What is on the HESI A2 exam, and which subtests you will actually sit
The HESI A2 is a kit of eight subtests, and your nursing program picks the ones you sit. A content map of all eight: what each covers, its question count, and its clock.
The HESI A2 is not one fixed exam. It is a kit of eight subtests, four academic and four science, and your nursing program decides which of them you sit. Most programs require the academic four, Mathematics, Reading, Vocabulary, and Grammar, then choose among the sciences. Sat in full, the kit runs to 297 scored questions across 335 minutes, but almost nobody sits all of it. So the first thing on the HESI A2 is a question for your admissions page, not for you: which subtests does your program require?
The eight subtests at a glance
Each subtest runs on its own clock, reports its own percentage, and also carries a few unscored pilot questions you are never shown apart from the rest.
| Subtest | Scored questions and time | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 50q, 50 min | Whole numbers, fractions, decimals, ratios and proportions, percentages, and the measurement conversions behind dosage calculations. |
| Reading | 47q, 60 min | Main ideas, supporting details, inference, sequence, and an author's purpose and tone, read from health-flavoured passages. |
| Vocabulary | 50q, 50 min | General and healthcare vocabulary, meanings fixed from context, and words built from prefixes, roots, and suffixes. |
| Grammar | 50q, 50 min | Parts of speech, subject and verb agreement, sentence structure, and the commonly confused pairs. |
| Anatomy and Physiology | 25q, 25 min | Anatomical terminology and the body systems: skeletal, muscular, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and more. |
| Biology | 25q, 25 min | The scientific method, cells, macromolecules, genetics, and microorganisms. |
| Chemistry | 25q, 25 min | Matter and measurement, atomic structure, the periodic table, bonding, reactions, solutions, and acids and bases. |
| Physics | 25q, 50 min | Motion, forces, energy, waves and optics, and electricity and magnetism. The least commonly required of the eight. |
The academic four: where the volume lives
Roughly 200 of the scored questions sit in Mathematics, Reading, Vocabulary, and Grammar, which is why nearly every program requires them. None of the material runs past a strong high-school level. The mathematics is arithmetic rather than algebra for its own sake, the reading passages are practical rather than literary, and the vocabulary and grammar reward steady, spaced revision more than talent. If your preparation time is limited, these four repay it question for question.
The sciences: chosen by your program
Why 25 questions matter. A science subtest is short, so each question carries real weight in your percentage. There is little room to shrug off a topic.
Written by the RedRubric editors.RedRubric is an independent study manual and original question bank for the ATI TEAS 7. We write every question from scratch and map it to ATI’s content outline.