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How Can You Tell If You Have a #2 Pencil?

Whether you're in elementary school, high school or even college, you will at some point take a standardized test that requires you to use a #2 pencil. The number marked on the pencil identifies the hardness of the core of the pencil. Pencils with higher numbers have harder writing cores and leave lighter marks on the paper. The #2 pencil is usually required for testing on a Scantron to ensure the machine sees the marks on the paper. Making sure you have a #2 pencil before your test is crucial.

Scrap paper

Instructions

- 1
  Grasp the pencil and look at the side of it.
- 2
  Read the side, carefully looking for any number printed on the pencil. If the number 2 or the letters HB are printed on the pencil, you have a #2 pencil.
- 3
  Pull out your scrap paper if the number 2 was not printed on the pencil. Write a few sentences on your scrap paper. Rub the sentence with your hand to see if it smudges easily. Smudges may indicate you have a #1 pencil. If the words did not smudge, look at it closely to see if it looks lighter and harder to see than usual. The #3 and #4 pencils make lighter marks.

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