ACT Science Section

Strategies for Success

The math section requires that you apply basic math knowledge to difficult problems. The science section requires no outside knowledge, but asks basic questions using difficult material. The science section is similar to the reading section. It requires common sense, critical thinking skills, reading comprehension skills, logical thinking ability, convergent / divergent thinking, analytical thinking as well as inductive / deductive thinking.  The ACT test designers realize it’s impossible to assess all science knowledge using a 35 minute test. There’s just way too much science knowledge to draw from.  Instead, the ACT supplies scientific topics in the passages and then test scientific reasoning after you read the passages. You are required to absorb a lot of information in a very short amount of time and apply your knowledge of scientific procedures and methods.  Make connections, discover relationships and form logical conclusions using only the information provided. Answer the contrived questions based only on the contents in the passages and not outside info. The science section is essentially a logic and reasoning test. Think of the passages as riddles or logic puzzles.

The questions are based on scientific skills contained in the passages and not on outside scientific knowledge. Other basic skills include, but not limited to: 1) Data interpretation 2) Pattern recognition with data or numbers 3) Scientific Projections like making predictions 4) Supporting or rejecting hypotheses 5) reading tables, graphs and research summaries.

Don’t think you’re going to be a Nobel Prize winner or studying for your PhD. The goal is get more correct answers than wrong ones. Here are some basic strategies:

1)   Skim the passage and questions (about one minute). Don’t get trapped trying to figure out every detail. Get the general idea.

2)   Read the passage for comprehension. You have about 4 minutes to read and answer the questions for each section. As you read, keep asking “why.” Make notes and circle the words “not...” and “except.”

3)   When answering the questions, answer the question using your own interpretation of the information in the passage. If your finding is not a choice use the process of elimination. In general, the process of elimination is very effective for the science section. There are three basic questions: A) Interpreting graphs and figures. B) Recognizing patterns by looking beyond the data C) Applying, attacking and/or defending scientific principles to make predictions.

4)   If a question is vague and confusing, condense it down to simpler elements by getting rid of useless information and putting it in your own words. In general, there’s a lot more information provided that’s really not required for answering questions. Don’t get lost in all the information. Keep yourself oriented by focusing on the “big picture.”

5)   Match your answer with one of the choices. If there’s no match, use process of elimination. Some choices are blatantly wrong because they are unscientific or illogical. Be wary of choices that use words like always, never, none or all. There are basic 4 types of questions:

a)    TRENDS, PATTERNS and PREDICTIONS. Look or direct and/or inverse relationships. Sometimes you have to go “one step beyond” the information.

b)   REASON, LOGIC and SENSIBILITY. Use if….then conditional. Apply scientific principles to new scenario.

c)    FITTING NEW INFORMATION INTO EXISTING DATA. Interpreting how additional information thru the use of the hypothetical or new data that needs to fit into existing data.  

d)   DEFENDING OR ATTACKING HYPOTHESES. You need to use scientific principles to support and defend your point of view.

6)   Use the “Goldilocks” approach to answering questions. One choice may be the opposite and one choice may not even be related. Of the other two, choose the one that’s “just right.” Think “best” answer, not necessarily the “precise” answer. Use the passage to support your answer.

7)   If a question has the phrase “based on the information…” you will most likely need to refer back to the text.

8)   The math section gets progressively more difficult. There is no pattern with the science section. Easy sections could be placed anywhere.

9)   Spend an average of 5 minutes on each of the 7 passages, but don’t rush. Be efficient with your time. Work methodically and pace yourself.

There are seven passages with a total of 40 questions. Three sections are Data Representation with 5 questions each (15 total.)  Three sections are Research or Experimental Reasoning with 6 questions each (18 total) and one section is Conflicting or Alternative View Point with 7 questions.

DATA REPRESENTATION SECTION

These are usually the easiest sections because they mostly deal with interpreting data. You may want to do these three sections first. You will be required to draw some inferences from the data, but do not use outside information. These passages have charts, graphs, pictures, illustrations, etc. and the objective is to test your ability to process graphical information and to interpret or make judgments about this information.  Basic strategies include:

1)   Don’t get bogged down with every minute detail. Note the KEY details. Get the basic gist of what’s happening. What does the figure show? What units of measurement are used? What do the headings say?

2)   If there’s a graph or chart, the probability is high that there will be a question on it. Same thing with italicized words.

3)   Be particularly critical of key differences and similarities between the various graphs, charts, etc. Does a pattern emerge? What are critical change points?

4)   Take advantage of the easy first and second questions. These are usually the most straightforward, basic questions the science portion. These questions direct you to exact areas of the passage and are similar to specific detail questions in the reading section.

