The Way to Happy ACT Land

1
The Way to Happy ACT Land

• When taking the dreaded ACT there are two ways to
  think about it, the right way and the wrong way.

2
Which Way to Go

• The Wrong Way
• A negative attitude
• Would a, should a, could a
• Memorize the charts and graphs
• Read word for word

3
Science Reasoning

• There are ways to do well on the science
  reasoning portion of the ACT even if science is
  not your strong suit!

4
Dont Get Stuck On Science

• Ignore big scientific names like Agnatha. The
  information in the reading will tell you its a
  type of fish, thats all you need to know.
• Read difficult science passages the same way
  youd read easy ones. Read for the structure of
  the passage, and dont get stuck on the
  complicated science terms.

5

• Use Kaplans four-step method for data analysis
  when you have a table.
• Whats represented in the table?
• What do the rows and columns represent?
• What are the units?
• What are the patterns in the data?

6
When Scientists Disagree

• Decide what the scientists are trying to explain.
• Circle each of their hypothesiss and put them in
  your own words
• Decide the strengths and weaknesses of each
  scientists viewpoints.

7
How Experiments Work

• Experiments have three components
• 1) Purpose
• 2) Method
• 3) Results

8
The Three Components

• The purpose Scientists perform experiments to
  test their theories about the cause-and-effect
  relationships a work in a system.
• The method One parameter of a system, the
  controlled variable, is varied while everything
  else is held constant and the system is observed
• The results Scientists formulate general
  conclusions based on the specific results of
  experiments.

9
Deciphering data and perceiving Patterns
10
Data Representation

• Skip over complicated terms when reading the
  passage for the first time.
• Scientific terms will be defined if you need them
  to answer questions.
• If you dont understand a passage, answer as many
  questions as you can with the information in the
  graphs, tables, and diagrams that accompany the
  passage

11
Data Representation

• Although ACT Science Reasoning passages cover
  difficult material, many of the questions can be
  answered with just a cursory understanding of the
  passage.
• You dont get more points for answering hard
  questions on the ACT, so do the passages and
  questions that are easier first and, then go back
  and work on the hard ones.

12
Dont let the graphs confuse you!

• Dont be confused but all the graphs and
  scientific terminology.
• If you skip over the terms, or use common sense
  to substitute a word, you may find it easier and
  less confusing.

13
Practice Quizzes!

• If you have access to the ACT Trainer,
  worksheets, science books, or graphs you may want
  to study or look over those to see what the
  science test may contain.
• Learning to read graphs may help you to answer
  the questions easily and more efficiently.

14
Practice Quizzes Two!

• You may also want to quiz yourself to see what
  areas you want to work on before you take the
  actual ACT.
• Getting an ACT packet and taking the Science
  practice quiz, as well as the others, may help
  you in the long run to do a better job on the
  actual ACT.

15
Tips on Improving Your Score.