Chapter 14: Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Practice Test .........................
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Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................................ 1 Part I: So You Want to Be a Military Aviator ................................. 5
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Chapter 1: Not Just a Job, an Adventure ..................................................................................................7 Chapter 2: Taking a Look at Training Programs ....................................................................................29 Chapter 3: Understanding the Tests at a Glance ...................................................................................37 Chapter 4: Tackling Test Prep and Test-Taking Strategies ..................................................................43
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Part II: Sharpening Your Language and Math Skills ..................... 51
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Chapter 5: Brushing Up on Language Skills ............................................................................................53 Chapter 6: Language Skills Practice Test ................................................................................................65 Chapter 7: Getting a Handle on Mathematics Review ...........................................................................79 Chapter 8: Mathematics Practice Test ....................................................................................................99
Part III: Honing Your Science, Aeronautical, and Mental Skills......111
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Chapter 9: Tackling Technical Information and Science Review.......................................................113 Chapter 10: Technical Information and Science Practice Test ..........................................................139 Chapter 11: Basic Aeronautical Knowledge .........................................................................................155 Chapter 12: Basic Aeronautical Knowledge Practice Test .................................................................179 Chapter 13: Mastering Mental Skills Questions ...................................................................................185
Part IV: Practice Military Flight Aptitude Tests ......................... 199
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Chapter 14: Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Practice Test .............................................201 Chapter 15: Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Answers/Explanations .............................253 Chapter 16: Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) Practice Test......................................................................................................265 Chapter 17: Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) Answers/Explanations .....................................................................................307 Chapter 18: Army Selection Instrument for Flight Training (SIFT) Practice Test ...........................319 Chapter 19: Army Selection Instrument for Flight Training (SIFT) Answers/Explanations............361
Part V: The Part of Tens ........................................................... 371 Chapter 20: Ten Things to Do Before You Take the Test ...................................................................373 Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Maximize Your Score ...................................................................................379
Index ...................................................................................... 383
Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................. 1 About This Book ........................................................................................................................1 Conventions Used in This Book ...............................................................................................2 What You’re Not to Read ..........................................................................................................2 Foolish Assumptions .................................................................................................................2 How This Book Is Organized ....................................................................................................3 Part I: So You Want to Be a Military Aviator ................................................................3 Part II: Sharpening Your Language and Math Skills.....................................................3 Part III: Honing Your Science, Aeronautical, and Mental Skills ..................................3 Part IV: Practice Military Flight Aptitude Tests ...........................................................3 Part V: The Part of Tens ..................................................................................................3 Icons Used in This Book ...........................................................................................................4 Where to Go from Here .............................................................................................................4
Part I: So You Want to Be a Military Aviator .................................. 5 Chapter 1: Not Just a Job, an Adventure ............................................................................7 Exploring the Types of Aircrafts and Their Roles .................................................................7 Fixed-wing (airplanes) .....................................................................................................8 Rotary-wing (helicopters) ...............................................................................................8 Trainer, experimental, and orbital aircraft...................................................................9 Fixating on Fixed-Wing Aircraft..............................................................................................11 Fighter aircraft ...............................................................................................................11 Attack aircraft.................................................................................................................12 Multirole fighter/attack aircraft ...................................................................................13 Bomber aircraft ..............................................................................................................13 Cargo aircraft..................................................................................................................14 Reconnaissance/surveillance aircraft .........................................................................15 Rounding Up Rotary-Wing Aircraft ........................................................................................16 Utility helicopters ..........................................................................................................16 Attack helicopters..........................................................................................................17 Cargo helicopters...........................................................................................................18 Observation helicopters ...............................................................................................19 Brushing Up on Basic Military Rank Structure ....................................................................19 Enlisted personnel .........................................................................................................20 Warrant officers .............................................................................................................21 Commissioned officers ..................................................................................................21 Perusing Pay and Benefits ......................................................................................................23 Military pay .....................................................................................................................23 Educational benefits ......................................................................................................25 Medical and housing benefits ......................................................................................25 Retirement benefits .......................................................................................................26 Active duty retirement ........................................................................................26 Reserve duty retirement .....................................................................................26 Enjoying the military life ...............................................................................................27 Embracing a World of Opportunities after You Leave Active Duty ..................................27
