Beat the 2023 BMCT With Industry Expert Guides & Realistic Practice Tests
The Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test (BMCT) is a difficult exam due to a wide range of questions and a strict time limit. You need to score around 85% or higher to stand a chance of being selected for a job, so thorough preparation is key.
- Length: 25 minutes
- Number of questions: 55 questions
When you sit your BMCT, you’ll have less than 30 seconds to solve a range of mechanical & spatial reasoning questions. This time pressure trips up 90% of test-takers and causes them to make mistakes they can’t afford to make.
The best, most trusted preparation method for the BMCT test is Prepterminal’s BMCT Prep Course. Our 22-module curriculum will walk you through every topic you need to understand on this exam with written guides, video guides, and practice tests, so you can get 100% ready for this difficult exam with a single resource. To get started with your prep, try our free BMCT practice test below, and then get started with the full course!
PrepTerminal’s free BMCT practice test is expertly formulated to accurately simulate real BMCT tests so that you can get an insight into what to expect when you take the real thing. Our tests are designed by mechanical professionals who review the BMCT regularly and interview former test-takers so that they can keep the information in the course up-to-date.
PrepTerminal also offers a comprehensive Bennett Mechanical Comprehension test (BMCT) prep course, which features videos, quizzes, and sample questions.
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The Format of the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test
The BMCT-II is a multiple-choice test that employs diagrams and images which focus on four topics:
- Spatial visualization – visualization of shapes in three dimensions
- Mechanical knowledge
- Understanding how things work
- Comprehension of basic mechanical and physical laws
The Bennett Mechanical Comprehension test needs to be completed in 25 minutes and features 55 multiple-choice questions produced by a database of over 300 questions. Each candidate is shown a series of questions generated in random order.
When used as an employment screening tool, the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension test is a proven predictor of performance in jobs that demand technical aptitude and innate mechanical ability.
Certain organizations employ the Bennett Aptitude test as a tool for training, revealing skill areas that could benefit from improvement.
What are the 12 BMCT Question Categories?
Here are the 12 BMCT-II question categories:
1. Acoustics and optics
Examines the basic physical properties of optics and acoustics, including the speed of light/sound, light reflections, and the Doppler Effect.
2. Center of gravity
Assesses the ideas of physical balance, the movement of an object, how the center of gravity can affect the effort that must be undertaken to perform an action, and more.
3. Electricity
Examines your basic understanding of electricity, with specific attention to simple electric circuits and conduction.
4. Gears and belt drives
Presents different situations involving various rotating gears that are either connected with a belt drive or meshed together. You will need to answer questions about the speed.
5. Gravity and velocity
Presents different scenarios that include moving objects – either horizontally moving objects (velocity), vertically moving objects (gravity), or a merger of both these forces (for example, the trajectory of a thrown object).
6. Heat
Assesses the effect of varying temperatures (cold and heat) on the physical elements of materials. For instance, the nature of cooler and hotter gases. They could also assess you on various scenarios that generate heat (i.e. through fiction).
7. Hydraulics
Aspects of hydraulics will be tested via these scenarios, including the effect of the altitude, the volume, and the diameter of a pipe/vessel on water pressure. They could also assess you on the compressibility of fluids and the effect of water pressure on various materials.
8. Miscellaneous
Other everyday situations don’t fall into any categories mentioned here or scenarios that combine various mechanical occurrences.
9. Pulleys and levers
Questions generally compared two distinct measures of the same characteristic of the machine’s levers and pulleys – particularly looking at the mechanical advantage that they offer.
For instance, pulley questions will look at the number of pulleys and ropes in a pulley system and their effect on the forces required to lift the weight. Lever questions will look at properties including the length of the arms and the location of the weight on the force needed to lift the weight.
10. Resolution of forces, centrifugal force, and inertia
Scenarios from different fields will be shown. Questions will be on the interaction between two forces and force movement.
11. Shape and volume
Assess your understanding of geometrical properties and the connection between various shapes and volumes.
12. Structures, planes, and slopes
These questions could compare various structures for their durability or the force needed to overpass/climb them.
How does the BMCT Scoring Work?
When you have finished a Bennett Mechanical Comprehension test, the employers you are testing for will receive a transcript of your score from Pearson, including your percentile ranking and your raw score.
