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Life in the UK Practice Test 34 (2026) — free, with answers

24 original practice questions in the official Life in the UK Test formats — multiple choice, select TWO, TRUE or FALSE and “which statement is correct”. The real test has 24 questions in 45 minutes with a 75% pass mark (18 of 24). Every answer below includes an explanation. Written from the official study material; no log-in, completely free.

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1. On which TWO subjects were social laws liberalised in the 1960s?

  1. Divorce
  2. Abortion in England, Wales and Scotland
  3. Capital punishment
  4. Immigration
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Answer: A and B — Divorce; Abortion in England, Wales and Scotland

The 1960s liberalised the law on divorce and on abortion in England, Wales and Scotland.

2. Which TWO changes did Parliament make to improve the position of women at work in the 1960s?

  1. The right to equal pay
  2. Making it illegal to discriminate against women because of their gender
  3. A guaranteed right to part-time work
  4. Compulsory maternity pay
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Answer: A and B — The right to equal pay; Making it illegal to discriminate against women because of their gender

Employers commonly expected women to leave their jobs when they married; new laws gave women the right to equal pay and outlawed discrimination on grounds of gender.

3. In which year did Concorde first fly?

  1. 1969
  2. 1976
  3. 2003
  4. 1957
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Answer: A — 1969

Britain and France developed Concorde: it first flew in 1969, carried passengers from 1976 and was retired in 2003.

4. From which year did Concorde carry passengers?

  1. 1976
  2. 1969
  3. 1980
  4. 2003
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Answer: A — 1976

Concorde first flew in 1969 and began carrying passengers in 1976.

5. Under the immigration laws passed in the late 1960s, what did immigrants now need?

  1. A strong connection to Britain through birth or ancestry
  2. A job offer from a British employer
  3. A minimum level of savings
  4. A sponsor in Parliament
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Answer: A — A strong connection to Britain through birth or ancestry

Migration fell in the late 1960s when new laws required a strong connection to Britain through birth or ancestry.

6. In the early 1970s Britain admitted 28,000 people of Indian origin who had been forced to leave which country?

  1. Uganda
  2. Kenya
  3. South Africa
  4. Bangladesh
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Answer: A — Uganda

Despite the new restrictions, Britain admitted 28,000 people of Indian origin forced to leave Uganda.

7. Who developed the television in the 1920s?

  1. John Logie Baird, a Scotsman
  2. Sir Robert Watson-Watt, a Scotsman
  3. Sir Frank Whittle
  4. Alan Turing
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Answer: A — John Logie Baird, a Scotsman

John Logie Baird developed the television in the 1920s and made the first television broadcast between London and Glasgow in 1932.

8. Between which two cities did John Logie Baird make the first television broadcast in 1932?

  1. London and Glasgow
  2. London and Manchester
  3. Glasgow and Edinburgh
  4. London and Cardiff
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Answer: A — London and Glasgow

The first television broadcast ran between London and Glasgow in 1932.

9. Who proposed that enemy aircraft could be detected by radio waves, leading to radar?

  1. Sir Robert Watson-Watt
  2. Sir Bernard Lovell
  3. Sir Frank Whittle
  4. Sir Christopher Cockerell
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Answer: A — Sir Robert Watson-Watt

Watson-Watt, a Scot, proposed the idea and the first successful radar test took place in 1935.

10. Where did Sir Bernard Lovell build the radio telescope that was for many years the biggest in the world?

  1. Jodrell Bank, in Cheshire
  2. Greenwich, in London
  3. Cambridge
  4. Edinburgh
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Answer: A — Jodrell Bank, in Cheshire

Radar work led Lovell into astronomy, and his telescope at Jodrell Bank is still operating today.

11. What did the British mathematician Alan Turing invent in the 1930s?

  1. The Turing machine, a theoretical device that shaped computer science
  2. The jet engine
  3. The hovercraft
  4. The cash machine
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Answer: A — The Turing machine, a theoretical device that shaped computer science

The theory behind the Turing machine shaped computer science and the modern computer.

12. The Scottish physician John Macleod was co-discoverer of which treatment?

  1. Insulin, used to treat diabetes
  2. Penicillin
  3. Radar
  4. The MRI scanner
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Answer: A — Insulin, used to treat diabetes

John Macleod was co-discoverer of insulin, used to treat diabetes.

