ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act science— speed and accuracy
The ACT Science section tests how quickly you can work accurately. To
do so you must be able to pay attention to what’s important and ignore
what’s not. Each passage contains a great deal of information that’s
unnecessary to your purposes, so approach each passage with the idea
of determining its broad outline rather than trying to understand the
“what” or the “why” of any details. Here are some overall guidelines:
1. Scan the passage to see how many tables and figures it contains.
The more tables and figures the safer it is to quickly skim any
paragraphs that describe the passage.
2. Be aware of the information contained in each table or figure; for
example, “Table 1 shows the charges and weights of various atomic
isotopes.” Then, when you face a question that deals with, say,
isotope weight, you know exactly where to go. Don’t ever read the
“credits” at the bottom of the table or figure.
3. Anything presented as fact must be taken as fact.
4. Do not be afraid of the passages. Although I am a fairly confident
test-taker, I have gone weak in the knees more times than I can
count at my first glance at an ACT science passage. They nearly all
look deep and mysterious at first glance. The good news is:
5. Nearly all of the questions are as easy as can be, and merely ask
you to read a table or a figure and find the corresponding answer.
Think about it: If you’re asked to read seven science passages,
complete with figures and tables, and answer 40 questions in 35
minutes, could those questions actually be difficult? No way,
except:
6. The last question in each set is often much more complex than the
previous questions. So, if you’re pressed for time and the last
question looks like a bad dream, it’s probably time to guess and
move on.
7. Before beginning to answer the questions, scan them to determine
whether any refer to a specific experiment, table, or figure. Circle
or box any relevant numbers (Experiment 2, for instance) so you use
the same research to answer more than one question.
8. Occasionally, a passage will contain no figures or tables. If you’re
going to put one passage off until you’ve finished the rest, this is the
one!
11/9/08
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act science— attention to detail 1
Glaciers deposit till (a poorly sorted sediment). If glaciers repeatedly advance over an area and then
melt back, thick till deposits may form. Figure 1 shows a vertical core taken through layers of till, non-glacial
sediments, and bedrock at a site in North Dakota. The resistivity (an electrical property of a material) and CO
measurements taken along the core are also shown. Resistivity is related to a sediment's particle sizes,
compaction, and mineral composition. Table 1 shows the average percent sand, silt, and clay contents and
descriptions of the various till layers.
2
Figure 1
Table 1
Average percent by volume of:
Depth of
till layer
(m)
larger particle
Description of till
sand
smaller particle
silt
clay
4-9
54.1
31.7
14.2
brown (oxidized*)
9-14
gray A
44.8
36.6
18.6
14-19
yellow (oxidized)
43.5
31.7
24.8
19-24
gray B
37.4
34.3
28.3
24-35
olive green and gray
25.5
34.3
40.2
35-55
gray C
31.7
33.6
34.7
55-85
37.5
31.7
30.8
gray D
*Oxidized sediments have at some time been exposed to the air. Sediments that
have been deprived of oxygen will be gray or green.
Figure 1 and Table 1 adapted from S.B. Ritter, "Pleistocene Stratigraphy of the Moontide Area, North Dakota: An
Update." ©2005 by the Geological Association of The Upper Midwest.
act science—attention to detail 1
2
1.
The average resistivity of the bedrock in the
core is most similar to the average
resistivity of which of the following till
layers?
a. Yellow till
b. Gray till B
c. Olive green and gray till
d. Gray till C
A sample of gray till was recovered from
another core. taken from a nearby area. The
table below shows the results of an analysis
of the sample.
2.
Percent by volume of
sand
silt
clay
31.5
33.7
34.8
3.
3/3/08
Resistivity CO2 content
(ohms)
(mL/g)
85
22
Based on these data and the data provided
in Figure 1 and Table 1, the sample of gray
till corresponds most closely with which till
from Figure 1 ?
a. Gray till A
b. Gray till B
c. Gray till C
d. Gray till D
According to Figure 1, the oldest glacial
advance in this area deposited which of the
following till layers?
a. Gray till A
b. Yellow till
c. Olive green and gray till
d. Gray till D
4.
5.
According to Figure 1, which of the
following statements best describes how
the resistivity of the sand and gravel layer
compares to the resistivity of the till layers?
The resistivity measured in the sand and
gravel layer is:
a. lower than the resistivities measured in
any of the till layers.
b. higher than the resistivities measured
in any of the till layers.
c. the same as the resistivities measured
in the surface sediments.
d. lower than the resistivities measured in
the bedrock.
The sediments being deposited at the
present time at the site where the core was
taken have a much higher CO2 content
than any of the tills. Given this information
and the information in Figure 1, the CO2
content of sediments recently deposited at
the site would most likely be in which of
the following ranges?
a. Less than 10 mL/g
b. Between 10 mL/g and 25 mL/g
c. Between 25 mL/g and 35 mL/g
d. Greater than 35 mL/g
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act science— attention to detail 1
Please refer to “Speed and Accuracy.” Here, we should skim the opening paragraph—
we really don’t need to know any details at this point. Then, we should note that there is
a figure and a table. That’s it.
When you’ve finished here, note that none of these answer explanations requires that
you consult Table 1. Did you spend any time trying to understand Table 1?
1. C. Both bedrock resistivity and olive green and gray till resistivity is right around 50,
whereas the other three choices have resistivity well above 50.
2. C. We’ve already had to work on resistivity, so why not start there? Gray tills A, B,
and D have resistivity that’s well below 85, whereas gray till C seems to be in that
range. To confirm, let’s check CO2 content—gray till C is a little above 20, which puts
it in the right range again. Note that we don’t need the three columns on the left, so
any time spent trying to make sense of those columns was wasted. Also, please note
that we got all the information we needed from the figure—we didn’t need Table 1
at all.
3. D. Since “bedrock” is on the bottom, the oldest sediments would show up just above
the bedrock (unless you imagine that glaciers burrow underneath surface sediment).
4. B. The sand and gravel layer has a very high resistivity number (near 150), well above
that of any of the other layers.
5. D. Note that gray till A has a CO2 content of approximately 35 mL/g. If the new
sediments have a much higher CO2 content, then that reading must be well above
35 mL/g.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act science— attention to detail 2
Motor vehicle exhaust is a significant
source of several air pollutants, including the
nitrogen oxides, NO2 and NO. Scientists
performed two experiments to investigate the
levels and behavior of these pollutants and
naturally occurring gases in the atmosphere
near busy roadways.
Experiment 1
Scientists studied how NO2 levels vary
with vehicle use. They measured NO2 levels
hourly for a 24-hour period, 10 meters (m)
downwind from six roadways. Each roadway
had a combination of a different speed limit
and vehicle usage (approximate number of
vehicles per day). An average NO2 value for
each roadway was calculated in parts per
billion (ppb). The results are in Table 1.
Table 1
Vehicle usage
(vehicles/day)
Average
NO2 level
(ppb)
60
10,000
20,000
30,000
5
9
13
100
10,000
20,000
30,000
8
13
22
Roadway
speed limit
(km/hr)
Experiment 2
Next, the levels of NO2 and NO were measured at
0, 50, and 100 m(eters) downwind from the 100
km/hr roadway that averaged 30,000 vehicles per day.
The level of NO2 decreased from 30 ppb at 0 m to 17
ppb at 100 m. The level of NO decreased from 150 ppb
at 0 m to 42 ppb at 100 m.
(Note: The levels of NO2 and NO that would
be found far from pollution sources are 15 ppb
and 35 ppb, respectively.)
Experiment 3
Ozone (O3) is a naturally occurring gas in the
atmosphere. Levels of ozone, in parts per million
(ppm) were taken at various distances downwind from
the 100 km/hr roadway which averaged 30,000
vehicles per day. The results are in Table 2.
(Note: The naturally occurring ozone
concentration is 0.12 ppm.)
Table 2
2.
1.
