Victory for the ACT Student Text 15e

292 • S CIENCE Answer the question that is being asked. One of the most common mistakes is to read the item stem carelessly and then answer the wrong question. It’s just a matter of inattention, in which you respond to what you think you read rather than what is actually there on the page. Since wrong answers often correspond to wrong readings, if you make this mistake, you are probably ‰‘‹‰ –‘ ϐ‹† ƒ ’”‡––› ‰‘‘† ƒ•™‡”Ȅ–‘ –Š‡ ™”‘‰ “—‡•–‹‘Ǥ Pay attention to thought-reversers. “Thought-reversers” are words in the item stem like “NOT,” “BUT,” and “EXCEPT.” These words turn the question upside-down. What is normally the right answer is now a wrong answer, and what is normally a wrong answer is the right answer. Circle these words or put stars beside them so that they keep your attention while you answer the question. ‘…ƒ–‡ –Š‡ ”‡Ž‡˜ƒ– ‹ˆ‘”ƒ–‹‘Ǥ Š‡ ϐ‹”•– ƒ† ‘ˆ–‡ Žƒ•– •–‡’ ‹ ƒ•™‡”‹‰ ƒ ‹–‡ ‹• –‘ Ž‘…ƒ–‡ the information you need. Most item stems use a key word or phrase to tell you where to look. ‘” ‡šƒ’Ž‡ǡ Dz‹ ƒ„Ž‡ ʹdz –‡ŽŽ• ›‘— –Šƒ– –Š‡ ‹ˆ‘”ƒ–‹‘ ›‘— ‡‡† ‹• Ž‘…ƒ–‡† ‹ ƒ„Ž‡ ʹǢ Dz–Š‡ troposphere” tells you that you need the graph, table, or description that supplies information ƒ„‘—– –Š‡ –”‘’‘•’Š‡”‡Ǣ ƒ† DzŽ‘™‡”‹‰ –Š‡ –‡’‡”ƒ–—”‡dz ‹†‹…ƒ–‡• –Šƒ– –Š‡ ƒ•™‡” ‹• ‹ –Š‡ subpart of the passage that provides information about temperature. Study the answer choices for guidance. The answer choices, like an item stem, can direct you to the subpart of the passage that contains the information you need. Consider the following item, in which only the answer choices are visible: Example: A. Sodium B. Potassium C. Lithium D. Oxygen With this array, you know to look at that table or graph or paragraph that includes the given list of terms. The choices will also give you guidance as to what degree of precision is required by the item. Often, the choices are ranges of values, such as 0.015 w to 0.018 w ǡ ”ƒ–Š‡” –Šƒ •’‡…‹ϐ‹…˜ƒŽ—‡•ǡ such as simply 0.018 w . Do not look for more precision than the choices allow. Read the answer choices carefully. The test-writers love to put in wrong answers that look right. For example, if a particular value doubles with a decrease in temperature from 40°C to 20°C, a question might ask, “Assuming the temperature rises from 20°C to 40°C, what happens to the value?” The correct answer is, of course, “The value is reduced by half.” But you can bet that the wrong answers will include ideas like “doubles,” “increases by one-fourth,” and “decreases by four,” or some other variation on those ideas. Do NOT spend too much time on any one item. Remember that you get +1 for the hardest item and +1 for the easiest item. The items that correspond to a Science passage tend to be arranged ˆ”‘ ‡ƒ•‹‡•– –‘ ‘•– †‹ˆϐ‹…—Ž–Ǥ ȋ Š‹• ‹• ‘– ƒ ƒ„•‘Ž—–‡ ”—Ž‡Ǣ ‹– ‹• Œ—•– –Š‡ –›’‹…ƒŽ ƒ””ƒ‰‡‡–ǤȌ Š‡ ϐ‹”•– ‹–‡ ƒ› ƒ• ›‘— –‘ ϐ‹† ƒ •‹‰Ž‡ —„‡” ‹ ƒ –ƒ„Ž‡Ǥ Š‡ •‡…‘† ‹–‡ ƒ› ƒ• ˆ‘” ƒ value that is the largest or smallest in a series. And the third item may require you to interpolate ƒ ˜ƒŽ—‡Ǥ Š‡ǡ –Š‡ ‰‘‹‰ ‹‰Š– ‰‡–…‘•‹†‡”ƒ„Ž› ‘”‡ †‹ˆϐ‹…—Ž–Ǥ ‘ǡ –”› –Š‡ ‡š– ‹–‡ǡ ƒ† ‹ˆ ‹– ‹• –‘–ƒŽŽ›…‘ˆ—•‹‰ǡ •‹’ –Š‡ ”‡•– ‘ˆ –Š‡ “—‡•–‹‘• ƒ† ‰‘ –‘ –Š‡ ‡š– ’ƒ••ƒ‰‡ ™Š‡”‡ –Š‡ †‹ˆϐ‹…—Ž–› ”‡•‡–• –‘ –Š‡ Ž‘™‡•– •‡––‹‰Ǥ † †‘ǯ– ˆ‘”‰‡–ǣ –Š‡ –‡•– Šƒ• ‘ ’‡ƒŽ–› ˆ‘” ‰—‡••‹‰Ǥ ˆ ›‘— ϐ‹† ›‘—”•‡Žˆ •–—… ‘ ƒ †‹ˆϐ‹…—Ž– ‹–‡ǡ ‡Ž‹‹ƒ–‡ ƒ• ƒ›…Š‘‹…‡• ƒ• ’‘••‹„Ž‡ǡ ‰—‡••ǡ ƒ† ‘˜‡ ‘Ǩ Answer the Items Use the Answer Choices Eliminate Choices, Guess (If Necessary), and Move On