ASVAB Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

Scoring in one box

• AFQT = AR + MK + PC + WK standard scores → percentile 1-99 vs national 18-23 sample
• Categories: I 93-99 · II 65-92 · IIIA 50-64 · IIIB 31-49 · IV 10-30 · V 1-9 — each branch sets its own minimum
• Technical subtests (GS/EI/AI/SI/MC/AO) feed job line scores, not the AFQT
• Standard scores: ~half the population ≥50, ~16% ≥60

CAT-ASVAB mechanics

• Adaptive: right answer → harder item · wrong → easier · no going back
• Scored questions/time (no tryouts): GS 15/12 · AR 15/55 · WK 15/9 · PC 10/27 · MK 15/31 · EI 15/10 · AI 10/7 · SI 10/6 · MC 15/22 · AO 15/18
• Run out of time → unfinished items scored as random guesses (penalty); limits are liberal, keep moving
• Paper version: AI+SI merge into AS, no AO — only a handful of MET sites still use it

Math anchors

• D = R × T (and both rearrangements) · better buy = unit price, never total
• % increase = change ÷ original · simple interest = P × r × t
• Ratio a:b of a total → divide by a+b parts first · crew jobs conserve worker-hours (inverse!)
• Fencing = perimeter · paint/sod = area · boxes = l×w×h volume
• Supplementary 180° (straight) · complementary 90° (corner) · distribute EVERY term in parentheses
• Strict inequality excludes the boundary — test the planted boundary choice

Verbal anchors

• WK: substitute each choice into the sentence · beware the planted antonym
• Roots: rect=straight · cis=cut · im-/in-=not · spec=look · port=carry
• PC: the answer is IN the passage — real-world-true but text-absent = trap · most modest inference wins
• 9 minutes for 15 WK items — instinct, don't deliberate

Science & technical anchors

• Water: 32°F melts / 212°F boils · sound speed: solids > liquids > gases > nothing in vacuum
• Photosynthesis stores energy; respiration releases it · arteries = away from heart (direction, not oxygen)
• Ohm's law triangle: V = I × R · ohms=resistance, volts=pressure, amps=flow, watts=power
• Series: same current, voltage divides · parallel: same voltage, current divides · fuse/breaker = overcurrent protection
• Four-stroke: intake → compression → power → exhaust · alternator charges, battery starts
• MA = load ÷ effort · meshed gears counter-rotate, speed ∝ 1/teeth · fixed pulley redirects, movable multiplies · Pascal: confined fluid transmits pressure equally

Logistics

• 65 MEPS + MET sites · valid ID required · late = turned away
• Retest clock: 1 month → 1 month → 6 months · AFQT +20 in 6 months → mandatory C-Test
• Peak once: build the study plan around the attempt that counts