ARCO MASTER THE OFFICER CANDIDATE T

1 ARCOMASTER THEOFFICERCANDIDATE TESTSARCOMASTER THEOFFICERCANDIDATE TESTS7th EditionSolomon WienerEdited by Scott A. OstrowAn ARCO BookARCO is a registered trademark of Peterson s, and is used herein under license by Peterson Peterson s, a Nelnet companyPeterson s ( ) is a leading provider of education information and advice, with booksand online resources focusing on education search, test preparation, and financial aid. Its Web site offerssearchable databases and interactive tools for contacting educational institutions, online practice testsand instruction, and planning tools for securing financial aid. Peterson s serves 110 million educationconsumers more information, contact Peterson s, 2000 Lenox Drive, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648; 800-338-3282;or find us on the World Wide Web at 2005 Solomon WienerPrevious editions 1990, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002 Editor: Theresa C. Moore; Production Editor: Teresina Jonkoski; Manufacturing Manager: RayGolaszewski; Composition Manager: Melissa IgnatowskiALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

2 No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproducedor used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,recording, taping, Web distribution, or information storage and retrieval systems without the priorwritten permission of the permission to use material from this text or product, complete the Permission Request Form : International Standard Serial Number information available upon : 978-0-7689-1701-7 ISBN-10: 0-7689-1701-8 Printed in the United States of America10 9 8 7 6 5 4 09 08 07 Seventh EditionvACKNOWLEDGMENTSI wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to:The OFFICER Recruiting Offices and the Offices of Public Affairs of the Air Force,Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy for making available the most recent officerrecruiting brochures and for providing guidance on current requirements and qualifi-cations for programs leading to a commission, career fields for officers, and otherpertinent Department of Defense, Washington, forMilitary CareersASVAB [18/19] Student and Parent GuideASVAB [18/19] Educator and Counselor GuideBureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, forTools and Their UsesBasic MachinesARCO for making available its vast test item bank from which questions wereselected to formulate many of the practice exercises and specimen thanks to Col.

3 Scott Ostrow of the United States Air Force for his invalu-able advice and support of this WienerNew York, New out our Web site at to see if there is any newinformation regarding the tests and any revisions or corrections to the content of thisbook. We ve made sure the information in this book is accurate and up-to-date; however,the format or content of your test may have changed since the time of ..iiiPART ICAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS ACOMMISSIONED OFFICER IN THEARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES .. 1 Career Opportunities for Officers .. 3 Military OFFICER Occupations .. 3 General Qualification Requirements for a Commission .. 6 Pathways to Becoming an OFFICER .. 8 Basic OFFICER Training .. 10 Rank, Pay, and Benefits .. 11 PART IIEARNING YOUR COMMISSIONIN THE ARMED FORCES .. 17 Earning a Commission in the Army .. 19 OFFICER CANDIDATE School (OCS) .. 19 Career Fields .. 20 Requirements and Qualifications.

4 21 Earning a Commission in the Navy .. 25 OFFICER CANDIDATE School and Technical Training .. 25 Career Fields .. 28 Requirements and Qualifications .. 29 Earning a Commission in the Air Force .. 33 OFFICER Training School (OTS) .. 34 Tour of Duty .. 35 Requirements and Qualifications .. 35 Earning a Commission in the Marine Corps .. 39 OFFICER CANDIDATE School and Basic Training .. 39 Career Fields .. 40 Requirements and Qualifications .. 41 Earning a Commission in the Coast Guard .. 43 OFFICER CANDIDATE School .. 43 Career Fields .. 43 Requirements and Qualifications .. IIIMILITARY TESTS AND TESTING .. 47 Historical Background .. 49 World War I .. 49 World War II .. 49 After World War II .. 50 Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) .. 51 Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) .. 53 ACT Assessment .. 53 Air Force OFFICER Qualifying Test (AFOQT) .. 53 Army OFFICER CANDIDATE Test (OCT) .. 55 Alternate Army Flight Aptitude Selection Test (AFAST).

5 55 Navy and Marine Corps Aviation Selection Test Battery .. 55 Composite Scoring .. 57 PART IVMULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS ANDMACHINE-SCORED ANSWER SHEETS .. 59 Multiple-Choice Tests ..61 Alphabetical Options .. 62 Numerical Options .. 62 Chronological Options .. 63 Length of Option .. 63 Random Options .. 63 Machine-Scored Answer Sheets .. 65 Filling Out the Heading .. 68 Marking Your Answers .. 71 PART VPREPARING FOR AND TAKING THE TEST .. 73 Test-Taking Strategies ..75 Applying for the Test .. 75 Preparing for the Test .. 75 Guessing ..77 Taking the Test .. 79 Types of Questions Used for Selecting OFFICER Candidates .. 81 Synonyms .. 81 Verbal Analogies .. 83 Reading Comprehension .. 87 Paragraph Comprehension .. 90 Sentence Comprehension .. 93 Arithmetic Reasoning .. 96 Math Knowledge .. 99 Data Interpretation .. 108 General Science .. 111 Electronics Information .. 113 Mechanical Comprehension .. VISUGGESTED STUDY PLANFOR TEST PREPARATION.

