Navy QM1 Advancement Exam Practice Test: Quartermaster E-6 Questions

722 practice questions for the QM E-6 advancement exam: Rules of the Road, navigation, METOC, visual signals, honors and logs. We wrote every one from the public references on the March 2027 QM bibliography, and each answer links the page it comes from. Practice tests are 50 questions; aim for 35.

The real test: Your Navy-wide advancement exam is drawn from your rate's bibliography and comes back as a standard score that counts toward your final multiple; the Navy publishes no pass mark. Our practice test is 50 of our own questions with a 70% target.

Here: 722 questions. Our own practice questions, written from public references on the Navy QM bibliography (USCG Navigation Rules, NGA Bowditch, Pub 102 and Chart No. 1, U.S. Navy Regulations, OPNAVINST 3100.7C). Not Navy exam questions. Free.

What's on the test

10 sample questions

1. At evening colors, the ensign is lowered:

   • A.After the music ends
   • B.Starting at the beginning of the music and finishing on the last note
   • C.Slowly from the start of Retreat, so it reaches the halfway point on the last note of the music
   • D.Smartly, before the music starts
   Show answer

   B. Starting at the beginning of the music and finishing on the last note

   QM6-a4ovu · Honors and ceremonies · Navy Regs p. 136

2. AMVER is:

   • A.A mandatory U.S. vessel traffic service
   • B.A voluntary, free, worldwide ship reporting system that coordinates search and rescue
   • C.The Navy's own movement report system
   • D.A paid weather routing service
   Show answer

   B. A voluntary, free, worldwide ship reporting system that coordinates search and rescue

   QM6-15mub · Maritime communication · Bowditch Vol I p. 522

3. The main synoptic hours for weather observations are:

   • A.0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC
   • B.0400, 1000, 1600 and 2200 local
   • C.Every hour on the hour
   • D.0000, 0800 and 1600 UTC
   Show answer

   A. 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC

   QM6-k57xu · METOC observations and reports · Bowditch Vol I p. 711

4. Bowditch says the most important use of dead reckoning is:

   • A.Predicting which celestial bodies will be up for evening twilight
   • B.Projecting the near-future position to avoid hazards
   • C.Checking the accuracy of the electronic positioning system each watch
   • D.Predicting the time of landfall at the end of the voyage
   Show answer

   B. Projecting the near-future position to avoid hazards

   QM6-9lxxb · Principles of navigation · Bowditch Vol I p. 202

5. Despite its name, the Night Order Book can hold orders for:

   • A.Only the midwatch
   • B.A full week underway
   • C.Only the hours of darkness
   • D.The entire 24-hour period it is issued for
   Show answer

   D. The entire 24-hour period it is issued for

   QM6-jnmu9 · Records and log keeping · Bowditch Vol I p. 494

6. Under Rule 9, a vessel proceeding along a narrow channel keeps:

   • A.As near the outer limit on her starboard side as is safe and practicable
   • B.Wherever the deepest water is
   • C.As near the port-side limit as is safe
   • D.Along the center of the channel or fairway so she can pass other traffic on either side
   Show answer

   A. As near the outer limit on her starboard side as is safe and practicable

   QM6-buz7r · Rules of the Road · Navigation Rules p. 27

7. With no music at colors, when is "Carry On" sounded at evening colors?

   • A.As soon as the ensign is completely lowered
   • B.After the guard is dismissed
   • C.One minute after Attention
   • D.When the ensign starts down
   Show answer

   A. As soon as the ensign is completely lowered

   QM6-1bypj · Honors and ceremonies · Navy Regs p. 136

8. The four AMVER report types are:

   • A.Sailing Plan, Position Report, Deviation Report, Final Report
   • B.Position, Course, Speed, ETA
   • C.Sailing Plan, Weather Observation Report, Final Report, Distress Report
   • D.Departure, Noon, Arrival, Casualty
   Show answer

   A. Sailing Plan, Position Report, Deviation Report, Final Report

   QM6-11ski · Maritime communication · Bowditch Vol I p. 545

9. Three-hourly intermediate weather observations are needed within how far of a named tropical cyclone?

   • A.500 nautical miles
   • B.300 nautical miles
   • C.100 nautical miles
   • D.200 nautical miles
   Show answer

   B. 300 nautical miles

   QM6-obbf2 · METOC observations and reports · Bowditch Vol I p. 711

10. Paper charts are the backup to ECDIS (not a second type-approved ECDIS). Bowditch says it would be prudent to:

    • A.Plot a DR only when the GPS position is lost
    • B.Keep a DR as a cross-check on the GPS position shown on ECDIS
    • C.Stop the DR, since ECDIS shows the ship's position continuously
    • D.Keep the DR on the ECDIS only, never on paper
    Show answer

    B. Keep a DR as a cross-check on the GPS position shown on ECDIS

    QM6-1lh5a · Principles of navigation · Bowditch Vol I p. 202

What the study guide does

• Short study rounds and flip cards.
• A practice test built like the real one: 50 questions, 35 to pass.
• Pass Meter: your chance of passing if you sat the test today, worked out from your own answers.
• An explanation for every answer.