Questions involving basic operations in math comprise of one or more of the four fundamental functions: addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. Questions in these categories are usually foundational to many other math problems, and are often presented in compound form at the outset of any assessment test. For most students, these questions are easy, bu they can provide instructors a good glimpse into how the students approach math problems more generally.
Questions with word problems are presented in sentences with values that need interpretation. The best way to tackle these kinds of questions is to translate the expressed math problem into equations and math expressions. Some word problems are straight forward, but many end up as algebraic problems that involve symbols and integers to solve.
Calculus is the branch of math that deals with study of functions and mathematical analysis. Some of the questions in this field of math may involve integration, differentiation and differential equations. Calculus questions challenge students to calculate derivatives and solve problems on such topics as rate of change of an event and areas under curves that may depict other values such as velocity.
Geometry deals with shapes and their accompanying properties. These kinds of questions usually require students to have mastered postulates and theorems to help solve the operations involved. Basic algebra usually goes hand in hand with geometry. Students are usually required to score well on both of these sections before they can be placed in anything higher than the most basic college math courses.