ACT PrepFall 2011

Agenda

To help you do well on the ACT. I will do this • By informing you what will be on the ACT• By giving examples of questions that will be on

the test and answers• By providing you hints and tips for taking the

ACT– These came from the book: “Crash Course for the

ACT (3rd Edition) by The Princeton Review. 2006.

Other Ways To Study For ACT

• www.Actstudent.org• Study Books• Past ACT tests• ACT Prep on SD MyLife

Why Take The ACT

1. For scholarships*2. For college admission**3. For placement in college classes

*Not every scholarship requires an ACT score**Not every college requires the ACT

What Is On The ACT

• You will be tested in four subject areas:1. English 75 questions in 45 minutes2. Math 60 questions in 60 minutes• Break

3. Reading 40 questions in 35 minutes4. Science Reasoning 40 questions in 35 minutes5. There is the optional Essay Test

Scoring

• Each section (except Writing) has a score range from 1-36

• Your Composite Score ranges from 1-36• The English, Math, and Reading have sub-

scores that range from 1-18• Writing sub-score ranges from 2-12 and your

combined English and Writing score can be from 1-36

An Extra

• You can pay extra to get a copy of the ACT you took with the answers.

• But only for December, April, and June tests

What You Need The Day Of The ACT

• Admission Ticket• Sharpened #2 Pencils • Calculator (some suggest fresh batteries

and/or back up calculator)• Photo ID• A snack or small box of juice for the break• Suggestion: A watch to keep track of time

7 General Strategies

1. Write in your test book!2. Work on a few questions at a time, then bubble

them in as a group.– Shifting back and forth can make you lose place, lose

concentration, and burn more energy.

3. Never leave a bubble empty– There is no penalty for a blank, so you might as well

guess it and take a chance

4. Process of Elimination– If you know an answer is wrong, cross it off

7 General Strategies

5. Use Your Time Wisely– Go over your answers when you are done,

especially on the ones you weren’t sure about.

6. Maintain Your Brain– Eat a good breakfast-it is a long test – Bring a snack – Relax during the break

7 General Strategies

7. Be Prepared– Make sure you know where you are going to take

the test– Get sleep the night before (no staying up late)– Have everything ready before you go to sleep– Dress in layers– Leave home early, arrive early– Remind me of a story

English Section

• Five passages• Each passage has about 15 questions (some

might have 14 and others 16)• Questions are on – Grammar– Punctuation– Style of the passage– Content of the passage.

English

• You’ll be given a passage with some portions underlined. You need to decide if it is correct or not.

• Approximately 25% of these are correct (No Change)

English

• Read the entire passage• Pay attention to how the underlined portion is

connected to the parts around it.• The answer choices will tell you what you need to

focus on.• If you know something is wrong, then you can

eliminate the “NO CHANGE” answer immediately. • Test writers want the language to clear, concise,

focused, and not redundant.– If the sentence is not, then it needs to be changed.

Remember

• A complete sentence stands on its own.– Subject and Verb

• An incomplete sentence is missing something• Watch for clauses- “After” “Before” “Because”

“However” “In fact”-make sure they are finished

STOP! GO!: Useful for determining punctuations

STOP.!?;

, and, but

GO,:-

andbut

(no punctuation)

Breath Test

• Read the part before, underlined, and after.• If both parts are complete, then use a STOP

punctuation• If neither parts are complete, then use a GO

punctuation• When reading, if you feel the need to pause

for a breath, then you need a comma.

Practice

• Although we think of this film as a classic. When it was released, it represented an enormous departure from the prevailing standards for animation.A. NO CHANGEB. classic; it was released andC. classic, when it was released itD. classic when it was released it

Commas

• Watch them• Know how to use them• Lists will often appear• Which is correct?

1. The weather that day, was fortunately very good.2. The weather that day was, fortunately, very good.3. The weather, that day was fortunately, very good.4. The weather that day was fortunately very good.

Verb Tenses

• Will have to determine if the verb is in the correct tense.

• Look at the other parts of the sentence and the passage– Which tense are the other verbs?– Use the STOP GO and Breath Tests to help with the

punctuation

Other Things To Keep An Eye For

• Contractions• Possessions• Apostrophe

It’s-contraction for “It is” or “It has”Its-possessive form of “It”Its’—does not exist!—never choose this!