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Military Flight Aptitude Tests For Dummies Chapter 2: Taking a Look at Training Programs .............................................................29 Exploring the Different Military Training Opportunities ....................................................29 Addressing Army aviation flight training programs ..................................................29 The Army mission and aircraft...........................................................................29 Army selection criteria/requirements for pilots and demographics ............30 Army flight training programs ............................................................................30 Eyeing Air Force flight training programs ..................................................................30 The Air Force mission and aircraft ....................................................................30 Air Force selection criteria/requirements and demographics .......................31 Air Force flight training programs .....................................................................32 Noting Navy and Marine Corps flight training programs .........................................33 Navy aviation mission and aircraft ....................................................................33 Marine Corps aviation mission and aircraft .....................................................33 Navy and Marine Corps selection criteria/requirements and demographics ............................................................................................33 Naval/Marine flight training programs ..............................................................33 Considering Coast Guard flight training programs ...................................................34 Coast Guard aviation mission and aircraft .......................................................34 Coast Guard selection criteria and demographics ..........................................34 Coast Guard flight training programs ................................................................35 Meeting the Other Basic Requirements ................................................................................35 Choosing Your Path to Becoming an Officer .......................................................................35
Chapter 3: Understanding the Tests at a Glance ............................................................37 Making Sense of the Major Question Types .........................................................................37 Verbal, word knowledge, and reading.........................................................................37 Math and arithmetic reasoning ....................................................................................37 General science ..............................................................................................................38 Mechanical function and comprehension ..................................................................38 Aviation and nautical information ...............................................................................38 Instrument comprehension ..........................................................................................38 Mental skills ....................................................................................................................38 Singling Out the Different Service Tests ...............................................................................38 The Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) .........................................................39 Selection Instrument for Flight Training (SIFT) .........................................................40 Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) ......................................................................41
Chapter 4: Tackling Test Prep and Test-Taking Strategies..........................................43 Studying Prior to Test Day .....................................................................................................43 Commit to a study schedule .........................................................................................43 Focus on your weakest skills ........................................................................................44 Practice taking tests ......................................................................................................44 Getting Ready for Test Day ....................................................................................................45 Arriving well rested .......................................................................................................45 Rescheduling if necessary ............................................................................................45 Dressing in layers...........................................................................................................46 Fueling up before the test .............................................................................................46 Go easy on the caffeine .......................................................................................46 Hydrate, but don’t overhydrate .........................................................................46 Arriving early ..................................................................................................................47 Packing for test day .......................................................................................................47 Mastering Multiple-Choice Questions ...................................................................................47 Reading (and understanding) the directions .............................................................47 Start with the easier questions ....................................................................................48 Maximize guesses with the process of elimination ...................................................48 Mark answers carefully .................................................................................................49
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Part II: Sharpening Your Language and Math Skills ...................... 51 Chapter 5: Brushing Up on Language Skills ....................................................................53 Beefing Up Your Vocabulary ..................................................................................................53 Read widely ....................................................................................................................53 Look for contextual clues .............................................................................................54 Look it up ........................................................................................................................54 Check out vocabulary builders and word games ......................................................54 Listen for unfamiliar words, too ..................................................................................54 Study! Study! Study! .......................................................................................................55 Make and use flashcards .....................................................................................55 Follow the 45-minutes-a-day plan.......................................................................55 Use it or lose it......................................................................................................55 Stick to the program ............................................................................................55 Inferring Meaning from Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes .........................................................56 Searching for Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms ........................................................59 Synonyms and antonyms ..............................................................................................59 Homonyms ......................................................................................................................60 Developing Meaningful Relationships with Analogies ........................................................60 Tackling the two types of analogy questions .............................................................61 Three words, you choose one ............................................................................61 Two words, you choose the right pair ..............................................................61 Using familiar relationships to your advantage .........................................................62 Minding Your Nouns and Verbs ............................................................................................62 Nouns ..............................................................................................................................62 Verbs ...............................................................................................................................63 Cruising through Reading Comprehension ..........................................................................64
