Tutor Yourself #10: The Science Section

The ACT has a science section and the SAT does not. However, the SAT has science bits and pieces thrown into the other sections. There is a reading passage on science. There are math questions about science, using science equations, and with science graphs. There are even English questions with science reading and graphs. The strategies I discuss here will help with both tests.


Science is my thing. I could go on and on about it, but I’ll spare you the nitty gritty details. If you really want to learn more about ACT Science, you can read my book.


Below, I’ve reproduced the introduction of my book and added a bit of commentary at the end.

The ACT Science section is not as scary as you think! This booklet will teach you everything you need to know to outsmart the ACT Science section. Part I will show you the best way to approach the reading comprehension aspect of the section. Part II will show you how to approach the math-ier parts of the section. Finally, Part III will provide a summary of all the science background knowledge you will likely need to maximize your ACT Science score.

Ways the science section is like reading:

  • Read passages

  • Answer questions about passages

  • Usually don’t need background knowledge on content

Ways the science section is like math:

  • There are numbers and graphs

  • You will often have to determine which numbers are bigger or smaller

  • Usually don’t need background knowledge on content

Ways the science section is unique:

  • There are some big, scary science words

  • Less words, more pictures

  • Sometimes need to know something about science

Additional commentary:

Science Reading: Use trial and error to find the best reading pace for you. You should be reading quickly enough that you know exactly where in the passage you need to go to find answers and have a general idea of what the graphs are showing you. Often, the best way to do this is to ignore the big scary words. Replace them with less scary words, if you need. You don’t need to know the exact pronunciation of Escherichia coli, so you can remember it as “the E thing”, even though it might make my master’s thesis advisor cry.

Science Math: Be very comfortable reading data tables, line graphs, bar graphs, and other science diagrams. The questions tend to be very similar on every test, but with the words changed. Learn the question types and how to answer them. The question types often include: finding values on tables, comparing values on graphs, observing trends on graphs, and extrapolating (or interpolating) a value on a graph.

Science Content: On every ACT Science section, there are 3-4 questions that require basic (think middle school) science content, like the mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell and the chemical formula HCl means there is one H and one Cl. There are also another handful of questions that don’t require science background knowledge, but are much easier to answer if you know that friction acts in the opposite as motion, so you don’t have to sift through the finer details of the text. Here’s a quick resource of helpful science for ACT Science.

What are your best science strategies? Comment below or email robinsatty@stemsmartconsulting.com.

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ACT/SAT, Test PrepRobin SattyComment