A Guide to the Science Section of the ACT
What’s Covered:
- What’s the Format of the Science Section?
- How Is the Science Section Scored?
- What Skills are Assessed?
- Strategies for the Science Section of the ACT
- Free ACT Study Materials
Unlike the SAT, the ACT includes a science section. While math, reading, and English are pretty self-explanatory, it can be hard to know what to expect on the science section of the ACT. If you’re a STEM buff, the science section probably sounds great, but many students find it intimidating and a bit confusing.
The reality is that the science section is not inherently harder than any other, and with a few solid strategies to back you up, you’ll feel totally ready to tackle it. In this post, we’ll walk through all of the questions you might have, from basics about timing and number of questions, to how to make the science section the strongest part of your test.
Note: The ACT has recently announced that the science section will be made optional starting in spring 2025 for National online testing, and in spring 2026 for school-day testing. CollegeVine will have more guidance coming soon on how to decide whether or not you should take the ACT with the science section.
What’s the Format of the Science Section?
The science section of the ACT consists of 40 multiple-choice questions that you’ll answer over the course of 35 minutes. This section is the last required part of the ACT; the writing section that follows it is optional.
The science section consists of seven brief passages, divided among the categories of Data Representation, Research Summary, and Conflicting Viewpoints. Typically, there are three passages each of Data Representation and Research Summary, with the remaining passage being Conflicting Viewpoints. Each passage will be accompanied by five to seven multiple-choice questions.
Many of the passages will also include charts, tables, graphs, or figures, and you will often be asked to interpret these. Although some basic computational skills may be required, they are not directly assessed and the use of a calculator is not allowed on the science section of the ACT.
How Is the Science Section Scored?
Just like the other sections of the ACT, the score that you receive on the science section of the ACT will be a scaled score ranging from 1-36. This number is scaled from your raw score, which is the number of questions that you got correct on the Science section.
Scaling is an important process in the scoring of the ACT. It differs from the more traditional curved grading system which adjusts your score according to how your peers perform on the same test as you. Rather than accounting for peer performance, the scaling system accounts for very slight differences in the difficulty of each test.
The goal of scaling is to ensure that the level of mastery required to achieve a specific score is the same from one test to the next. To learn more about how the ACT is scored, you can take a look at our deep dive into how exactly the scaling curve works.
In this chart provided by College Board, you can see an example of how raw scores might translate into a scaled score. Keep in mind that this is the scaling for one practice test, so the scaling curve on your test may differ slightly.
Your scaled score ranging from 1-36 on the Science section is the number that will be used to average into your overall composite ACT score. Each section of the test is weighed equally and averaged to calculate your composite score.
What Skills Are Assessed in the Science Section?
Some students see the word science and panic a little bit. Some are even deterred from taking the ACT altogether because it has a science section. It can be tempting for students who do not think of themselves as “science students” to take the SAT instead simply due to the inclusion of a science section on the ACT.
But the truth is, you can think of it as more of a nonfiction, critical reading, and thinking section. In actuality, the science section does NOT specifically test your knowledge of advanced scientific concepts. Instead, it is intended to test your ability to solve problems using scientific analysis and reasoning with the information you’re given.
Although it does require a base level of knowledge and grasp of science terms, most of the information that you need to apply your scientific thinking and analysis will be provided in the passages. The science section of the ACT covers materials related to biology, chemistry, physics, and Earth/space sciences, but the specific skills it assesses are more abstract.
In the Data Representation passages, you will be asked to read a description of a study and interpret graphs and charts related to it. Questions on these passages may ask you to calculate values or identify trends from informational graphics. There is a heavy emphasis on interpreting graphical representations of data in these questions.
In the Research Summary passages, you’ll evaluate written descriptions of research, assess experimental design, and interpret results. Much of this section will rely on knowledge of the scientific method. You might also be asked to make predictions about hypothetical changes in the experiments described.
For the Conflicting Viewpoints passages, you will analyze and compare incompatible analyses based on different or incomplete data. Questions will assess whether you understand each viewpoint, and ask you to compare them.