Chapter 6: Language Skills Practice Test ........................................................................65 Analogies ..................................................................................................................................65 Word Definitions ......................................................................................................................69 Reading Comprehension ........................................................................................................72 Answer Key...............................................................................................................................77
Chapter 7: Getting a Handle on Mathematics Review ..................................................79 Brushing Up on the Basics .....................................................................................................79 Maintaining order in your operations .........................................................................80 Reinforcing fractions .....................................................................................................80 Adding and subtracting fractions ......................................................................81 Multiplying and dividing fractions .....................................................................82 Dealing with decimals ...................................................................................................82 Rounding up or down ..........................................................................................82 Adding and subtracting decimals ......................................................................82 Multiplying decimals ...........................................................................................83 Dividing decimals .................................................................................................83 Calculating percentages ................................................................................................83 Digging Up Roots and Radicals ..............................................................................................83 Converting Measurements .....................................................................................................84 Getting Up to Speed with Basic Algebra ...............................................................................84 Using mathematical operations to solve for x ...........................................................85 Examining algebra and exponents ...............................................................................85 Queuing up quadratic equations .................................................................................86 Shaping Up with Geometry.....................................................................................................86 Looking at lines ..............................................................................................................86 Addressing angles ..........................................................................................................87 Exploring the many sides of polygons ........................................................................89
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Military Flight Aptitude Tests For Dummies Finding your way around triangles ..............................................................................91 Considering special triangle relationships .......................................................93 Making room for medians ...................................................................................94 Grasping the basics of the Pythagorean theorem ...........................................94 Getting around to circles ..............................................................................................94 Calculating perimeter and area of geometrical shapes ............................................95 Squares, rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles .........................................95 Easy as pi: Circles ................................................................................................96 Working with volume ....................................................................................................96 Cubes and rectangular solids .............................................................................96 Cylinders ...............................................................................................................97 Statistics: Focusing on Math That Counts ............................................................................98
Chapter 8: Mathematics Practice Test .............................................................................99 Subtest 1: Whole Numbers and Integers ..............................................................................99 Subtest 2: Mathematical Operations .....................................................................................99 Subtest 3: Maintaining Order ...............................................................................................100 Subtest 4: Prime and Composite Numbers.........................................................................101 Subtest 5: Exponents .............................................................................................................102 Subtest 6: Fractions ...............................................................................................................102 Subtest 7: Dealing with Decimals.........................................................................................103 Subtest 8: Preparing Proportions ........................................................................................104 Subtest 9: Calculating Percentages .....................................................................................104 Subtest 10: Roots and Radicals ............................................................................................105 Subtest 11: Converting Measurements ...............................................................................105 Subtest 12: Basic Algebra .....................................................................................................106 Subtest 13: Geometry ............................................................................................................107 Subtest 14: Calculating Perimeter and Area .......................................................................108 Subtest 15: Calculating Volume ...........................................................................................109 Subtest 16: Statistics .............................................................................................................109 Answer Key.............................................................................................................................110
