Limited Scope Practice Test: 10 Free Questions with Answers

How to use this limited scope practice test

The ARRT Limited Scope exam has a 100-question core (patient care, radiation safety and image production) and five procedure modules: chest, extremities, skull/sinuses, spine and podiatric. These 10 questions sample all of them, in roughly the proportions a student taking every module would see. Answer each one before you open the answer, and note which section you missed. One sample can't predict your score, but it shows you which areas need work.

Every question here comes from the Limited X-Ray Prep question bank, written to the ARRT Limited Scope content outline. They're not real exam questions (those are confidential), but they test the same knowledge in the same single-best-answer format.

10 limited scope practice questions

1. Question 1 · Core

   Which term describes a brief loss of consciousness caused by a temporary decrease in blood flow to the brain?

   1. Diaphoresis
   2. Dyspnea
   3. Syncope
   4. Vertigo
   Show the answer

   C. Syncope

   Syncope is fainting, a short loss of consciousness caused by a temporary drop in blood flow to the brain.

2. Question 2 · Core

   A radiographer doubles the mAs while keeping the kVp the same. How does patient dose change?

   1. It stays about the same
   2. It increases about 15 percent
   3. It doubles
   4. It increases about fourfold
   Show the answer

   C. It doubles

   mAs is directly proportional to the number of photons, so doubling mAs doubles receptor exposure and patient dose.

3. Question 3 · Core

   A department wants to prevent dose creep in its DR rooms. Which practice is MOST effective?

   1. Rely on radiologists to report images that look too noisy
   2. Routinely compare exposure indicators with target ranges
   3. Increase mAs whenever an image shows any visible noise
   4. Turn off automatic rescaling so overexposure looks dark
   Show the answer

   B. Routinely compare exposure indicators with target ranges

   Regular monitoring of exposure indicators against established targets reveals gradual overexposure that image appearance alone would hide.

4. Question 4 · Chest module

   Compared with an AP projection, why does a PA chest give a more accurate impression of heart size?

   1. The heart is near the detector, so it is magnified less
   2. The heart is closer to the source, so distortion is reduced
   3. The diaphragm is lower, so more of the heart is seen
   4. The scapulae are moved off the heart borders
   Show the answer

   A. The heart is near the detector, so it is magnified less

   The heart lies anteriorly, so in the PA position it is close to the detector with a small OID and little magnification.

5. Question 5 · Chest module

   On a lateral chest radiograph, soft tissue from the arms is superimposed over the upper lung fields. Which correction should the radiographer make?

   1. Raise both arms above the head
   2. Cross the arms over the chest
   3. Rest the hands on the hips
   4. Extend the arms behind the back
   Show the answer

   A. Raise both arms above the head

   For a lateral chest, both arms are raised above the head so the humeri and soft tissue are removed from the upper lung fields.

6. Question 6 · Extremities module

   On an AP forearm, the proximal radius crosses over the ulna. What caused this?

   1. The hand was pronated
   2. The hand was supinated
   3. The elbow was flexed slightly
   4. The CR was centered to the wrist
   Show the answer

   A. The hand was pronated

   Pronating the hand rotates the radius across the ulna; a true AP forearm requires full supination.

7. Question 7 · Extremities module

   Which three bones fuse to form the acetabulum?

   1. Ilium, ischium and pubis
   2. Ilium, ischium and sacrum
   3. Ilium, pubis and femur
   4. Ischium, pubis and sacrum
   Show the answer

   A. Ilium, ischium and pubis

   The acetabulum is formed where the ilium, ischium and pubis fuse, which occurs by about the middle teenage years.

8. Question 8 · Skull/Sinuses module

   During an erect sinus series, which projection BEST demonstrates the maxillary sinuses?

   1. Caldwell
   2. Waters
   3. Towne
   4. Submentovertex
   Show the answer

   B. Waters

   The parietoacanthial (Waters) projection, with the MML perpendicular, projects the petrous ridges below the maxillary sinuses.

9. Question 9 · Spine module

   With the patient supine, which position demonstrates the RIGHT sacroiliac joint?

   1. LPO, 25° to 30°
   2. RPO, 25° to 30°
   3. LPO, 45°
   4. RPO, 45°
   Show the answer

   A. LPO, 25° to 30°

   Posterior obliques of the SI joints show the joint farther from the detector, so a 25° to 30° LPO shows the right SI joint.

10. Question 10 · Podiatric module

    For an AP mortise projection of the ankle, how is the leg rotated?

    1. 15°–20° laterally
    2. 15°–20° medially
    3. 45° medially
    4. No rotation, foot vertical
    Show the answer

    B. 15°–20° medially

    For the mortise view, the leg and foot are rotated 15 to 20 degrees medially until the intermalleolar line is parallel to the detector.

How did you do?

Count your correct answers by section. Questions 1 to 3 are core; 4 and 5 are chest; 6 and 7 extremities; 8 is skull/sinuses; 9 is spine; and 10 is podiatric. If you missed a core question, that matters most: the core is 100 scored questions, and safety and image production alone make up 82 of them.

• Missed a dose or exposure question? Review mAs and dose, exposure indicators and dose creep. These are the heart of the safety and image production sections.
• Missed a positioning question? Learn each projection as rules: part position, central ray angle, centering point and what a correct image shows. Our positioning guide lists them for every limited scope view.
• Missed an anatomy question? Pair the anatomy with the projection that shows it, such as the Waters view for the maxillary sinuses or the mortise view for the ankle joint space.

What a full limited scope practice test should look like

A single short quiz is a warm-up. To find out if you're ready, you need practice that behaves like the real exam:

• Weighted like the exam. The core should be the biggest share, with each module in proportion to its scored questions (chest 20, extremities 25, skull/sinuses 20, spine 25, podiatric 20).
• Only your modules. If your state licenses chest and extremities only, skull and spine questions just dilute your practice.
• Timed. The core allows 1 hour 55 minutes for 115 questions, about a minute each.
• Scored by section. Most states require the pass mark on each section separately, so one overall percentage hides the module that could fail you.

That's how Limited X-Ray Prep's practice sets and mock exams work. Pick your state and every question set and mock exam covers just your modules, scored against your state's pass mark. A free account includes one practice set per module per day, so you can keep testing yourself after this sample.

Want the full picture of the test first? Read what's on the ARRT Limited Scope exam, or build your schedule with the 6-week study plan.