Strategies for the Science Section of the ACT
1. Don’t try to understand the entire passage.
This may seem counterintuitive, but if you try to understand every word of every sentence in this section, you will quickly get bogged down by technical terms or complex topics. Remember, the test assesses your ability to apply your knowledge about what’s presented, not summarize complete passages. Don’t spend too much time or energy trying to wrap your head around every detail of the text. Instead, wait until you know what details are important for answering the questions.
Your time is best spent skimming the passages to get the general idea of their content, and then reading the questions and selectively reviewing the passage in more detail as necessary.
2. Master the art of reading graphs, charts, and figures.
This is one of the two skills most explicitly tested on the Science section of the ACT. There will definitely be several questions, if not more, that ask you to read and interpret information that is presented graphically, with some of the graphs getting fairly complex. Make sure that you are familiar with various graphs, charts, maps, and figures. Each time you evaluate one, be sure to read the title and labels carefully. Know what each axis represents and understand the relationship between them. Look for trends or anomalies.
Remember that any question about a value relating to a graph or chart will have that value represented on the graphic somewhere. If you can locate it, you’ll get the answer correct. If the value of an answer option is not represented anywhere on the graph, you should cross it off immediately. It is not a potential answer.
3. Be an expert on the scientific method.
Much of the Research Summary portion will directly or indirectly relate to the scientific method. You should know each step of it in detail and be able to offer critiques of its effectiveness as applied to sample research.
Common questions related to the scientific method will include identifying independent and dependent variables, why scientists made certain choices during their experiment, and how hypothetical changes to the experiment might affect the results. You will need to be comfortable differentiating between experimental and observational studies, recognizing how variables are isolated, and interpreting how experimental design affects results.
4. Track your errors as you practice.
The best way to prepare for the science section of the ACT is to review practice questions and complete practice ACT tests. The format and pacing of the test are so unique that it’s unlikely that any other sort of practice will prepare you as well as actual test question practice.
In order to get the most out of your practice, keep a running tally of your mistakes. Each time you make an error, classify it according to the type of question and the type of passage. Usually the official ACT practice tests will tell you which subscore each question falls into, so this will help you classify mistakes. Once you have a better idea of where you’re making mistakes, you’ll have a good idea of where to focus your improvements.
5. Brush up on your content knowledge.
Although not much of the Science section of the ACT relies on pre-existing knowledge, there will be some questions on each test that do. In order to really maximize your chances of achieving the highest score possible, you should spend some time reviewing key concepts.
These commonly include: basic atomic structure, fundamentals of cell biology including photosynthesis, basic genetics with an understanding of alleles, traits, and inheritance, and basic physics concepts regarding kinetic and potential energy and mass versus weight.
Free ACT Study Materials
The ACT website provides a number of sample test questions that are a useful resource for test practice. The website also provides a free ACT study guide, which includes a complete overview of the test and some test strategy tips. Varsity Tutors is another resource that supplies free ACT practice tests, which you can complete in full, or just focus on the science section. Sites like The Princeton Review and Magoosh also offer free practice tests with score breakdowns that help you understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Another great way to get resources is to ask family and friends if they have old prep books leftover from when they took the test. You don’t want materials that are too old, but anything from the last several years will still be useful. Consider asking classmates or older peers if they don’t mind sharing or photocopying pages from books they might have. Your library or college counselors may have test prep books available to borrow or photocopy as well.
How Will the ACT Impact Your Chances of Acceptance?
Even with the expansion of test-optional policies, standardized tests like the ACT (or SAT) continue to play a major role in the college admissions process, especially at highly selective schools. However, test scores aren’t the only factor considered—your GPA, course rigor, extracurriculars, essays, letters of recommendation, and so on are also crucial.
If you’re wondering how your overall profile will stack up at the colleges you’re considering, check out CollegeVine’s free chancing engine, which evaluates all quantifiable aspects of your application, including grades, course rigor, extracurriculars, and yes, standardized test scores to estimate your odds of being accepted at over 1,600 schools across the country.
Our admissions calculator can also give you suggestions for how to boost your chances of acceptance—for example, by raising your ACT score slightly.
