Official ACT Science Guide

ACT Education Corp. (Iowa City, IA) is a public benefit corporation providing assessment, research, information, and program management services to support education and workforce development. Known most widely as the makers of the ACT exam—the college readiness and placement assessment taken by some 1.8 million high school students each year—ACT produces a number of assessments and services reaching more than 10 million people along the kindergarten through career continuum. ACT's rigorous research informs policy decisions and helps develop programs that boost lifelong learning potential in schools and workplaces around the world. To learn more, visit www.act.org.

• Introduction viiChapter 1: Data Representation Passages 1Passages on the ACT Science Test 1What You Can Expect from a Data Representation Passage 3Trying Your Hand at a Data Representation Passage 5Summary 15Chapter 2: Research Summaries Passages 17What You Can Expect from a Research Summaries Passage 17How You Should Approach a Research Summaries Passage 18Trying Your Hand at a Research Summaries Passage 20Sample Question Answers and Analysis 26Summary 30Chapter 3: Conflicting Viewpoints Passages 33What You Can Expect from a Conflicting Viewpoints Passage 33Trying Your Hand at a Conflicting Viewpoints Passage 35Summary 44Chapter 4: Reporting Category: Interpretation of Data 47Understanding What a Reporting Category is 47Interpretation of Data 49Summary 64Chapter 5: Reporting Category: Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results 65Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results 66Summary 78Chapter 6: Reporting Category: Scientific Investigation 79Scientific Investigation 80Summary 87Chapter 7: The Scientific Method 89Understanding What Science is on the ACT 89Understanding What the Scientific Method and the Process of Science Are 90Steps of the Scientific Method 91Experimental Design 94Summary 99Chapter 8: Graphs and Charts on the ACT Science Test 101Reading Graphs 101Understanding Data Shown in Tables 105Relationships Shown in Graphs and Data Sets 107Summary 111Chapter 9: Scientific Units and Measurements 113Units in Science 113Understanding Why Units Matter for the ACT Science Test 114The SI System of Units (Metric Units) 114Review of the Many Types of Units and Measures You May Encounter 119Conversion between Metric and Nonmetric Units 124Summary 125Chapter 10: Science Vocabulary 127The Vocabulary of Science 127General Scientific Terms 128Chemistry and Biology Terminology 131Physics Terminology 148Properties of a Wave and the Electromagnetic Spectrum 151Concentration, pH, and Acid-Base Chemistry 157Summary 161Chapter 11: Practice Questions 163Chapter 12: Answers and Explanations 263Answer Key 264Explanatory Answers 266