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HESI A2 Mathematics: Percentages practice questions

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These are original practice items written to the HESI A2 blueprint (4 options, no penalty for wrong answers), not actual exam questions. Try each one before you open the answer.

What this topic covers

Mathematics: Percentages sits inside the Mathematics section of the HESI A2. Our bank holds 33 verified items tagged to it, and the 4 below are a fixed sample so the page stays the same every time you open it. Each one shows the reasoning, not just the letter.

The topic tag comes from our own items rather than from a published syllabus, so treat it as a map of what we cover. For the official section breakdown see the HESI A2 page.

Mathematics: Percentages sample questions

Question 1

A patient's temperature dropped from 102°F to 97.5°F. What is the percent decrease? (Round to the nearest tenth of a percent.)

  1. A 4.6%
  2. B 5.0%
  3. C 4.5%
  4. D 4.4%
Show the answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Decrease = 102 - 97.5 = 4.5°F. Percent decrease = (4.5 / 102) × 100 ≈ 4.4118%, which rounds to 4.4%.

Why the other options are wrong:
A: 4.6% might come from rounding 4.4118% up incorrectly or using 4.5/97.5 ≈ 4.6%.
B: 5.0% might come from using 5 as the decrease (102 - 97 = 5) or dividing by 100 instead of 102.
C: 4.5% would result from using the decrease as the percentage without dividing by the original (4.5/100 = 4.5%).

Question 2

A patient's hematocrit is 42%. The normal range is 37% to 47%. What percentage of the normal range does this value represent? (Assume the normal range is a continuous interval.)

  1. A 50%
  2. B 89%
  3. C 42%
  4. D 60%
Show the answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

The normal range spans 10 percentage points (47 – 37 = 10). The patient's value of 42% is 5 points above the lower bound (42 – 37 = 5). So it is 5/10 = 50% of the range.

Why the other options are wrong:
B: 89% is approximately 42/47, which compares the value to the upper bound, not the range.
C: 42% is the patient's hematocrit value, not the percentage of the range.
D: 60% might come from 42/37? No, that is over 100%. Possibly a miscalculation.

Question 3

A patient receives a hospital bill of $2,500. The insurance policy covers 80% of the charges. How much must the patient pay out of pocket?

  1. A $500
  2. B $2,000
  3. C $625
  4. D $250
Show the answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

Patient pays 20% of $2,500. 0.20 × 2500 = $500.

Why the other options are wrong:
B: $2,000 is 80% of the bill, which is the insurance portion, not the patient's share.
C: $625 is 25% of $2,500, not the correct 20%.
D: $250 is 10% of the bill, half of the required 20%.

Question 4

A nurse must administer a 0.9% saline solution. If the patient needs 500 mL of this solution, how many grams of sodium chloride are in the solution? (Assume 1 mL = 1 g for water; 0.9% means 0.9 g per 100 mL.)

  1. A 4.5 g
  2. B 0.45 g
  3. C 45 g
  4. D 9.0 g
Show the answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

0.9% of 500 mL = 0.009 × 500 = 4.5 g. Alternatively, 0.9 g per 100 mL, so for 500 mL: 0.9 × 5 = 4.5 g.

Why the other options are wrong:
B: 0.45 g results from using 0.09% (0.0009 × 500).
C: 45 g results from using 9% (0.09 × 500) or misplacing the decimal.
D: 9.0 g results from using 0.9 g per 100 mL but multiplying by 10 (for 1000 mL) instead of 5.

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