Which of the following factors was varied
in Experiment 3 ?
a. Background concentration of NO2
b. Background level of ozone
c. Distance from roadway
d. Speed limit
Distance from
roadway (m)
Ozone level
(ppm)
0
50
100
150
200
0.0075
0.02
0.04
0.075
0.09
According to the experimental results, one
way to reduce levels of NO2 in an area
would be to:
a. reduce the levels of naturally occurring
ozone near roadways.
b. lower speed limits on the roadways.
c. raise speed limits on the roadways.
act science—attention to detail 2
2
d.
3.
4.
5.
6.
4/10/08
require installation of ozone filters in
motor vehicle exhaust systems.
According to the experimental results, if
one compared ozone levels near a major
highway to those in a remote wilderness
location, ozone levels:
a. near the highway would be higher than
at the wilderness location.
b. near the highway would be lower than
at the wilderness location.
c. near the highway would be the same as
those in the wilderness location.
d. would be detectable only near the
highway.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is another
pollutant associated with motor vehicle
exhaust. If carbon monoxide behaves like
the nitrogen oxides in the experiments, one
would expect that carbon monoxide levels:
a. would decrease over time.
b. would stay the same over time.
c. are higher near roadways than farther
away from them.
d. are lower near roadways than farther
away from them.
According to the results of the experiments,
as distance from the roadway increases:
a. NO2 and ozone levels both increase.
b. NO2 levels increase and ozone levels
decrease.
c. NO2 levels increase and ozone levels
stay the same.
d. NO2 levels decrease and ozone levels
increase.
A certain roadway has a speed limit of 100
km/hr and an average vehicle usage of
100,000 vehicles per day. One would
predict that 10 m downwind from this
roadway NO2 levels are:
a. less than 8 ppb.
b. between 8 and 13 ppb.
c. between 13 and 22 ppb.
d. above 22 ppb.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act science— attention to detail 2
Overall: Here, we should skim the opening paragraph for any definitions then note that
there are three experiments described, two of which are accompanied by tables—we
really don’t need to know any details at this point. That’s it.
1. C. According to the narrative, “Levels of ozone, in parts per million (ppm) were taken
at various distances downwind from the 100 km/hr roadway which averaged 30,000
vehicles per day.” As always, the key to scientific experimentation is to vary one
factor while keeping the other factors constant.
2. B. Science often confirms common sense. Table 1 shows that when vehicles are
traveling more slowly (60 km/hr), the NO2 level is lower for each number of vehicles.
So, if the speed limit were lower still, wouldn’t the trend continue? Science says that
trends will always continue unless there’s some reason for them not to. For example,
a ball thrown upward would keep going up except for the “reason” for it not to:
gravity.
3. B. First, it was news to me that ozone was the “good guy” and, second, that ozone
was replaced by the nitrogen oxides. So, ozone levels are depleted when an area is
close to a roadway. By that logic, ozone levels would be higher out there in the
woods far from the roadway. Note that Table 2 confirms this logic.
4. C. As we saw in question 3, since nitrogen oxides are thicker near the roads than far
from them ...
5. D. How many times can they ask us the same question? Note that the same
information that helps us get questions 3 and 4 right helps us here. One way or
another, nitrogen oxides replace ozone near roads, so areas farther from roads
would have more ozone and less nitrogen oxides.
6. D. More cars produce more NO2, right? Since 30,000 vehicles produce 22 ppb, then
more than 30,000 vehicles will produce more than 22 ppb. In such questions, if you’re
pressed for time, pick the biggest answer choice and move on.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act science— attention to detail 3
Scientists noted an increase in plant growth in
a lake. Increased growth of lake weeds and algae
is usually the result of an increased input of
nutrients, especially phosphates and nitrates.
Nitrates are easily carried by water moving
through the soil (groundwater) or streams. Phosphates can attach to soil or stream sediment
particles. To determine the primary source of
nutrients entering the lake, scientists conducted the
following experiments.
Experiment I
Experiment 2
Scientists deduced that one source of
phosphates and nitrates was seepage from wastewater systems buried in the soil near houses
adjacent to the lake. Sampling wells were placed in
locations where samples of groundwater, flowing
from houses toward the lake, could be obtained
daily. The results are presented in Table 1.
Scientists suspected that another source of nutrients
was the runoff from nearby farmlands where fertilizers were
applied. Water and suspended-sediment samples were
obtained from two streams that flowed into the
lake. These streams intercept surface runoff from the
farmlands during rainfall and snowmelt. The results are
depicted in Table 2.
Date
Table 1
Phosphate
concentration
(mg/L)
Nitrate
concentration
(mg/L)
Date
House 1
June 2
June 3
June 4
June 5
June 6
7.4
8.4
8.0
7.7
7.2
17.2
17.9
18.3
17.5
21.7
June 2
June 3
June 4
June 5
June 6
House 2
9.1
9.7
11.8
9.1
8.8
22.8
25.1
22.5
21.3
18.2
Suspended
sediment
concentration
(mg/L)
Table 2
Phosphate
concentration
(mg/L)
Nitrate
concentration
(mg/L)
37.4
36.3
38.9
61.1
58.2
10.7
24.8
27.4
21.6
11.1
June 2
June 3
June 4
June 5
June 6
14.1
16.4
477.2
1,089.9
568.6
Stream 1
8.6
10.3
45.8
90.2
50.3
June 2
June 3
June 4
June 5
June 6
8.3
15.5
25.1
17.2
8.3
Stream 2
7.6
15.2
27.3
16.9
10.4
act science—attention to detail 3
2
1.
2.
3.
3/3/08
How do the designs of Experiments 1 and
2 differ in terms of the sampling
procedure?
a. In Experiment 1, sampling was
performed daily. whereas in
Experiment 2, sampling was
performed weekly.
b. In Experiment 1, groundwater was
sampled. whereas in Experiment 2,
stream water was sampled.
c. In Experiment 1, suspended sediment
concentration was sampled, whereas in
Experiment 2, suspended sediment
concentration was not sampled.
d. In Experiment 1, only nitrate
concentration was sampled, whereas in
Experiment 2, only phosphate
concentration was sampled.
In order to obtain more information about
the relationship between phosphates,
nitrates, and plant growth. which of the
following procedures should be performed
next?
a. Studying how the lake weeds grow in
water maintained at different
temperatures
b. Growing algae in water samples
containing several different phosphate
and nitrate concentrations
c. Adding large amounts of phosphates
and nitrates to the soil of House I
d. Decreasing the amount of irrigation
used by local farmers
Scientists suspected that fertilizers applied
to farmlands also contaminated
groundwater, which in turn increased
nutrient input into the lake. In order to best
test this hypothesis, which of the following
should the scientists do next?
a. Sample water from three different
streams
b. Measure the increase in algae and plant
growth in the lake
c. Increase the amount of fertilizer
applied to nearby farm lands
d. Vary the amount of fertilizer applied
to nearby farm lands and sample
groundwater flowing toward the lake
in these fields
4.
5.
6.
What was the scientists’ hypothesis
concerning lake plant growth in
Experiment 1 ?
a. Wastewater from houses increases lake
plant growth.
b. Runoff from farmlands decreases lake
plant growth.
c. Rain falling in the vicinity of the
houses and lake decreases lake plant
growth.
d. Lake sediments release nitrates and
phosphates into areas where plants are
least abundant.
Given the results of Experiments 1 and 2,
all of the following measures would reduce
the input of phosphorus and nitrogen into
the lake EXCEPT:
a. increasing the number of houses
surrounding the lake.
b. limiting surface runoff and erosion on
upstream farmlands.
c. limiting fertilizer application on
upstream farmlands.
d. installing pipes to carry wastewater to a
central treatment facility.
As phosphates move farther from their
source, they are more likely to be absorbed
by the soil (removed from the water).
Which of the following would most likely
be the approximate phosphate
concentration for House 1 on June 3 if the
sampling well were closer to the wastewater
system of the house?
a. 6.0 mg/L
b. 7.0 mg/L
c. 8.0 mg/L
d. 9.0 mg/L
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act science— attention to detail 3
Overall: Here, we should skim the opening paragraph for any definitions then note that
there are two experiments, each accompanied by a table—we really don’t need to
know any details at this point. That’s it.
