CNA Practice Test
This is a free 15-question sampler in the style of the written portion of the CNA certification exam. It covers vital signs, infection control, safe transfers, personal care, resident rights and emergency response, mixing multiple choice, select all that apply and fill in the blank. Answer all 15 questions, then check your score and read the explanation for every question.
What is the normal resting pulse range for a healthy adult, in beats per minute?
All 15 questions at a glance
Prefer to read before you play? Every question in the sampler is listed below. Answers and explanations stay collapsed until you open them.
1. What is the normal resting pulse range for a healthy adult, in beats per minute?
- A. 40 to 60
- B. 60 to 100
- C. 100 to 120
- D. 120 to 140
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 60 to 100
A normal adult resting pulse is 60 to 100 beats per minute. A rate below 60 or above 100 should be reported to the nurse, along with whether the pulse felt regular, weak or bounding.
2. When is an alcohol-based hand rub NOT an acceptable substitute for washing with soap and water?
- A. Before entering a resident's room
- B. When your hands are visibly soiled
- C. After removing your gloves
- D. After touching a bed rail
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. When your hands are visibly soiled
Alcohol rubs do not remove visible dirt or body fluids, so hands that look or feel soiled must be washed with soap and running water. Soap and water are also required after caring for a resident with C. diff, because alcohol does not kill its spores.
3. Where should a gait belt be applied before a transfer?
- A. Around the chest, under the arms
- B. Around the waist, over the resident's clothing
- C. Around the waist, directly against bare skin
- D. Around the hips, below the buttocks
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Around the waist, over the resident's clothing
The gait belt goes around the waist over clothing, snug enough that you can slide a flat hand underneath. Placing it on bare skin can pinch and bruise, and placing it under the arms or over the chest can restrict breathing.
4. Which of the following are part of standard precautions?
Select all that apply.
- A. Wearing gloves whenever contact with blood or body fluids is likely
- B. Performing hand hygiene before and after every resident contact
- C. Placing used needles in a puncture-resistant sharps container
- D. Wearing gloves only for residents with a known infection
- E. Wearing the same gown for the next resident to save supplies
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Wearing gloves whenever contact with blood or body fluids is likely, B. Performing hand hygiene before and after every resident contact, C. Placing used needles in a puncture-resistant sharps container
Standard precautions apply to every resident, all the time, because you cannot tell by looking who carries an infection. Gowns and gloves are single use and are removed before you leave the room, never carried to the next resident.
5. Complete the sentence.
If a resident starts to fall while you are walking with them, you should _____.
Options for blank 1: hold them upright and try to stop the fall, ease them to the floor while protecting the head, step back and let them fall clear of you, pull them back up by one arm
Show answer and explanation
Answer: ease them to the floor while protecting the head
You cannot safely stop a falling adult, and trying to injures both of you. Use the gait belt to guide the resident down along your leg, protect the head, then stay with them and call for the nurse.
6. A resident suddenly cannot speak, cough or breathe while eating. What should the CNA do?
- A. Encourage the resident to keep coughing
- B. Give abdominal thrusts and call for help
- C. Offer sips of water to wash the food down
- D. Lay the resident down and wait for the nurse
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Give abdominal thrusts and call for help
No speech, no cough and no air means a complete airway obstruction, which calls for abdominal thrusts in a responsive adult. Encouraging coughing is right only for a partial obstruction, where the resident can still cough or make sound.
7. In the fire safety acronym RACE, what does the R stand for?
- A. Report the fire to the front desk
- B. Rescue anyone in immediate danger
- C. Remove all oxygen equipment
- D. Run to the nearest exit
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Rescue anyone in immediate danger
RACE stands for Rescue, Alarm, Confine, Extinguish. You move anyone in immediate danger first, then pull the alarm, close doors to confine the fire, and only use an extinguisher on a small fire if you are trained and it is safe.
8. Which of the following actions respect a resident's rights and dignity during personal care?
Select all that apply.
- A. Knocking and waiting for permission before entering the room
- B. Explaining what you are going to do before you start
- C. Closing the door and pulling the privacy curtain
- D. Discussing the resident's condition with coworkers in the hallway
- E. Choosing the resident's clothes for them to save time
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Knocking and waiting for permission before entering the room, B. Explaining what you are going to do before you start, C. Closing the door and pulling the privacy curtain
Residents keep the right to privacy, to be informed and to make their own choices, including what to wear. Talking about a resident where others can hear breaks confidentiality, and deciding for a resident who is able to choose takes away their independence.
9. A CNA walks into a room and finds a resident lying on the floor beside the bed. What should the CNA do first?
- A. Help the resident back into bed right away
- B. Stay with the resident, call for the nurse and do not move them
- C. Look for the family before doing anything
- D. Finish the rest of the rounds and report it at the end of the shift
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Stay with the resident, call for the nurse and do not move them
Moving a resident who may have a fracture or head injury can make the injury worse, so stay with them and get the nurse to assess first. Every fall is an incident that must be reported right away and documented on an incident report, even if the resident says they feel fine.
10. Complete the sentence.
When transferring a resident with one-sided weakness from the bed to a wheelchair, place the wheelchair on the resident's _____ side.
