TSIA2 Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

16 free TSIA2 questions from our 150-question bank, grouped by content domain. Each answer explains why the right option is right — and why every wrong option is wrong.

Quantitative Reasoning (2)Algebraic Reasoning (2)Geometric and Spatial Reasoning (1)Probabilistic and Statistical Reasoning (1)Literary Text Analysis (1)Informational Text Analysis and Synthesis (4)Essay Revision and Editing (1)Sentence Revision, Editing, and Completion (4)

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Quantitative Reasoning

Question 1

The table shows the total charge $C$ , in dollars, for renting a kayak for $h$ hours. Which equation represents the relationship between $C$ and $h$ ?

Kayak rental charges
Hours, $h$	Total charge, $C$ (dollars)
1	23
2	31
3	39
4	47

Show answer & explanation

Answer: D

Choice D is correct.
Rate of change: each extra hour adds $31 - 23 = 8$ dollars, so the slope is 8.
Fixed fee: $C - 8 h = 23 - 8 (1) = 15$ .
Equation: $C = 8 h + 15$ . Check $h = 4$ : $8 (4) + 15 = 47$ , matching the table.

$C = 8 h + 23$ : Uses the 1-hour charge ($23) as the fixed fee; at $h = 1$ it gives $31, not $23.

$C = 23 h$ : Treats the relationship as proportional from the first row; at $h = 2$ it gives $46, not $31.

$C = 15 h + 8$ : Swaps the hourly rate and the fixed fee; at $h = 2$ it gives $38, not $31.

$C = 8 h + 15$ : Correct. The charge rises $8 for each added hour, and $C - 8 h = 23 - 8 = 15$ is the fixed fee; every row checks.

In a linear table, the constant change in output per unit of input is the slope; subtract slope × input from any output to find the starting value.

Question 2

A painter finds that 3 gallons of paint cover 840 square feet. She must apply two coats of paint to 2,450 square feet of wall. Paint is sold only in whole gallons. What is the least number of gallons she must buy?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: D

Choice D is correct.
Coverage rate: $840 \div 3 = 280$ square feet per gallon.
Two coats on 2,450 square feet: $2 \times 2, 450 = 4, 900$ square feet.
Gallons needed: $4, 900 \div 280 = 17.5$ .
Round up to a whole gallon: 18. Check: $17 \times 280 = 4, 760 < 4, 900 \leq 18 \times 280 = 5, 040$ .

8: Covers only one coat ( $2, 450 \div 280 = 8.75$ ) and then rounds down, which would not finish even one coat.

9: Correctly rounds up but covers only one coat; two coats need $2 \times 2, 450 = 4, 900$ square feet of coverage.

17: Rounds 17.5 down; 17 gallons cover only $17 \times 280 = 4, 760$ square feet, short of 4,900.

18: Correct. Two coats need $4, 900 \div 280 = 17.5$ gallons, and since paint comes in whole gallons she must buy 18.

When only whole units can be bought and the full job must be covered, round a fractional answer up, never down.

Algebraic Reasoning

Question 3

Ana puts an 8-inch-by-10-inch photo in a frame that adds a border of the same width, $x$ inches, on all four sides. The total area of the photo and frame is 120 square inches. What is the value of $x$ ?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: A

Choice A is correct. The outer dimensions are $8 + 2 x$ and $10 + 2 x$ , so $(8 + 2 x) (10 + 2 x) = 120$ .
Expand: $80 + 36 x + 4 x^{2} = 120$ , so $4 x^{2} + 36 x - 40 = 0$ , or $x^{2} + 9 x - 10 = 0$ .
Factor: $(x + 10) (x - 1) = 0$ . Reject $x = - 10$ because a width must be positive, so $x = 1$ .
Check: $(10) (12) = 120$ .

$1$ : Correct. $(8 + 2 x) (10 + 2 x) = 120$ simplifies to $x^{2} + 9 x - 10 = 0$ , so $x = 1$ .

$2$ : Added the border only once to each dimension, $(8 + x) (10 + x) = 120$ ; the border is on both sides.

$5$ : Divided the frame's area, $120 - 80 = 40$ , by 8, treating it as a single strip.