Part III: Honing Your Science, Aeronautical, and Mental Skills ..................................................................... 111 Chapter 9: Tackling Technical Information and Science Review ............................113 Brushing Up on the Metric System......................................................................................113 Reviewing units and abbreviations ...........................................................................114 Preparing for prefixes..................................................................................................114 Covering conversions and equivalents .....................................................................115 Taking the temperature: Going from Fahrenheit to Celsius and back ..................116 Wrapping Your Brain around the Scientific Method and Scientific Notation ................116 Getting Physical with the Natural Sciences .......................................................................117 Living it up with life sciences .....................................................................................117 Digging into the earth sciences ..................................................................................117 Geography ...........................................................................................................117 Geology ................................................................................................................118 Hydrology............................................................................................................118 Meteorology ........................................................................................................118 Astronomy ..........................................................................................................118
Table of Contents Cramming Life Science Essentials .......................................................................................118 Classifying all living things .........................................................................................119 All you wanted to know about cells ..........................................................................119 Cell theory ...........................................................................................................119 Cell parts .............................................................................................................120 How cells survive and thrive ............................................................................121 A systemic approach to human anatomy and physiology .....................................122 No bones about it: The skeletal system ..........................................................122 Putting some muscle on them bones ..............................................................122 The cardiovascular and respiratory systems ................................................122 Nervous? That’s your nervous system talking ...............................................123 The digestive system .........................................................................................123 The endocrine system: It’s a hormone thing ..................................................123 Making babies: The reproductive system .......................................................124 Flushing the system: The urinary system .......................................................124 The lymphatic system .......................................................................................124 Cracking Open the Chemistry Kit ........................................................................................124 What stuff’s made of ....................................................................................................125 Matter ..................................................................................................................125 Elements ..............................................................................................................125 Atoms...................................................................................................................125 Subatomic particles ...........................................................................................125 Orbital shells and valence electrons ...............................................................126 The periodic table........................................................................................................126 The different types of chemical reactions ................................................................127 How chemical reactions are written ................................................................127 It’s basic, or acidic .............................................................................................128 Picking up a Brief Course in Physics ...................................................................................128 Mass (and weight) .......................................................................................................128 Motion and Newton’s laws..........................................................................................128 Motion in a plane (not in an airplane).......................................................................129 Force ..............................................................................................................................129 Energy and work ..........................................................................................................130 Pulleys ...........................................................................................................................130 Levers ............................................................................................................................131 Fluids .............................................................................................................................132 Electricity ......................................................................................................................132 Sound and light waves ................................................................................................133 Pendulums ....................................................................................................................133 Getting down to Earth Science.............................................................................................134 Earth trivia ....................................................................................................................134 The earth in layers .......................................................................................................135 Layers of the planet ...........................................................................................135 Atmospheric layers ............................................................................................135 Exploring Your Solar System ...............................................................................................136 Sun facts and figures ...................................................................................................136 Closer to the sun: The inner planets .........................................................................136 Planets on the fringe: The outer planets...................................................................137 Not quite a planet: Pluto .............................................................................................137 Putting Science to Good Use: Applied Sciences ................................................................137 Digging agriculture: A major growth industry .........................................................137 Planting your roots in forestry ...................................................................................138 Keeping others healthy with the health sciences....................................................138 Medicine ..............................................................................................................138 Nutrition ..............................................................................................................138
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Military Flight Aptitude Tests For Dummies Chapter 10: Technical Information and Science Practice Test .................................139 Subtest 1: The Natural and Applied Sciences ....................................................................139 Subtest 2: The Metric System ..............................................................................................141 Subtest 3: The Scientific Method and Scientific Notation ................................................142 Subtest 4: Life Science Essentials ........................................................................................142 Subtest 5: Chemistry .............................................................................................................146 Subtest 6: Physics ..................................................................................................................148 Subtest 7: Earth Sciences......................................................................................................151 Subtest 8: Solar System .........................................................................................................152 Answer Key.............................................................................................................................153