Transition Words

• Make sure the transition word fits the sentence and passage

• Make sure it is completed

Transition Words

SimilarAndThus

ThereforeSince

DifferentHowever

YetAlthough

Still

Practice

• “Because Snow White was not the first animated film, it is easily one of the most significant animated films ever made.”A. NO CHANGEB. AlthoughC. In fact,D. However,

Words Order

• Pay attention to the words and their order• Do they make sense or are they just silly?• “These studios churned out shorts (films) at an

astonishing pace that sometimes reached one new short each low-quality week.A. NO CHANGEB. one new week for each low-quality short.C. once a week for the production of what could be only

termed low-quality short animated films.D. one new, though low-quality, short per week.

Questions About The Passage

• Did the passage answer a question?• Are the paragraphs in the right order?• How does a paragraph function in the

passage?• What would you add to make the passage

more….serious, funny, critical, etc

• Answer the question exactly as it is asked.

Sample Question

• On recent ACT’s, the shortest answer has been(1) correct, and absolutely right, for about half of all English questions.– No change – correct– right, that is, correct– correct, absolutely, and right,

• 2.– No change– truthfully factual– factually correct– factual—and true--too

• 3.– No change– , and justly so,– and justify– Omit the underlined

portion.

Because this is (2) true, a student who knew no English at all cold earn(3)—and justly so—an English subject score of about 15.

Another one

• …Relatively few of them, however, know that Crusoe’s story. It was actually based on the real-life adventures of a Scottish seaman, Alexander Selkirk.

– No change– story: was– story, was– story was

Tricky?

• …Because of its basis in fact, Robinson Crusoe is often regarded as the first major novel in English Literature.

– No change– Despite– Resulting from– As a consequence of

Sentences

• …In Crusoe, which has been published in 1719, Defoe took substantial liberties with the Selkirk story.

– no change– was published– had been published– will have been published

20 Classical Grammar Errors• 1. They (plural) and It: If a student doesn’t study, he/she

(it) won’t do well. Vs “they”• 2. And (compound subjects): I is in the subject, me in the

predicate.• 3. Commas or Dashes: Must start and end with the same• 4. Commas: know what make a sentence. Bill is cute,

John isn’t. This was not a sentence• 5. Fragment: whole sentences Bob shot his gun. While

he ran. • 6. Any Punctuation Mark• 7. –ly Endings (Adverbs and Adjectives)

20 Classical Grammar Errors

• 8. Good or Well Good is an adjective well is an adverb (except health)

• 9. Lie, lay, laid, lain• 10. In, of, to, for (Idiomatic Preposition Use)• 11. Who or Whom: Like he and him. • 12. Its or It’s (Apostrophe Use): Pronouns are possessive

by nature. It’s it is• 13. There, Their, They’re, and Are or Our• 14: Sang, Sung, Brang, Brung, etc (Verb forms)

20 Classical Grammar Errors• 15: Be and Was (forms of the Verb to Be)

Present Tense: I am, we are, you are, they are, he is, she is, it is

Past Tense: I was, we were, you were, they were, he/she/it was

Future Tense: I/we/you/they/he/she/it will bePerfect Tense: I/we/you have been

he/she/it has beenPast Perfect: I/we/you/he/she/it had beenFuture Perfect: I/we/he/she/it will have been

20 Classical Grammar Errors

• 16. –ing Endings (Unidiomatic Verb Use) • 17. –er and –est, More and Most• 18. Between or Among Between tow things,

among is more.• 19. Less or Fewer Fewer can be counted, less

water in fewer buckets• 20. Hopefully: cannot be used in place of “I

hope” or “lets hope”

Math Section

• 14 Pre-Algebra Questions• 10 Elementary Algebra Questions• 9 Intermediate Algebra Questions• 9 Coordinate Geometry Questions• 14 Plane Geometry Questions• 4 Trigonometry Questions

Some Thoughts

• Level of difficulty is mixed, but you tend to see the easier questions in the beginning of the section.

• Most of the math questions are in Geometry and Algebra, which most take before being a Junior. You know most of this already!

