<p>My school only requires 2 yrs of science and I've only taken bio. Although I'm going to take chem this yr, I was wondering if I should even take the ACT because of it. Is the science section based on knowledge that I should know...or is it all about analyzing graphs and etc.?</p>
<p>Nope. It’s all about analyzing and drawing conclusions. Think of it as the ACT’s SAT CR section, if that makes sense.</p>
<p>Hmmm I see…so I don’t need to know the periodic table and etc etc. It’s just analyzing?</p>
<p>Yes. All you need to know is in the passage, although some background knowledge may help.</p>
<p>Well, background knowledge makes it easier because sometimes you can answer questions without going so much in depth with the passage but it’s not necessary. I absolutely abhor the science portion of this test because it’s not really science at all, it just challenges your skill to quickly process and interpret convoluted and confusing information.</p>
<p>Prior knowledge helps but is not required. You may run into one or two questions that require a working knowledge of chemistry though.</p>
<p>You basically need to know how to read/interpret graphs. If you have that down, then reading comprehension is all you need to be able to do. Although I will agree with the above posters that some prior knowledge may be helpful. For example, on the last ACT there was a passage that relied heavily on physics concepts. It wasn’t impossible without a physics class, but, at least for me, it was much easier because I had already taken physics.</p>
<p>It definitely helps to have taken the classes, and physics especially helps a lot, at least on the last ACT test, on which I noticed there was at least 2 passages related to physics. You can definitely figure out what is going on by just reading the introduction and stuff, but that takes up time, which is very valuable on the ACT.</p>
<p>it certainly helps in understanding the experiments and answering the questions. occasionally the ACT will ask a science question that requires background knowledge of a specific topic. there is a list somewhere on the ACT website of the specific bio/chem/physics/earth science topics that they test over. you can review those topics if you wish</p>
<p>that being said, i managed to get a 32 on science with only two one-year, non-honors bio and chem courses in which i literally didn’t learn a single thing, and i never took a physics class. most 8th graders probably have more science knowledge than i have. mostly it’s about time management, and being able to interpret data quickly</p>
<p>I agree with everything said above. The science section is a glorified reading section. My only advice would be to do somepractice tests before you take the actual exam. Believe me, you don’t want to go in blind as the English and Science sections are kinda confusing and take a couple valuable minutes to get comfortable with (Prior experience speaking here).</p>
<p>Not at all. Everything on the test is about analyzing graphs and tables, a lot of time it is about abstract things you probably wont ever learn in a HS class. That being said, it doesn’t hurt. You may luck out and get something strictly bio related, but in my experience this is rare.</p>