Laboratory technician

About this practice suite

This suite prepares candidates for laboratory technician selection in the science, laboratory, agriculture, food, and environment sector with 4 skill areas: technical reasoning, situational judgment, numerical reasoning and safety judgment. Every question was written by Novus editors for this suite — none are taken from live or leaked exams — and the full bank holds 52 scored questions across three modes, plus 8 reserve questions used to vary repeat attempts. Answer keys never ship to the browser: your answers are scored server-side, and results stay on your device.

Skills this suite practises

• Technical reasoning — Applied technical principles, diagrams, tools, systems, measurements, and troubleshooting.
• Situational judgment — Evaluating workplace responses against role-relevant principles.
• Numerical reasoning — Arithmetic, fractions, percentages, ratios, rates, estimation, word problems, and number relationships.
• Safety judgment — Hazard recognition, safe sequencing, escalation, and risk controls.

Sample questions from the guided bank

Two of the 10 guided-practice questions, shown exactly as they appear in a session. Answers and explanations are not printed here — keys stay on the server — so open guided practice to answer them and see how you did.

1. In a science/analytical lab (educational), the primary reason to verify sample labels against the chain-of-custody form before analysis is to:

   • A. Prevent mismatched identity, wrong methods, and invalid results
   • B. Speed throughput by skipping paperwork
   • C. Allow unlabeled vials if the tray colour matches
   • D. Replace instrument calibration

2. A balance reading drifts ±0.05 g between replicate weighings of a 10.00 g check weight. What is best?

   • A. Ignore drift because the sample is 'about 10 g'
   • B. Continue weighing unknowns and average later
   • C. Stop quantitative work, investigate/recalibrate per procedure, and document before releasing data
   • D. Zero the balance once and hide the check-weight log

Practice modes and timing

Guided practice is untimed-feeling and instructional; the mini-test is a short timed check; the full simulation mirrors a complete sitting. All three draw on separate question sets, so moving up a mode never repeats what you practised.

Study outline

Read the study outline for this suite’s skills, timings, and recommended lessons on one printable page, or download its standalone HTML file. The printable page can also be saved as a PDF from your browser.