ACT (Iowa City, IA) is a not-for-profit organization 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 vii

Chapter 1: Data Representation Passages 1

Passages on the ACT Science Test 1

What You Can Expect from a Data Representation Passage 3

Trying Your Hand at a Data Representation Passage 5

Summary 15

Chapter 2: Research Summaries Passages 17

What You Can Expect from a Research Summaries Passage 17

How You Should Approach a Research Summaries Passage 18

Trying Your Hand at a Research Summaries Passage 20

Sample Question Answers and Analysis 26

Summary 30

Chapter 3: Conflicting Viewpoints Passages 33

What You Can Expect from a Conflicting Viewpoints Passage 33

Trying Your Hand at a Conflicting Viewpoints Passage 35

Summary 44

Chapter 4: Reporting Category: Interpretation of Data 47

Understanding What a Reporting Category Is 47

Interpretation of Data 49

Summary 64

Chapter 5: Reporting Category: Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results 65

Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Experimental Results 66

Summary 78

Chapter 6: Reporting Category: Scientific Investigation 79

Scientific Investigation 80

Summary 87

Chapter 7: The Scientific Method 89

Understanding What Science is on the ACT 89

Understanding What the Scientific Method and the Process of Science Are 90

Steps of the Scientific Method 91

Experimental Design 94

Summary 99

Chapter 8: Graphs and Charts on the ACT Science Test 101

Reading Graphs 101

Understanding Data Shown in Tables 105

Relationships Shown in Graphs and Data Sets 107

Summary 111

Chapter 9: Scientific Units and Measurements 113

Units in Science 113

Understanding Why Units Matter for the ACT Science Test 114

The SI System of Units (Metric Units) 114

Review of the Many Types of Units and Measures You May Encounter 119

Conversion between Metric and Nonmetric Units 124

Summary 125

Chapter 10: Science Vocabulary 127

The Vocabulary of Science 127

General Scientific Terms 128

Chemistry and Biology Terminology 131

Physics Terminology 148

Properties of a Wave and the Electromagnetic Spectrum 151

Concentration, pH, and Acid-Base Chemistry 157

Summary 161

Chapter 11: Practice Questions 163

Chapter 12: Answers and Explanations 207

Answer Key 208

Explanatory Answers 209