<p>Hi, my son is a rising senior and will be taking Physics next year. He has taken AP Bio and Chem and scored 5's on them. He plans to take the ACT this Sept. What's the best way he can prepare for the Physics questions on the ACT? Please help.</p>
<p>I've taken the ACT and got a 35 subscore on the science section. No specific physics knowledge is required for the ACT test. However, do several practice tests and perhaps look at the physics passages closely after the test. Do not get tripped up by units of measure you've never heard of before.</p>
<p>I think beyond studying some basic vocabulary and becoming accustomed to physics passages, there's not a lot that needs to be done or can be done for the ACT Science.</p>
<p>They say that everything you need to answer the questions is in the passages. This is almost entirely true. Time is the killer on the Science section. If you are familiar with the passages somewhat, you can spend less time reading the intro's and studying the charts, which can be a big help, especially if he is a slow reader.</p>
<p>I think a really strong science background can almost be a handicap on the ACT because you might focus on the scientific details and try to actually understand the experiments. This is a mistake. It sounds like your son probably knows how to read a graph and interpret data, though, and that's all he needs. The best way to prepare: get a bunch of real practice tests, and figure out which kinds of passages you can do without reading them (skipping straight to the questions).</p>
<p>Does the same hold true for the reading section? Or for that would you recommend actually reading the entire passage before going on to the questions?</p>
<p>The annoying thing I find about the reading section is that you have to read the whole passage in order to answer the questions. Unlike the SAT, the ACT rarely give line references, so you are forced to read the entire passage in order to answer the questions. My advice is to read quickly, but making sure you understand what's going on.</p>
<p>Read quickly, but if you're running out of time skip it. That's what I did (got a 35).</p>
<p>Everyone's been saying it, but I can't stress enough that you need almost no science background. They throw in the fancy hormones, or bacteria A, or sleeping drugs to make it a little harder. When it comes down to it, it's a lot like this: In Experiment A, Substance B affects X one way, Substance C affects X another way, Substance D affects X another way. Then they ask a question based on the understanding of the relationships. Honestly, there's almost no science involved, although it makes it a little easier to visualize if you know the terms.</p>
<p>I think being familiar with science stuff is a bonus. I mean I get way "stressed" when i see a passage on physics because i haven't taken it yet, versus seeing a passage on photosynthesis-->biology which I have taken. I guess it wouldn't hurt to do practice problems on the passages you're struggling with. However, just be sure not to be so familiar that you're not looking at the charts closely during exam time.</p>