CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is the emergency technique used when a person is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Chest compressions keep blood moving to the brain and heart until emergency help arrives, and every minute without them lowers the chance of survival. This free quiz tests the steps of CPR as commonly taught, explains each answer, and reminds you that it does not replace certified training. It is general information only, not medical advice, and it never replaces professional emergency care.
The first step is recognition and calling for help. Check whether the person responds to voice or touch, look for normal breathing for no more than ten seconds, and if the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call emergency services at once. Send someone for a defibrillator, often called an AED, if one is nearby, and put your phone on speaker so you can call and act together. Early calling matters because help, and a defibrillator, take time to reach you.
Hand position and body position decide whether compressions work. Place the heel of one hand in the centre of the chest, put your other hand on top, lock your elbows, and position your shoulders directly over your hands. Push straight down, using your body weight, and let the chest come fully back up between compressions. Kneel beside the person on a firm surface, since a soft bed absorbs your force and makes compressions too shallow to move blood well.
Rate and depth are the numbers most people forget under stress. For adults, the commonly taught target is about one hundred to one hundred and twenty compressions per minute, at a depth of about five to six centimetres. Count out loud or follow the beat of a familiar fast song to hold the pace, and avoid leaning on the chest between pushes, since full recoil lets the heart refill. Compressions that are too slow, too shallow, or interrupted too often move far less blood, so steady rhythm matters more than strength alone.
Rescue breaths and defibrillators complete the picture taught in full courses. In courses that include breaths, the usual pattern is thirty compressions followed by two breaths, with the head tilted and the chin lifted to open the airway. If you are untrained or unwilling to give breaths, compression-only CPR is still far better than doing nothing, and emergency dispatchers can coach you by phone. When a defibrillator arrives, turn it on and follow its voice prompts exactly, since it analyses the heart rhythm and tells you when a shock is needed.
Knowing when to stop is part of the skill. Continue compressions with as few pauses as possible until emergency help takes over, the person starts breathing normally or moving, or you are too exhausted to continue. Swap with another trained person every two minutes if you can, without long gaps, since fatigue makes compressions shallow fast. Never stop to move the person to a bed, search for medicines, or wait to see if they improve on their own.
Using this quiz takes about three minutes. Answer the four questions, read the score, and study the explanation for every answer you missed. Retake the quiz until you can answer all four correctly, then book a certified CPR course, where you will practise on a manikin and learn defibrillator use hands-on. This tool offers general information only. In a real emergency, call emergency care at once and start compressions, because early action is the step that saves lives.
Find your nearest public defibrillator before you need one, and note its location on your phone, since early defibrillation saves lives. Practise chest compressions on a cushion to learn the rhythm, and ask a trained friend to check your hand position and depth. Keep emergency numbers visible at home and at work, and make sure someone in each place you spend time knows CPR. A community with several trained people is far safer than a community with one expert who may be absent.
Spanish version: Cuestionario de Pasos de RCP – Aprende el Orden sin Certificacion