Options for blank 1: weaker, stronger, left, right
Show answer and explanation
Answer: stronger
Positioning the chair on the stronger side lets the resident lead with the leg and arm that can bear weight. Lock the wheels, put the footrests out of the way, and keep the transfer short by placing the chair close to the bed.
11. While performing passive range of motion exercises, the resident says a movement hurts. What should the CNA do?
- A. Push a little past the pain to keep the joint flexible
- B. Stop that movement and report the pain to the nurse
- C. Repeat the movement faster so it is over sooner
- D. Continue and mention it at the end of the shift
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Stop that movement and report the pain to the nurse
Range of motion is moved only to the point of resistance, never through pain, because forcing a joint can tear tissue or cause a fracture. Stop the movement and report it, since new pain can be the first sign of an injury or another problem.
12. When giving perineal care to a female resident, the CNA should clean:
- A. From back to front
- B. From front to back
- C. In circles starting at the rectum
- D. From side to side, starting at the anus
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. From front to back
Wiping from front to back moves bacteria away from the urethra instead of toward it, which lowers the risk of urinary tract infection. Use a clean area of the washcloth for each stroke so you are not spreading what you just wiped away.
13. Which of the following are bony areas at high risk for pressure injuries?
Select all that apply.
- A. The sacrum, at the base of the spine
- B. The heels
- C. The hip, over the greater trochanter
- D. The abdomen
- E. The palms of the hands
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The sacrum, at the base of the spine, B. The heels, C. The hip, over the greater trochanter
Pressure injuries form where bone presses skin against a surface, so the sacrum and heels are the classic sites for a resident lying on their back, and the hip is the classic site for side-lying. Soft, padded areas like the abdomen and palms carry far less risk, which is why repositioning at least every two hours targets the bony points.
14. Complete the sentence.
The average normal oral temperature for an adult is about _____ degrees Fahrenheit.
Options for blank 1: 96.8, 97.6, 98.6, 100.4
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 98.6
98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37 degrees Celsius, is the standard average oral temperature, though normal varies a little by person and time of day. Site matters too: rectal readings run about a degree higher and axillary readings about a degree lower than oral.
15. A CNA notices unexplained bruises on a resident and sees the resident flinch when a particular staff member walks in. What must the CNA do?
- A. Report the observation to the nurse or supervisor immediately
- B. Watch for a few more days to be sure before saying anything
- C. Ask the other staff member privately what happened
- D. Write it down at home and keep it to themselves
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Report the observation to the nurse or supervisor immediately
Nursing assistants are mandatory reporters, and the duty is to report a suspicion, not a proven case. Investigating on your own delays protection for the resident and can destroy evidence, so pass the observation up the chain right away and document exactly what you saw.
What's actually on the CNA exam
The CNA certification exam has two separate parts, and you have to pass both. The first is a written knowledge test, usually around 60 multiple-choice questions covering care skills, basic nursing, infection control, safety, resident rights and communication. The second is a hands-on skills evaluation, where an evaluator watches you perform a small set of nursing assistant skills on a person or a mannequin and scores each required step.
The exam is state-administered, so the details are set by your state and its testing vendor, not by one national body. The number of questions, the time limit, the passing score, how many skills you are asked to perform and how many attempts you get all vary from state to state. Many states also offer the knowledge test in an oral format for candidates who read slowly or read better in another language. Check your own state's candidate handbook for the numbers that apply to you, because a figure you read on a forum may be from a different state.
One thing is close to universal: handwashing is almost always one of the skills you are asked to demonstrate, and skipping a single scored step, such as turning the faucet off with a clean paper towel, can fail the whole skill. The skills portion rewards a fixed routine more than it rewards knowledge, which is why candidates who pass the written test can still fail the practical if they never rehearsed the steps out loud.
How to use this sampler
These 15 questions only practice the written part. They follow the same content mix the knowledge test uses: vital signs and basic nursing skills, personal care and activities of daily living, infection control, safety and emergencies, resident rights and communication, plus the anatomy you need to give care safely. Nothing here can substitute for the skills evaluation, which you have to rehearse with your hands.
Take it in one sitting without notes, then read the explanation for every question, including the ones you got right. A wrong answer points at a topic, not just a fact. If you missed the gait belt question and the wheelchair placement question, review transfer technique as a whole rather than memorizing those two answers.
For the skills portion, practice differently. Pick one skill, say the steps out loud in order, and have a classmate check them off against your state's skill checklist. Then do it again against the clock. The steps most often missed are the quiet ones: privacy, hand hygiene at the right moments, placing the call light within reach and lowering the bed before you leave.
How StudyPDF builds full practice tests from your own materials
Fifteen questions can show you which areas are shaky. They cannot get you ready on their own, and generic question banks often ignore what your own program and your state's checklist emphasize.
StudyPDF works from your material instead. You upload your CNA textbook, class handouts or the skills checklist your instructor gave you, and Bo, the study agent, builds full-length practice tests from those exact pages. Every question is grounded in your material, and every explanation cites where the answer comes from, so you can check the source when something looks off. You can regenerate fresh tests as often as you want, narrow them to one area like infection control or transfers, and track which topics you keep missing. Starting is free.
Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated 2026-08-19.