13. In which year was the structure of the DNA molecule discovered?

  1. 1953
  2. 1928
  3. 1969
  4. 1996
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Answer: A — 1953

It was discovered in 1953 through work at British universities in London and Cambridge; Francis Crick, one of the Nobel Prize winners, was British.

14. Who developed the jet engine in Britain in the 1930s?

  1. Sir Frank Whittle, a Royal Air Force engineer officer
  2. Sir Christopher Cockerell
  3. Sir Bernard Lovell
  4. James Goodfellow
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Answer: A — Sir Frank Whittle, a Royal Air Force engineer officer

Sir Frank Whittle, an RAF engineer officer, developed the jet engine in the 1930s.

15. Who invented the hovercraft, and when?

  1. Sir Christopher Cockerell, in the 1950s
  2. Sir Frank Whittle, in the 1930s
  3. James Goodfellow, in the 1960s
  4. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, in the 1990s
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Answer: A — Sir Christopher Cockerell, in the 1950s

Sir Christopher Cockerell invented the hovercraft in the 1950s.

16. Which UK-designed aircraft can take off vertically?

  1. The Harrier jump jet
  2. Concorde
  3. The Spitfire
  4. The Hurricane
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Answer: A — The Harrier jump jet

The Harrier jump jet was designed and developed in the UK.

17. Where and in which year did the first cash-dispensing ATM go into use?

  1. Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London, in 1967
  2. The Bank of England, in 1960
  3. Barclays Bank in Manchester, in 1978
  4. Lloyds Bank in Glasgow, in 1970
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Answer: A — Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London, in 1967

James Goodfellow invented the ATM, or 'cashpoint', in the 1960s; the first went into use at Barclays Bank in Enfield in 1967.

18. Which TWO Britons pioneered IVF therapy for treating infertility?

  1. Sir Robert Edwards
  2. Patrick Steptoe
  3. Sir Ian Wilmut
  4. Keith Campbell
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Answer: A and B — Sir Robert Edwards; Patrick Steptoe

The physiologist Sir Robert Edwards and the gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe pioneered IVF; Wilmut and Campbell cloned Dolly the sheep.

19. Where and in which year was the world's first 'test-tube baby' born?

  1. Oldham, Lancashire, in 1978
  2. London, in 1967
  3. Cambridge, in 1953
  4. Manchester, in 1996
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Answer: A — Oldham, Lancashire, in 1978

The world's first test-tube baby was born in Oldham, Lancashire, in 1978.

20. In which year did British scientists lead the first team to clone a mammal?

  1. 1996
  2. 1978
  3. 1953
  4. 1990
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Answer: A — 1996

In 1996 Sir Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell led the first team to clone a mammal — Dolly the sheep.

21. Which British scientist co-invented the MRI scanner?

  1. Sir Peter Mansfield
  2. Sir Tim Berners-Lee
  3. Francis Crick
  4. Sir Robert Edwards
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Answer: A — Sir Peter Mansfield

Sir Peter Mansfield co-invented the MRI scanner, which lets doctors see non-invasive images of internal organs.

22. On what date was information first successfully transferred via the World Wide Web?

  1. 25 December 1990
  2. 31 January 2020
  3. 23 June 2016
  4. 6 June 1944
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Answer: A — 25 December 1990

The World Wide Web was invented by a Briton, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and information was first transferred via the web on 25 December 1990.

23. What is meant by a problem with the 'balance of payments'?

  1. Imports of goods were valued at more than the price paid for exports
  2. The government spent more than it raised in tax
  3. Wages rose faster than prices
  4. The pound was fixed to the dollar
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Answer: A — Imports of goods were valued at more than the price paid for exports

In the late 1970s prices rose sharply and the exchange rate became unstable, causing balance of payments problems.

24. In which year was the Northern Ireland Parliament suspended, bringing direct rule from the UK government?

  1. 1972
  2. 1969
  3. 1998
  4. 2007
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Answer: A — 1972

In 1972 the Northern Ireland Parliament was suspended and Northern Ireland came under direct rule.

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