What is on the HESI A2 Exam?

The HESI A2 test is used for nursing schools to screen applicants for admission into nursing programs. Also known as the Evolve Reach Admission Assessment, the HESI A2 is a multiple-choice test with five scored exam topics and one unscored personality assessment. Test-takers are allowed a maximum of five hours and fifteen minutes to complete the exam.

What Subjects are on the HESI A2 Exam?

So, with that time limit are you wondering what is on the HESI A2 test? Here’s a breakdown of the HESI A2 examination subjects and what to know for each.

English Language

The English Language section has 55 test items (50 scored and 5 pilot/unscored). It’s broken down into three sub-sections: Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and General Knowledge, and Grammar.

Reading Comprehension

This sub-section provides reading scenarios in order to measure reading comprehension, identifying the main idea, finding the meaning of words in context, passage comprehension, making logical inferences, etc. There are a lot of thematic questions involved in the reading comprehension section of the HESI A2. You’ll read a passage and the exam will ask you (in a variety of ways) if you understand the point. There will usually be around eight questions per passage. Here are some examples of thematic questions:

What is the author trying to imply with the last sentence in the third paragraph?
What can be inferred from this passage?
What is the author’s motivation for writing this passage?
What does the underlined word in the second paragraph mean?
What is the author trying to say in sentence seven?

Need some reading comprehension help? Check out this blog to ace this section on the HESI.

Vocabulary and General Knowledge

This sub-section contains vocabulary terms that are commonly used in both general English-speaking settings and in health care fields. You’ll pretty much be able to get through this section with context clues; however, if you’re not a natural vocabulary whiz, check out the most commonly asked vocabulary terms below.

Definition	Word
Sudden	abrupt
To voluntarily refrain from something.	abstain
A means to obtain entry or a means of approach	access
Responsible	accountable
To hold fast or stick together	adhere
Undesired, possibly harmful	adverse
Appearance of observable emotion	affect
Occurring every year	annual
To place, put on, or spread something	apply
Able to be heard	audible
Present on two sides	bilateral
Hard protective device applied to protect a broken bone	cast
Come to an end	cease
Off setting or making up for something	compensatory
An undesired problem that is the result of some other even	complication
Do as directed	comply
Rounded inward	concave
Brief, to the point	concise
Degree of viscosity; how thick or think a fluid is	consistency
To draw together or become smaller	constrict
Dependent (on)	contingent
Shape or outline of a shape	contour
To draw together; reduce in size	contract
Reason why something is not advisable or why it should not be done	contraindication
Expel feces	defecate
A deficiency or lack of something	deficit
Press downward	depress
Downward measurement from a surface	depth
Worsening	deteriorating
Tool or piece of equipment	device
The distance across the center of an object	diameter
To enlarge or expand	dilate
To make a liquid less concentrated	dilute
Distinct; separate	discrete
Enlarged or expanded from pressure	distended
To lift up or place in a higher position	elevate
Produced within the body	endogenous
To make worse or more severe	exacerbate
More than what is needed or usual	excess
Produced outside the body	exogenous
To increase in size or amount	expand
Contact	exposure
Located outside the body	external
Resulting in death	fatal
Extreme tiredness, exhaustion	fatigue
Limp, lacking tone	flaccid
Reddened or ruddy appearance	flushed
Wide open	gaping
Sex of an individual (male or female)	gender
Maintenance of body fluid balance	hydration
Measures contributing to cleanliness & good health	hygiene
Diminished or lacking some usual quality or level	impaired
Likely to occur soon	impending
Occurrence	incidence
Reddened, swollen, warm & tender	inflamed
To swallow for digestion	ingest
To begin or put into place	initiate
So gradual as to not become apparent for a long time	insidious
In place, unharmed	intact
Located within the body	internal
Inserting/entering into a body part	invasive
Changing rapidly & often	labile
Present, but not active or visible	latent
Difficult to arouse	lethargic
An indication or sign of a condition	manifestation
Substance or ingredient that provides nourishment	nutrient
Closed or obstructed	occluded
Significantly important & dangerous	ominous
Continuous	ongoing
Given through or affecting the mouth	oral
Obvious, easily observed	overt
A characteristic or constant factor	parameter
Beginning suddenly or abruptly	paroxysmal
Open	patent
Producing a strong effect	potent
Capable of occurring or likely to occur	potential
Preventative measure	precaution
Rapid, uncontrolled	precipitous
To make more susceptible or more likely to occur	predispose
Already present	preexisting
First or most significant	primary
Of great importance	priority
The anticipated or expected course or outcome	prognosis
The underlying reason	rationale
To occur again	recur
To limit	restrict
To hold or keep	retain
Location	site
Condition	status
Stringent, exact, complete	strict
To take in addition to or to complete	supplement
To stop or subdue	suppress
Being equal or the same size, shape and relative position	symmetric
An indication of a problem	symptom
Adverse or negative	untoward
To excrete, expel urine	urinate
Spoken, using words	verbal
Essential	vital
Excrete, expel urine	void
Amount of space occupied by a fluid	volume