• If you don’t have time, then don’t study Trig too much, it is a very small portion of the test.

Calculator

• They say you can do the test without a calculator (who are “they”?)

• Make sure your calculator is permitted. You can check online or in the booklet.

Don’t Get Stuck!

• Do the Two-Pass System– Look at the questions– If you can do it, then do it– If you can’t, circle the question and move on– When you are done with the first pass, then go

back and do the questions you skipped– I recommend that you circle the ones you skipped

then put a “K” over those you went back and finished, OK?

Changes In The Math

• It has been observed that ACT is: – Using more long word questions with elaborate set-

ups• Make it seem bigger than it is

– Putting in useless information in the questions• Make you think through

– Asking more theoretical questions• Do you understand the concepts

• Notice, you can’t use your calculator to answer these!

“Ball Parking”

• Is the idea that you will eliminate answers by just reading the question and looking for clues.

• If you understand what the question is saying, then you can eliminate some of the answers.– Answer greater or less than the number in front of

you?– Can you guess a range?

• Cannot use on questions that have variables in their answers, only numbers.

Example

• Q: If the stereo increases 20% from $300, how much is it now?A. $240B. $320C. $360D. $400E. $600

• Which ones can you eliminate by reading the question and thinking about it?

Another Example

• A pair of tickets, regularly priced at $75.00, are marked down 20%. If the sales tax is 8%, how much will it cost Billy to pay for these tickets?A. $55.20B. $64.80C. $66.00D. $74.88E. $81.00

• Can you eliminate any of these?

Percentage Translation

You Read• %

• Is, are, will be

• Of

• What, some amount

• What percent

You Do• Divide by 100

• =

• Times

• X, y, z or any other variable

• X/100

Percentages

• Brooks music is selling guitars for $220, which is 80% of the original price. How much were they originally?A. $300B. $275C. $240D. $200E. $176

• Can we Ballpark it?• Math: 220=80/100 * P or 220=.8P

Another question

• What is the total with a 15% tip on a $36 bill?

– 10% is $3.6– ½ of that is $1.80– Total in tip is $5.40– Add that to the bill– $36+5.40=– $41.40

Math Vocab

• Bisect• Reciprocal• Integers• Product• Sum• Square• And MORE!

Vocab Example

• Which of the following is equal to the product of x and the square of the its reciprocal for all x<0?A. -1/XB. 1/XC. 1/x3

D. XE. X3

• Huh?• X(1/2)2 = X/X2 = X/X2

• Cancel and X and get• 1/X

Another One

• What is the greatest common factor of 18X2 and 24 X5?A. X2

B. 2x2

C. 6x2

D. 18x2

E. 24x5

• Can we eliminate anything?• Factor out the largest common factor number• Factor out the largest common factor exponent

|Absolute Value|

• |x|= x positive• |-x|= x positive

• Can have two answers to the question, will need to go back and check your answers

|Example|

• What is the sum of the solutions to |3-x|+2=6A. -8B. -1C. 6D. 7E. 8

What is the sum of the solutions to |3-x|+2=6

• Get the Absolute Value by itself– |3-x|+2=6– |3-x|=4

• Take off bars, two equations now, solve3-x=4 3-x=-4 -x=1 -x=-7

• Positive Xx=-1 x=7

• Double check by putting them back in.• They work and now find the sum

Sometimes It Helps To Draw It Out

• If a triangle has one side of length 8, which of the following could be the lengths of the other two sides?A. 2 and 10B. 3 and 4C. 4 and 4D. 5 and 8E. 6 and 1

• What do we know about sides of triangles?

Another

• What is described by the set of all points exactly 2 cm from a given point in space?A. A line 2cm longB. An infinity long cylinder with a radius of 2cmC. A circle with a radius of 2cmD. A sphere with a radius of 2cmE. A double helix of length 2cm

• Make a point and draw points 2cm in every way

Jason bought a painting with a frame 1 inch wide, If the dimensions of the outside of the frame are 5 inches by 7 inches, which of the following could be the length of one of the sides of the painting inside the frame.

