RICA Practice Test 2026 – Complete Exam Preparation

The schwa sound is an unstressed and neutral vowel sound represented phonetically as /ə/. It often appears in unstressed syllables and can be found in various words across the English language. In the example of the 'i' in 'decimal,' the vowel sound is not emphasized, producing the schwa sound, which is softer and less distinct than other vowels. The 'i' in 'decimal' is pronounced more like /ə/ than like the full 'i' sound you would hear in words where the vowel is stressed.

The other choices feature vowel sounds that are stressed or pronounced more distinctly. For instance, the 'a' in 'cat' has a short, clear vowel sound as in /æ/, while the 'o' in 'hot' is a clearly articulated /ɒ/. The 'e' in 'beet' is pronounced as a long vowel sound /iː/, which is also not a schwa. Therefore, the example of the 'i' in 'decimal' correctly represents the schwa sound.