1. B. In Experiment 1, “Sampling wells were placed in locations where samples of
groundwater, flowing from houses toward the lake, could be obtained daily.” In
Experiment 2, “Water and suspended-sediment samples were obtained from two
streams that flowed into the lake.” If you chose (c), note that Experiment 2 explicitly
mentions “suspended-sediment samples,” whereas Experiment 1 does not.
2. B. If the aim is to find how mineral concentrations affect plant growth, it makes sense
to choose an experiment that involves plant growth, right?
3. D. Scientists perform tests by varying a specific factor while keeping the other factors
constant. Doing so allows them to measure any resulting difference that can only be
attributed to the varied factor.
4. A. Since the scientists tested groundwater that included wastewater from houses, it’s
fair to assume that the scientists’ hypothesis revolved around the effect of such
groundwater on plant growth. If you chose (c), you’ve picked a choice that’s likely
to be true—but not right—because it’s not relevant to this question.
5. A. It’s funny how science usually confirms common sense. Adding houses would add
wastewater, which would further contaminate the groundwater, right? The other
choices clearly would remove phosphates and nitrates from groundwater and
streams before those nutrients could affect the water in the lake. If you got this
wrong, did you miss the word EXCEPT in the question? If so, you’re trying to read too
fast.
6. D. Would there be more or less of a chance for the nutrients to reach the well?
Again, common sense comes to the rescue. The soil removes nutrients, so more soil
between the house and the well would remove more nutrients, and less soil would ...
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act science— attention to detail 4
Consider the following reaction:
H2 (g) + I2 (g)kk
2HI (g)
At equilibrium, the equilibrium constant (Keq), is the
ratio of the square of the HI concentration ([HI]) to the
product of the concentrations of H2 and I2. The table
below shows the data collected while varying either the
temperature or the initial reactant concentrations.
At chemical equilibrium, the formation
of hydrogen iodide gas (HI) occurs at the same
rate as the formation of hydrogen (H2) and iodine
(I2) gases.
66.0
61.9
57.7
53.7
50.5
46.8
Initial [H2]
(mol/L*)
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
Table 1
Initial [I2]
(mol/L)
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
0.50
Initial [HI]
(mol/L)
0
0
0
0
0
0
Final [H2]
(mol/L)
0.099
0.100
0.106
0.109
0.110
0.113
Final [I2]
(mol/L)
0.099
0.100
0.106
0.109
0.110
0.113
Final [HI]
(mol/L)
0.802
0.800
0.788
0.782
0.780
0.774
400
420
57.7
53.7
1.00
1.00
1.00
1.00
0
0
0.208
0.214
0.208
0.214
1.584
1.572
9
400
10
400
11
400
12
400
13
400
*moles per liter
57.7
57.7
57.7
57.7
57.7
1.00
0.50
0.75
0.25
0.15
0.50
1.00
0.25
0.75
0.85
0
0
0
0
0
0.529
0.029
0.508
0.008
0.002
0.029
0.529
0.008
0.508
0.702
0.942
0.942
0.484
0.484
0.296
Trial
1.
2.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Temperature
(°C)
360
380
400
420
440
460
7
8
Keq
Which of the following pairs of trials in the
table shows that reversing the initial
concentrations of H2 and I2 at the same
temperature gives the same final
concentration of HI?
a. Trials 1 and 2
b. Trials 7 and 8
c. Trials 8 and 11
d. Trials 9 and 10
Based on the information in the table, as
the initial concentrations of H2 and I2 are
both doubled, the final concentration of
HI:
a. decreases by one-half.
b. decreases by one-fourth.
c. increases by one-fourth.
d. increases by two times.
3.
According to the table, increasing the
reaction temperature, while keeping the
total initial concentration of reactants
constant, would result in which, if any, of
the following concentration changes?
a. A decrease in the initial concentration
of H2 and I2
b. A decrease in the final concentration
of HI
c. An increase in the initial concentration
of H2 and I2
d. No changes in the final concentration
of the product
act science—attention to detail 4
2
4.
5.
3/3/08
Based on the data in the table, which of the
following statements best represents the
relationship that exists between the Keq of a
reaction and the temperature of that
reaction?
a. The Keq value decreases as the
temperature is increased.
b. The Keq value decreases then levels off
as the temperature is increased.
c. The Keq value stays the same as the
temperature is increased.
d. The Keq value increases as the
temperature is increased.
Based on the information in the table, if the
scientist had repeated the experiment at
400°C and started with 2.0 mol/L each of
H2 and I2, the final concentration of HI
would be closest to:
a. 0.35 mol/L.
b. 0.70 mol/L.
c. 1.50 mol/L.
d. 3.00 mol/L.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act science— attention to detail 4
Overall: Here, we should note that this experiment displays tabular data about a
chemical reaction. Since the table is complex, we should take read the column and row
headings, paying absolutely no attention to any of the table’s data. We’ll mine that
when we know what we’re looking for.
1. D. Here, it’s easy to eliminate pairs of trials on the basis of temperature. When we
look at the temperature column, we note that the greatest concentration of “same
temperature” experiments are those numbered 9-13. So, choice (d) is in. When we
check the temperature conditions for the other trials, they don’t match up. Do we
need to look any further? If you started with the concentrations of the two elements,
you found that in choices (a), (b), and (c) the element concentrations didn’t “flipflop” back and forth.
2. D. Here’s where a little knowledge of science goes a long way. If we double the
ingredients, won’t the final product double as well? For proof, check out Trials 3 and
7, which are run at the same temperature. You also could have used Trials 4 and 8.
3. B. The best place to look for this answer is in the data for Trials 1-6, since the initial
ingredients are the same. As the temperature in each of those successive trials
increases, the concentration of HI (right-hand column) decreases. If you chose (a) or
(c), how could temperature, which can only affect any substances during the
experiment, affect the concentration of those substances at the beginning of the
experiment?
4. A. As we did in question 3, please note Trials 1-6; in each of those successive trials the
temperature increases as Keq decreases.
5. D. We can use Trial 7, which uses 1.00 moles of each substance at 400°. Doubling the
amount of each substance would double the final result. In a way, this question was
already asked in question 2, above.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act science— attention to detail 5
Bacterial population growth occurs in a series of
distinct steps referred to as a bacterial growth curve. It
consists of 4 phases, which reflect changes in the cells’
environment and metabolism over time. See figure 1.
Bacteria reproduce by a process in which a
single cell divides into two cells. The average time
required for bacteria to divide and their population
to double is called the generation time. Table 1
presents the generation time for a variety of
bacteria at a given temperature.
Table 1
Growth medium
Temperature (°C)
Generation time (min)
Clostridian botulinum
glucose broth
37
35
Escherichia coli
glucose broth
37
17
Lactobacillus acidophilus
milk
37
66
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
synthetic medium
37
792
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
glucose broth
37
31
Shigella dysenteriae
milk
37
23
Staphylococcus aureus
glucose broth
37
32
Staphylococcus lactis
lactose broth
30
48
Staphylococcus lactis
glucose broth
37
26
Staphylococcus lactis
peptone milk
37
37
Streptococcus pneumoniae
glucose broth
37
30
Xanthomonas campestris
glucose broth
25
74
Table adapted from V.S. Narauyan and Maxine Dubner, eds., Germs in Broth, ©2001 by Ragu Press, Inc.
Bacterium
Figure 1
stationary phase
10
7
10
6
10
5
10
death phase
log phase
4
10
3
10
2
10
1
lag phase
1
2
3
4
5
6
time (hrs.)
7
8
9
10
act science—attention to detail 5
2
1.
2.
3.
3/3/08
On the basis of the data presented in
Table 1, if Streptococcus lactis was placed in a
test tube containing growth medium at
37°C, one would predict its generation time
to most likely be:
a. less than 10 min.
b. between 10 and 15 min.
c. between 15 and 25 min.
d. between 25 and 40 min.
