing How ASVAB Scores Determine Military Training Programs and Jobs 20 Understanding How Each Branch Computes Line Scores 21 Line scores and the Army 21 Line scores and the Navy and Coast Guard 22 Line scores and the Marine Corps 23 Line scores and the Air Force 23 Chapter 3: Getting Acquainted with Test-Taking and Study Techniques 25 Taking the Test: Computerized or Paper? 25 Going paperless: The pros and cons of the computerized test 26 Writing on hard copy: The advantages and disadvantages of the paper version 27 Tackling Multiple-Choice Questions 28 When You Don''t Know an Answer: Guessing Smart 29 Studying and Practicing for the ASVAB 30 Making Last-Minute Preparations: 24 Hours and Counting 32 Part 2: Words to Live By: Communication Skills 33 Chapter 4: Word Knowledge 35 Grasping the Importance of Word Knowledge 35 Checking Out the Word Knowledge Question Format 36 Building Words from Scratch: Strategies to Help You Decipher Word Meanings 37 From beginning to end: Knowing prefixes and suffixes 37 Determining the root of the problem 39 Word families: Finding related words 40 Deconstructing words 41 Yin and Yang: Understanding Synonyms and Antonyms 42 ASVAB Word Knowledge Strategy: Finding the Answer When You Just Don''t Know 42 Creating your own context 43 How''s it feel? Letting the words speak to you 43 Compare and contrast: Picking up on signals 44 One of these things is not like the other: Ruling out wrong answers 44 Mind filling in? Replacing the word with the answer choices 45 Say what? Parts of speech matter 46 If all else fails, break your word 47 Guess what! It''s okay on the ASVAB 47 You Are What You Speak: Improving Your Vocabulary, Improving Yourself 48 Reading your way to a larger vocabulary 48 Keeping a list and checking it twice 49 Crosswords: Making vocabulary fun 50 Sounding off by sounding it out 50 Word Knowledge Practice Questions 51 Answers and Explanations 53 Chapter 5: Paragraph Comprehension 55 Understanding the Importance of Paragraph Comprehension for Military Jobs 55 Eyeing the Physique of the Paragraph Comprehension Subtest 56 Trying the Four Flavors of Comprehension Questions 56 Treasure hunt: Finding specific information 57 Cutting to the chase: Recognizing the main idea 57 If the shoe fits: Determining word meaning in context 58 Reading between the lines: Understanding implications 58 Do You Get My Point? Breaking down Paragraphs 60 What''s the big idea? Determining the main idea in a paragraph 60 Extra, extra! Identifying subpoints 61 Analyzing What You''ve Read: Guessing at What the Writer Really Means 62 Faster than a Speeding Turtle: Tips for Slow Readers 63 Read more, watch less 63 Become a lean, mean word machine 63 Build your confidence 63 Test-Taking Tips for Reading and Gleaning 64 Paragraph Comprehension Practice Questions 66 Answers and Explanations 70 Part 3: Making the Most of Math: Arithmetic Skills 73 Chapter 6: Mathematics Knowledge and Operations 75 Just When You Thought You Were Done with Vocab: Math Terminology 76 Operations: What You Do to Numbers 77 First things first: Following the order of operations 78 Completing a number sequence 79 Averaging mean, median, and mode in a range 80 Working on Both Sides of the Line: Fractions 80 Common denominators: Preparing to add and subtract fractions 81 Multiplying and reducing fractions 82 Dividing fractions 83 Converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and back again 83 Expressing a fraction in other forms: Decimals and percents 84 Showing comparisons with ratios 87 A Powerful Shorthand: Writing in Scientific Notation 88 Getting to the Root of the Problem 89 Perfect squares 89 Irrational numbers 90 Other roots 90 Test-Taking Techniques for Your Mathematical Journey 90 Knowing what the question is asking 91 Figuring out what you''re solving for 91 Solving what you can and guessing the rest 91 Using the process of elimination 92 Math Knowledge and Operations Practice Questions 93 Answers and Explanations 95 Chapter 7: Algebra 97 Coming to Terms with Basic Algebra Lingo 97 Solving for x 98 When All Things Are Equal: Keeping an Algebra Equation Balanced 99 Solving one-step equations involving addition and subtraction 99 Multiplying and dividing 100 Solving multistep equations 100 Simplifying equations 101 Using FOIL 101 Tackling Two-Variable Equations 102 Substitution 102 Combining equations 102 Explaining Exponents in Algebra 103 A Step Back: Factoring Algebra Expressions to Find Original Numbers 104 Pulling out the greatest common factor 104 Factoring a three-term equation ( x 2 + bx = c ) 104 Making Alphabet Soup: Solving Quadratic Equations 105 All Math Isn''t Created Equal: Solving Inequalities 106 Algebra Practice Questions 108 Answers and Explanations 110 Chapter 8: Geometry 115 Outlining Angles 116 Parallel lines 117 Naming angles 117 Pointing Out Triangle Types 118 Back to Square One: Quadrilaterals 119 Going around in Circles 120 Navigating the circumference 121 Mapping out the area of a circle 121 Fillin'' It Up: Calculating Volume 122 Scratching the surface area of solids 123 Breaking down combined figures 125 Mapping Out Coordinates 127 Geometry Practice Questions 129 Answers and Explanations 132 Chapter 9: Arithmetic Reasoning: Math Word Problems 135 Tackling the Real World of Word Problems 136 Reading the entire problem 136 As plain as the nose on a fly: Figuring out what the question is asking 136 Digging for the facts 137 Setting up the problem and working your way to the answer 138 Drawing a diagram 138 Reviewing your answer 139 The Guessing Game: Putting Reason in Your Guessing Strategy 139 Using the process of elimination 140 Solving what you can and guessing the rest 140 Making use of the answer choices 140 Arithmetic Reasoning (Math Word Problems) Practice Questions 142 Answers and Explanations 145 Part 4: Examining General Science Under a Microscope 151 Chapter 10: General Science and Life Science 153 There''s a Scientific Method to the Madness 154 Understanding Forms of Measurement 155 Uncovering Biology, from Big to Small 156 Relating to your world through ecology 156 Variety is the spice of life: Biodiversity 157 Categorizing Mother Nature 157 Perusing the Human Body Systems 160 Picking your brain: The nervous system 161 Flowing through the heart, blood, and circulatory system 161 Renal 9-1-1: Emergency toxin filtering 162 Breathing in and out: The respiratory system 162 You are what you eat: The digestive system 162 Muscling your way through life 162 Taking the skeletons out of the closet 163 Ending up in the endocrine system 164 The lymphatic system: When things go haywire 164 Damage control through the integumentary system 164 Continuing the species through the reproductive system 165 Keeping the body in peak operating condition 165 Digging through Plant Physiology 166 Types of plants 166 Where plant processes take place 166 Plant reproduction 167 Thinking Small: A Look at Cells 168 Inspecting cell structure 168 Profiting from cell processes 169 Swimming in the Gene Pool: Genetics 170 Copying genes 170 Determining your sex with two little letters 170 Knowing which genes get passed down the family line 171 Using Common Sense to Hypothesize about Answers 171 General and Life Science Practice Questions 172 Answers and Explanations 173 Chapter 11: Physical Sciences 175 Chemistry: Not Blowing Up the Lab 176 How chemists look at things 176 Understanding the elements, my dear Watson 177 Sitting down at the periodic table 177 Changing states: Physical and chemical moves for molecules 177 Boiling and freezing 179 Compounds, mixtures, and reactions: When elements get together 179 Covering all the bases (and the acids, too) 181 Physics: It Matters (and It''s Matter) 182