ACT Science Review

Types of Questions

100

This type of question is fairly straightforward and simply requires you to read and interpret the information presented

Data Representation

200

This type of question presents a series of different experiments on the same topic. They may ask about the design of the experiment and how a hypothesis is tested, confirmed, or refuted.

Research Summary

300

These types of questions are typically seen as the easiest on ACT Science

Data Representation

400

These types of questions are typically seen as the most difficult in ACT Science

Conflicting Viewpoints

500

These questions/passages give several competing hypotheses. You will be asked to understand the hypotheses, both on their own and in relation to each other.

Conflicting Viewpoints

Test Format

100

How many questions are on ACT Science?

40

200

How much time do you have to complete ACT Science?

35 minutes

300

ACT Science is made up of how many passages? (range)

6-7 passages

400

Name 3 of the 4 categories of Science tested on the ACT.

Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth/Space Science

500

Which question type shows up the MOST on the Science ACT? Data Representation Research Summaries Conflicting Viewpoints

Research Summary questions make up 45%-55% of ACT Science test. (about 18-22 questions)

True or False

100

True/False: Read the whole passage in full and try to absorb as much information as possible.

False. Treat this like ACT Reading. Skim the passages, get the Main Ideas, and move on to the questions!

200

You will probably need a calculator to answer some of the questions in ACT Science (even though you won't have access to one)

False. Any information you need is on the page or in the passage. Even if you need to use a scientific formula, you will not need a calculator for this test.

300

True/False: You do not need to know much Science knowledge to do well on this test. 90-95 percent of the questions are not based on content knowledge.

True! only 5-10 percent of ACT Science questions require you to know science knowledge that isn't written on the page. (For example, you may need to know what volume is, or the periodic symbol for iron.)

400

True/False: If you're having a difficult time getting to all of the passages, you may consider skipping 1 or 2 of them all together.

True. Skipping one or two passages could give you a little extra time to spend on the other passages. Don't forget to still make guesses on skipped questions!

500

True/False: You should find the Conflicting Viewpoints passage FIRST and complete it at the very beginning of the testing time.

False! Conflicting Viewpoints passages and questions are more difficult and can be time consuming. You should skip the Conflicting Viewpoints passage and save it for last so that you have enough time to answer the easier questions.