GED Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: B

1. Use the slope formula from the formula sheet: $m=\frac{y_2-y_1}{x_2-x_1}$.
2. With $(-3,4)$ and $(3,0)$: $m=\frac{0-4}{3-(-3)}=\frac{-4}{6}$.
3. Simplify: $m=-\frac{2}{3}$. The line falls from left to right, which agrees with a negative slope.

$-\frac{3}{2}$: This divides the change in $x$ by the change in $y$ (run over rise). Slope is rise over run: $\frac{-4}{6}$.

$-\frac{2}{3}$: Correct. $m=\frac{0-4}{3-(-3)}=\frac{-4}{6}=-\frac{2}{3}$.

$\frac{2}{3}$: The size is right, but the line falls from left to right, so the slope is negative.

$2$: 2 is the $y$-intercept, where the line crosses the $y$-axis at $(0,2)$, not the slope.

Slope = rise ÷ run = (change in y) ÷ (change in x). A line that falls from left to right has a negative slope.

Answer: C

1. Find a common denominator: the least common multiple of 4 and 3 is 12.
2. Rewrite each fraction: $\frac{3}{4}=\frac{3\times 3}{4\times 3}=\frac{9}{12}$ and $\frac{2}{3}=\frac{2\times 4}{3\times 4}=\frac{8}{12}$.
3. Add the numerators: $\frac{9}{12}+\frac{8}{12}=\frac{17}{12}$.
4. Write as a mixed number: $17÷12=1$ remainder 5, so $1\frac{5}{12}$ inches.

$\frac{1}{2}$ inch: This multiplies the fractions: $\frac{3}{4}\times \frac{2}{3}=\frac{6}{12}=\frac{1}{2}$. Joining two thicknesses calls for addition.

$\frac{5}{7}$ inch: This adds the numerators and the denominators ($\frac{3+2}{4+3}$). Fractions must be rewritten with a common denominator before adding.

$1\frac{5}{12}$ inches: Correct. $\frac{3}{4}=\frac{9}{12}$ and $\frac{2}{3}=\frac{8}{12}$, so the sum is $\frac{17}{12}=1\frac{5}{12}$ inches.

$\frac{11}{12}$ inch: This changes only the denominator of $\frac{2}{3}$ (writing it as $\frac{2}{12}$). The numerator must be multiplied by 4 too: $\frac{8}{12}$.

To add fractions, rewrite them over a common denominator, multiplying the numerator and denominator by the same number; then add only the numerators.

Answer: C

admit that the colonists had suffered only minor wrongs under British rule: Misreads the concession: the sentence is a general statement about all peoples, and the next sentence describes "a long train of abuses," not minor wrongs.

suggest that the colonies should wait longer before declaring independence: Misreads the structure: the sentence sets up the "But when" conclusion that the time to act has come; it does not argue for delay.

show readers that the colonists were not rebelling for trivial reasons: Correct. The introduction says the authors "had to show that the break was not a reckless act of rebellion but a reasoned response to serious wrongs." By granting that established governments should not be changed lightly, the authors present themselves as cautious and reasonable.

explain why the colonists had changed their government so frequently: Unsupported: nothing in either text says the colonists had changed governments often; the sentence says people tend to endure rather than change.

A concession ("indeed," "it is true that") can strengthen an argument by showing the author has weighed the other side; connect it to the audience the author is trying to persuade.

Answer: A

Some current parking requirements are higher than necessary.: Correct. Passage 2 concedes, "Some requirements are clearly too high, and cities should review them," and Passage 1 argues that the rules "now do more harm than good."

Parking requirements should be removed in every part of a city.: Only Passage 1 holds this view; Passage 2 rejects "eliminating requirements everywhere at once."

The market accounts for everyone affected by a new building.: Contradicted by Passage 2: "the market does not account for everyone affected by a new building."

Residents without cars cause most parking shortages on city streets.: Unsupported by either text: Passage 2 blames shortages on car owners in buildings with too few spaces.

Common ground between opposing authors is often found in a concession; look for statements such as "None of this means current rules are perfect."

Answer: B

First rising segment: Here solid ice is warming from −20 °C to 0 °C. The temperature rises because the sample is still a single phase (solid).

First flat segment: Correct. Melting happens at 0 °C, and the temperature stays constant while solid changes to liquid, so it is the flat segment at 0 °C.

Second rising segment: Here liquid water is warming from 0 °C to 100 °C. Melting is already complete.

Second flat segment: This plateau is at 100 °C, the boiling point. Here liquid is changing to gas (boiling), not solid to liquid.

Third rising segment: Here the steam is warming above 100 °C; all the water is already gas.

On a heating curve, sloped parts show one phase warming; flat parts show a phase change (melting at the lower plateau, boiling at the higher one).

Answer: C

The height of the seedlings: Height is what the student measured to see the effect. That makes it the dependent variable, not the independent one.

The amount of water given: Every plant got the same 50 mL a day. Water is a controlled variable, held constant so it cannot explain differences.

The color of the light: Correct. The independent variable is the one factor the student deliberately changed between groups: the lamp filter (red, blue, green or none).

The number of days of growth: All groups grew for the same 14 days, so time is a controlled variable, not the factor being tested.

The independent variable is what the experimenter changes; the dependent variable is what is measured; controlled variables are kept the same for every group.

Answer: C

a struggle to decide which region would control the national economy: Lincoln does not mention economics or regional control; he speaks of "Liberty" and equality.

a punishment the nation deserved for breaking away from Britain: "Four score and seven years ago" points back to 1776 with pride, not as something to be punished.

a test of whether a nation founded on liberty and equality can survive: Correct. Lincoln links the war to the 1776 founding ("conceived in Liberty ... all men are created equal") and says the war is "testing whether that nation ... can long endure."

a conflict that had already been won by the time he spoke: He says "we are engaged in a great civil war," meaning it was still being fought in 1863.

Lincoln reframed the war around the Declaration's ideals: it was a test of whether a democratic nation could survive.

Answer: A

The people establish the government to achieve goals such as justice, peace and liberty.: Correct. "We the People ... do ordain and establish this Constitution" names the people as the source of authority, and the listed purposes include justice, domestic tranquility and the blessings of liberty.

The national government gets its authority from the states, not from individual citizens.: The Preamble opens with "We the People," not "We the States." Under the Articles of Confederation the states were the parties; the Preamble deliberately changes that.

The main purpose of the Constitution is to keep the states independent of each other.: The excerpt speaks of forming "a more perfect Union," which means binding the states together more closely, not keeping them separate.

The government exists mainly to protect the nation from attack by foreign powers.: Defense is only one of six listed goals ("provide for the common defence"). Calling it the main purpose over-generalizes from one phrase.

The Preamble states the source of the Constitution's authority (the people) and its purposes. Main-idea answers must cover the whole excerpt, not one phrase.