AccelePrep for the ACT Test 2nd Edition Student Text

176 • S URGE TO S UCCESS ! S CIENCE T EST P REP

DEMYSTIFYING THE SCIENCE TEST

The Science Test consists of 40 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 35 minutes. The questions are divided into six or seven groups. Each group of items is based on a passage. Does this sound like the Reading Test? Well, Science passages are different from Reading passages because Science passages include a lot of diagrams, pictures, tables, and graphs, and they have less text than the Reading passages. There are three types of Science passages: • Data Representations ƒ”‡ ”‡’‘”–• ‘ˆ †ƒ–ƒ ϐ‹†‹‰• • Research Summaries are descriptions of experiments and associated data • ‘ϐŽ‹…–‹‰ ‹‡™’‘‹–• ƒ”‡ †‡„ƒ–‡• ‘ †‹ˆˆ‡”‡– •…‹‡–‹ϐ‹… theories Each Science question, or item, has four answer choices. You must select each answer based on what is stated or implied in the passage. Science passages use content from the following areas: • ‹‘Ž‘‰›ǣ botany, cellular biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, microbiology, zoology • Š‡‹•–”›ǣ biochemistry, organic chemistry, nuclear chemistry, thermochemistry, acids and bases, kinetics and equilibria, properties of matter • ƒ”–ŠȀ ’ƒ…‡…‹‡…‡•ǣ astronomy, environmental science, geology, meteorology, oceanography • Š›•‹…•ǣ ‡…Šƒ‹…•ǡ –Š‡”‘†›ƒ‹…•ǡ ϐŽ—‹†•ǡ •‘Ž‹†•ǡ electromagnetism, optics Don’t worry if you’ve taken a biology class and a chemistry class but not a physics class. The Science Test is not a test of science knowledge or science trivia; it’s a test of science reasoning. In other words, all of the information necessary to answer the items is included in the context of the accompanying passage, and you can reason the correct answers from the available information. Even if you are not particularly strong in science, you can still do well on the Science Test, as long as you practice your reasoning skills.

TEST SPECS Calculators are NOT allowed on the Science Test.

STRATEGY ALERT The Science Test is “open- book,” meaning you can refer to the passage at any time.

POWER TIP Science items test reasoning, not content knowledge.