• 3 inches• 4 inches• 5 ½ inches• 6 ½ inches• 7 inches

7

Math-Example of Drawing It Out

5

Plugging In

Which of the following correctly gives the average of x, x+3, 2x-5, and 6x-1?

A. 2x-5B. X-3/4C. 5/2 x + 9/4D. 10x-3E. 5/2 X - ¾

• Plug in 5 in place of x

When Plugging In

• Keep track of the numbers you use• Use simple numbers– Some questions will have more than one variable– Do not always use 0 and 1

• Be careful with exponents, do not use 1• Follow the rules in the problem• It is best to check all the answers, sometimes

you will get two answers that work!

Math-Substitute

What is the product of n and m2 where n is an odd number and m is an even number?

• An odd number• A multiple of four• A non-integer• An irrational number• The square of an integer

Example

• Which of the following is equal to 2/x – 2/(1-x) for all x≠0 x≠1?A. 0B. 2C. 4/xD. 2/x(x-1)E. 2(1-2x)/x(1-x)

• Choose a simple number like 4

An Interesting One

What is the simplified form of 2x-5/x + 4/X2 for all x≠0?A. 1/x2

B. 2x-1/x2

C. 2x-1/x(x-1)D. 2x2-5x+4/x2

E. 2x2+5x+4/x2

• Use 1

Lets See Why It Is Interesting!

• Plug back 1 into the answers• A works• B works• C No• D works• E No

• Choose another number to plug in• Try 2• Ah ha!

Some More Clues

• When plugging in, make sure you are following rules such as:– Triangles– Angles– Degrees

Formulas!

• Some basic formulas:– Area of Triangle= ½ bh– Area of Square= square the side– Area of Trapezoid= [(Base1 + Base2)/2] X height– Area of Rectangle= lw– Area of Parallelogram=bh– Area of a Circle= (Pi)r2

– Circumference of a Circle= 2(Pi)r– Length of an Arc= [n/360] X 2(Pi)r

Formulas!

– Volume of a Cube= side3

– Volume of a Rectangular Solid= lwh– Volume of a Cylinder= (Pi)r2h– Volume of a Cone= 1/3(Pi)r2h– Volume of a Sphere= 4/3 (Pi)r3 x– Sine opposite/hypotenuse Cosecant– Cosine adjacent/hypotenuse Secant– Tangent opposite/adjacent Cotangent

More Math Examples!

• A certain bank issues 3-letter identification codes to its customers. If each letter can be used only once per code, how many different codes are possible?– 26– 78– 326– 15,600– 17,576

Plugging In The Answers

• Sometimes you can take one of the answers and plug into the problem.

• If you know how to get the answer, you can take one of the answers and plug it.

• Use the middle number. – The answer will tell you which ones you can

eliminate

Plugging In The Answer In

Which of the following points lies on the perimeter of the circle given by the equation (x-2)2 + (y+5)2 =16?A. (2, -5)B. (2, -1)C. (-2, 5)D. (-2, 1)E. (√2, √5)

• Plug in the coordinates for A, then B, until you get an answer.

Easy!

• What is the value for 2x2-3x+2 when x=-2?A. -12B. 0C. 4D. 10E. 16

X Solving Tips

• Solving for X:– Put x on one side– Make sure x is positive

• Inequalities <=> :– When you multiply or divide by a negative number

flip the inequality sign• Number lines:– Open circle means < or >– Closed circle means ≤ or ≥

Inequality Question

• What is the range of values for x in the inequality 3(x-2) ≥ (2x+5)-3?

• Multiply 3 in• Move everything to one side• Solve

Open/Closed

• Draw the solution to -5 ≤x-2 ≤2

Factoring Tips

• Look for factoring– 2x-x = x(x-1)– X2+7x+12 = (x+ ) (x+ )

• Look at sign of the last at the end + or -• FOIL (First, Outside, Inside, Last)

Factoring Example

• If 3x2-5x-2=0, what are the values of x?A. -1/3 and ½B. -1/3 and 2C. 1/3 and 1D. 1/3 and 2E. 1 and 2

Other things

• Proportions• Check your measurements in your answers– Is your answer in the right measurement?

Geometry

• 23 questions on the test• More than 1/3 of the Math portion• Better know this!