The bacterial population increases most
rapidly during which of the following
phases?
a. Lag phase
b. Log phase
c. Stationary phase
d. Death phase
Based on the data presented in Table 1,
which of the following bacteria growing in
glucose broth took the longest time to
double its population?
a. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
b. Staphylococcus aureus
c. Streptococcus pneumoniae
d. Xanthomonas campestris
4.
5.
Samples of growth medium containing milk
were inoculated with the microorganisms
depicted in Table 1 and put in an
environmental chamber at 37°C. Which of
the following bacteria would take closest to
1 hour to double its population?
a. Lactobacillus acidophilus
b. Mycobacterium tuberculosis
c. Shigella dysenteriae
d. Streptococcus lactis
Which of the following hypotheses about
bacterial populations is supported by the
data presented in Figure 1?
a. Bacteria populations change at a
constant rate throughout all the
growth phases.
b. Bacteria begin to increase immediately
after transfer to a new growth
medium.
c. Bacteria begin to decrease immediately
after transfer to a new growth
medium.
d. Bacteria require a period of adjustment
before they begin to reproduce in a
new growth medium.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act science— attention to detail 5
Overall: Here, we should skim the opening paragraphs to get the definition of
generation time. Next, we should note that there is a table with lots of Latin words in the
first column—I hope that none of us spent time reading the Latin! We note that there is
also a figure—at this point we don’t care what either the table or the figure tells us
because most of it we won’t use.
1. D. No creativity is necessary to infer what would happen if the experiment were
performed under different conditions. Here, we know that Streptococcus
pneumoniae has a generation time of 30 minutes and that Staphylococcus lactis has
generation times between 26 and 48 minutes. So, there is no evidence to suppose
that Streptococcus lactis would generate in a significantly different amount of time.
2. B. In ACT charts, “up” is up. So, if the graph seems to be rising, it is.
3. D. It’s not even close; the other three take somewhere around 31 minutes, while
Xanthomonas campestris takes 74. Does the difference in temperature matter? Not
unless you’re asked about it. In fact, if you spent even a few seconds wondering
whether Xanthomonas campestris would generate at a different rate if the
temperature were warmer, don’t do that anymore, OK?
4. A. According to the table, Lactobacillus acidophilus takes 66 minutes to double.
5. D. Note that in the “lag phase” the bacteria don’t begin to grow until more than an
hour has passed.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
the act reading companion
To maximize your results in the ACT reading section:
1. Begin by Indexing1 each passage. ACT questions do not proceed in
line reference order, so rather than use tick marks or brackets to Index
the passage, use question numbers.
2. As you look for line references in the questions, note proper names or
other “reference words” such as “Max Ernst,” “Cole-Haan Theory,” or
“terminal velocity.” Circle those words. It is likely that you will
remember those reference words when you see them in the text. You
can then answer the referenced question or questions.
3. The correct answer will always be “on message,” which means that the
correct answer will agree with the author’s overall Intention. If an
answer is irrelevant to the author’s Intention, it is wrong. Guaranteed.
4. There is one right choice; the other choices are clearly wrong. So,
because this section is so tightly timed, if you really like choice (a), pick
it.
5. Questions that ask you which choice does NOT work are very timeconsuming, since you are looking for three “right” answers rather than
just one. So, if you are crunched for time, consider a “guess and go”
approach.
6. Vocabulary in context: Whenever you’re asked to replace a word in
context, cross out the word in the passage, then cross out the word in
the question. Once you have done so, you won’t be distracted by
your preferred meaning for the word. (Note that all of the answer
choices are synonyms for the “replaced” word.)
7. It is “reasonable to infer” a lot of things, but you’ll never be asked for a
real inference on the ACT. Rather, you’ll need to find an answer that
restates the author’s Intention.
1
If you have not studied with Maine Prep for the SAT, you may wonder what “Indexing” is. Please ask. 3/24/08
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act reading— prose fiction 1
PROSE FICTION: This passage is adapted from Jerzy Masocki’s novel Life After Death ( ©1967 by
Doubleday). This story takes place in 1946 in Poland.
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Soon after the Russians occupied my country
in 1946, I lost the privilege of working. No one
was allowed to hire me. At about that time some
young friends started paying me regular visits.
They were so young that the Russians did not
have them on their lists yet and they could remain
in editorial offices, schools, and film studios.
These fine young friends, whom I will never
betray, suggested I use their names as a cover for
writing radio and television scripts, plays, articles,
columns, film treatments—anything to earn a
living. I accepted a few of their offers, but most I
turned down. I couldn’t have gotten to them all,
for one thing, and then too, it was dangerous. Not
for me, for them. The secret police wanted to
starve us out, cut off all means of support, force
us to capitulate and make public confessions. They
kept their eyes out for all the pitiful little escape
routes we used to avoid encirclement, and they
meted out severe punishments to the friends who
gave me their names.
One of those generous donors was a girl by the
name of K. Shy, delicate, and intelligent, she was
an editor of an illustrated weekly for young people
with a huge circulation. Since at the time the
magazine was obliged to print an incredible
amount of undigested political claptrap glorifying
our brothers the Russians, the editors were
constantly looking for something to attract the
attention of the crowd. Finally they decided to
make an exception and violate the purity of
Marxist ideology with an astrology column.
When K. asked me to do an astrology column
for her magazine under a pseudonym, I was
delighted, of course, and I instructed her to
explain to the editorial board that the texts would
be written by an important nuclear physicist who
had requested her not to divulge his name for fear
his colleagues would laugh at him. That seemed to
give our undertaking a double cover: a nonexistent
scientist and his pseudonym.
Which is how, under an assumed name, I came
to write a fine, long introductory article on
astrology and short, rather silly monthly texts for
individual signs, accompanying the latter with my
own drawings of Taurus, Aries, Virgo, Pisces. The
pay was miserable, the job itself not particularly
amusing or remarkable. The only amusing part of
it was my existence, the existence of a man erased
from history, literary reference books, even the
telephone book, a corpse brought back to life in
the amazing reincarnation of a preacher sermoniz-
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ing hundreds of thousands of young socialists on
the great truths of astrology.
One day K. announced to me that the editorin-chief was all excited about his astrologer and
wanted a personal horoscope from him. That
fascinated me. The editor-in-chief owed his job at
the magazine entirely to the Russians. He had
spent half his life taking Marxism-Leninism
courses in Warsaw and Moscow both!
“He was a little ashamed to tell me,” laughed
K. “He certainly wouldn’t want it to get around
he believed in medieval superstitions or anything.
He just can’t help himself.”
“Fine, fine,” I said. I was happy. I knew the
man well. Besides being K.’s boss, he was a
member of the highest Party committee dealing
with hiring and firing, and he had ruined the lives
of many of my friends.
“He wants complete anonymity. All I’m
supposed to give you is his date of birth. You
have no idea who he is.”
“Even better.” That was just what I wanted to
hear. “He says he’ll give you a hundred zloty
[Polish currency].”
“A hundred zloty?” I laughed. “Who does he
take me for, the cheapskate!”
He sent me a thousand zloty. I filled ten pages
with a description of his character and future. I
spent a whole week on the opus and consulted
regularly with K. After all, a horoscope can
greatly influence, even dictate, the way people act.
It can recommend they do certain things, warn
them against doing others, and bring them to
their knees by hinting at future disasters.
K. and I had a good laugh over it later. She
claimed he had improved. He yelled less. He had
begun to have qualms about his hardheadedness
—his horoscope warned against it. He made as
much as he could out of the speck of kindness
left in him, and staring out into nothingness, his
eyes would show signs of sadness, the sadness of
a man who has come to realize that the stars hold
nothing but suffering in store for him.
act reading—prose fiction 1
2
1. According to the first paragraph, some of the
narrator’s friends were especially important to
him because
a. the use of their names enabled the narrator
to make a living.
b. they told him all he needed to know about
the editor-in-chief.
c. they kept him informed of the clandestine
movements of the secret police.
d. they took the time to discuss events of
intellectual import with the narrator.
