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Scientific Reasoning Skills

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you judge whether a conclusion, hypothesis, or model is actually supported by the data?

Evaluating models and inferences on ACT Science: deciding which conclusion the data support, whether a hypothesis is consistent with a result, and rejecting claims that go beyond the evidence.
A focused answer on the Evaluation reporting category of ACT Science: deciding which conclusion the data actually support, judging whether a hypothesis is consistent with a result, and rejecting answers that overgeneralise or claim more than the evidence shows.
11 min answer →

What do Interpretation of Data questions look like, and how do you answer each kind?

Interpretation of Data question types on ACT Science: reading a value, identifying a trend, comparing data points, and interpolating or extrapolating, each answered straight from the figure.
A focused answer on the Interpretation of Data question types on ACT Science: reading an exact value, naming a trend, comparing two data points, and interpolating or extrapolating, with the figure-first method for each and why this category carries the most points.
11 min answer →

What do Scientific Investigation questions ask, and how do you answer each kind from the method?

Scientific Investigation question types on ACT Science: identifying variables and controls, explaining the purpose of a step, and proposing or predicting a change to the experimental design.
A focused answer on the Scientific Investigation question types on ACT Science: identifying the variables and controls, explaining why a procedural step was taken, and proposing or predicting how a change to the design would alter the experiment, all answered from the method rather than the results.
11 min answer →

A few ACT Science questions need outside knowledge. How do you spot them and what should you know?

The outside-knowledge questions on ACT Science: recognising the handful of questions that need basic high-school science facts, and the small core of facts worth a light review.
A focused answer on the small number of ACT Science questions that require basic outside knowledge: how to recognise them when the answer is not in the figures, the core high-school facts worth a light review, and why most questions are still answered from the page.
11 min answer →

How do you match a trend described in words to a graph, or turn a table into the right graph?

Translating data on ACT Science: matching a verbal description of a relationship to its graph, pairing a table with the graph that represents it, and converting between data forms by checking shape and key points.
A focused answer on translating data on ACT Science: matching a worded description of a relationship to the correct graph, pairing a table with the graph that represents it, and converting between forms by checking the overall shape and a few key points such as the start, the peak, and the end.
11 min answer →