ASCP HT Exam: Practice Questions

ASCP HT Practice Exams: Prepare for Success! This unofficial book contains 250 practice questions for the ASCP Histotechnician (HT) exam. The questions cover all five content areas on the ASCP HT exam: 1. Fixation 2. Processing 3. Embedding/microtomy 4. Staining 5. Laboratory operations Many questions come with detailed explanations, helping you understand the answers and the reasoning behind them. KEY FEATURES * 250 multiple-choice practice questions, with answers and explanations * Valuable information about the exam * An index to help you more easily find information Overall, this book is a must-have resource for anyone looking to pass the ASCP HT exam. SAMPLE QUESTIONS To give you a preview, here are five sample questions from the book: 1) FIXATION How much water needs to be added to 100 mL of pure bleach to make 10% bleach? a. 700 mL b. 800 mL c. 900 mL d. 1,000 mL 2) PROCESSING Anti-CD3 antibodies are used in immunohistochemistry to identify which type of cell? a. Dendritic cell b. Mast cell c. Plasmacytoid dendritic cell d. T cell 3) EMBEDDING/MICROTOMY What is the most widely used medium for infiltration and embedding? a. Formic acid b. Liquid nitrogen c. Paraffin wax d. Permount 4) STAINING Which Gram stain reagent acts as a mordant to bind the stain to the bacteria? a. Acetone b. Crystal violet c. Ethanol d. Iodine 5) LABORATORY OPERATIONS A molar solution is: a. 1 mL of solute in one mole of solution b. one gram of solute in 1 mL of solution c. one gram of solute in one mole of solution d. one mole of solute in 1 liter of solution Answers 1) c. 900 mL The dilution formula is c1 x v1 = c2 x v2 where: c1 is the initial concentration v1 is the initial volume c2 is the final concentration v2 is the final volume Using the dilution formula: c1 x v1 = c2 x v2 100 x 100 = 10 x v2 10,000 = 10 x v2 10,000/10 = v2 1,000 = v2 Therefore the volume of the 10% bleach solution needs to be 1,000 mL. However, remember that 100 mL of this will be bleach, so to get the volume of water needed, we need to subtract 100 mL from 1,000 mL: 1,000 mL – 100 mL = 900 mL 2) d. T cell CD3 is a defining feature of T cells and therefore anti-CD3 antibodies can be used to identify T cells. 3) c. Paraffin wax Paraffin wax is the preferred way to infiltrate and embed specimens because it is inexpensive, easy to obtain, and compatible with a wide range of staining methods. It is also relatively easy to section and produces good-quality slides with clear tissue detail. 4) d. Iodine The four basic reagents of Gram staining are crystal violet, iodine, ethanol (or acetone), and safranin. The iodine acts as a mordant that binds the stain to the bacteria. 5) d. one mole of solute in 1 liter of solution A molar solution, often denoted as “M”, is a solution that contains one mole of solute dissolved in a sufficient amount of solvent to make one liter of the solution.