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One of the main differences between the ACT and the SAT is the ACT’s science section. It is uniquely designed to measure interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences with 40 questions in 35 minutes.
Many students pick the ACT because of their strengths in the math and English sections, but they may struggle with some of the science skills, especially if they haven’t been reviewed much at their school. In this post we’ll go over our top 10 tips for ACT science success!
You will encounter three types of ACT science questions:
2-3 Data Representation Passages, with 5 or 6 questions per passage.
2-3 Research Summary Passages, with 5 or 6 questions per passage.
1 Conflicting Viewpoints Passage, with 7 questions per passage.
It’s important to be able to understand and identify each question type, as each requires a different strategy. Don’t treat them all the same! We’ll go over the differences and definitions of each in the next few tips, as defined by ACT.org.
Standardized multiple-choice exams usually test your ability to get as many questions correct as possible, not your holistic understanding of the material. Each ACT question is worth the same point value, so you shouldn’t spend too much time on one question. Instead, we strongly recommend practicing each question type to see which comes the easiest and fastest for you, and which require additional practice.
This question type focuses mostly on charts, graphs, and tables. It is designed to measure your ability to recognize relationships among data in tables and graphs, and interpolate, extrapolate, and translate tabular data into graphs. To improve on this passage type, practice identifying variables, units, and trends.
These questions can be pretty approachable if you’ve mastered reading graphs. To save time, focus on visuals instead of reading the passages when answering these. We especially recommend this technique for slower readers. Lightly skim the passages and refer back to them if you must. But, for the most part you won’t actually need to read the passage to find your answer. Most questions just ask about the data presented in the visuals, and at the very least, the data can help you with process of elimination.
These passages provide descriptions and results from one or more related experiments. The questions focus on experimental design and the interpretation of experimental results.
Like the data representation passages, these are often approached best by focusing on graphic information instead of unnecessarily wasting time reading the passages in-depth. The answers to these questions will often be found directly in the graphs, though it will often be helpful to refer to the passage to double check your logic.
These questions present two or more conflicting explanations for the same scientific phenomena. They are inconsistent with one another because they are based on either different premises or incomplete data. Conflicting viewpoints passages test your ability to understand, analyze, and compare alternative viewpoints and hypotheses.
In contrast to the cases of data representation and research summary questions, we strongly recommend reading the full passage for this one before going into the questions because it requires an in-depth understanding of both arguments and how they compare.
Because these questions require a thorough understanding of the text, they are often the most time-consuming for students. If you struggle with completing the ACT on time, we strongly recommend leaving this question type for last. Remember, each question is worth the same, so it’s best to get as many “easy” ones correct as possible early on in the exam in order to A) give you a solid time cushion for the more time-consuming ones, and B) save you from missing questions that you would’ve otherwise easily answered correctly if you’d had the time.
As mentioned before, we recommend focusing your studying on the passage types that are most difficult for you. However, weak spots aren’t exclusively limited to question types. Many students struggle with time management, attention to detail, or other small mistakes. It’s your main job to identify what yours are. After taking each practice test, check back on the questions you missed. Try to concretely understand why you missed these questions, and see if there are any commonalities between the ones you missed.
It’s also important to understand timing. While taking the test, note which questions take longer than others, and try to understand why. Of course, passage-based ones like conflicting viewpoints are often simply meant to take longer, but sometimes you’re chipping away at your time by taking too long to read graphs because you’re unfamiliar with certain types. Or, maybe you often refer back to the passages to answer questions when the answer could be more readily found in the graph.