The Mathematics Section on the FCTC Written Test
Twenty questions, no calculator, and nothing beyond what FCTC publishes as the section's scope: arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, angles, area, volume and simple algebra.
What is in scope
FCTC lists the areas covered: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, angles, area, volume, algebra, and the use of decimals, fractions and percentages. That is the whole of it, and preparation that drills anything harder is preparing you for a different test.
No calculator is permitted, so the arithmetic is kept manageable by design. What separates candidates is not difficulty but accuracy under time.
Where the marks actually go
Almost never on the arithmetic. They go on answering in the wrong unit — the sum is right and the answer is in feet when the question asked for inches — and on doing the right calculation to the wrong figures.
- Underline what the answer is a measure of before calculating anything.
- Convert units at the start rather than at the end. A conversion left to the last line is a conversion that gets forgotten.
- Estimate to one significant figure first, so a misplaced decimal point cannot survive.
- Read back what you produced against the question. A percentage question usually offers the part you did not want as one of its options.
Sources
- FCTC — Frequently Asked Questions: The FCTC Written Test · checked 2026-08-22
- FCTC — Written Test Preparation Guide · checked 2026-08-22