6 119 How to Use the Practice Exercises and Specimen Tests .. Air Force .. Army .. Navy .. Marine Corps .. Coast Guard .. 126 PART VIIPRACTICE EXERCISES .. 127 Answer Sheet for Practice Exercises .. 129 Practice Exercise 1: Synonyms .. 133 Practice Exercise 2: Verbal Analogies .. 141 Practice Exercise 3: Reading Comprehension .. 147 Practice Exercise 4: Arithmetic Reasoning .. 161 Practice Exercise 5: Math Knowledge .. 171 Practice Exercise 6: Data Interpretation .. 181 Practice Exercise 7: General Science .. 195 Practice Exercise 8: Electronics Information .. 199 Practice Exercise 9: Mechanical Comprehension .. 205 PART VIIIKEY ANSWERS AND RATIONALEFOR PRACTICE EXERCISES .. 215 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 1: Synonyms .. 217 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 2: Verbal Analogies .. 221 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 3: Reading Comprehension .. 225 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 4: Arithmetic Reasoning.

7 231 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 5: Math Knowledge .. 239 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 6: Data Interpretation .. 245 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 7: General Science .. 249 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 8: Electronics Information .. 253 Key Answers and Rationale for Practice Exercise 9: Mechanical Comprehension .. 259 PART IXUNITED STATES AIR FORCEOFFICER QUALIFYING TEST .. 263 Part 1: Verbal Analogies .. 267 Part 2: Arithmetic Reasoning .. 271 Part 3: Reading Comprehension .. 277 Part 4: Data Interpretation .. 285 Part 5: Word Knowledge .. 293 Part 6: Math Knowledge .. 297 Key Answers and Rationale for Subtests 1 through 6 .. XARMED SERVICES VOCATIONALAPTITUDE BATTERY (ASVAB) .. 321 Part 1: General Science .. 325 Part 2: Arithmetic Reasoning .. 329 Part 3: Word Knowledge .. 333 Part 4: Paragraph Comprehension .. 337 Part 5: Mathematics Knowledge.

8 343 Part 6: Electronics Information .. 347 Key Answers and Rationale for ASVAB Test Items .. 351 PART XIUNITED STATES NAVY AND MARINE CORPSAVIATION SELECTION TEST BATTERY .. 371 Test 1: Math/Verbal Test .. 375 Test 2: Mechanical Comprehension Test .. 381 Key Answers and Rationale for Navy and Marine CorpsAviation Selection Test Battery .. 387 PART ICareer Opportunities asa Commissioned Officerin the Armed Forces ofthe United StatesPART I3 CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR OFFICERSC ommissioned officers in the Armed Forces of the United States Air Force, Army, CoastGuard, Marines, and Navy enjoy a diversified professional career interwoven withadventure and travel plus a variety of assignments geared to challenge and developindividual skills and expertise. In addition, opportunities for promotion are officers enjoy a combination of privileges, benefits, opportunities,and responsibilities rarely offered elsewhere.

9 Currently, about 225,000 men and womenare serving as officers either on active duty or in reserve components of the ArmedForces. They have found rewarding careers in the service of our the many advantages of a military career are the following: Responsibility and an opportunity to exercise leadership at an early age Opportunity for advanced education through tuition assistance programs Excellent pay Opportunity for travel Opportunity to gain personnel and management experience Unmatched job and financial security Low-cost life insurance of up to $250,000 Medical and dental care Government-paid moving expenses when changing duty stations 30 days annual leave with pay Shopping privileges at military commissaries and exchanges Periodic promotions based on performance Membership privileges at officers clubs Outstanding retirement benefits Thrift Savings Plan that provides tax-deferred savingsThe following are some of the major disadvantages of military life.

10 Occasional family moves Separation from family when on certain assignments Slightly greater hazard than in some other occupations Working hours not always constant Desired job assignment or duty station not always availableMILITARY OFFICER OCCUPATIONSM ilitary officers work in a variety of managerial, professional, and scientific course, officers are leaders in all of the combat specialty areas, such as special forces,infantry, armored assault vehicles, missiles and artillery, and combat mission , the five services offer employment opportunities in more than 1,500officer job specialties. To help you visualize the scope and breadth of the many mili-tary OFFICER careers available, these specialties are divided into 58 occupations in ninebroad groups. Executive, administrative, and managerial occupations Human resource development occupations4 Part I: Career Opportunities as a Commissioned OFFICER in the Armed Forces of the United Support services occupations Media and public affairs occupations Health-care occupations Engineering, science, and technical occupations Protective service occupations Transportation occupations Combat specialty occupationsA tabulation of the OFFICER occupational areas listing the nine broad groups and 58 occupa-tions appears on the following pages.