How long do I get for the numeracy part?

Thirty minutes for fifteen questions, which is two minutes each. There is a calculator on screen and an erasable note board on the desk, though you must not write on the board until the tutorial has finished.

Do I have to type the unit as well as the number?

Read the lead-in and give the answer in the form it asks for. The commonest way to lose a mark here is arriving at the right quantity and then writing it in the wrong unit, or rounding when the question did not ask you to.

What kinds of calculation come up?

Converting between micrograms, milligrams and grams, working out how many tablets or what volume of a liquid gives a prescribed dose, injection volumes, infusion and drip rates, and reading a fluid balance chart. The NMC lists these six areas and sets how many questions come from each.

Is the numeracy part harder than the clinical part?

It is a different skill rather than a harder one, and most candidates are noticeably weaker at one of the two. Thirty minutes is the pressure people underestimate, which is the argument for practising it timed rather than untimed.

NMC CBT numeracy practice: drug calculations

Written and checked against the NMC’s published sources by The NMCMATE editorial team.Last checked 25 August 2026.

These are Part A questions, and they work the way Part A works: no options to pick from, a number you have to arrive at and type. Part A is fifteen questions in thirty minutes with a calculator on screen, and it is passed separately from the clinical part, which is why it is worth practising on its own rather than mixed in with everything else.

All six numeracy categories the NMC lists for Part A
Answers typed as a number, not chosen from options
A worked explanation showing the steps, not just the total
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Worked examples

The method, with the answer shown. Practise below once you have the shape of it.

Prescribed 150 mg. Stock is 75 mg tablets. How many tablets?
1. What you want, divided by what you have, times what it is in.
2. For tablets, what it is in is always one tablet.
3. 150 / 75 x 1
Answer: 2 tablets
If a tablet dose comes out as a fraction and nothing has told you the tablet is scored, check the working before you halve anything.
Prescribed 125 mg of an oral solution. The label reads 250 mg in 5 mL. What volume?
1. The concentration is on the label, not the bottle size.
2. 125 / 250 x 5
Answer: 2.5 mL
Liquid answers are rarely whole numbers. Do not round to something tidier unless the question asks you to.
Prescribed 750 micrograms. The ampoule reads 0.5 mg in 1 mL. What volume?
1. The units do not match, so convert before you divide anything.
2. 0.5 mg is 500 micrograms.
3. 750 / 500 x 1
Answer: 1.5 mL
This is the commonest shape of error in Part A. Two numbers in different units look comparable and are not, and the answer comes out a thousand times off.

Numeracy questions

0 of 11 answered

Answer each one and the explanation opens up. These particular questions are held out of the mock papers, so working through them here does not use anything up.

Question 1 of 11
CBT PA010
Convert 1500 micrograms to milligrams. What is the value in mg?

Give your answer in mg.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
1000 micrograms = 1 mg. Therefore 1500 micrograms = 1500 ÷ 1000 = 1.5 mg.

NMC Standards of Proficiency
Question 2 of 11
CBT PA074
Child 22 kg prescribed 5 mg/kg. Available: 250 mg/5 mL. What volume?

Give your answer in mL.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
Dose = 5 x 22 = 110 mg. Volume = (110/250) x 5 = 550/250 = 2.2 mL.

BNF
Question 3 of 11
CBT PA063
A patient is prescribed paracetamol 1 g four times a day. The tablets available are 500 mg. How many tablets will they take in 24 hours?

Give your answer in tablets.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
Calculation: 1 g is two 500 mg tablets, and four doses of two is 8 tablets. That is 4 g in 24 hours, the maximum for an adult, so any further paracetamol in a combination product would take them over it.

BNF
Question 4 of 11
CBT PA040
A patient is prescribed 450 mg of cefuroxime IV. The vial contains 750 mg of cefuroxime powder. After reconstitution with 6 mL water for injection, what volume in mL should be drawn up? (Give answer to one decimal place.)

Give your answer in mL.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
Concentration = 750 ÷ 6 = 125 mg/mL. Volume needed = 450 ÷ 125 = 3.6 mL.

BNF, NMC Standards of Proficiency
Question 5 of 11
CBT PA072
500 mL via micro-drip set (60 drops/mL) over 6 hours. Drip rate in drops/min, to the nearest whole number?

Give your answer in drops/min.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
(500 x 60) / (6 x 60) = 30000/360 = 83.33, rounds to 83.

NMC Standards
Question 6 of 11
CBT PA060
Intake: IV 800 mL, oral 600 mL. Output: urine 1000 mL, drain 100 mL, insensible 400 mL. Balance in mL?

Give your answer in mL.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
In = 1400. Out = 1500. Balance = -100 mL.

NMC Standards
Question 7 of 11
CBT PA088
Convert 0.06 g to micrograms.

Give your answer in micrograms.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
0.06 g = 60 mg = 60000 micrograms.

BNF
Question 8 of 11
CBT PA076
Patient weighs 82 kg and is 1.68 m tall. BMI to 1 decimal place?

Give your answer in kg/m².

Your answer
Not this time
Why
BMI = 82 / (1.68 x 1.68) = 82 / 2.8224 = 29.1.

NICE CKS
Question 9 of 11
CBT PA089
Prescribed: 250 mg amoxicillin. Available: 125 mg/5 mL suspension. Volume?

Give your answer in mL.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
(250/125) x 5 = 10 mL.

BNF
Question 10 of 11
CBT PA058
A patient needs 0.9% NaCl 1500 mL over 12 hours. Rate in mL/hour?

Give your answer in mL/hour.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
1500 / 12 = 125 mL/hour.

NMC Standards
Question 11 of 11
CBT NQ268
Over 12 hours a patient takes 1200 mL of fluid, passes 900 mL of urine and vomits three times, measured as 250 mL, 175 mL and 300 mL. What is their fluid balance in mL?

Give your answer in mL.

Your answer
Not this time
Why
Output is 900 mL of urine plus 725 mL of vomit, which is 1625 mL against an intake of 1200 mL, so the balance is minus 425 mL. Vomit is an output nobody prescribes and is the column most often left blank, which turns a negative balance into a positive one on paper.

NMC Standards of Proficiency Annexe B

Where the exam facts come from

NMC Test of Competence 2021 (nursing) Test Specification, V1.1, the structure of both parts, the category weightings and the pass marks, link checked 8 October 2026
NMC CBT candidate information booklet for nurses, what happens on the day: arrival, identification, breaks and results, link checked 8 October 2026

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Questions people ask

How long do I get for the numeracy part?: Thirty minutes for fifteen questions, which is two minutes each. There is a calculator on screen and an erasable note board on the desk, though you must not write on the board until the tutorial has finished.
Do I have to type the unit as well as the number?: Read the lead-in and give the answer in the form it asks for. The commonest way to lose a mark here is arriving at the right quantity and then writing it in the wrong unit, or rounding when the question did not ask you to.
What kinds of calculation come up?: Converting between micrograms, milligrams and grams, working out how many tablets or what volume of a liquid gives a prescribed dose, injection volumes, infusion and drip rates, and reading a fluid balance chart. The NMC lists these six areas and sets how many questions come from each.
Is the numeracy part harder than the clinical part?: It is a different skill rather than a harder one, and most candidates are noticeably weaker at one of the two. Thirty minutes is the pressure people underestimate, which is the argument for practising it timed rather than untimed.

This page is one part of the exam. Work through the whole thing with the NMC CBT study guide.