So science and math are my worst scores on the ACT(25&26 respectively) and I need to bring them to a 29/30ish for the october tests. Help please!
Consider the ACT Black Book by Mike Barrett for strategy in science and math. Use the work through in the book (you will need the red book to go along with it).
I also recommend ACTQuantum website for Math review. The videos are excellent.
@HereToHelpYou Thanks for the advice I think I won’t have enough time to order and study the black book but ill certainly try the math review site!
Any other input
Time yourself and review only what you get wrong.
My son is NOT a science/math guy. However he did get a 32 on science. How? because he says the answers to the questions are there in the passage. Supposedly the science section is more about reading than anything else. What he does is read the passage, then read the question, look back at the passage to find the answer, then check to see if his answer is one of the choices. If its not then he tries again. Obviously it doesn’t work 100% of the time since he got a 32… But the main thing is to not stress about it. If your reading scores are high you should be able to get the score you need for science.
@MichiganGeorgia brings up a valid point: the science section is not technically science. It’s scientific language and experiments in the form of graphs, tables, and mini-paragphs. That being said, a familiarity of what the experiment is or what the debate is helps A LOT. My weakest area is physics. As a result, when you get the physics passage about gravity, torque, etc, I tend to struggle on the DIFFICULT questions for that passage. Each passage has about 4 easy questions (as you mentioned, straight from the information provided), a medium question or two, and then one challenging question than typically goes beyond the scope of the experiment. That’s where knowledge helps, and that’s what separates a 26S from a 34S (The science curve is usually pretty harsh). Certain concepts, like pH, gravity, and proteins/amino acids, must be understood.
The best advice is to just do official practice test after official practice test. Don’t worry about time initially. Focus on understanding where the answers are coming from. Diligently review your mistakes. Then, after you’re scoring 30+ consistently, time yourself. ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ is a good source.
One more thing: a good reading score will not lead to a good science score, and a bad reading score will not lead to a bad science score.
Disclaimer: 32 science.
As stated above the ACT Science test is REASONING test. You can do very well without much science knowledge.
However, there are 4-6 prior knowledge science questions on the test.
Here is a list of topics to brush up on that will help move your science score. You just need to know the BASICS of these concepts.
Biology
Cell Biology
DNA, RNA, and Ribosomes
Genetics
Chemistry
Basic Molecule Structure
Freezing/Boiling Point of Water
pH
Molar Mass Concepts
How Charges Interact
Phase Changes
Physics
Gravity
Density vs Mass
Density vs Volume.
I compiled this list by reviewing very released ACT test since 2008. These are the topics most frequently tested.