Chapter 11: Basic Aeronautical Knowledge .................................................................155 Getting a Flying Start: Debating Pre-Test Flying Lessons .................................................155 Understanding the Basic Science of Flight .........................................................................156 Appreciating the atmosphere ....................................................................................156 Focusing on the four forces acting on an aircraft....................................................157 Knowing Newton’s three laws of motion ..................................................................158 Lifting off with the airfoil ............................................................................................158 Figuring out the Operation of Fixed-Wing Aircraft ............................................................159 Addressing aircraft axes of movement .....................................................................160 Whizzing through wing types and placement ..........................................................161 Looking at landing gear ...............................................................................................161 Perusing the primary flight controls .........................................................................161 Considering secondary flight controls ......................................................................162 Firing up for flight instruments ..................................................................................162 Altimeter..............................................................................................................162 Attitude indicator ...............................................................................................163 Turn indicators...................................................................................................164 Heading indicator ...............................................................................................164 Airspeed indicator and vertical speed indicator ...........................................165 Examining engines (piston and turbine)...................................................................166 Putting the instruments and plane setup concepts together ................................166 Reviewing the Components of Rotary-Wing Aircraft ........................................................172 Talking about types of rotor blade systems.............................................................172 Landing gear .................................................................................................................172 Peeking at primary flight controls .............................................................................173 Investigating flight instruments .................................................................................174 Revisiting engines (piston and turbine)....................................................................174 Understanding how the helicopter flies....................................................................174 Basic flight principles ........................................................................................174 Helicopter-specific flight principles.................................................................175 Sample Flight Lesson Plans ..................................................................................................176 Flight lesson #1 ............................................................................................................176 Non-flight content ..............................................................................................176 Flight content......................................................................................................177 Flight lesson #2 ............................................................................................................178 Non-flight content ..............................................................................................178 Flight content......................................................................................................178
Chapter 12: Basic Aeronautical Knowledge Practice Test ........................................179 Aeronautical Knowledge Test ..............................................................................................179 Answer Key.............................................................................................................................184
Table of Contents Chapter 13: Mastering Mental Skills Questions ...........................................................185 Breaking Down Block Counting ...........................................................................................185 One of These Things Is Just Like the Other: Checking out Rotated Blocks ...................189 Getting Help with Hidden Figures........................................................................................190 Assessing Spatial Apperception ..........................................................................................192 Conquering Instrument Comprehension ............................................................................196
Part IV: Practice Military Flight Aptitude Tests .......................... 199 Chapter 14: Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Practice Test ......................201 The Subtests of the AFOQT ..................................................................................................201 Answer Sheet..........................................................................................................................203 Subtest 1: Verbal Analogies ........................................................................................203 Subtest 2: Arithmetic Reasoning ................................................................................203 Subtest 3: Word Knowledge........................................................................................203 Subtest 4: Math Knowledge ........................................................................................204 Subtest 5: Instrument Comprehension .....................................................................204 Subtest 6: Block Counting ...........................................................................................204 Subtest 7: Table Reading.............................................................................................205 Subtest 8: Aviation Information .................................................................................205 Subtest 9: General Science ..........................................................................................205 Subtest 10: Rotated Blocks .........................................................................................206 Subtest 11: Hidden Figures .........................................................................................206 Subtest 12: Self-Description Inventory ......................................................................206
Chapter 15: Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Answers/Explanations ......................................................................................................253 Subtest 1: Verbal Analogies ..................................................................................................253 Subtest 2: Arithmetic Reasoning .........................................................................................254 Subtest 3: Word Knowledge .................................................................................................255 Subtest 4: Math Knowledge ..................................................................................................255 Subtest 5: Instrument Comprehension ...............................................................................257 Subtest 6: Block Counting.....................................................................................................257 Subtest 7: Table Reading ......................................................................................................257 Subtest 8: Aviation Information ...........................................................................................258 Subtest 9: General Science ...................................................................................................258 Subtest 10: Rotated Blocks ...................................................................................................259 Subtest 11: Hidden Figures ...................................................................................................260 Subtest 12: Self-Description Inventory ................................................................................261 Answers at a Glance ..............................................................................................................262
