CBEST MATHEMATICS EXAM PREP KIT
2026 BUNDLED PRACTICE SOLUTION
GUIDE
● 2. Mrs. Johnson needs 4 blue paper circles for each student in her
class. She can cut 6 of these circles from each piece of blue paper she is
using. If there are 32 students in her class, how many pieces of blue
paper will she need?
a. 32
b. 10
c. 22
d. 36
e. 21. Answer: She needs a total of 32 x 4 or 128 circles. 6 can be cut
from 1 paper, so divide 128 by 6 and you get 21 and a small remainder.
Forget the remainder, you KNOW you will have to use 1 more paper for
make up for that remainder. The answer will be 21 + 1 or 22. 21 may
look attractive, but where would the little extra come from?
● 3. Bob is stapling packets for his students. He can staple one complete
packet in about 3 minutes. About how long will it take him to staple
enough packets for his class of 30 students?
a. 1 hour 20 minutes
,b. 1 hour 30 minutes
c. 2 hours 20 minutes
d. 2 hours 9 minutes
e. 3 hours. Answer: Multiply 3 x 30 = 90. It will take 90 minutes. But the
answers are in hours, 60 minutes to an hour, so the answer must be 1
hour 30 minutes.
● 4. A certain square has an area of 36 square inches. What is the
perimeter of this square?
a. 6
b. 12
c. 18.
d. 24
e. 30. Answer: You should know that a square has all sides equal.
Multiply 2 sides together to get the area. Since the sides will be the same
number, we are looking for a number multiplied by itself to get 36. The
only number that satisfies that is 6. ( 6 x 6 = 36). Each side is 6 inches,
therefore the perimeter is 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24 inches.
● 5. Carrson High School has a senior class of 540 students. If 4 out of
every 9 of these students are planning to attend college, how many are
not planning to attend college?
,a. 240
b. 270
c. 300
d. 370
e. 400. Answer: 4 out of 9 is the fraction 4/9. Multiply 540 x 4, then
divide your answer by 9. You get 240. This represents the number of
students attending college. (Always reread the question to make sure you
are answering what is asked for.)
The number not attending college would be 540 - 240 = 300. The answer
is c.
You could have also recognized that you need to find 5/9 of 540, solved
similarly as above.
Alternative way to solve #5:
4/9 represents a little less than half. So, the number attending college is a
little less than half. Half of 540 is 270. The number attending college
will be slightly lower than this. Likewise, the number not attending
college is a little higher than 270. The only logical answer would be 300.
5/9 represents the number not attending college. 5/9 is about 55%
Finding 55% of 540 would be easy and very close to 300.
, *Remember: You do not need to get the exact answer. Just be close
enough to logically choose the answer from the 5 choices.
● 6. The school library has 272 books in their natural science section. If
25% are books related to animals, how many books on animals are on
hand?
a. 27
b. 54
c. 68
d. 25
e. 136. Answer: Multiply .25 x 272 to get 68.
Alternative way of solving #6:
You should know that 25% means 1/4. So, I am looking for a number
that when multiplied by 4, I get 272. The only answer that works is 68 x
4 = 272. However, I knew it was going to end in an 8 because that is the
only number I can multiply by 4 to get a 2 on the end. (272 ends in 2 and
4 x 8 = 32). 68 is the only number on the list that ends in 8. 68 MUST be
the answer.
● 7. What number is 36% of 650 ?
a. 234
2026 BUNDLED PRACTICE SOLUTION
GUIDE
● 2. Mrs. Johnson needs 4 blue paper circles for each student in her
class. She can cut 6 of these circles from each piece of blue paper she is
using. If there are 32 students in her class, how many pieces of blue
paper will she need?
a. 32
b. 10
c. 22
d. 36
e. 21. Answer: She needs a total of 32 x 4 or 128 circles. 6 can be cut
from 1 paper, so divide 128 by 6 and you get 21 and a small remainder.
Forget the remainder, you KNOW you will have to use 1 more paper for
make up for that remainder. The answer will be 21 + 1 or 22. 21 may
look attractive, but where would the little extra come from?
● 3. Bob is stapling packets for his students. He can staple one complete
packet in about 3 minutes. About how long will it take him to staple
enough packets for his class of 30 students?
a. 1 hour 20 minutes
,b. 1 hour 30 minutes
c. 2 hours 20 minutes
d. 2 hours 9 minutes
e. 3 hours. Answer: Multiply 3 x 30 = 90. It will take 90 minutes. But the
answers are in hours, 60 minutes to an hour, so the answer must be 1
hour 30 minutes.
● 4. A certain square has an area of 36 square inches. What is the
perimeter of this square?
a. 6
b. 12
c. 18.
d. 24
e. 30. Answer: You should know that a square has all sides equal.
Multiply 2 sides together to get the area. Since the sides will be the same
number, we are looking for a number multiplied by itself to get 36. The
only number that satisfies that is 6. ( 6 x 6 = 36). Each side is 6 inches,
therefore the perimeter is 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24 inches.
● 5. Carrson High School has a senior class of 540 students. If 4 out of
every 9 of these students are planning to attend college, how many are
not planning to attend college?
,a. 240
b. 270
c. 300
d. 370
e. 400. Answer: 4 out of 9 is the fraction 4/9. Multiply 540 x 4, then
divide your answer by 9. You get 240. This represents the number of
students attending college. (Always reread the question to make sure you
are answering what is asked for.)
The number not attending college would be 540 - 240 = 300. The answer
is c.
You could have also recognized that you need to find 5/9 of 540, solved
similarly as above.
Alternative way to solve #5:
4/9 represents a little less than half. So, the number attending college is a
little less than half. Half of 540 is 270. The number attending college
will be slightly lower than this. Likewise, the number not attending
college is a little higher than 270. The only logical answer would be 300.
5/9 represents the number not attending college. 5/9 is about 55%
Finding 55% of 540 would be easy and very close to 300.
, *Remember: You do not need to get the exact answer. Just be close
enough to logically choose the answer from the 5 choices.
● 6. The school library has 272 books in their natural science section. If
25% are books related to animals, how many books on animals are on
hand?
a. 27
b. 54
c. 68
d. 25
e. 136. Answer: Multiply .25 x 272 to get 68.
Alternative way of solving #6:
You should know that 25% means 1/4. So, I am looking for a number
that when multiplied by 4, I get 272. The only answer that works is 68 x
4 = 272. However, I knew it was going to end in an 8 because that is the
only number I can multiply by 4 to get a 2 on the end. (272 ends in 2 and
4 x 8 = 32). 68 is the only number on the list that ends in 8. 68 MUST be
the answer.
● 7. What number is 36% of 650 ?
a. 234
