EMT Practice Test
This is a free 15-question sampler covering the core knowledge taught in an EMT-Basic course. It works through patient assessment, airway adjuncts, ventilation, vital sign ranges by age, bleeding control and splinting, and the common medical and obstetric emergencies, 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.
You have finished the scene size-up on a medical call. What comes next?
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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. You have finished the scene size-up on a medical call. What comes next?
- A. A full set of baseline vital signs
- B. The primary assessment, checking responsiveness, airway, breathing and circulation
- C. A SAMPLE history from the patient
- D. A detailed head to toe physical exam
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The primary assessment, checking responsiveness, airway, breathing and circulation
The primary assessment exists to find and treat immediate threats to life, so it comes before any history taking or detailed exam. Vital signs, SAMPLE history and the secondary assessment all belong to the next phase, and they wait until the airway, breathing and circulation problems you found have been managed.
2. Complete the sentence.
An oropharyngeal airway is the correct size when it measures from the corner of the patient's mouth to _____.
Options for blank 1: the tip of the nose, the angle of the jaw, the thyroid cartilage, the top of the shoulder
Show answer and explanation
Answer: the angle of the jaw
An OPA is measured from the corner of the mouth to the angle of the jaw, or from the center of the mouth to the earlobe, which gives the same length. One that is too long can push the epiglottis over the opening of the trachea, and one that is too short just presses the tongue further back into the pharynx.
3. Which finding is a reason to avoid inserting a nasopharyngeal airway?
- A. The patient still has an intact gag reflex
- B. Clear fluid draining from the nose after a head injury
- C. The patient is snoring with each breath
- D. The patient is unresponsive but breathing on their own
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Clear fluid draining from the nose after a head injury
Clear fluid from the nose or ears after head trauma suggests a basilar skull fracture, and a nasal airway inserted through that fracture can enter the cranial vault, so severe head or midface trauma is a contraindication. An intact gag reflex is the opposite of a problem here: it rules out an OPA but is exactly why the NPA is chosen, since most patients tolerate it.
4. Complete the sentence.
When ventilating an adult who is not breathing but still has a pulse, deliver one breath every _____ seconds.
Options for blank 1: 2, 4, 6, 10
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 6
One breath every 6 seconds works out to 10 breaths per minute, which is the current rate for rescue ventilation of an adult with a pulse. Each breath is given over about one second and only until the chest visibly rises, because faster or larger breaths push air into the stomach and raise the risk of vomiting.
5. The AED delivers a shock to an adult in cardiac arrest. What should you do immediately after the shock?
- A. Check for a carotid pulse for up to 10 seconds
- B. Resume chest compressions right away and continue for about two minutes
- C. Let the AED analyze the rhythm again
- D. Give two rescue breaths before touching the chest
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Resume chest compressions right away and continue for about two minutes
Compressions restart immediately after a shock, because a heart that has just been defibrillated rarely produces a pulse straight away and every pause lets coronary perfusion fall. You run about two minutes of CPR before letting the AED analyze again, and you pause for a rhythm or pulse check only when the device tells you to.
6. Which of these resting vital signs are within the normal range for the age given?
Select all that apply.
- A. An adult with a respiratory rate of 16 breaths per minute
- B. A 6-month-old infant with a heart rate of 130 beats per minute
- C. A 5-year-old with a respiratory rate of 24 breaths per minute
- D. An adult with a heart rate of 42 beats per minute
- E. A newborn with a respiratory rate of 10 breaths per minute
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. An adult with a respiratory rate of 16 breaths per minute, B. A 6-month-old infant with a heart rate of 130 beats per minute, C. A 5-year-old with a respiratory rate of 24 breaths per minute
Normal resting ranges tighten and slow as a patient gets older: an infant runs roughly 100 to 160 beats per minute, a preschool child breathes about 20 to 28 times per minute, and a healthy adult sits at 60 to 100 beats and 12 to 20 breaths per minute. That is why an adult heart rate of 42 and a newborn respiratory rate of 10 are both red flags, since a newborn normally breathes around 30 to 60 times per minute.
7. Which of the following belong to correct splinting of a suspected forearm fracture?
Select all that apply.