$10$ : This is the size of the rejected root $x = - 10$ ; a width cannot be negative.

A uniform border of width x adds 2x to each dimension; solve the resulting quadratic and reject any negative length.

Question 4

Priya pays $45 to rent a booth at a craft fair. Each candle she sells costs her $5 to make and sells for $12. What is the least number of candles she must sell for her profit to be at least $200?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: D

Choice D is correct. Profit per candle is $12 - 5 = 7$ dollars, so profit is $7 c - 45$ .
Solve $7 c - 45 \geq 200$ : $7 c \geq 245$ , so $c \geq 35$ .
Check: $7 (35) - 45 = 200$ , which meets "at least $200"; 34 candles give only $193.

$21$ : Used the $12 price as profit per candle, ignoring the $5 cost: $12 c - 45 \geq 200$ .

$23$ : Added the booth fee instead of subtracting it: $7 c + 45 \geq 200$ .

$29$ : Ignored the $45 booth fee: $7 c \geq 200$ .

$35$ : Correct. Profit is $7 c - 45$ ; $7 c - 45 \geq 200$ gives $c \geq 35$ .

Write profit as (revenue per item − cost per item) × number of items − fixed costs, then solve the inequality.

Geometric and Spatial Reasoning

Question 5

In the right triangle shown, the legs have lengths $x$ and $x + 7$ and the hypotenuse has length 13. What is the area of the triangle? (For a right triangle with legs $a$ and $b$ and hypotenuse $c$ , $a^{2} + b^{2} = c^{2}$ . The area of a triangle is $A = \frac{1}{2} bh$ .)

Right triangle

Figure not drawn to scale.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: B

Choice B is correct. $x^{2} + (x + 7)^{2} = 1 3^{2}$ , so $2 x^{2} + 14 x + 49 = 169$ and $x^{2} + 7 x - 60 = 0$ .
Factor: $(x + 12) (x - 5) = 0$ . Reject $x = - 12$ , so $x = 5$ and the other leg is 12.
Area $= \frac{1}{2} (5) (12) = 30$ . Check: $25 + 144 = 169$ .

$15$ : Assumed the legs add up to the hypotenuse, $x + (x + 7) = 13$ , giving legs 3 and 10.

$30$ : Correct. $x = 5$ , so the legs are 5 and 12 and the area is $\frac{1}{2} (5) (12) = 30$ .

$32.5$ : Used the hypotenuse as the height: $\frac{1}{2} (5) (13)$ .

$60$ : Forgot the $\frac{1}{2}$ in the area formula.

Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the unknown side, reject negative lengths, and use the two legs as base and height.

Probabilistic and Statistical Reasoning

Question 6

A drawer holds 12 batteries, and 3 of them are dead. Ravi takes 2 batteries from the drawer at random, one after the other, without replacement. What is the probability that at least one of the 2 batteries is dead?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: C

Choice C is correct.
Use the complement: P(at least one dead) $= 1 -$ P(both good).
There are 9 good batteries. P(first good) $= \frac{9}{12}$ ; then 8 good remain among 11, so P(second good) $= \frac{8}{11}$ .
P(both good) $= \frac{9}{12} \cdot \frac{8}{11} = \frac{72}{132} = \frac{6}{11}$ .
P(at least one dead) $= 1 - \frac{6}{11} = \frac{5}{11}$ .

$\frac{1}{22}$ : This is the probability that both batteries are dead, $\frac{3}{12} \cdot \frac{2}{11}$ , not at least one.

$\frac{7}{16}$ : Treats the draws as with replacement: $1 - (\frac{9}{12})^{2} = \frac{7}{16}$ .

$\frac{5}{11}$ : Correct. P(neither is dead) $= \frac{9}{12} \cdot \frac{8}{11} = \frac{6}{11}$ , so P(at least one dead) $= 1 - \frac{6}{11} = \frac{5}{11}$ .

$\frac{6}{11}$ : This is the probability that neither battery is dead; it must be subtracted from 1.

For "at least one," find the probability of "none" and subtract from 1; without replacement, reduce both the count and the total after each draw.

