CCNY MATH PLACEMENT TEST
Sample Problems
The CCNY Math Placement Test is administered to all incoming freshman and is used for
placement into mathematics and mathematics related courses. All incoming freshman who
have met CUNY's proficiency requirement in math are required to take the CCNY Math
Placement Test.
This test does not affect your acceptance into the college. However, it does affect which course
you will be eligible to take based on your major requirements and/or major entry criteria.
The CCNY Math Placement Test is in-person, timed, multiple choice, and computer-based.
There are 5 sections, each with 10 questions: Arithmetic, Algebra Part I, Algebra Part II,
Trigonometry, and Pre-calculus. You have 30 minutes to complete each section.
You are not permitted to use Calculators while taking the test.
Scores on the CCNY Math Placement Test are valid only for City College and you may only take
this test once.
Please note that the following test sample is designed to give you a preview of the types
of questions you will see on the CCNY Math Placement Test. It is NOT an exact copy of the test.
1
1) 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 10
1− 1
14 15
(a) 21
(b) 20
(c) 25
(d) 18
(e) 23
2) Express the repeating decimal 1. 16 as a fraction
16
(a) 1 99
17
(b) 1
99
15
(c) 1 99
16
(d) 100
16
(e) 1 100
3) 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 − 6 𝑎𝑛𝑑 5
(a) 5.5
(b) −1
(c) 1
(d) −11
(e) 11
4) Write the number 0.003352 in scientific notation
(a) 3.352 × 10−1
(b) 3.352 × 102
(c) 3.352 × 10−2
(d) 3.352 × 10−3
(e) −3.352 × 102
2 −2
5) Evaluate the expression (5)
25
(a) −
4
25
(b) 4
1
(c) 4
4
(d) − 25
4
(e) 25
2 5
6) Evaluate the number 77 ∙ 77
(a) 1
(b) 7
10
(c) 749
(d) √7
10
(e) 1449
7) Perform the indicated operations and simplify.
(𝑥 2 + 𝑥 − 2) (𝑥 3 − 𝑥 + 8)
(a) 𝑥 5 + 3𝑥 4 − 𝑥 3 + 7𝑥 2 − 10𝑥 + 16
(b) 𝑥 5 − 𝑥 4 + 3𝑥 3 − 7𝑥 2 + 10𝑥 − 16
(c) 𝑥 5 + 𝑥 4 + 3𝑥 3 − 7𝑥 2 − 𝑥 − 8
(d) 𝑥 5 − 7𝑥 4 − 3𝑥 2 + 𝑥 2 − 10𝑥 + 2
(e) 𝑥 5 + 𝑥 4 − 3𝑥 3 + 7𝑥 2 + 10𝑥 − 16
8) 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 (𝑥 − 9)(𝑥 + 6)2 − (𝑥 − 9)2 (𝑥 + 6)
(a) (15𝑥 + 90)(𝑥 − 9)
(b) 15(𝑥 + 6)(𝑥 + 9)
(c) 15(𝑥 + 6)(𝑥 − 9)
(d) 15(𝑥 − 6)(𝑥 + 9)
(e) (𝑥 + 6)(15𝑥 − 135)
3𝑥 2
9) 𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛
6𝑥+𝑥 2
3𝑥 2
(a) 6+𝑥
3𝑥
(b) 6+𝑥 2
𝑥2
(c) 3+𝑥
𝑥
(d) 3+𝑥
3𝑥
(e)
6+𝑥
10) 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 7𝑤 + 16 = −15𝑤
(a) 2
(b) 3
(c) −2
(d) 16
(e) −3
11) 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
49𝑥 ≤ 𝑥 3
(a) [−7, −1] ∪ [7, ∞)
(b) [−9, 0] ∪ [9, ∞)
(c) [−10, 0] ∪ [10, ∞)
(d) [−8, 0] ∪ [8, ∞)
(e) [−7, 0] ∪ [7, ∞)
12) 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 (3, −4) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 (9,4)
(a) 𝑎) 64
(b) 𝑏) 6
(c) 𝑐) √10
(d) 𝑑) 10
(e) 𝑒) 100
13) 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑃(−4, −3) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑄(3,4)
(a) 𝑎) 𝑚 = −4
(b) 𝑏) 𝑚 = 1
(c) 𝑐) 𝑚 = 2
(d) 𝑑) 𝑚 = 4
(e) 𝑒) 𝑚 = 7
14) 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑓 ∘ 𝑔
𝑥3
𝐺(𝑥) =
𝑥3 + 2
𝑥
(a) 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 3 , 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥−2
𝑥
(b) 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 3 , 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥+2
𝑥
(c) 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥+2 , 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥 3
𝑥
(d) 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 3 + 2, 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥+2
𝑥
(e) 𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥−2 , 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥 3
15) 𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐼𝑓 𝑔(𝑥) = 𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑥 ≥ −2, 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑔−1 (2)
(a) −2
(b) 4
(c) 4 + √4
(d) −4
(e) −2 + √6
16) 𝐸𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑔7 343
(a) 343
(b) 7
(c) none of these
(d) 3
(e) 49
17) 𝑊𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝜃 𝑖𝑛 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐼𝐼𝐼
(a) 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = −√1 − 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
(b) 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = −√1 − sin2 𝜃
(c) 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 = √1 − sin2 𝜃
(d) No correct answer
3 √7
18) 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡 𝑖𝑠 ( , ). 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑡 , cos 𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 tan 𝑡.
4 4
7 3 7
(a) sin 𝑡 = 4 , cos 𝑡 = 4 , tan 𝑡 = 3
√7 3 √7
(b) sin 𝑡 = 4
, cos 𝑡 = 4 , tan 𝑡 = 3
√3 7 √7
(c) sin 𝑡 = 4
, cos 𝑡 = 4 , tan 𝑡 = 3
CCNY Math Placement Practice Problems - Answer key
1. a
2. a
3. e
4. d
5. b
6. b
7. e
8. c
9. e
10. c
11. e
12. d
13. b
14. c
15. e
16. d
17. b
18. b