PSAE/ACT Science Test Helpful Hints
by Angela Zarley
April 06, 2009
Refer to the websites below for practice test questions:
http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/index.html
http://www.isbe.net/assessment/psae.htm
Cell phones will not be allowed in the test room during PSAE
testing. "If we find that you have brought a cell phone.... into
the test room or you use one during breaks, you will be dismissed
and your answer folder will not be scored".
PSAE/ACT Helpful Hints from the Science Dept.:
1. This is the single most important test of your high school
career. Take it seriously.
2. You’re dealing with a long, grueling exam- 3 hours and 30
minutes, so get plenty of rest, eat right, and drink lots of water,
so you are alert and focused throughout the entire test.
3. Prepare yourself for the PSAE tests by taking many practice
tests. In addition to the science test contained in the booklet
passed out at the PSAE prep classes you can find additional tests
by going to act.org
4. Pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses so you can customize and
focus your study time.
5. The Science ACT test is 35 minutes long and includes 40
questions. By taking practice tests you will know in advance what
to expect on the test. The directions on the practice test are the
same as the directions on the real test. Learn the directions so
you don’t waste valuable time reading directions on test day. You
need every second during the test to answer questions and get
points.
6. The questions on the test are not arranged in order of
difficulty. You may encounter some impossible science questions and
then some easier ones later on. Relax! Take an educated guess on
the really tough ones and move on to the easier ones you can
answer.
7. Leave no answers blank. If you can’t answer a question,
guess.
8. The ACT test does not test your memory. The ACT tests your
problem solving skills. Many ACT questions can be answered without
perfect knowledge of the material being tested. You need to think
strategically and creatively. You need to have “The ACT
Mindset”.
“The ACT Mindset”
What does this mean?
How can I put this into a form I can understand and use?
How can I do this faster?
9. Many science questions rely on your ability to use data
presented in the forms of graphs and tables. Practice reading data
tables and graphs. Look for patterns in the data. The answer to
every ACT question can be found in the test. On the science test
there are seven passages with associated questions that ask you to
analyze data, experiments, and arguments between scientists. The
best plan of attack is to do each passage as a block and take a
“triage pass”(easy ones first, guess on the impossible ones, hold
off on the difficult but possible questions). “Triage” overview:
Take a longish first pass through all the questions in the first
passage doing the easy ones first, guessing on the impossible ones,
and skipping the ones that look like they might give you trouble.
Then, make a second pass (cleanup pass) on the first passage and do
those questions you think you can solve if you spend a little extra
time on them. Do not move onto the next passage until you have
answered all the questions in the first passage.
10. Be Smart! Write all over your test booklet. Crossing out wrong
answers eliminates confusion and helps you to see clearly which
answer is correct. Underline key points when reading passages helps
you to find the main idea.
11. The wording on some of the ACT questions can be confusing. If
the question is referring to numerical data on a graph then find
the number on the graph and choose the answer for the corresponding
x or y axis.
12. In Science always refer to the place in the passage where the
answer to a question can be found (the question will often contain
a reference to a specific table, graph, or experiment) to help you
out. Your chosen answer should match the passage –not in exact
units of measurement, perhaps, but in meaning.
13. Checking back to the passage is especially important in science
because often the wrong answer will be details taken from different
parts of the passage. There are things that don’t answer the
question properly but that might sound good to you if you aren’t
careful. By checking back with the passage, you can avoid choosing
clever wrong answers.
14. Don’t pick a choice just because it contains “key words” you
remember from the passage. Many wrong choices are distortions- they
use the right words but say the wrong things about them. Look for
an answer choice that contains the same ideas you find in the
passage.
15. When putting your answers on the answer grid it is a good idea
to circle your answers in the test booklet first and after
completing all the questions in a passage then transfer the answers
to the grid. At the completion of each passage, (there are seven
passages on the science test) record your answers onto the grid.
This will save you time.
16. During the test the proctor should warn you there is five
minutes left. When there is five minutes left start gridding your
answers one by one. With a minute left fill in everything you’ve
left blank.
17. You need to pace yourself. You have 35 minutes to complete the
science test, seven passages, 40 questions. On average, science
questions should take about 30 seconds each. Each science passage
should take about five minutes. Use about one minute to pre-read
the passage, and about 4 minutes to consider the questions and
refer back to the passage. Bring a watch with you to the exam and
at the start of the science test set your watch to 12:00 and every
five minutes you should be moving onto the next passage.
18. The terminology and technicality of the science passages
overwhelm many students so it’s important not to panic if you don’t
understand the science passage. You can often get many of the
questions right even if you find the passage incomprehensible. In
science many of the questions are elementary problems based on
difficult material.
19. Don’t rely on remembering what you learned in science class,
ACT is not about memorization. Pull your answers out of the passage
on the page in front of you. Students who have done well in science
might choose the wrong answer because the wrong choice is
scientifically correct but it doesn’t relate to the passage. Be
careful.
20. Find the “details” in the science passages they almost always
relate to numbers or scientific processes, and are often contained
in graphs and tables rather than paragraph form.
21. Reading graphs, tables, and research summaries. Look for
patterns in the numbers that appear. Do these numbers get bigger or
smaller? Where are the highest numbers? the lowest? At what point
do the numbers change? A little calculation is sometimes required.
Think about what the numbers are telling you.
22. In science it is crucial to consider the questions and at least
try to answer them before looking at the answer choices. Refer to
the passage to find the answer, and try to match it with one of the
choices. Use the process of elimination as a fallback strategy for
hard questions- but don’t make it your main approach.