Grammar

This sub-section contains basic grammar, including parts of speech, important terms and their uses, commonly occurring grammatical errors, etc. The test focuses a lot on questions like “Fill in the blank of the following sentence to make it most grammatically correct.” There are also questions that list multiple sentences and ask “Which of the following is incorrect?” This means that you need to know basic vocabulary and grammar rules; however, you should be able to use context clues to answer most questions accurately.

Check out our related blogs for 10 keys to passing the HESI A2 grammar section or some more tips on how to pass.

Is Math on the HESI A2 Exam?

The Math section has 55 test items (50 scored and 5 pilot/unscored) and has only one section: Basic Math Skills.

Basic Math Skills

This sub-section focuses on math skills needed for health care fields, including basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, decimals, ratio and proportion, household measures, general math facts, etc. Fortunately, you will be able to use a computer calculator on the HESI A2 test. You should know conversions, fractions, decimals, and word problems.

Fractions: You will need to understand fractions. This includes how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators and mixed numbers. If you can reduce fractions and find the common denominator, you will be fine with the HESI A2 fraction questions.
Word Questions: There are several word questions that are pretty basic with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Proportions: You must be able to find the value of X from a proportion and be able to make a proportion to find a percent. (Example: 47% of the class is female and the total number of students is 54. How many students are male?)
Conversions: There are basic conversions like liters to milliliters, ounces to cups, gallons to cups, kilograms to pounds, milliliters to ounces, etc.
Roman Numerals: Brush up on roman numerals (basic). There will be a few questions asking you to identify a roman numeral as a number. Below is a handy roman numerals table to learn from.

For more HESI A2 math help, check out our blog for 6 key topics to Pass the HESI A2 math section.

Person wearing hairnet looking through a microscope.

Science

The Science section has 30 test items (25 scored and 5 pilot/unscored). It’s broken down into three sub-sections: Biology, Chemistry, and Anatomy and Physiology.

Biology

The biology sub-section covers biology basics, water, biological molecules, metabolism, cells, cellular respiration, photosynthesis, etc. Here’s some more information on the HESI A2 biology section.

Chemistry

The chemistry sub-section contains test items that cover matter, chemical equations and reactions, the periodic table, atomic structure, nuclear chemistry, chemical bonding, etc. Here’s some more information on the HESI A2 chemistry section.

Anatomy and Physiology

The most difficult section of the HESI A2 is A&P. This sub-section provides coverage of general terminology and anatomical structures and systems.

Basic heart anatomy: Atriums and layers of the heart.
Circulatory system: Major arteries and veins.
Endocrine system: What glands secrete what hormones. What specific hormones do. How specific glands are regulated.
Joints: Know the basic joints of the body.
Muscles: There are a few basic muscle anatomy questions that may ask where a specific muscle is located.
Skeletal system: Know what bone is where and the four basic types of bones. Know what specific types of bone marrow do.
Nervous system: Know the sections of the brain and the cranial nerves. Understand the ear and eye anatomy. Know each organ in the nervous system and what they do.
Cell organelles: Know the organelles of the cell and what they do.

Here’s a complete breakdown of the HESI A2 Anatomy and Physiology subjects. Looking for some A&P practice questions? Check out 10 sample questions here.