5.1 Levels 3-5 practice set

How to Use This Practice Set

Levels 3-5 make up the foundation of the ACT WorkKeys Applied Math assessment. At these levels you translate a short workplace scenario into a single calculation, or at most two connected steps. The numbers are clean, the units are familiar, and the formula sheet plus your calculator do most of the heavy lifting. The skill being tested is not fancy math; it is reading the problem carefully, choosing the correct operation, and keeping your units straight.

Every item in this set mirrors the kinds of jobs that rely on Level 3-5 math every day: retail cashiers making change, manufacturing operators counting output, health aides tracking time, and construction helpers measuring floors. Work each walkthrough below with paper and calculator before you attempt the five quiz questions.

Level 3 - one operation, whole numbers and money

At Level 3 you perform a single operation. The hardest part is deciding whether to add, subtract, multiply, or divide.

Worked example (retail): A cashier rings up 6 identical phone chargers priced at $12 each. What is the subtotal before tax?

• Identify the operation: "6 identical items at the same price" signals multiplication.
• Set up: 6 x $12.
• Compute: 6 x 12 = $72.

Worked example (making change): A customer pays with a $50 bill for a $36 purchase. How much change is owed?

• Operation: total paid minus total owed, which is subtraction.
• Set up: $50 - $36 = $14.

Level 4 - two steps, percentages, and simple rates

Level 4 usually chains two operations, or introduces a percentage or a rate.

Worked example (percent discount, health supply store): A blood-pressure monitor lists for $80 and is marked 25% off. What is the sale price?

1. Find the discount: 25% = 0.25, so 0.25 x $80 = $20.
2. Subtract from the list price: $80 - $20 = $60.

A faster one-step shortcut is to pay 75% of the price: 0.75 x $80 = $60. Either path is fine; use whichever you trust more under time pressure.

Worked example (unit rate, manufacturing): An operator produces 350 units in a 7-hour shift. What is the production rate per hour?

• "Per hour" means divide the total by the hours.
• 350 / 7 = 50 units per hour.

Worked example (unit price, warehouse): A case of 24 water bottles costs $8.64. What is the price per bottle?

• $8.64 / 24 = $0.36 per bottle.

Level 5 - measurement, area, and multi-step money

Level 5 introduces basic geometry from the formula sheet and combines a couple of operations.

Worked example (area, construction): A crew must tile a rectangular break room that is 10 ft long and 9 ft wide. How many square feet of tile are needed?

• Area of a rectangle = length x width (formula sheet).
• 10 x 9 = 90 square feet.

Worked example (elapsed time, healthcare): A caregiver begins a medication log at 6:00 AM and must record a reading every 45 minutes. What time is the third reading, three intervals after the start?

1. Total time = 3 x 45 minutes = 135 minutes.
2. 135 minutes = 2 hours 15 minutes.
3. 6:00 AM + 2:15 = 8:15 AM.

Worked example (two-step money, retail): A clerk sells 4 notebooks at $2.25 each and 3 pens at $1.50 each. What is the total?

1. Notebooks: 4 x $2.25 = $9.00.
2. Pens: 3 x $1.50 = $4.50.
3. Add: $9.00 + $4.50 = $13.50.

Quick reference for Levels 3-5

Test-day habits that protect easy points

• Underline the question. Mark exactly what is asked: a total, a rate, a leftover amount, or a clock time.
• Write the units. "$0.36 per bottle" is right; a bare "36" invites a place-value mistake.
• Estimate first. If 25% off $80 should land a bit under $80, then an answer of $100 is obviously wrong and you can eliminate it immediately.
• Trust the formula sheet for area even when the shape looks obvious; it prevents length-times-width slips when the clock is running.
• Do not round early. On the rare two-step item that involves cents, carry the exact figure until the last line, then round to the nearest cent.

Read each of the five questions below slowly, decide on the operation before you touch the calculator, and confirm that your answer's units match what the question asks. These items are representative of the easier two-thirds of a real WorkKeys form, so treat them as guaranteed points that you do not want to give away to a careless setup or a skipped unit.