2. It can reasonably be inferred from the passage
that the narrator worked very carefully on the
editor-in-chief’s horoscope because the narrator:
a. wanted to earn his thousand zloty fair and
square.
b. hoped to affect the editor-in-chief’s actions.
c. had always wanted to do the editor-in-chief
a favor.
d. did not want the editor-in-chief to know he
was a nuclear scientist.
3. It can reasonably be inferred from the passage
that a true Marxist would view astrology as:
a. a scientific method.
b. a tool for predicting events.
c. a foolish superstition.
d. an interesting ideology.
4. When the narrator asserts that “a horoscope can
greatly influence, even dictate, the way people
act” (lines 82-83), he means that to some people
a horoscope:
a. indicates to them how they should act.
b. forces them to change their personalities
completely.
c. enables them to be more creative.
d. causes behavioral changes to subside.
5. According to the passage, prior to beginning his
astrological column, the narrator knew that the
editor-in-chief had:
a. ruined the lives of many of his friends.
b. been teaching classes in Marxism in Prague.
c. held a deep and abiding interest in
astrology.
d. been a member of the secret police.
3/12/08
6. According to the passage, the narrator’s monthly
articles about individual astrological signs are
best characterized as:
a. ludicrous but financially richly rewarding.
b. quite remarkable in terms of their literary
style.
c. silly and insignificant yet very popular.
d. very popular with his audience and
intellectually stimulating.
7. According to the passage, the methods
employed by the secret police involved which of
the following?
I. Surveillance
II. Isolation
III. Execution
a. I only
b. II only
c. I and II only
d. II and III only
8. According to the passage, including an astrology
column in a Marxist magazine would be:
a. an example of political claptrap.
b. in conformity with the purity of Marxist
ideology.
c. a purification of Marxist journalistic
practice.
d. inconsistent with pure Marxist ideology.
9. As he is depicted in the passage, the editor-inchief is best described as a man who became:
a. a good bit more cynical about astrological
predictions.
b. more cheerful as he looked toward the
future.
c. less easygoing than before but more
professional overall.
d. much easier to work with but overall less
happy.
10. The narrator was able to write a long and
thorough horoscope for the editor-in-chief
because he, the narrator, had:
a. been well informed about the editor-inchief’s past.
b. spent a month producing that opus.
c. been certain that his horoscope could
dictate future actions.
d. earned 1,000—and not 100—zloty for his
work.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act reading— prose fiction 1
First, this: Prose fiction is clearly written from a single point of view. That point of view is
your best indication of the author’s Intention, and your best clue to which answer choice
in each question is the Author’s Choice. Remember, the right answer will always
coincide with the author’s Intention!
1. A. The author states in the first paragraph, “These fine friends ... suggested I use their
names as a cover for writing ... anything to earn a living.” Remember, the ACT will
never ask you to make a real inference. If you answered (b), it was his friend “K.”
who filled him in on the editor. Answer (d) is the most dangerous kind of choice on
any standardized test—one that almost certainly is true, but because the author
never discusses it, cannot be right.
2. B. From lines 82-84: “a horoscope can greatly influence, even dictate, the way
people act.”
3. C. In lines 30-32, the author states, “Finally they decided to make an exception and
violate the purity of Marxist ideology with an astrology column.” This suggests that
astrology and Marxism don’t mix.
4. A. Look back at the reference in the answer to question 2. That paragraph
continues, “[A horoscope] can recommend they do certain things, warn them
against doing others, ...”. If you chose (b), review your acquaintance with the
Reasonable Rule, since “forces” just isn’t Reasonable.
5. A. In lines 69-70, the author states: “[the editor] had ruined the lives of many of my
friends.” Not much interpretation needed, eh? Choice (c) may be true, but note the
discussion of true vs. right in the explanation to problem 1, above.
6. C. In lines 42-45, the author says, “I came to write ... on astrology and short, rather silly
... texts for individual signs, ...” Choice (a) is wrong because, as the author states in
lines 46-47, “The pay was miserable ...”. Choice (d) is wrong (some would call it “half
right/half wrong”) because while “very popular with his audience” is great,
“intellectually stimulating” the column wasn’t.
7. C. The author states in lines 15-17, “The secret police wanted to starve us out, cut off
all means of support, force us to capitulate and make public confessions. They kept
their eyes out for all the pitiful little escape routes we used to avoid encirclement, ...”.
If you used your knowledge of Eastern Europe circa 1946 to include III (“execution”):
While it true that the Soviets did execute people, the author never mentions it.
8. D. Note that this question is almost a repeat of question 3. Use the same reference.
9. D. As the author tells us in the last paragraph, “She claimed that [the editor] had
improved. He yelled less. He had begun to have qualms about his hardheadedness
—his horoscope warned against it. He made as much as he could out of the speck of
kindness left in him, and staring out into nothingness, his eyes would show signs of
act reading—prose fiction 1
answers and explanations
2
sadness, the sadness of a man who has come to realize that the stars hold nothing
but suffering in store for him.” If you chose (c), note that he may have been more
“easygoing,” but there is no way to know whether that made him more
“professional.”
10. A. The author states beginning in lines 66, “I knew the man well. Besides being K.’s
boss, he was a member of the highest Party committee dealing with hiring and firing,
and he had ruined the lives of many of my friends.” If you chose (b), the author
wrote the horoscope over the course of a week (line 80), and it’s clear that the
money mentioned in choice (d) was of secondary concern to the author. If you
chose (c), review the Reasonable Rule—of how much in life can we be certain? Not
even in fiction.
3/12/08
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act reading— social science 1
SOCIAL SCIENCE: This passage is adapted from Mark Heatherton’s The Red Man’s Burden: How Native
Americans Taught Democracy (©1998 by Mark Forbes Heatherton).
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Egalitarian democracy and liberty as we know
them today owe little to Europe. They are not
Greco-Roman derivatives somehow revived by the
French in the eighteenth century. They entered
modern western thought as Native American
notions translated into European language and
culture.
In language, custom, religion, and written law,
the Spaniards descended directly from ancient
Rome, yet they brought nothing resembling a
democratic tradition with them to America. The
French and Dutch who settled parts of North
America also settled many other parts of the world
that did not become democratic. Democracy did
not spring up on French-speaking Haiti any more
than in Southern Africa, where the British and
Dutch settled about the same time that they
settled in North America.
Even the Netherlands and Britain, the two
showcases for European democracy, had difficulty
grafting democracy onto monarchical and
aristocratic systems soaked in the strong traditions
of class privilege. During the reign of George III
of Great Britain, while the United States was
fighting for its independence, only one person in
twenty could vote in England. And in Ireland no
Catholic could hold office or vote. In their
centuries of struggle to suppress the Irish, the
British possibly encumbered their own democratic
development.
American anglophiles occasionally point to the
signing of the Magna Carta by King John on the
battlefield of Runnymede in 1215 as the start of
civil liberties and democracy in the Englishspeaking world. This document, however, merely
moved slightly away from monarchy and toward
oligarchy by increasing the power of the
aristocracy. It continued the traditional European
vacillation between government by a single strong
ruler and by an oligarchic class. An oligarchy is not
an incipient democracy, and a step away from
monarchy does not necessarily mean a step toward
democracy. In the same tradition, the election of
the pope by a college of cardinals did not make
the Catholic Church into a democratic institution,
nor did the Holy Roman Empire become a
democracy merely because a congress of
aristocrats elected the emperor.
When the Dutch built colonies in America,
power in their homeland rested securely in the
hands of the aristocracy and the burghers, who
composed only a quarter of the population. A city
such as Amsterdam fell under the rule of a council
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of thirty-six men, none of whom was elected;
instead, each council member inherited his office
and held it until death.