Literary Text Analysis

Question 7

According to the first paragraph (sentences 1–5), Inés had told her grandfather that she would

In this passage from a novel, a young woman returns to her hometown to help her grandfather close his repair shop.

(1) The bell above the door of Ortega Clock & Watch had stopped ringing years before Inés came home, but her grandfather still glanced up whenever the door opened, as though the bell might decide to work again. (2) On her first morning back she found him at the long bench under the window, a loupe screwed into one eye, coaxing a hairspring no thicker than a thread into place with a pair of brass tweezers. (3) He did not look up when she said good morning. (4) "The Delgado clock wants a new mainspring," he said instead, "and Mrs. Delgado wants it by Saturday, which tells me she has never owned a clock." (5) Inés laughed, though she understood the remark was also meant for her: she had promised, on the phone from Houston, that she would stay only until the shop's lease ran out in May.

(6) For the next week she kept the books while he worked, and the books told a story he had never mentioned. (7) Repairs had fallen by half in five years; most of the customers who still came were old men bringing in watches that had belonged to their fathers. (8) One afternoon a teenager carried in a cheap digital watch with a cracked face, and her grandfather turned it over twice in his palm before handing it back. (9) "There is nothing inside it to fix," he told the boy gently. "Only something to replace." (10) After the boy left, he sat without moving for a long time, and Inés, pretending to total a column of figures, watched the second hand of the wall clock sweep through a full minute, then another.

(11) On Saturday Mrs. Delgado arrived early, and her grandfather set the mantel clock on the counter and wound it with a key from his vest pocket. (12) It began to tick at once, a steady, unhurried sound that seemed to fill the narrow shop. (13) Mrs. Delgado paid, thanked him twice, and carried the clock out as carefully as if it were a sleeping child. (14) When the door had closed behind her, her grandfather slid the brass tweezers across the bench toward Inés, handles first. (15) "The hairspring on the Ruiz watch," he said, as if continuing a conversation they had been having for years. (16) She looked at the tweezers, then at the lease pinned to the corkboard, its corner curling in the heat. (17) Then she pulled the second stool up to the bench and held out her hand for the loupe.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: A

stay only until the lease ended: Correct. Sentence 5 states that she had promised she would stay only until the shop's lease ran out in May.

repair the Delgado clock herself: Unsupported: her grandfather is the one working on the Delgado clock.

take over the shop permanently: Opposite of the text: in sentence 5 she promises to leave in May.

return to Houston by Saturday: Misreads the details: Saturday is the Delgado deadline, and her stated limit is May.

For an explicit-information question, find the sentence that states the fact directly; here sentence 5 gives the promise word for word.

Informational Text Analysis and Synthesis

Question 8

The authors of both passages would probably agree that

Passage 1

Biotechnology companies now hope to bring back animals like the woolly mammoth by editing genes recovered from preserved remains into the DNA of a living relative, the Asian elephant. Critics call the project a stunt, but its scientific payoff is already real. The gene-editing and reproductive methods being developed could help rescue endangered species whose populations have dwindled to a few hundred animals. A herd of cold-adapted elephants might even restore Arctic grasslands, where large grazers once trampled snow and kept shrubs in check. Few conservation efforts promise benefits on that scale.

Passage 2

There is no question that the laboratory work behind "de-extinction" is impressive. Editing dozens of genes at once in elephant cells would have been unthinkable a generation ago. But an elephant with shaggy hair and extra fat is not a mammoth; it is a new animal designed to resemble one. Meanwhile, living elephants are losing habitat and dying from poaching right now. Every dollar and every hour spent engineering a lookalike of a vanished species is one not spent protecting the animals that still survive. Conservation should begin with the species we have not yet lost.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: B

an engineered elephant would be a true mammoth: Neither: Passage 2 rejects this outright ("is not a mammoth"), and Passage 1 never claims it.

the genetic methods involved are a real scientific advance: Correct: Passage 1 says the project's "scientific payoff is already real," and Passage 2 grants that the laboratory work "is impressive" and "would have been unthinkable a generation ago."

the project is mainly a publicity stunt: Neither: Passage 1 rejects the critics' "stunt" label, and Passage 2 calls the work impressive.

living elephants need protection more than mammoths: Passage 2 only: this is Passage 2's argument about where money should go, not something Passage 1 says.

