ACT Science study guide
ACT Science · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The ACT Science Test is the science portion of the ACT, a college admissions exam used by U.S. colleges and universities. According to ACT, more than two million students take the ACT each year, and the test is offered in both digital and paper formats, with the science section available as an optional add-on. ACT lists the Science Add-On fee at $5.00. The exam is intended for high school students preparing for college admission, including those who plan to study science or health-related fields and want a science score on their record. Rather than testing memorized facts, the section emphasizes scientific reasoning: reading descriptions of experiments and studies, interpreting data presented in tables and graphs, and evaluating whether conclusions are supported by evidence. Topics on this exam: Science content (domains not enumerated in source) and Science practices and reasoning skills (domains not enumerated in source). The ACT Science study guide has 2 sections and about 665 words.
01ACT Science Content: Reading Data, Experiments, and Conflicting Viewpoints
ACT Science is not a memorized-content test; it is a reasoning test built on three passage types. Data Representation passages present graphs and tables (often several related figures) and ask you to read trends, compare values, and interpolate or extrapolate. Research Summaries describe one or more experiments with procedures, variables, and results, and ask you to identify controls, independent and dependent variables, and what a changed procedure would do. Conflicting Viewpoints passages present two or three scientists' explanations for the same observation and ask which evidence supports or weakens each position.
346 words, about 2 min02ACT Science Practices: Data Interpretation, Experimental Design, and Evaluation
This domain covers the skills applied across all passage types: interpreting graphs and tables, evaluating experimental design, comparing and combining results, and judging the strength of competing explanations. Graph and table reading. Identify the variables on each axis, note units, and describe the relationship (increasing, decreasing, linear, curved, plateau). Compare values across columns or curves.
319 words, about 2 minMore study resources for ACT Science
- Practice questionsWhich statement best describes the role of a control group in an experiment?
- FlashcardsDensity formula. Density equals mass divided by volume.
- Cheat sheetDensity = mass / volume; an object floats in a fluid when its density is less than the fluid's density.
- Key termsHypothesis. A proposed, testable explanation for an observation that predicts what should happen under specified conditions.
- Study planDiagnose baseline accuracy across Data Representation, Research Summaries, and Conflicting Viewpoints passages by completing one timed section of each type.
- Common mistakesCandidates transfer habits from reading-heavy exams and assume comprehension of the whole passage is required; ACT Science passages are data-interpretation scaffolds, and the intro often contains only framing, so front-loading reading burns time that the question set does not reward.
- Exam-day guidePrint or download your ticket from your ACT account before test day.