• Questions usually fall into one of the four categories1. Angles2. Perimeters3. Areas4. Coordinate Geometry

Review

• Straight line is 180⁰

Big

Little

Transversal

B B

BL

L L

Review

• Angles in a triangle equal? (90+45+45)• Angles in a rectangle equal? (90X4)• Perimeter is sum of all sides• Circumference of a circle 2∏r• Know how to find radius, diameter,

circumference, or area and you can find the others.

• Pythagorean theorem for _____ trianglesa2 + b2 = c2

Solve Me

In the figure above AE=BE=BD and /_EBD = 40 and /_C = 45. What is the measurement of /_ A?A. 35B. 40C. 45D. 70E. 110

A

B

EC

D

Tricky?

• A regular hexagon is inscribed in a circle with circumference of 6∏. What is the perimeter of the hexagon?A. 3B. 5.8 ∏C. 9 ∏D. 18E. There is insufficient information to answer the question

• How many sides does a hexagon have?• Draw this out to help

Review

• Formulas for area of:– Square or Rectangle– Circle– Triangle

Coordinate Geometry

• Know how to work graphs• Slope Formula: y1-y2/x1-x2 rise/run• Standard Form:

o y=mx + bom= slope x= x-intercept b= y-intercept (0,b)

• Parallel lines have the same slope • Slopes of perpendicular lines are negative

reciprocals of each other 5/3 and -3/5

Sample Questions

• What is the equation of a line which intersects the y-axis at (0,3) and is perpendicular to the line containing the points (2,-4) and (5,1)?– Find the slope of the line– Perpendicular, so the slope has to be negative

reciprocal.– Use the perpendicular slope and the point to

create the new line.

Don’t Think Too Hard

• The line formed by the equation 2x-y=3 passes through which point?A. (-1, 1)B. (0, 2/3)C. (0,3)D. (1,-1)E. (2,3)

• Plug It In!

Tough One For Me

• What is the distance between the points (-2,4) and (3,-3) on the standard coordinate plane?A. √ 12B. 12C. √ 74D. 74E. 144

• Draw it out• 5 and 7• 25+49=C2• C= √74

Math-Try this one

• When 4/11 is converted to a decimal, the 50th digit after the decimal point is:

• 2• 3• 4• 5• 6

Trig

• For Right Triangles Only!– SOHCAHTOA– sin=opp/hypo– cos=adj/hypo– tan=opp/adj

• Example:– Billy is looking at a tree from a window that is 514

feet high at a 52 degree angle. How far is the tree?

Reading Section

• Four reading passages (90-100 lines each)1. Prose Fiction (usually from the past 20 years)2. Social Science 3. Humanities4. Natural Science

• 10 questions for each passage

• For most people, there is not enough time to read and answer everything

What To Do?!

• Look through the passages to see which one you find interesting.– If the first passage is boring, do you really want to read it?– Read what interests you first, then do the others.

• If all of them look boring, choose the type of passage you do well in. – If you like natural science, do it first.

• If you think you can’t read all of the passages, you are better off doing three passages and getting those questions correct.

All The Answers Are In The Passage

• Look at the questions before you “read” the passage – you then know what you are looking for– skim the passage (you are not expected to learn or

memorize anything in the passages)• Some questions have line references (tell you

where the answer is found), do these first– Don’t use just that line, read about 5 line before and

after to get an idea of what it is about• Some questions are shorter

4 Steps For The Reading

1. Read the question– Rephrase the question in your own words, so you

understand what you are looking for

2. Find the answer in the passage3. Phrase what you think the answer is in your

own words.– Then look at the possible answers– If yours matches, then that is the answer– If yours doesn’t match, then re-read the passage

4 Steps For The Reading

4. Process of Elimination– Look for lead words in the question, then find

those words in the passage– When asked for “except” look at the answers

then find them in the passage.

Prose Fiction/Nonfiction

• Prose Fiction– Who are these people?– What is their state of mind?-emotions-face– What’s going on?– Like a movie in your head

• Nonfiction– All of the information is in there, you don’t need

other information

Example

How would you find the answer to this question:Q. According to the passage, how does Lady

Gaga feel about Bobby Flay?