For a "both authors agree" item, the answer must be supported in each passage; look for a concession the opposing author makes.

Question 9

What is the main purpose of this passage?

Before the mid-1950s, loading a cargo ship was slow, costly work. Dockworkers carried sacks, barrels, and crates aboard one at a time, and a vessel might spend nearly as long in port as at sea. In 1956, trucking businessman Malcolm McLean sent a converted tanker from Newark to Houston carrying 58 metal boxes that could be lifted straight from truck trailers onto the deck. The idea was simple, but its effects were not. Once ports, ships, trains, and trucks agreed on standard box sizes, cargo could travel from factory to store without ever being unpacked along the way. Time in port shrank from days to hours, theft declined, and shipping costs fell so far that manufacturers could profitably buy parts from across an ocean.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: A

To explain how a standard container changed shipping: Correct: the passage moves from slow hand-loading, to McLean's 1956 voyage, to the results of standard box sizes ("Time in port shrank… shipping costs fell"), so its purpose is to explain the container's effect on shipping.

To describe the business career of Malcolm McLean: Too narrow: McLean appears in one sentence; nothing else about his career is described.

To argue that containers cost many dockworkers their jobs: Not in the passage: dockworkers are mentioned only to describe the old method, and no argument about jobs is made.

To compare the costs of shipping by truck and by train: Not discussed: trucks and trains are named only as parts of one shared system, never compared.

For a main-purpose question, pick the answer that covers the whole passage, from its opening problem to its closing results, not one person or detail.

Question 10

What is the main purpose of this passage?

The hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas, in September 1900 killed an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people, still the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. Rather than abandon the island, residents chose to rebuild it. Engineers designed a concrete seawall, and the first section was finished in 1904. Then, in a project that lasted years, workers jacked up more than two thousand buildings and pumped sand dredged from the bay beneath them, raising the ground level of much of the city—by as much as 17 feet beside the seawall. When another major hurricane hit in 1915, the death toll was a small fraction of that in 1900.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: B

To argue that coastal cities should be abandoned: Opposite of the text: residents chose not to abandon the island.

To explain how a city rebuilt after a disaster: Correct. The passage moves from the 1900 storm to the seawall and grade raising, and ends with the 1915 storm's far lower death toll, showing how Galveston physically rebuilt to survive.

To describe how dredging equipment works: Too narrow: dredging is one detail of the grade-raising project.

To compare the strength of two hurricanes: Too narrow: the 1915 storm appears only to show the result of rebuilding.

For a purpose question, look at how the passage is arranged from start to finish, not at any single detail.

Question 11

It can be inferred from the passage that fresco painters

In true fresco, a painter brushes pigment mixed with water onto a layer of fresh, damp lime plaster. As the plaster dries, a chemical reaction binds the color into the wall itself, which is why some frescoes have kept their color for centuries. The method leaves little room for second thoughts. Plaster stays workable for only several hours, so painters spread just enough each morning for one day's work, an area Italian artists called a giornata. Once a section dried, a mistake could be fixed only by chipping away the plaster and starting that section over.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: B

usually finished a whole wall in one day: Contradicts the text: walls were painted one "giornata," or day's section, at a time.

had to plan their designs carefully in advance: Correct. With plaster workable for only hours and mistakes fixable only by chipping out a section, painters needed to know beforehand exactly what to paint in each day's area.

preferred dry plaster for its lasting color: Opposite of the text: the color binds because the plaster is damp when painted.

often repainted dried sections to brighten them: Unsupported: the only fix described is removing the plaster and starting over.

When a passage stresses a constraint ("little room for second thoughts"), infer what people working under it would have to do.

Essay Revision and Editing

Question 12

Which of the following is the best way to revise and combine sentences 8 and 9 (reproduced below)?

(8) Tool libraries also save space. (9) Apartment renters, in particular, rarely have room to store a wheelbarrow or a table saw.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: C

Tool libraries also save space, even though apartment renters, in particular, rarely have room to store a wheelbarrow or a table saw.: "Even though" signals contrast, but the renters’ lack of space is a reason the benefit matters.