- A. Check pulse, motor function and sensation before and after applying the splint
- B. Immobilize the joint above and the joint below the injury site
- C. Cover any open wound with a sterile dressing before the splint goes on
- D. Force the limb straight even if you meet resistance or the patient screams
- E. Loosen and lift the splint every few minutes to look at the deformity
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Check pulse, motor function and sensation before and after applying the splint, B. Immobilize the joint above and the joint below the injury site, C. Cover any open wound with a sterile dressing before the splint goes on
A splint is only as good as the circulation it leaves behind, so distal pulse, motor function and sensation are documented before and after, and the splint must cross the joints on both sides of the break to stop movement. Forcing an angulated limb straight against resistance can drive bone ends into vessels or nerves, and repeatedly disturbing a finished splint just restarts the bleeding and the pain.
8. Bright red blood is spurting from a laceration on a patient's forearm. What should you do first?
- A. Apply a tourniquet above the elbow
- B. Apply firm direct pressure over the wound with a sterile dressing
- C. Elevate the arm above the level of the heart
- D. Apply a cold pack to slow the bleeding
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Apply firm direct pressure over the wound with a sterile dressing
Direct pressure controls the large majority of external bleeding and is always the first step, held firmly and without lifting the dressing to peek. If direct pressure fails to control life-threatening bleeding from a limb, move straight to a tourniquet placed a few inches above the wound and never over a joint, tighten it until the bleeding stops, and write down the time it went on.
9. The Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale checks which three findings?
Select all that apply.
- A. Facial droop when the patient smiles or shows their teeth
- B. Arm drift when both arms are held out with the eyes closed
- C. Abnormal speech when the patient repeats a simple sentence
- D. A difference in pupil size between the two eyes
- E. Grip strength measured against your own hands
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Facial droop when the patient smiles or shows their teeth, B. Arm drift when both arms are held out with the eyes closed, C. Abnormal speech when the patient repeats a simple sentence
The Cincinnati scale is deliberately short: facial droop, arm drift and abnormal speech, with any single abnormal finding making a stroke likely enough to act on. Pupils and grip are part of a broader neurologic exam but are not in this scale, and the number that matters most to the hospital is the time the patient was last known to be well.
10. A known diabetic is awake, confused and sweaty, and can follow simple commands and swallow. What is the appropriate EMT action?
- A. Give oral glucose and reassess the mental status
- B. Give nothing by mouth and wait for the hospital
- C. Give an epinephrine auto-injector
- D. Have the patient drink a large glass of water
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Give oral glucose and reassess the mental status
Oral glucose is indicated for suspected hypoglycemia in a patient who is awake enough to swallow and protect their own airway, which this patient is. The moment a patient becomes too drowsy to swallow safely, nothing goes in the mouth, because the sugar gel will end up in the lungs instead of the stomach.
11. Where is an epinephrine auto-injector given to a patient in anaphylaxis?
- A. Into the upper outer arm
- B. Into the mid outer thigh
- C. Into the abdomen beside the navel
- D. Under the tongue
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Into the mid outer thigh
The auto-injector goes into the outer aspect of the middle third of the thigh, held in place for the time the manufacturer specifies, and it can be given through clothing if needed. The thigh muscle is large and well perfused, which gets the drug working faster than the arm, and the usual adult dose is 0.3 mg with 0.15 mg for a small child.
12. Complete the sentence.
For an adult with suspected cardiac chest pain and no contraindications, most protocols have the EMT give _____ milligrams of chewable aspirin.
Options for blank 1: 81, 160 to 325, 500, 650
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 160 to 325
The usual dose is 160 to 325 mg, most often given as four 81 mg chewable tablets, which comes to 324 mg. Chewing rather than swallowing speeds absorption, and the aspirin is withheld if the patient is allergic to it or has signs of active bleeding.
13. A patient is having a generalized seizure on the floor. What should the EMT do during the seizure?
- A. Hold the arms and legs still until the shaking stops
- B. Move nearby objects away, protect the head, and note how long it lasts
- C. Place a bite block between the teeth to protect the tongue
- D. Sit the patient up and offer sips of water
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Move nearby objects away, protect the head, and note how long it lasts
During a seizure you protect the patient from injury and observe, so clear the space, cushion the head and time what you see, because the duration and the description are what the hospital needs. Restraining the limbs can cause fractures, and forcing anything between the teeth breaks teeth and risks the airway, so nothing goes in the mouth.