Your percentile ranking score will be compared to the results of a normative group. Certain general statements may be reached about the scores of the following percentile ranges:
- 0-19: Most employers would not consider this score a passing score. It may indicate a certain level of appreciation of mechanical reasoning, but you would require very close monitoring and a lot of training.
- 20-39: If you score within this percentile range, you could have a chance at being a candidate if you managed to score highly in other areas of your application. This would show that you have a basic grasp of mechanical reasoning concepts.
- 40-59: This is probably the hiring range for most roles. This score shows that you can learn reasonably and have a good aptitude for implementing mechanical principles.
- 60-79: For most technical roles, this would be deemed a solid score, and most hiring managers would be assured that you have a strong understanding of mechanical principles.
- 80+: If you score over 80, you show a strong understanding of mechanical principles and solid spatial awareness skills. This percentile score is an excellent score for even highly technical positions.
Where and Why should you take the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test?
Examples of companies that require that candidates pass the Bennett Mechanical Aptitude test are as follows:
- Keyence
- TE Connectivity Europe
- DuPont France
- Beam
- HEICO
- SEPTA
- Douglas Dynamics
- Fabri-Kal Corporation
- IK Hofmann USA Inc
- Ball Corporation
- Ardagh Group
- Lonza
- AJAC
- Federal-Mogul Powertrain
- Warren Equipment Company
- Modine Manufacturing Company
- Clean Harbors
- New Standard Corporation
- Delta Airlines
- Coca-Cola
- Nestle
Many professions use the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test II. However, these can be loosely categorized as doing more physical work. For example:
- Automobile mechanics
- Manufacturing operators
- Machine operation, heavy plant machinery, or factory work
- Airlines – engineers and mechanics
- Skilled traders such as electric and water service, repair and installation, and gas
- Emergency services, particularly fire service
The Bennett Mechanical Comprehension test is often used in conjunction with other sorts of aptitude tests if you are testing for a managerial or multi-functional role.
FAQs on BMCT: Everything you should Know
What are the differences between the BMCT and the BMCT-II?
There are certain distinctions between the BMCT-II tests and the now out-of-use BMCT. The BMCT-II is the newer version and is the only version that is still used. The BMCT-II features 55 questions and needs to be completed in 25 minutes. The retired BMCT features 68 questions and needs to be completed in 30 minutes.
In addition, the old BMCT features 18 categories, while the BMCT II features only 12 categories of mechanical questions.
What are some of the common names of the BMCT test?
The official name of the test is the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test II. However, the test has various unofficial names, such as:
- Bennett Mechanical Test
- BMCT
- Pearson Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test
- BMCT Test
- Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test
- Bennett Mechanical Aptitude Test
- Bennett Test
What is a good score on the Bennet test?
Ideally, you should aim for a score of 80% or more.
How difficult is the Bennet mechanical aptitude test?
The Bennett exam features mechanical principles. If you do not have a good grasp of these principles you will have to spend a lot of time preparing. If you do know the material, the test is still difficult because you will only have a short time to finish the entire thing.
What is BMCT-II short for?
BMCT-II is short for the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test – II. It is the new version of the test.
What skills are measured by the Bennett aptitude test?
The Bennett aptitude test examines your capacity to understand and see the relationship between mechanical principles and physical elements in real-life settings.
How PrepTerminal will Help to Increase your BMCT Passing Score
PrepTerminal’s Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test prep course has been created by our in-house education and mechanical specialist. We have designed a video-based and text-based course to ensure you have all the knowledge to succeed on the Bennett Aptitude Test.
Our course will help you better your Bennett Mechanical Aptitude test results by up to 10 points. It will also help you pass the behavioral assessment, which will take place within 5 hours of study. Compared to an average passing rate of 36%, our BMCT-II students boast an impressive 84% passing rate.
Specifically, our prep course features the following:
- 8 mechanical instructional videos
- 15 mechanical written guides
- 3 Full-Length time mode tests (50 questions each)
- 3 Spatial/Abstract Reasoning videos and written guides
To ensure you get all the required practice, we offer you 200 practice questions with detailed explanations. Our course is great for all candidates applying to companies administering any type of mechanical exam.
