Fiveable's ACT Science Section Overview: What's On It?

With 40 questions to answer in 35 minutes, the 4th (and maybe final!) science section is both unique to the ACT and consistent with the time crunch for the rest of the exam. In this guide, we'll cover an overview of what's in this section so when you go to take it, you'll know exactly what to expect!

🧑‍🔬 Content Overview

The ACT science section is actually similar in format to the reading section because you are provided with several passages and multiple-choice questions that you answer based on what you read in the article. 

According to the Official ACT Guide, the questions will ask you to:

• • recognize and comprehend basic science concepts that are mentioned in the passages.
• • examine relationships between the information in the passages, such as hypotheses and conclusions, and connect them to any graphical elements provided, such as tables or graphs.
• • use the information that is given in the passage to draw further conclusions and/or predictions about the data. Some questions will reference what you know from your high school science classes, but most of them are based on what you read in the articles. Be sure to be familiar with basic scientific principles such as the scientific method 🔁, independent and dependent variables 📊, etc.

📃 Breakdown of Questions

There are three types of passages in the ACT science section: data representation 📈, research summaries 🔬, and conflicting viewpoints ⚔️. We'll go into more detail for each type of passage below.

• • 📈 Data Representation: 2-3 passages with 6-7 questions each. These types of passages present graphs and tables that are similar to what you would find in a scientific article. Skills that are tested with these types of questions include recognizing relationships among different variables in a graph, interpolation (predicting what happens on a graph between data points) and extrapolation (predicting what happens on a graph after the last data point), and recognizing data in tables 🔢 when translated to a graph.
• • 🔬 Research Summaries: 2-3 passages with 6-7 questions for each. These passages include descriptions and/or results of an experiment. The questions involved with this format focus on experimental design and interpretation of results based on the provided experiment.
• • ⚔️ Conflicting Viewpoints: 1 passage with 7 questions and this is typically the last passage on the test. This passage is text-based and provides two or more explanations of the same scientific discovery. The catch is that they are both inconsistent with each other! These questions focus on comprehending alternative hypotheses.

Scoring

A total of four scores are reported for the science section: an overall score, and three category scores that assess different categories.

• • 🔢 Interpretation of Data (40–50%)
• • 🔍 Scientific Investigation (20–30%)
• • 📉 Evaluation of Models, Inferences, & Experimental Results (25–35%) The scoring distribution can help with studying and determining the types of questions you should focus on!

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🧪 ACT Science Section Tips

Here are some specific test-taking tips for any type of passage in the ACT science section.

• • 🏃 Pace Yourself: Time is essential in any ACT section, but especially in this section since you've been sitting for a long time and you're probably tired and ready to go home 🥱. You have exactly 52.5 seconds per question, but some questions will go faster than others. Try to spend about 5 minutes on each passage, saving the text-based conflicting viewpoints passage for last.
• • ❔ Skim Questions: Before reading each passage, be sure to skim the respective questions to know exactly what you are looking for, especially any graphs or tables that are provided. It will be a great time-saver and you can relocate that time for hard questions.
• • 🚫 Know When To Skip: Although we hope you are prepared for all questions, sometimes freezing up is inevitable. If this happens, don't panic! Take a breath and skip the question to come back to later. Due to the fast-paced timing, you have to keep moving forward. Save the hardest questions for last and don't force yourself to figure out the question at that moment.
• • 🖊️ Annotate: Since you are short on time, analyzing graphs and tables will be one of your biggest time-savers! Make sure to make quick notes about relationships between variables on graphs and any significant data points in tables so that even if you have to skip a question, you can come back to some of your notes.

Note about the Conflicting Viewpoints Passage: Be sure to read the ENTIRETY of the conflicting viewpoints passage! It may be easy to skim the text, but it is very easy to miss details since they are opposing angles to the same concept.

• • ✅ Answer Everything: All of the questions are worth the same and there is no penalty for wrong answers, so don't make the mistake of leaving any question unanswered! Use the process of elimination for questions you're on the fence about and as a last resort, make sure to have your letter of the day to bubble in.

Everyone is going through the same thing right now, so don't think you're alone! You got this! Image courtesy of Museums Victoria on Unsplash

By reading this guide, you have taken the first step towards prepping for the ACT science section. With practice, you can take the steps to prepare for test day! Good luck! 😀🚀