Henry Steele Commager wrote that during the
Enlightenment “Europe was ruled by the wellborn, the rich, the privileged, by those who held
their places by divine favor, inheritance, prescription, or purchase.” The philosophers and thinkers
of the Enlightenment became quite complacent
and self-congratulatory because the “enlightened
despots” such as Catherine of Russia and
Frederick of Prussia read widely and showed
literary inclinations. Too many philosophers
became court pets and because of that believed
that Europe was moving toward enlightened
democracy. As Commager explained it, Europe
only imagined the Enlightenment, but America
enacted it. This Enlightenment grew as much
from its roots in Native American culture as from
any other source.
When Americans try to trace their democratic
heritage back through the writings of French and
English political thinkers of the Enlightenment,
they often forget that these people’s thoughts
were heavily shaped by the democratic traditions
and the state of nature of the Native Americans.
The concept of the “noble savage” derived
largely from writings about the Native
Americans, and even though the picture grew
romanticized and distorted, the writers were only
romanticizing and distorting something that really
did exist. The Native Americans did live in a
fairly democratic condition, they were egalitarian,
and they did live in greater harmony with nature.
The modern notions of democracy based on
egalitarian principles and a federated government
of overlapping powers arose from the unique
blend of European and Native American political
ideas and institutions along the Atlantic coast
between 1607 and 1776. Modern democracy as
we know it today is as much the legacy of the
Native Americans, particularly the Iroquois and
the Algonquians, as it is of the British settlers, of
French political theory, or of all the failed efforts
of the Greeks and Romans.
The discovery of new forms of political life in
America freed the imaginations of Old World
thinkers to envision utopias, socialism,
anarchism, and dozens of other social forms.
Scarcely any political theory or movement of the
last three centuries has not shown the impact of
this great political awakening that the Native
Americans provoked among the Europeans.
act reading—social science 1
2
1. According to the passage, two Native American
peoples who contributed greatly to the
development of modern democracy were the:
a. Iroquois and the Cherokee.
b. Iroquois and the Algonquians.
c. Algonquians and the Seminoles.
d. Cherokee and the Cheyenne.
2. The author of the passage would most likely
agree with which of the following statements?
a. European political thinkers of the sixteenth
century created the notion of a completely
egalitarian society.
b. The efforts of the Spaniards to create a
democratic society in the New World failed
due to the unfavorable climate of the New
World.
c. Native Americans generally are not given as
much credit as they deserve with regard to
their contribution to modern democratic
political theory.
d. The roots of modern democracy can be
traced directly back to the Holy Roman
Empire.
3. Historian Henry Steele Commager’s belief that
“Europe only imagined the Enlightenment, but
America enacted it” (lines 70-71) refers to the
idea, presented in the passage, that:
a. European political thinkers wrote a great
deal about democracy and liberty, but
democracy and liberty did not really
manifest themselves until European and
Native American political ideas met in the
New World.
b. European political thinkers lived utopian
lives that prevented them from seeing the
monarchical excesses of European society.
c. the Dutch and Spanish political thinkers
had a history of democratic traditions, but
they were not able to translate their ideas
into a workable democracy in America.
d. Native Americans, when introduced to the
democratic ideals of European political
thinkers, readily adopted the Europeans’
political philosophies.
3/12/08
4. One of the main ideas of the passage is that:
a. democracy and liberty are political ideas
derived primarily from the Greeks and
Romans of the ancient world.
b. the French and the Dutch who settled in
America were the primary sources of
democracy in the New World.
c. modern democracy evolved from the
interaction of Native American and
European political thought in colonial
America.
d. Native Americans were initially opposed to
the democratic traditions that the
Europeans brought to the New World.
5. It can be inferred from the sixth paragraph (lines
57-73) that historian Henry Steele Commager
would agree with the statement that, during the
Enlightenment, Europe was mainly ruled by:
a. a democratic majority.
b. a college of cardinals.
c. the aristocratic class.
d. the intellectual elite.
6. The passage argues that at the time of European
contact with Native Americans in the 1600s, the
political systems of Native Americans could best
be characterized as being:
a. essentially nonexistent.
b. ruled by a few Native American chiefs who
were similar to Europe’s “enlightened
despots.”
c. a monarchical system of government.
d. fairly democratic and egalitarian.
7. The passage specifies that the law of which of
the following countries descended directly from
that of ancient Rome?
a. Britain
b. France
c. The Netherlands
d. Spain
act reading—social science 1
3
8. According to the fourth paragraph (lines 31-48),
the signing of the Magna Carta:
I. increased the power of the English
aristocracy.
II. decreased the power of the English
monarchy.
III. created the first truly democratic
government in England.
a. I only
b. I and II only
c. I and III only
d. II and III only
3/12/08
9. According to the passage, the attitude of some
philosophers of the Enlightenment toward
European monarchs and their governments was
often:
a. not critical enough, because the
philosophers were on too friendly terms
with the monarchs.
b. not critical enough, because the
philosophers needed to justify European
expansion in North America.
c. too critical, because the philosophers
personally disliked the monarchs.
d. too critical, because the philosophers didn’t
understand Greco-Roman ideas well
enough to develop sound theories.
10. According to the passage, at the same time they
settled in North America, the British and the
Dutch also settled in:
I. Haiti
II. South Africa
III. Greece
a. I only
b. II only
c. I and II only
d. I and III only
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act reading— social science 1
1. B. The author tells us in lines 95-96: “...particularly the Iroquois and the Algonquians,
...”
2. C. The author’s intention is to persuade us that modern democratic theory and
practice owe much to the Native Americans, whose egalitarian (a society based on
equality) principles rubbed off on the European settlers.
3. A. This question is almost a bonus, since it asks essentially the same thing as did
question 2. The author’s message: democracy and equality did not come from any
contemporary European tradition; rather, the Europeans learned how such a society
could work from the Native Americans.
4. C. If you got either question 2 or question 3 (or both) right, and got this one wrong,
ask yourself whether you thought that the test was trying to trick you into answering
consistently. Note that answering consistently is a key to scoring well on the ACT.
5. C. If you got this wrong, please reread lines 57-61. If you answered (d), you mistook
Commager’s comments about 18th century philosophers who, according to
Commager, “became court pets and because of that believed that European was
moving toward enlightened democracy.” So, the philosophers commented on the
times—they did not, at least according to the quote, dictate or even affect public
policy. If you read another account somewhere that said that Voltaire, say, did
affect public policy, and you let that information seep into your decision-making on
this question, note that any choice that depends on your outside knowledge to be
right will never be right.
6. D. If Native American democracy and equality rubbed off on the Europeans, it
stands to reason that Native American cultures were democratic and equal, right?
7. D. The beginning of the second paragraph states: “In language, customs, religion,
and written law, the Spaniards descended directly from ancient Rome, ...”
8. B. According to the author (beginning in line 35), “This document ... merely moved
slightly away from monarchy and toward oligarchy by increasing the power of the
aristocracy. If you don’t know the meaning of the word “oligarchy,” now’s a good
time to look it up.
9. A. Please note the quote in the answer to question 5 that describes the philosophers
as “court pets”.
10. B. Quoting from lines 14-18, “Democracy did not spring up on French-speaking Haiti
any more than in Southern Africa, where the British and Dutch settled about the same
time that they settled in North America.” During those years, no European nation
even tried to colonize Greece.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act reading— humanities 1
HUMANITIES: This passage is adapted from Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life (©1989 by Annie Dillard).
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When you write, you lay out a line of words.
The line of words is a miner’s pick, a woodcarver’s
gouge, a surgeon’s probe. You wield it, and it digs
a path you follow. Soon you find yourself deep in
new territory. Is it a dead end, or have you located
the real subject? You will know tomorrow, or this
time next year.
You make the path boldly and follow it
fearfully. You go where the path leads. At the end
of the path, you find a box canyon. You hammer
out reports, dispatch bulletins.
The writing has changed, in your hands, and in
a twinkling, from an expression of your notions to
an epistemological tool. The new place interests
you because it is not clear. You attend. In your
humility, you lay down the words carefully,
watching all the angles. Now the earlier writing
looks soft and careless. Process is nothing; erase
your tracks. The path is not the work. I hope your
tracks have grown over; I hope birds ate the
crumbs; I hope you will toss it all and not look
back.