23. Be careful not to mix up units when taking information from
graphs, tables, and summaries. Don’t confuse decreases and
increases. Many questions will depend on whether you can correctly
identify the factors that decrease and the ones that increase. Read
the questions carefully! Many of the questions in science are
reversal questions. Always look for words like not and except in
the questions.
24. The five step method for ACT Science.
1. Pre-read the passage
2. Consider the question stem
3. Refer to the passage (before looking at the choices)
4. Answer the question in your own words
5. Match your answer with one of the choices
Pre-read the Passage
When pre-reading the passage do not get bogged down in details.
Instead skim the passage to get a general idea of what’s going on
and a sense of where certain types of data can be found.
All science passages have the same general structure. They begin
with an introduction. Always read the introduction first to orient
yourself. Don’t focus on details. After reviewing the introduction,
quickly scan the rest of the passage. What seems to be important?
size? shape? temperature? speed? chemical composition? Don’t worry
about the details and don’t try to remember it all. Plan to refer
to the passage when answering the questions. Mark up the test
booklet and circle important information. Get a sense for what kind
of data is contained in each graph and table, but don’t read the
data carefully yet! Take notes on general trends in the data, but
don’t waste time taking in information that may not be relevant to
the questions.
Consider the Question Stem
Most of your time will be spent considering the questions and
referring to the passage to find the answers. Here’s where you
should do most of your really careful reading. It’s essential that
you understand exactly what the question is asking. Then, go back
to the passage and get a sense of what the answer should be before
looking at the choices.
There are 3 basic kinds of Science questions:
38% Data Analysis questions: for these questions go back to the
graphs and tables in the passage and analyze the data. Look for
patterns in the data.
45% Experiment questions: Make sure you understand the purpose of
the experiment. What are the scientists trying to prove? Identify
the control group and the factor that is being varied from one
trial to the next. In answering these questions rely on your
knowledge of scientific methods and procedures. Don’t rely heavily
on any knowledge of specific facts from science class because a
wrong choice can be scientifically correct but not relate to the
passage.
17% Principle questions: These questions ask you to apply a
scientific principle, or to identify ways of defending or attacking
a principle. This includes making predictions based on a given
theory, or showing how a hypothesis might be strengthened or
weakened by particular findings. These are the types of questions
that need to be considered when completing the Conflicting
Viewpoints passage.
Do these 4 things when reading tables and graphs
1. Determine what is being represented (most graphs have titles,
read the title, if there is no title then read the
introduction)
2. Determine what the axes (or columns and rows) represent (axes
are usually labeled, x-axis(horizontal) independent variable,
y-axis(vertical) dependent variable)
3. Take note of units of measurement (know your metric units,
example 1km = 1000m)
4. Look for trends in the data (inverse or direct relationship
between x and y axes)(don’t assume there is always a pattern,
finding that there is no pattern is just as important as finding
that there is one)
When looking for trends keep 3 things in mind:
1. Extremes, maximums and minimums- are merely the highest and
lowest pts. things reach
2. Critical Points-points of change, when you scan the numbers in a
chart or points on a graph, look for places where values bunch
together or where suddenly something special happens.
3. Variation-refers to the way two different things change in
relation to each other. Direct variation means that two things vary
in the same way, when one gets bigger so does the other, inverse
variation means that two things vary in opposite ways, when one
gets bigger the other gets smaller
Copies of graphs that depict direct relationship, inverse
relationship,
pg.49 #21, graph B depicts direct relationship, graph c. inverse
relationship
Experiments
Remember how experiments work. There is typically (though not
always) a control group plus an experimental group or groups. In a
well designed experiment, the only difference between the groups
will be a variation in the factor that’s being tested. Ask
yourself:
What’s the factor that’s being varied? That is what is being
tested.
What’s the control group, if any? It’s the group that has nothing
special done to it.
What do the results show? What differences exist between the
results for the control group and those for the other groups?
Conflicting Viewpoints Passage
Spend a little more time than usual on the pre-reading step of this
passage. Focus on the two points of view. What are the scientists
arguing about? What do they agree on, if anything? What do they
differ on? Identify the following for each scientist:
Basic theory statement (usually the first sentence of each
scientist’s presentation)
Major pieces of data behind the theory (keeping in mind whether
each supports the scientist’s own theory or weakens the opposing
scientist’s theory)
Many questions on the conflicting viewpoints passage involve
evidence: what evidence was presented, what evidence would hurt or
help one scientist’s views, what evidence was used for what
purpose. It’s important that you take note of the evidence(data)
each scientist uses.
Units
ppm = parts per million
Celsius
meter
liter
gram
pressure
time
speed
Metric Chart
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If you have learned only these things today
1. The information you need is given in the passages- don’t rely on
your outside knowledge of science.
2. Approach science passages like reading passages: pre-read to get
the sense of a passage, focus on the question stem, and find the
answer in the data or scenario given.
3. When reading graphs and tables, determine what’s being
represented, the units of measurement, and any patterns or
trends.
4. When you encounter experiment questions, identify the factor
being varied, the control group (if any), and how results vary
between groups.
5. Look for Data Analysis questions first- they’ll usually get you
the quickest points.
6. Some scenarios ask you to make inferences about data (specific
to general); others ask you to use general ideas to determine what
will happen in a particular case (general to specific).
7. Each ACT Science test has one conflicting viewpoints passage in
which two scientists debate an issue.
8. Spend more time pre-reading conflicting viewpoints passages.
Determine each scientist’s view and identify the supporting and
undermining evidence.
9. You can get many science questions right even when you don’t
understand the entire passage. Don’t panic when faced with a tough
passage.