Tool libraries also save space, apartment renters, in particular, rarely have room to store a wheelbarrow or a table saw.: Comma splice: two independent clauses joined only by a comma.

Tool libraries also save space, especially for apartment renters, who rarely have room to store a wheelbarrow or a table saw.: Correct. The phrase "especially for apartment renters" turns sentence 9 into a modifier of "save space," keeping one complete, logical sentence.

Saving space for apartment renters, who rarely have room to store a wheelbarrow or a table saw, through the use of tool libraries.: Fragment: there is no main verb.

A good combination keeps the logical relationship between the ideas and forms one complete sentence, with no comma splice or misleading conjunction.

Sentence Revision, Editing, and Completion

Question 13

The Rio Grande which forms part of the border between Texas and Mexico flows nearly 1,900 miles from the mountains of southern Colorado to the coast.

Select the best version of the bold part of the sentence. If the original is best, choose the first answer.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: C

which forms part of the border between Texas and Mexico flows: The original leaves the nonrestrictive "which" clause unpunctuated; it adds extra information about a river already named.

, which forms part of the border between Texas and Mexico flows: Opens the clause with a comma but never closes it, so "flows" seems to belong to the "which" clause and the subject has no verb.

, which forms part of the border between Texas and Mexico, flows: Correct. Commas on both sides set off the nonrestrictive clause, leaving the main clause "The Rio Grande … flows."

, that forms part of the border between Texas and Mexico, flows: Uses "that," which introduces only restrictive (essential) clauses and is not set off with commas.

A "which" clause that adds nonessential information about an already identified noun is set off by a pair of commas; "that" clauses are essential and take no commas.

Question 14

By the time the firefighters reached the warehouse, the flames already spread to the lumberyard next door and were threatening a row of houses.

Select the best version of the bold part of the sentence. If the original is best, choose the first answer.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: B

already spread: The simple past does not show that the spreading was completed before the firefighters arrived.

had already spread: Correct. The past perfect "had spread" shows an action finished before another past action ("reached"), as "By the time" requires.

have already spread: The present perfect clashes with the past-tense verbs "reached" and "were threatening."

will have already spread: The future perfect places the event in the future, but the sentence describes a past fire.

Use the past perfect (had + past participle) for an action completed before another past action, often signaled by "by the time" or "before."

Question 15

Arriving at the trailhead before sunrise, the parking lot was already nearly full to the surprise of Marcus and his sister.

Select the best version of the bold part of the sentence. If the original is best, choose the first answer.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: D

the parking lot was already nearly full to the surprise of Marcus and his sister: The original has a dangling modifier: it says the parking lot arrived at the trailhead.

the parking lot surprised Marcus and his sister by already being nearly full: Still dangling (the parking lot "arriving"), and the "being" phrase adds wordiness.

it surprised Marcus and his sister that the parking lot was already nearly full: Still dangling: the subject is now the empty pronoun "it," which cannot be the one arriving.

Marcus and his sister were surprised to find the parking lot already nearly full: Correct. The subject right after the comma, "Marcus and his sister," names the people who arrived at the trailhead.

An introductory participial phrase must be followed immediately by the noun that performs its action.

Question 16

Walking into the crowded auditorium, the noise of the cheering fans made her wish she had brought earplugs.

Select the best version of the bold part of the sentence. If the original is best, choose the first answer.

Show answer & explanation

Answer: D

Walking into the crowded auditorium, the noise of the cheering fans: Dangling modifier: the sentence says the noise was walking into the auditorium.

Having walked into the crowded auditorium, the noise of the cheering fans: Still dangling: the noise still appears to be the one that walked in.

Marisol walked into the crowded auditorium, the noise of the cheering fans: Comma splice: two independent clauses joined only by a comma.

When Marisol walked into the crowded auditorium, the noise of the cheering fans: Correct. The dependent clause names who walked in (Marisol), so the modifier no longer attaches to "noise," and "her" now has a clear antecedent.

An introductory modifier must describe the subject that immediately follows it; otherwise, name the actor in a dependent clause.

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