5)   Know what exactly is being measured in the legends, keys, etc. Look for extreme measurements. Ignore jargon or useless information not related to the questions. Complex concepts or equations may be included, but if they are not needed to answer the questions, forget about them.

6)   Note labels of axes. Note quantities and how they are measured.

7)   Make informal guesses about what might or should happen if you project into future. Can you make any logical correlations? Are some things not related?

8)   Translate graphs into words so that you can understand the info so you can answer questions. Understand the independent and dependent variables.

9)   You can work backwards from the questions. Find a target in the question and hunt for the associated information in the passage.

10)                      You will be required to go “one step beyond.” You will be asked to determine a goal or future event that could possibly be achieved from this data.

RESEARCH SUMMARY or EXPERIMENTAL REASONING PASSAGES

You will be given two or three experiments and results with the expectation that you understand how experiments work. With experiments, hypotheses are formed and the hypothesis gets tested to find truth. Basic grasp of cause and effect is essential. First, discover the purposes or goals of the experiments. Make sure you have a clear understanding of what’s going on, esp. of the variables and controls/constants. The independent variable is what the scientist is changing and studying. The dependent variable is the actual result or the measureable change from the experiment. The independent variable is the usually on the x-axis while the dependent variable is registered on the y-axis. The control or constant is something that is left unaltered and is used as a comparison with the results of the experiment. Remember---the variables are things that ARE changed.

 With these types of passages, you will frequently be asked to refer back to the material when answering the questions.

Other basic strategies include:

1)   Use your critical thinking skills here. Keep on eye out for similarities and differences in the various experiments. Compare and contrast results as well as comparing with the control/constant.

2)   Refer back to text to find support for your answers.

3)   Don’t let inverse variation confuse you. When one element increases the other decreases. They use concepts like permeability and containment. When containment increases, permeability decreases.

CONFLICTING OR ALTERNATIVE VIEWPOINTS

Only one passage is a debate style and has seven questions. A scientific theory, event, viewpoint, principle or conclusion is presented with two or more different viewpoints. Critical thinking and intellectual analysis is required to support/prove or doubt/disprove someone’s ideas. This passage is not designed for you to prove which scientist(s) are right or wrong. It’s designed to see if you understand the thinking behind each position. The passage will have a statement of the general theory with a summary of the data supporting the theory. Some consider this type as the most challenging passage.

Basic strategies include:

1)   Put the arguments in your own words. By “owning” the arguments, you understand what is being debated and determine what each scientist believes. Make notes about the main idea. However, try not to become biased toward one particular view. Stay objective.

2)   Look for actual evidence that each scientist uses to support their view. Are they making any assumptions? Is there something missing that the scientists overlook? Sometimes the scientists are drawing opposite or conflicting interpretations from the same data. Data either supports a theory or weakens the opposing viewpoint. Your job is to discover what problems occur with the interpretations of the data.

3)   Many arguments surround mixing correlation with causation. A correlation is just any relationship or connection between events and results. Causation is the result of some agent or “cause” always producing some effect.

4)   Look for key terms like always, never, conclude, unmistakable, etc.

5)   Many questions involve the introduction of some new device or discovery that would affect each of the viewpoints. You will be asked to make critical judgments about how this new twist would affect the viewpoints.

6)   Follow the logic, not who’s correct.  Don’t take sides or get emotionally attached to one side. Better to focus on differences than similarities.

7)   Look thru the answers for clues---eliminate the ones that must be wrong.

General Strategies For All Three Types of Passages

1)   Preview------View-----Review

2)   Skim passage to understand the BIG PICTURE---then read for detail.

3)   The forest is the trends, patterns and ideas while the individual trees are the details. Look to the details to find trends.

4)   Make notes on side.

5)   Don’t fret about scientific jargon. Scientific words are usually defined in the passage.

6)   Stay organized. Don’t let the passage or questions mess you up.

7)   Concentrate on MAJOR relationships or connections.

8)   Think like a scientist. General to specific thinking is deductive while specific to general is inductive. Most ACT questions test specific to general thinking.

9)   Don’t make the test tougher than it really is. Some questions are extremely straightforward and not difficult at all.

10) One strategy is doing the data representation sections first, then the experiments. With time left, do the alternative viewpoints sections. Use most of your time answering the first few questions in each section and less time on the last couple.

POSSIBLE SUBJECTS FOR THE SCIENCE SECTION

 Geology, Astronomy, meteorology, Physics, Energy, Environmental Sciences, Ecology, Electromagnetism, Chemistry, Zoology, Botany, Evolution, Inorganic or Organic Chemistry, Properties of light, Genetics, atomic theory and oceanography.