SCIENCE AND REASONING

The ACT

What to Know

Science sections tests your ability to apply new information.

It DOES NOT test your previous knowledge

40 questions in 35 minutes. Less than 1 minute per-question. Just long enough on each passage to find the information and don’t get distracted by unnecessary details.

More of What to Know

You will learn how to recognize and approach the different passages.

Tables and graphs play a very important role.

The Test

3 Charts and Graphs passages – 5 questions each (Data Representation)

3 Experiments– 6 questions each (Research Summaries)

1 Conflicting View Point (Fighting Scientists)-7questions

Types of Questions

Look It Up (Understanding) These questions test your ability to paraphrase specific

parts of the passage. Similar to the Reading Test.

Why? (Analysis) These questions call for deeper understanding of the

information in the passage. You might be asked to put tow thoughts together and figure out why something happened, or predict what’s going to happen.

What If? (Generalization) Requires you to look at “the bigger picture.” For

example you might have to predict the result of an experiment.

Method

Read the passage and take notes as you go.

Examine each figure marking key information.

Attack the questions, identifying where in the passage you’ll find the answer.

Experiment Passages First- Determine The Purpose

What were they studying? What are the researchers testing? What are they trying to find out?

Experiments

Second- Determine The Method How did they study it? How researchers set up the experiment? What have they kept constant? What have they changed?

Experiments

Third-Determine the Results What did they find? Usually presented in the form of a graph or

chart.

Chart and Graph Interpretation-4 questions to ask yourself-

1st question- What does the figure represent? What are the variables?

Chart and Graph Interpretation

Question 2- What are the units of measurement? WARNING: Sometimes the ACT test writers

will attempt to trick you by giving you the answer choices in the wrong units. You may have to convert between units. For example, a passage discuss the rate of a machine in miles per hour, the answer choices may be given in miles per minute.

Chart and Graph Interpretation Question 3

Where is the information I need? Is it in the graph, is it the variable, is it in the

passage??

Chart and Graph Interpretation Question 4

What is the pattern in that information?

Fighting Scientists

1 passage with 7 questions.

Contains two or three conflicting views on a scientific phenomenon.

Strategy

Make a Map First, determine which scientists’

hypothesis is being discussed and what that hypothesis is.

Strategy

One Side at a Time In order to compare and contrast multiple

hypothesis, you need to understand each viewpoint and how it agrees and disagrees with the others.

Strategy

The Other Side After you have read the first view point

move on to the second. Main idea How this hypothesis disagrees from the first How this hypothesis agrees with the first

Example

Hypot 2 believes a meteorite struck Earth and wiped our the dinosaurs

Differ- Hypot. 1believes the extinction was gradual and Hypot. 2 believes it was sudden

Agree- Both hypotheses mention the food chain

Strategy

Final Step-Compare and Contrast With a clear understanding of each

hypothesis’s main point, how the two differ, and how they agree answer the questions.