The line of words is a hammer. You hammer
against the walls of your house. You tap the walls,
lightly, everywhere. After giving many years’
attention to these things, you know what to listen
for. Some of the walls are bearing walls; they have
to stay, or everything will fall down. Other walls
can go with impunity; you can hear the difference.
Unfortunately, it is often the bearing wall that has
to go. It cannot be helped. There is only one
solution, which appalls you, but there it is. Knock
it out. Duck.
Courage utterly opposes the bold hope that
this is such fine stuff the work needs it, or the
world. Courage, exhausted, stands on bare reality:
this writing weakens the work. You must demolish
the work and start over. You can save some of the
sentences, like bricks. It will be a miracle if you
can save some of the paragraphs, no matter how
excellent in themselves or hard-won. You can
waste a year worrying about it, or you can get it
over with now. (Are you a woman, or a mouse?)
The part you must jettison is not only the bestwritten part; it is also, oddly, that part which was
to have been the very point. It is the original key
passage, the passage on which the rest was to
hang, and from which you yourself drew the
courage to begin.
Putting a book together is interesting and
exhilarating. It is sufficiently difficult and complex
that it engages all your intelligence. It is life at its
most free. Your freedom as a writer is not
freedom of expression in the sense of wild blurt-
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ing; you may not let it rip. It is life at its most
free, if you are fortunate enough to be able to try
it, because you select your materials, invent your
task, and pace yourself.
The obverse of this freedom, of course, is that
your work is so meaningless, so fully for yourself
alone, and so worthless to the world, that no one
except you cares whether you do it well, or ever.
You are free to make several thousand close
judgment calls a day. Your freedom is a byproduct of your days’ triviality.
Here is a fairly sober version of what happens
in the small room between the writer and the
work itself. It is similar to what happens between
a painter and a canvas.
First you shape the vision of what the
projected work of art will be. The vision, I stress,
is no marvelous thing: it is the work’s intellectual
structure and aesthetic surface. It is a chip of
mind, a pleasing intellectual object. It is a vision
of the work, not of the world. It is a glowing
thing, a blurred thing of beauty. Its structure is at
once luminous and translucent; you can see the
world through it.
Many aspects of the work are still uncertain,
of course; you know that. You know that if you
proceed you will change things and learn things,
that the form will grow under your hands and
develop new and richer lights. But that change
will not alter the vision or its deep structures; it
will only enrich it. You know that, and you are
right.
But you are wrong if you think that in the
actual writing, or in the actual painting, you are
filling in the vision. You cannot fill in the vision.
You cannot even bring the vision to light. You
are wrong if you think you can in any way take
the vision and tame it to the page. The page is
jealous and tyrannical; the page is made of time
and matter; the page always wins. The vision is
not so much destroyed, exactly, as it is, by the
time you have finished, forgotten.
act reading—humanities 1
2
1. As it is used in line 52, the word engages most
nearly means:
a. demands
b. defeats
c. envisions
d. ensures
2. The author compares the interaction between
writers and their work to that in all of the
following occupations EXCEPT:
a. surgeon.
b. miner.
c. painter.
d. musician.
3. The author suggests that the best-written part of
a piece of writing is often, ironically, the part of
a piece of writing that the writer:
a. finds most painful.
b. must throw away.
c. feels is most dramatic.
d. produced in a wild burst.
4. Which of the following best states the main
point of the passage?
a. Writers need to be aggressive and
intellectual.
b. The path is really the same thing as the
work.
c. Writing is a humbling and transforming
experience.
d. In writing, it is crucial that you consider
your audience.
5. The main emphasis of the third paragraph (lines
12-23) regarding the nature of the act of writing
is on:
a. why writers need to learn humility.
b. keeping the line of words from being
altered.
c. how a writer’s perception of her work
changes.
d. how writing expresses notions of the self.
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6. As it is used in lines 10-11, the phrase hammer out
most nearly means:
a. break
b. write
c. erase
d. remove
7. An analogy made in the passage is that sentences
are to writing as:
a. courage is to bare reality.
b. bearing walls are to vision.
c. bricks are to building.
d. painting is to freedom.
8. The author claims that putting a book together
is life at its most free because:
a. you select your own materials, task, and
pace.
b. you can fully express your inner self.
c. nothing is more intellectually demanding.
d. you create something valued by the entire
world.
9. The author of the passage describes the vision
as:
I. a chip of mind
II. the by-product of your day’s triviality
III. a glowing thing
a. II only
b. III only
c. I and II only
d. I and III only
10. The author asserts that it will be a miracle if,
during the course of revision, the writer is able
to salvage:
a. some of the bricks.
b. any of the words.
c. some of the paragraphs.
d. all of the path.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act reading— humanities 1
First, this: Please note how many of the “Author’s Choice” answers below can be found
verbatim in the passage. Get used to the idea that you will never be asked to make a
major inference, so if your preferred answer choice ever needs to be preceded by
“therefore,” it’s wrong.
1. A. Did you cross out engages in line 52? Did you also cross it out in the question, and
then plug in the words in the clues, one by one, until one worked? This is a very silly
technique that has one advantage: It works.
2. D. Here, we have to find three references. Luckily, two of them (“surgeon” and
“miner”) can be found in lines 2-3; the other, “painter,” is found in lines 68-69.
3. B. As the author states in lines 44-47, “The part you must jettison is not only the bestwritten part; it is also, oddly, that part which was to have been the very point. It is the
original key passage, ...” If you chose (a), it’s the throwing away that’s painful, not
the writing itself.
4. C. This is a model ACT “big picture” correct answer choice. It states that the writer is
a reasonable human being sharing a real experience with us, rather than a dimestore philosopher (choice (b)) or an arguing hack (the other choices).
5. C. As the author states in line 12, “The writing has changed ...” You never know
whether you’re looking at an “easy” or a “hard” ACT reading question; what you do
know, however, is that there’s only one right answer. So, if you decided to pick (a),
consider this: While the author feels that a writer must be humble, does she ever spell
out why writers (plural) need to learn humility? ACT language is precise, which is
good for you.
6. B. Did you cross out hammer out in lines 10-11? Did you also cross it out in the
question, and then plug in the words in the clues, one by one, until one worked?
How does one create “reports”? Note that your choice must work with the next verb,
“dispatch,” since the author says that a writer does both.
7. C. In lines 38-39, the author states: “You can save some of the sentences, like bricks
...” Note how much of what you’re asked to do is report what the author has said
explicitly.
8. A. In lines 57-58, she states: “... you select your materials, ... and pace yourself.”
9. D. In lines 73-76, the author describes the vision: “It is a chip of mind, a pleasing
intellectual object. It is a vision of the work, not of the world. It is a glowing thing, ...”
She discusses Roman II in lines 64-65; luckily for us who remembered all three, there
was no choice that said, “I, II, and III.”
10. C. In lines 39-41, the author states: “It will be a miracle if you can save some of the
paragraphs.”
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
act reading— natural science 1
NATURAL SCIENCE: This passage is adapted from Lana Selfridge and Habib Shakti’s Particles Under Glass
(©1993 by Lana Selfridge and Habib Shakti).
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The detector is a kind of ultimate microscope,
which records what happens when a [subatomic]
particle strikes another particle, either in a fixed
target such as a lump of metal or a chamber filled
with a gas or liquid, or in an oncoming beam in a
collider. The 1950s and 60s were the age of the
bubble chamber, so called because electrically
charged particles moving through it produce trails
of tiny bubbles in the liquid filling the chamber.
[But today most] experiments are based on
electronic detectors.
Detectors rarely record all the particle
collisions that occur in a particular experiment.
Usually collisions occur thousands of times a
second and no equipment can respond quickly
enough to record all the associated data.
