SCIENCE AND REASONING
The ACT
What to Know
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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 perquestion. Just long enough on each passage to find
the information and don’t get distracted by
unnecessary details.
More of What to Know
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You will learn how to recognize and approach the
different passages.
Tables and graphs play a very important role.
The Test
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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
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Look It Up (Understanding)
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Why? (Analysis)
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These questions test your ability to paraphrase specific parts of the
passage. Similar to the Reading Test.
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)
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Requires you to look at “the bigger picture.” For example you might
have to predict the result of an experiment.
Method
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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
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First- Determine The Purpose
What were they studying?
 What are the researchers testing?
 What are they trying to find out?
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Experiments
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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
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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
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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
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Question 3
 Where
 Is
is the information I need?
it in the graph, is it the variable, is it in the passage??
Chart and Graph Interpretation
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Question 4
 What
is the pattern in that information?
Fighting Scientists
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1 passage with 7 questions.
Contains two or three conflicting views on a scientific
phenomenon.
Strategy
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Make a Map
 First,
determine which scientists’ hypothesis is being
discussed and what that hypothesis is.
Strategy
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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
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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
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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
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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.