ACT Science Reasoning

Bell Ringer 10 Min 1) As of right now what are your plans after high school? Does this include college, military, technical school? Are you happy with this plan or do you want to explore other options? Be as specific as possible. 2) Do you know about the college/career resource center on campus? 3) In 11th/12th grade you will take the ACT. Does your ACT score matter? Why or why not?

Agenda Bell Ringer (10 Min) Intro: Does My ACT Score Matter/Science ACT Overview (10 Min) ACT Science Strategies (25 Min) ACT Practice Test (35 Min) Students Check Answers/Score Calculations (10 Min)

Does my ACT score matter? Yes! When college admissions counselors are looking through your application, they see: High school GPA Standardized Test Scores (ACT, SAT, APs) Extracurricular activities Essay The higher your standardized test scores, the more competitive of an applicant you are (better chances at admission, scholarship opportunities, etc.)

Average scores of accepted students at the following universities in Florida: University of Central Florida: 23-28 Florida International University: 24-27 Florida State University: 25-29 University of Florida: 27-31 University of Miami: 28-32

What do the scores mean? The score earned on the exam indicates 80% mastery of skills in that band. On the Science portion: 18-19 correct responses (out of 40) would earn an 18 (scaled score) 22-23 correct responses (out of 40) would earn a 20 (scaled score) 34-35 correct responses (out of 40) would earn a 27 (scaled score)

ACT Science Reasoning Layout You will have 35 minutes to answer a total of 40 questions There are 7 passages with 5-6 questions per passage 3 data representation passages 3 research summary passages 1 conflicting viewpoint passage

ACT Science Reasoning Tips You do not need to know a lot about science! You will need to be able to: Read & interpret graphs, charts, tables, diagrams Understand how experiments work Make conclusions about different viewpoints

ACT Science Reasoning Tips Answer every question. You will not be penalized for a wrong answer. Eliminate choices. Make an educated guess. Answer the first couple of questions for each passage. They tend to be easiest. Know how to recognize the 3 different types of passages Skim through all the science passages before you answer any question. Start with the type of passage you feel most comfortable.

ACT Science Reasoning Tips Mark up the test booklets Order of Difficulty: most of the passages have questions in increasing difficulty but this does not always hold. But usually if you are stuck on the last question of a passage and time is running out, then guess and move on. Pace yourself. Do not spend more than 30 seconds on a question. You have just 5 minutes for each passage.

Data Representation Passages: Strategies ACT Science Reasoning Data Representation Passages: Strategies

What is this question about? You must understand and evaluate information from tables, graphs, charts and diagrams.

How to Recognize It? Data representations will not have any other heading except for the passage #.

4 Chart Questions to Ask Yourself when looking at the diagrams 1. What does the figure represent? 2. What do the labels tell you? 3. What are the units of measurement? 4. What are the patterns in the data?

3 Step Strategy Highlight key words in the question. Analyze the figure(s) by asking yourself the 4 strategic questions. Find all questions about the figure and answer those first.

What are some keyword clues? Directly proportional… Inversely proportional… Ratio… Consistent… Most likely… Expect… Respectively…

Data Representation: Understanding Diagrams ACT Science Reasoning Data Representation: Understanding Diagrams

Quick Review of Tables & Figures Line graphs… Tables… Scatter plots… Vertical line graphs…

Data Representation: Understanding Experiments ACT Science Reasoning Data Representation: Understanding Experiments

Key points in an experiment Independent variable Dependent variable Control

In some questions, you will be asked about the design of the experiment How does changing the design change the results? How does changing one part of the design change another part? Explain why parts of the design were performed Identify the figures that illustrate the design Identity problems in the design (confounding variables) Identify a new experiment that would give more info

Data Representation: Solving Equations ACT Science Reasoning Data Representation: Solving Equations

Strategy: Read text around equation and write down what each variable means Find the values of each variable and plug-in Match results to answers

Data Representation: Final Tips ACT Science Reasoning Data Representation: Final Tips

The figures are more important than the text Refer back to the figures often. Never try to answer questions based on your memory. You don’t have to understand everything about a data rep passage. If you can answer the 4 Chart Questions, you’ll have enough info to answer many of the questions.

You gain points by answering the questions, not by understanding every scientific fact in the passage. Ignore all the scientific jargon once you get past the language, the questions on this test tend to be fairly straightforward and simple to answer.

Conflicting Viewpoints: Strategy ACT Science Reasoning Conflicting Viewpoints: Strategy

3 Step Strategy: Summarize & scan the passages- Annotate in the margins: What is the writer’s theory? What evidence does each present Answer the easy questions Details in intro: states the conflict, evidence already known, and what is agreed by both sides Summarize 1 or the others Locate supporting details for one or the other Then answer the harder questions Compares both arguments

Conflicting Viewpoints: Evaluating Evidence ACT Science Reasoning Conflicting Viewpoints: Evaluating Evidence

How to Evaluate Evidence: Read the experiment or results and underline the keywords. Or you can do a Venn diagram. Look for similar keywords in the viewpoint, and reread the sentence. Determine whether the ideas in the question are the same as or the opposite of the ideas in the viewpoint.

Supporting & Contradicting Data: Some questions ask you to evaluate whether a piece of evidence strengthens or weakens an idea presented in one of the viewpoints…

Compare & Contrast: These questions ask you to determine which scientist supports a specific idea, or identify which theory could be strengthened or weakened by a new piece of evidence.

Predicting Results: Evaluating Evidence can be used for predicting the results of experiments as well. Simply treat each prediction as if it were evidence, and compare it to he evidence in the viewpoint.

ACT Science Reasoning Research Summaries

What are they? Provide you with descriptions of 2 or more scientific experiments You are presented with the purpose of the study, the methods the researchers used, and the results that were found You can ID them because they have headings which say Experiment 1 & Experiment 2 or Study 1 & Study 2

What types of questions are asked? Some asks about figures But some require you to dig deeper to make conclusions about results using the data

Strategy: 3 Steps Skim introduction quickly to get basic idea of experiment Identify parts of the Scientific Method including variables Answer experiment questions first Questions about individual experiments Compare and contrast both

What is the Scientific Method? Observation Question Hypothesis Prediction Experimentation Conclusion

We can also discuss the Experimental Design… Observe phenomena Research what is known Form a hypothesis Make a Prediction Design Experiment

Some key terms: Outliers: Lab Report: data found which defies observed pattern. Lab Report: scientific paper to communicate data and results

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Practice Makes Perfect You should aim to take numerous practice tests next year! You should not under any circumstances take the test for the first time without practice when it counts towards your admissions! By taking several practice exams you will: Increase your confidence & decrease test anxiety by becoming familiar with the test Increase your overall speed and accuracy

Good luck with your last practice test with me!!!  You will have 35 minutes to answer a total of 40 questions

ANSWER KEY