Chapter 16: Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) Practice Test ................................................................265 ASTB Test Structure ..............................................................................................................266 Answer Sheet..........................................................................................................................267 Subtest 1: Math Skills Test ..........................................................................................267 Subtest 2: Reading Skills Test .....................................................................................267 Subtest 3: Mechanical Comprehension Test ............................................................267 Subtest 4: Spatial Apperception Test ........................................................................268 Subtest 5: Aviation and Nautical Information ..........................................................268 Subtest 6: Aviation Supplemental Test .....................................................................268
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Military Flight Aptitude Tests For Dummies Chapter 17: Navy/Marine Corps/Coast Guard Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB) Answers/Explanations ...............................................307 Subtest 1: Math Skills Test ...................................................................................................307 Subtest 2: Reading Skills Test ..............................................................................................309 Subtest 3: Mechanical Comprehension Test ......................................................................310 Subtest 4: Spatial Apperception Test ..................................................................................312 Subtest 5: Aviation and Nautical Information ....................................................................312 Subtest 6: Aviation Supplemental Test ...............................................................................314 Answers at a Glance ..............................................................................................................316
Chapter 18: Army Selection Instrument for Flight Training (SIFT) Practice Test .......................................................................................................................319 SIFT Test Structure ................................................................................................................320 Answer Sheet..........................................................................................................................321 Subtest 1: Simple Drawings ........................................................................................321 Subtest 2: Hidden Figures ...........................................................................................321 Subtest 3: Army Aviation Information Test ..............................................................321 Subtest 4: Spatial Apperception Test ........................................................................321 Subtest 5: Reading Comprehension Test ..................................................................322 Subtest 6: Math Skills Test ..........................................................................................322 Subtest 7: Mechanical Comprehension Test ............................................................322
Chapter 19: Army Selection Instrument for Flight Training (SIFT) Answers/Explanations ......................................................................................................361 Subtest 1: Simple Drawings ..................................................................................................361 Subtest 2: Hidden Figures .....................................................................................................361 Subtest 3: Army Aviation Information Test ........................................................................363 Subtest 4: Spatial Apperception Test ..................................................................................364 Subtest 5: Reading Comprehension Test............................................................................364 Subtest 6: Math Skills Test ...................................................................................................365 Subtest 7: Mechanical Comprehension Test ......................................................................367 Answers at a Glance ..............................................................................................................369
Part V: The Part of Tens ............................................................ 371 Chapter 20: Ten Things to Do Before You Take the Test .............................................373 Determine Which Service You Want to Fly For .................................................................373 Attack Your Weak Areas .......................................................................................................373 Identifying your weaknesses ......................................................................................374 Getting started .............................................................................................................374 Making plans.................................................................................................................374 Finding the time ...........................................................................................................374 Stick to the Plan .....................................................................................................................375 Take Flying Lessons or Remain Current .............................................................................375 Boost Your Vocabulary and Read .......................................................................................375 Refresh Your Mathematical and Science Skills..................................................................375 Memorize Basic Mathematical and Scientific Formulas and Laws .................................376 Use Training Aids ..................................................................................................................376 Take Practice Exams .............................................................................................................376 Get Plenty of Rest Prior to the Exam...................................................................................377
Table of Contents Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Maximize Your Score ...........................................................379 Fuel Up Properly ....................................................................................................................379 Write Down Important Formulas .........................................................................................379 Don’t Watch the Clock ..........................................................................................................380 Read the Questions and Answer Choices Thoroughly .....................................................380 Don’t Bring Outside Knowledge to Reading Passages ......................................................380 Know the Order of Mathematical Operations....................................................................380 Develop the Fine Art of Guessing ........................................................................................381 Manage Your Time by Choosing Your Battles ...................................................................381 Watch Your Units and Conversions ....................................................................................381 Don’t Panic .............................................................................................................................381
Index ....................................................................................... 383
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Military Flight Aptitude Tests For Dummies
