ACT Prep Science Credited to: Kristine Fisher

ACT Prep Science Test 35 minutes 40 questions 7 passages

ACT Prep Science Test The science test is a test of your science reasoning skills. All of the information you need to answer the questions correctly is provided in the passages

The Questions ACT Prep Science Test The questions cover: Biology Earth & Space Sciences Chemistry Physics All four areas are represented At least one passage and no more than two passage represent each content area

ACT Prep Science Test 15 questions - data representation 18 questions – research summaries 7 questions – conflicting viewpoints

ACT Prep Science Test 20 questions - analysis 13 questions – generalization 7 questions – understanding THE QUESTIONS DO NOT GET HARDER AS YOU PROGRESS THROUGH THE TEST

ACT Prep Science Test The ACT science test emphasizes scientific reasoning skills rather than recall of scientific content, mathematical skill, or reading ability

ACT Prep Science Test Unlike the math test you will not be required to remember formulas, definitions, etc. You are tested on your ability to examine information using text, chart, graphs and tables.

ACT Prep Science Things to do: Read carefully Underline Make notes in your booklet Draw conclusions as you are reading Make sure you understand the question

ACT Prep Science Things to do: Draw lines or in some way indicate which charts/graphs/experiments go together Refer – don’t try to remember Look for patterns and trends in data Look for words that are italicized, bold, underlined or capitalized – they will ask a question relating to this word

ACT Prep Science Things to do: Look at the answer choices before answering questions Unlike math or English where you should try to determine the answer before looking at the answer choices For science, where you will be analyzing information displayed in charts and graphs it is beneficial to narrow down the amount of information you need to study by looking at the answer choices

ACT Prep Science Don’t… Get bogged down in details Worry about understanding everything Confuse charts and graphs Try to remember every detail

ACT Prep Science Reading Tables and Graphs Determine what is being represented What do the columns and rows represent Note units of measurement Look for trends in the data

ACT Prep Science Experiments Remember how experiments work Usually there is a control group plus experimental group or groups In well-designed experiments, the only difference between groups will be a variation of the factors being tested Look for differences - variations What do the results show?

ACT Prep Science Conflicting Viewpoints One passage will be conflicting viewpoints A lot of reading – usually takes a little longer Try to determine each scientists point of view What do they agree on? Disagree? Reminder – refer don’t remember Underline You will not have to determine if a viewpoint is correct instead you will be asked to identify similarities and differences among viewpoints

ACT Prep Science TIMING Again – passages are not arranged in order of difficulty The most difficult passage for you may be the easiest for someone else Try to spend 5 minutes on each passage About 30 seconds per question

ACT Prep Science Don’t leave any questions unanswered No penalty for wrong answers – only credit for correct answers GUESS if you don’t know the right answers – 25% chance of getting the right answer

ACT Prep Science If you are not done with passage one after 5 minutes - don’t worry but if you are still in passage one after 15 minutes have passed you will need to work more quickly

ACT Prep Science Don’t spend time agonizing over a questions Avoid thinking long and hard about answer choices If you are stuck – make your best guess and move on

ACT Prep Science Don’t panic if you can’t finish all passages Try to do well on at least 5 passages

ACT Prep Science If you have less than 3 minutes remaining for an entire passage skip the pre-reading look for questions that refer to a specific experiment/graph etc Refer to the cited location MAKE SURE YOU FILL-IN AN ANSWER FOR EVERY QUESTION