14. During delivery you see the umbilical cord protruding from the vagina ahead of the baby. What should you do?
- A. Push the cord gently back into the birth canal
- B. Relieve pressure on the cord with a gloved hand, position the mother with her hips elevated, and transport immediately
- C. Have the mother sit upright and push harder
- D. Clamp and cut the cord before the baby delivers
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Relieve pressure on the cord with a gloved hand, position the mother with her hips elevated, and transport immediately
A prolapsed cord is a true emergency because the baby's head compresses the cord and cuts off its own oxygen supply. Insert a gloved hand to lift the presenting part off the cord and keep it there, put the mother knee to chest or with her hips raised, keep the exposed cord moist and covered, give high concentration oxygen and transport without delay. The cord is never pushed back in and never clamped while it is the baby's only blood supply.
15. Which of these is within the EMT scope of practice under most state protocols?
- A. Starting an IV line and giving 50 percent dextrose
- B. Helping a patient take their own prescribed nitroglycerin
- C. Pushing intravenous morphine for pain
- D. Performing endotracheal intubation
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Helping a patient take their own prescribed nitroglycerin
Assisting a patient with a medication that has already been prescribed to them, such as nitroglycerin or a metered dose inhaler, is a standard EMT skill, usually after checking the patient's blood pressure and confirming the drug, dose and expiration date. Intravenous medication and endotracheal intubation belong to advanced levels, and because scope is set by your state and your medical director, the exact list you may use is the one in your own protocols.
What an EMT-Basic course actually covers
An EMT course is built around a small number of topic blocks that come back on every unit test: airway, breathing and ventilation; patient assessment; medical emergencies; trauma; obstetrics, infants and children; and EMS operations. Course length varies, but most programs run somewhere between 120 and 200 hours of class, lab and clinical time, and most finish with both a written exam and a hands on skills evaluation.
Patient assessment is the spine that holds the rest together. Scene size-up comes first, then the primary assessment for immediate threats to airway, breathing and circulation, then history taking and the secondary assessment, then reassessment on the way in. Almost every scenario question you will ever see is really asking whether you can place a finding in that order and act on the most dangerous one first.
One block genuinely varies: scope of practice. Which medications you may give or help a patient take, which airway devices you may use, and the exact wording of your skill sheets are set by your state EMS office and your medical director, not by one national rulebook. Under most protocols an EMT can give oral glucose, aspirin and an epinephrine auto-injector, and can help a patient take their own prescribed nitroglycerin or metered dose inhaler, with naloxone added in many places. Treat any list you read online, including this one, as a starting point and check your own protocols for the version that binds you.
How to use this sampler
These 15 questions test course knowledge: numbers, sizing rules, sequences and contraindications. They are deliberately not written as long registry style scenarios. If you want the scenario shaped version, take the NREMT sampler linked below, and use this page for the underlying facts those scenarios assume you already know.
Take it in one sitting without notes, then read the explanation for every question, including the ones you got right. A wrong answer usually points at a block rather than a single fact. If you missed the airway sizing question and the ventilation rate question, review the whole airway and ventilation unit instead of memorizing those two numbers.
Skills need a different kind of practice. Reading about a bag valve mask seal or a tourniquet will not get you through a psychomotor station. Pick one skill, say the steps out loud in order against your program's skill sheet, have a partner check them off, then do it again while someone times you. The steps most often dropped are the routine ones: scene safety, body substance isolation, reassessing pulse, motor function and sensation after a splint, and stating that you would reassess the patient.
How StudyPDF builds full practice tests from your own materials
Fifteen questions can show you which block is shaky. They cannot get you ready on their own, and a generic question bank has no idea which chapters your instructor emphasized or which protocols your state uses.
StudyPDF works from your material instead. You upload your EMT textbook, lecture slides, class handouts or your service's protocol document, 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 came from, so you can check the source when an answer looks off. You can regenerate fresh tests as often as you want and narrow them to one area like airway, cardiac or trauma.
You do not have to upload anything to start. You can just name a topic, say pediatric vital signs or oxygen delivery devices, and Bo will build a practice test on it, then keep track of which concepts you keep missing. Starting is free.
Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated 2026-08-19.