“I hated every minute of
training, but I said, “Don’t quit.
Suffer now and live the rest of
your life as a champion.”
-Muhammad Ali
ACT
Science Strategies
2013-2014
ACT Prep
Hyman
What is on the
Scientific
Reasoning
section of the ACT?
These passages can
be arranged in any
order and there is no
hierarchy of difficulty,
so the easiest passage
might come at the
end….
Sneaky!
7 passages
– 3 Data
Representation
Passages
(5 Questions each)
– 3 Research
Summaries Passages
(6 Questions each)
– 1 Conflicting
Viewpoints Passage
(7 Questions each)
Per Passage Average
of 5 Minutes!
By the way…
The 5 questions on each of the 3
Data Representation Passages,
The 6 questions on each of the 3
Research Summaries Passages, and
The 7 questions on the 1 Conflicting
Viewpoints Passage
Equals a grand total of 40 questions.
What is being tested…
The truth is, the type of passage is much
more important than the content of the
passage. While the passage might be
about solar flares or the dispersion of
carbon atoms in the ozone, it is really
testing whether or not you can:
1. Interpret graphs
2. Follow the logic of an experiment
3. Analyze an argument
Passage Breakdowns
Data Representation
Breakdown
The three Data Representation
passages contain one or more
charts (such as tables, graphs, or
illustrations).
The accompanying questions test
your understanding of and ability
to use the information presented in
these charts.
Helpful Advice
You’ll be able to
spot a data
representation
passage if you see
several large
graphic like charts,
tables, diagrams,
and graphs.
Research Summaries
Breakdown
There are three Research
Summaries passages on the
Science Reasoning Test. These
three passages generally present
two or three related experiments
and the data collected from
them.
You can think of Research
Summaries as Data
Representation placed in the
context of a large experiment.
Unnecessary
Information
The ACT Test writers sometimes include
information that is unnecessary for
solving any of the questions; for example,
on many Research Summaries passages,
where there are two or three experiments
to consider, some of the data inside
accompanying tables, charts or graphs
will not be used at all. You could have five
questions about coffee bean #1, and none
about coffee bean #2.
Do yourself a favor and take notes in the
margin!
Helpful Advice
Reading Strategy:
One
Sentence
Summaries
You’ll thank me later!
Conflicting Viewpoints
Breakdown
The ONE Conflicting
Viewpoints passage
presents you with two
or three alternative
theories on an
observable
phenomenon—such as
cloud formation or the
movement of tectonic
plates—and requires
that you understand the
differences and
similarities between
the viewpoints.
Step By Step Guide to
Conflicting VIewpoints
• Identify each theorist’s
basic premise
• Summarize
• Identify key components of
theories
• Summarize
• List any complex processes
in order with arrows
showing connections
Helpful Advice
Create a T-Chart on the
side of your paper in
order to quickly and
easily list the
information.
Remember you STILL
have a short amount of
time. This doesn’t
need to be pretty!
More Strategies
Go! Go! Go!
No, Seriously! This is the
next to last section on the
ACT, depending if you are
taking the “optional”
Writing Test or not. Pop a
peppermint, summon your
inner tri-athlete, and get
ready to power though!
Confusing Scientific Jargon
The concepts tested by the
Science Reasoning Test are
straightforward and merely
hidden by a thin veneer of
complicated terms, it
becomes much easier to see
through that jargon. So when
you see scientific terminology
that seems confusing, don’t
panic or get nervous. Take a
deep breath and break it
down. You’ll get through it
Read the Passage… FIRST!
It may be easy to look at
the charts, graphs, etc. and
try to figure out the best
answer, but the ACT
Writers aren’t going to
make it that simple.
Read the Passage… FIRST!
Before
answering the
questions,
make sure you
have a direct
understanding
of the following
four questions.
o What is being
tested?
o Why is it being
tested?
o What are the
variables?
o What are the
factors that stay the
same?
Please Remember…
Base your answers only on the contents of the
passage. In the case of the Science Reasoning
Test, external knowledge has the potential to
hurt you. All of the information you need to
know is in the passage. You may know more
about a subject than the ACT writer designing
the questions. If you read something into a
question that the ACT writer didn’t intend, you
have a good chance of getting the wrong
answer.
Pay Attention
Often, experiments or
research will be
explained numerically in
a table or graph, and
those numbers could be
explained in millimeters
in one table and meters in
another. If you
accidentally count the
millimeters as meters, you
could be in big trouble.
Pay attention to those
abbreviations.
Last, But Not Least
You’re Going to be OK!