<p>i'm wondering how hard is the science section in the ACT? did you guys get by with just science you learned from school such as life sciences, bio, and regular chemistry? or did you guys have to study a lot more from prep books?</p>
<p>In my opinion, the ACT science is ridicously hard. It does not test your knowledge of science. Instead, it tests your ability to read graphs and analyze data. The material is easy, but the lack of time makes the test seem hard. Using ACT prep books would be more helpful.</p>
<p>I agree. It's not the acutal content that is hard, it's the brutal time constraints. Make sure to use a good prep book and time yourself</p>
<p>Sometimes you get lucky with topics you have already studied in class...but most of the time, you don't. You just have to practice and get tips if you can</p>
<p>It sucks. Just get used to what kind of stuff they ask, and pay more attention to what is asked than to the actual topics covered.</p>
<p>having had physics helped me out on a couple passages in June, but what the science section is really all about is being able to read and interpret graphs QUICKLY</p>
<p>All of the above posts accurately describe the test. ACT is about time management, and not necessarily knowledge. I ended up getting a 29 on the science portion and that was in the 96th percentile. When I went through the section, I really didn't read the questions very thoroughly. A quick glance at the question and then the graph without reading into the specifics should suffice. If you do take the test, make sure you are aware of your time. It goes by very quickly and it can make or break your ACT score.</p>
<p>mdkeung, That is exactly why I think that the ACT is a flawed test. The ACT overemphasizes time management instead of knowledge of content. I know plenty of smart kids who did terribly on the ACTs simply because they were flustered by the lack of time and the immense pressure.</p>
<p>Without a time constraint everyone would get 36'. ACT compensates its relative ease of questions with a time constraint, thus makes it as a hard or harder then the SAT. ACT = IQ. And sorry to say, those smart kids are just study whores since IQ is how fast you process info. (or thats what I am taught)</p>
<p>The ACT isn't flawed because of time..if I had plenty of time to look at it, it would be easy to get a 36, and what's the point of that? I'm inclined to agree with damitssam- just because you study all the time doesn't mean you are going to be able to do well on a test like this.</p>
<p>^ditto. I like the science section on the ACT more than the SAT IIs, because the latter are so much like the AP tests.. Don't get too distracted by looking at the time though- with some practice timed sessions, time management shouldn't be too much of a worry.</p>
<p>thanks a lot guys</p>