How to study for the TEAS science section
The science section has 50 questions in 60 minutes; 44 are scored (ATI time limit, ATI exam details). Study in proportion to where those 44 come from, not in the order your textbook happens to use.
Where the points are
| Area | Scored questions |
|---|---|
| Human anatomy and physiology | 18 |
| Biology | 9 |
| Scientific reasoning | 9 |
| Chemistry | 8 |
Anatomy and physiology is 18 of 44, about 41% of the section. Biology and chemistry together are 17. Scientific reasoning is 9 and needs no memorising: it is reading a described experiment or a graph. Counts are from ATI's published content outline; see the TEAS format guide.
A two-week order
- Days 1 to 2: baseline. Take the free practice test or the 20 science questions and mark which of the four areas you miss most.
- Days 3 to 8: anatomy and physiology. One body system a day: what the organs are, what they do, and how they connect (heart to lungs to kidneys). Cover the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, nervous, endocrine and urinary systems first.
- Days 9 to 10: biology. Cells, DNA and inheritance, and how organisms are classified.
- Days 11 to 12: chemistry. The periodic table, bonds, states of matter, and pH.
- Day 13: scientific reasoning. Practise naming the variable, the control and what a result supports.
- Day 14: timed set. Take 20 questions at 72 seconds each, about 24 minutes.
With less time, spend your first half on anatomy and physiology, then follow your own misses. The four-week TEAS plan places this inside all four sections.
How to study each topic
- Close the book and write it. Draw the path of blood or food from memory, then check. Re-reading feels productive and tests nothing.
- Learn word parts. Many answer choices are decodable from roots such as "cardio", "hepat" and "nephr".
- Practise with questions early. After each topic, answer questions on it the same day.
What to know in each area
Human anatomy and physiology
This is the biggest block, so learn it as a set of pathways rather than a list of parts. Follow blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs, back to the left side, out to the body and back. Follow food from the mouth through the stomach, small intestine and large intestine, and note which organ adds which enzyme or fluid. For the nervous system, know the difference between the central and peripheral parts, and between sensory and motor neurons. For the endocrine system, match each gland to its main hormone and its target. Expect questions that ask what happens downstream when one part fails, so practise saying "if this stops, then that changes".
Biology
Know the parts of a cell and what each one does, the difference between mitosis and meiosis, and how DNA becomes protein. Practise Punnett squares until a dominant and recessive cross takes under a minute. Be able to place an organism in the levels of classification from kingdom down to species.
Chemistry
Read the periodic table for atomic number, group and period. Tell ionic from covalent bonds, and physical changes from chemical changes. Know the pH scale: below 7 is acidic, above 7 is basic, and each whole number is a tenfold change. Balance a simple equation by counting atoms on each side.
Scientific reasoning
These questions describe a study and ask what it shows. Find the independent variable (what was changed), the dependent variable (what was measured) and the control (what stayed the same). A conclusion is only as strong as the data: if the result does not show it, an answer that claims it is wrong, however sensible it sounds.
Using the 60 minutes
The section gives you about 72 seconds a question. Take the quick ones first: a definition you know should cost 20 seconds, which buys time for a graph or an experiment question. Mark a question you cannot place, answer it with your best guess, and come back if time remains. Since only 44 of the 50 questions count and you cannot tell which, treat all 50 as scored.
A weekly rhythm that holds up
Short daily sessions beat one long weekend. Forty-five minutes a day is enough for most people: 15 minutes reviewing yesterday from memory, 20 minutes on the new topic, and 10 minutes of questions. Once a week, take a timed set across all four areas so you see whether the early topics are still there. If an area stays weak after two weeks, give it an extra day before you move on, since the sections you skip tend to be the ones that cost you points on test day.
Review your misses
For every wrong answer, mark it a recall miss (you did not know the fact) or a reasoning miss (you knew it but misread the question). Recall misses go on flashcards. Reasoning misses need slower reading and more timed sets. There is no penalty for guessing on the real test, so never leave a question blank.
These guides are independent practice and are not from ATI. Your own score and your program's minimum decide how much time science needs; see what TEAS score you need.