Moreover, many of the collisions may reveal
mundane ‘events’ that are relatively well
understood. So the experimenters often define
beforehand the types of event that may reveal the
particles they are trying to find, and program the
detector accordingly. This is what a major part of
the electronics in a detector is all about. The
electronics form a filter system, which decides
within a split second whether a collision has
produced the kind of event that the experimenters
have defined as interesting and which should
therefore be recorded by the computer. Of the
thousands of collisions per second, only one may
actually be recorded. One of the advantages of this
approach is its flexibility: the filter system can
always be reprogrammed to select different types
of event.
Often, computer graphics enable the events to
be displayed on computer monitors as images,
which help the physicists to discover whether their
detector is functioning in the correct way and to
interpret complex or novel events. Imaging has
always played an important role in particle physics.
In earlier days, much of the data was actually
recorded in photographic form—in pictures of
tracks through cloud chambers and bubble
chambers, or even directly in the emulsion of
special photographic film. Many of these images
have a peculiar aesthetic appeal, resembling
abstract art. Even at the subatomic level nature
presents images of itself that reflect our own
imaginings. The essential clue to understanding
the images of particle physics is that they show the
tracks of the particles, not the particles themselves.
What a pion, for instance, really looks like remains
a mystery, but its passage through a substance—
solid, liquid, or gas—can be recorded. Particle
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physicists have become as adept at interpreting
the types of track left by different particles as the
American Indians were at interpreting the tracks
of an enemy.
A number of simple clues immediately
narrows down the possibilities. For instance,
many detectors are based around a magnet. This
is because the tracks of electrically-charged
particles are bent in a magnetic field. A curving
track is the signature of a charged particle. And if
you know the direction of the magnetic field,
then the way that the track curves—to left or
right, say—tells you whether the particle is
positively or negatively charged. The radius of
curvature is also important, and depends on the
particle’s velocity and mass. Electrons, for
instance, which are very lightweight particles, can
curve so much in a magnetic field that their
tracks form tight little spirals.
Most of the subatomic zoo of particles have
brief lives, less than a billionth of a second. But
this is often long enough for the particle to leave
a measurable track. Relatively long-lived particles
leave long tracks, which can pass right through
the detector. Shorter-lived particles, on the other
hand, usually decay visibly, giving birth to two or
more new particles. These decays are often easily
identified in images: a single track turns into
several tracks. Neutral particles present more of a
headache to experimenters. Particles without an
electric charge leave no tracks in a detector, so
their presence can be deduced only from their
interactions or their decay products. If you see
two tracks starting at a common point, apparently
arising from nowhere, you can be almost certain
that this is where a neutral particle has decayed
into two charged particles.
Our perception of nature has deepened not
only because the accelerators have increased in
power, but also because the detection techniques
have grown more sophisticated. The quality of
particle imagery and the range of information it
provides have both improved over the years.
act reading—natural science 1
2
1. The main idea of the passage is that:
a. most particle collisions are “mundane”
events.
b. bubble chambers were constructed to
capture high-energy particles.
c. the technology for detecting particle images
is improving.
d. the detection of particle images has direct
application to the study of nuclear energy.
2. The passage states that magnets affect atomic
particles by:
a. influencing the direction particles travel.
b. turning particles into negatively charged
electrons.
c. increasing the life of particles.
d. causing positive and negative particles to
collide.
3. The passage states that which of the following
particles leaves a long track?
a. A positively charged particle
b. A negatively charged particle
c. A short-lived particle
d. A long-lived particle
4. As it is used in line 51, the word pion precisely
refers to:
a. an image.
b. a track.
c. a particle.
d. a molecule.
5. According to the passage, which of the
following CANNOT be tracked electronically by
experimenters?
a. Electrically charged particles
b. Pion particles
c. Negatively charged particles
d. Neutral particles
6. Which of the following statements would the
authors most likely agree with?
a. Most tracking of electrically charged
particles is difficult and inaccurate.
b. Tracking of electrically charged particles is
still primitive because of unclear
photographs.
c. Short-lived particles are easier to track than
long-lived particles.
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d.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Electrically charged particles can be tracked
with the right equipment and careful
observation.
What, according to the passage, is one effect of
charged particles passing through a bubble
chamber?
a. Collisions of the particles as they are
stopped by the bubbles
b. Computer images that can be greatly
enhanced
c. Photographs of the actual particles
d. Patterns of tiny bubbles in the liquid filling
the chamber
The passage suggests that the greatest difference
between experiments done with a bubble
chamber and those done with electronic
detectors is that:
a. bubble chambers are much better at
tracking the particles.
b. electronic detectors can track pions.
c. electronic detectors are more selective of
the particle events.
d. electronic detectors can photograph the
particles themselves.
How does the analogy likening the detector to
the microscope function in the passage?
a. It suggests that the detector, like the
microscope, reveals to scientists a part of
reality not easily seen.
b. It presents the differences and similarities
in the way a detector works compared to a
microscope.
c. It proves that all instruments are ultimately
the same in the way that they function in a
laboratory.
d. It introduces the argument in the passage
that all detectors, whether microscope,
bubble chamber, or collider, present images
that resemble abstract art.
What is the main idea of the second paragraph
(lines 12-33)?
a. Even the best detectors still miss most of
the important collisions in an experiment.
b. New technology allows scientists to select
the collisions they want to record.
c. Despite the new technology, detectors still
record mostly mundane events.
d. Scientists can now use computers to record
virtually all the collisions in an experiment.
ACT TEN FOR TEN®
ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS
act reading— natural science 1
1. C. The main idea of any non-fiction passage will show up at the beginning of the
passage. Here, the Author discusses the detector and the history of how scientists
have tracked particles. According to the author, the technology is improving.
Choice (a) is a detail that shows up later on, and although (d) is probably true, the
author never says so, which means that it can never be right.
2. A. Such particles are positively or negatively charged, so they will respond to a
magnetic field (lines 62-67). If you chose (d), you used your imagination. Don’t.
3. D. As the Author states beginning in line 76, “Relatively long-lived particles leave long
tracks, ...” If you decided to choose (b) because you read about electrons
sometimes spiraling towards the magnet, the Author said nothing about the length of
the electron tracks, only the shape.
4. C. Whenever you use “for instance,” aren’t you about to introduce evidence in
support of a point you just made? ACT authors use “for instance” in the same way.
One of the keys to working on passages is to answer “evidence” questions by
identifying the thesis the evidence supports. Here, that thesis is in the previous line:
“The essential clue to understanding the images of particle physics is that they show
the tracks of the particles, not the particles themselves.”
5. D. The author states beginning in line 82, “Neutral particles ... leave no tracks in a
detector, so ...” If you chose (a) or (c), please note that anytime it appears that two
choices must be right (because they are so similar), neither one is right.
6. D. Here’s where the Author’s Choice really comes in handy: One of the choices
highlights an important point in the passage without overstating anything. If you
chose (a), did the author really say that most current tracking is inaccurate? Similarly,
if you chose (b), did you confuse the “old” technology with the current technology?
7. D. As the Author stated about the bubble chamber in lines 7-9, “so called because
electrically charged particles moving through it produce trails of tiny bubbles in the
liquid filling the chamber.” [emphasis added]
8. C. The Author states in the second paragraph that “This is what a major part of the
electronics in a detector is all about. The electronics form a filter system, which
decides ... whether a collision has produced the kind of event ... which should
therefore be recorded by the computer.” Although the Author uses pions as a “for
instance,” she never does so in order to distinguish between bubble chambers and
particle detectors.
9. A. The answer to this question begins in line 1, “which records what happens when a
[subatomic] particle strikes another particle ...” This is about as close to an actual
inference as you’ll ever be asked to make, and it’s really not much of an stretch,
since both devices let scientists see really small things.
act reading—natural science 1
answers and explanations
2
10. B. This question is a reprise of question 8, where the right answer had to do with how
scientists can use particle detectors to distinguish between interesting and
uninteresting events. If you chose (a), you mistook the Author’s point that scientists
choose not to record most collisions to mean that the detectors missed most of the
important collisions. By the way, if the detector missed the important collisions, how
would anyone know that those collisions even took place? Choice (c) is the
opposite of the Author’s point, and choice (d) is denied by the information at the
beginning of the second paragraph.
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