ASVAB practice test

ASVAB Mechanical Comprehension Practice Test

Simple machines, force and pressure. Here are 10 ASVAB mechanical comprehension questions, each with the answer and the reason.

Updated 2026-11-14 by the Tigertest team. Covers eight of the CAT-ASVAB subtests in test order with the real time limits. Assembling Objects uses figures and is not included. Minimum AFQT scores vary by branch and change with recruiting needs.

1. 1.

   A lever has its fulcrum 2 feet from a 90-pound load and 6 feet from the point where effort is applied. How much effort is needed to lift the load?

   • A.

     15 pounds

   • B.

     45 pounds

   • C.

     270 pounds

   • D.

     30 pounds

   Answer: D.

   Mechanical advantage of a lever is effort arm ÷ load arm = 6 ÷ 2 = 3, so the effort needed is 90 ÷ 3 = 30 pounds. Multiplying instead of dividing gives 270.

2. 2.

   A ramp used to roll a barrel onto a truck is an example of which simple machine?

   • A.

     Block and tackle

   • B.

     Wheel and axle

   • C.

     Inclined plane

   • D.

     Wedge

   Answer: C.

   An inclined plane trades a longer distance for less force, which is exactly what a ramp does. A wedge is two inclined planes back to back used for splitting or cutting, not for raising loads.

3. 3.

   Gear A has 20 teeth and drives gear B, which has 40 teeth. If gear A turns at 100 rpm, how fast does gear B turn?

   • A.

     25 rpm

   • B.

     50 rpm

   • C.

     100 rpm

   • D.

     200 rpm

   Answer: B.

   Gear speed is inversely proportional to the number of teeth: 100 × (20 ÷ 40) = 50 rpm. The larger gear turns slower but with more torque; doubling the speed to 200 reverses the ratio.

4. 4.

   Two gears that are meshed directly together turn

   • A.

     in the same direction

   • B.

     only when lubricated

   • C.

     in opposite directions

   • D.

     at the same speed regardless of size

   Answer: C.

   Where two gears mesh, the teeth of one push the teeth of the other, so if one turns clockwise the other turns counterclockwise. They turn at the same speed only if they have the same number of teeth.

5. 5.

   A single fixed pulley attached to a ceiling provides a mechanical advantage of

   • A.

     0

   • B.

     1

   • C.

     2

   • D.

     4

   Answer: B.

   A single fixed pulley only changes the direction of the pull; you still apply a force equal to the load, so the mechanical advantage is 1. A single movable pulley would give an advantage of 2.

6. 6.

   How much work is done when a 20-pound box is lifted 5 feet straight up?

   • A.

     4 foot-pounds

   • B.

     25 foot-pounds

   • C.

     100 foot-pounds

   • D.

     15 foot-pounds

   Answer: C.

   Work equals force times distance: 20 pounds × 5 feet = 100 foot-pounds. Adding (25) or dividing (4) are not the work formula.

7. 7.

   In a hydraulic system, a force of 50 pounds is applied to a piston with an area of 2 square inches. How much force is produced on a connected piston with an area of 10 square inches?

   • A.

     10 pounds

   • B.

     50 pounds

   • C.

     100 pounds

   • D.

     250 pounds

   Answer: D.

   Pressure is the same throughout the fluid: 50 ÷ 2 = 25 psi. That pressure acts on the larger piston: 25 × 10 = 250 pounds. The larger piston moves a shorter distance, so no energy is gained.

8. 8.

   Which of the following objects has the greatest inertia?

   • A.

     A tennis ball

   • B.

     A ping pong ball

   • C.

     A baseball

   • D.

     A bowling ball

   Answer: D.

   Inertia is an object's resistance to a change in motion, and it depends on mass. The bowling ball is by far the most massive, so it is the hardest to start or stop.

9. 9.

   A wheelbarrow, with the wheel at one end, the load in the middle, and the handles at the other end, is an example of a

   • A.

     first-class lever

   • B.

     second-class lever

   • C.

     third-class lever

   • D.

     wheel and axle

   Answer: B.

   In a second-class lever the load sits between the fulcrum (the wheel) and the effort (the handles). A first-class lever like a seesaw has the fulcrum in the middle, and a third-class lever like tweezers has the effort in the middle.

10. 10.

    Water flowing through a pipe speeds up when the pipe

    • A.

      narrows

    • B.

      widens

    • C.

      bends

    • D.

      becomes horizontal

    Answer: A.

    The same volume of water must pass every point each second, so where the cross-section is smaller the water must move faster. Widening the pipe slows the flow.