Example

How would you find the answer to this question:The Quakers played a role in the development in

all the states EXCEPT:A. Pennsylvania B. New JerseyC. New YorkD. Vermont

Science Reasoning Test

• Three types of passages1. 3 charts and graphs passages with 5 questions2. 3 experiments passages with 6 questions3. 1 “fighting scientists” passage with 7 questions

• You don’t need to know anything about science to answer these questions.

Science Reasoning

• You do not need scientific knowledge for this test

• Everything you need is in front of you• Like you did in the Reading, find a passage that

interests you and do it first• Do not let the first paragraph scare you off

3 Types of Questions

1. Look it up -you will be told to look up a specific piece of information. Sometimes it will be more than one set of information and having to compare them.

2. What if -you will need to make predictions, draw conclusions, and analyze data. Talk about what is in front of you.

3. Why?-these tend to be the hardest. You might be asked about the way the experiment was set up, how the scientific process works, or how to study a variable.

Charts and Graphs

• Each has 5 questions• Skim or Skip the Intro on these.• When you first get to them, look at what is

being represented (look at the labels)• Then proceed to the questions.• Most of the time, they will tell you where to

look. • Ability to look up data and draw conclusions

Intro Paragraph

Newton’s law of universal gravitation says that any two bodies attract each other according to a force that varies inversely as the square of the distance between them. Thus, when scientists try to launch a rocket (or any such projectile) into space, they must make sure that the rocket has enough energy to overcome the gravitational force on it due to the planet below. The minimum velocity necessary to be able to escape the planet’s gravity is called the escape velocity. Escape velocity depends only on the radius and mass of a given planet; the mass of the projectile is irrelevant. Table 1 lists some escape velocities, masses, and radii of different planets and other celestial bodies.

Celestial Body Mass (X 1024 kg) Radius (X 106m) Escape Velocity (km/s)Mercury .32 2.4 4.3

Venus 4.9 6.1 10.3Earth 6 6.4 11.2Mars .64 3.4 5

Jupiter 1900 70 60Saturn 570 58 36Uranus 87 23 22

Neptune 103 22 24Pluto .0014 1.5 1.1Moon .0074 1.7 2.3

Sun 1,991,000 700 618

The scientists conclude that as the radius of a body increases, so does the escape velocity. Which of the following pairs of bodies does NOT support this conclusion?

A. Mars and EarthB. Mercury and JupiterC. Venus and the MoonD. Uranus and Neptune

Another Questions

• Based on the data in the table, which of the following best explains why the Sun’s escape velocity is very large?A. The surface temperature of the Sun is much greater

than that of any of the other bodies listed.B. The Sun is the only body listed that does not orbitC. The Sun has both a large mass and a large radiusD. The Sun will eventually collapse, causing a black

hole to form. Because nothing can escape a black hole, the Sun must have a very large escape velocity.

Another Question

Scientists discover a tenth planet beyond Pluto, which they call Rupert. The escape velocity of a 1,000 kg rocket on Rupert is 4.0 km/s. What would the escape velocity for a 2,000 kg rocket be on Rupert?A. 2.0 km/sB. 4.0 km/sC. 8.0 km/sD. 16.0 km/s

Experiments Passages

• There will be three with six questions each• The structure of the experiment will be given

to you• An aspect of the experiment will be changed• Results are given to you for each time the

experiment is done• Types of questions are the same as the

previous passages

Hints

• Know which experiment they are referring to• Focus on the changes in results• Skim or Skip the Intros• Write in abbreviation of what is being changed,

helps you remember and understand what the experiment is about

• Know the different parts of an experiment:– Dependent variable, independent variable, control

variable, etc

Experiment 1

Here a bar 0.5 m long was rotated at different angular velocities through a magnetic field of strength 10 Tesla.

What is being changed?What is being measured?

Angular Velocity (rad/s)

Potential Difference (volts)

10 12.5

15 18.8

20 25.0

25 31.3

30 37.7

Experiment 2: The scientists now rotated various iron bars through a 30T magnetic field at an angular velocity of 40 rad/sec.Question: Which of the following

hypotheses was tested in Experiment 2?A. Magnetic field strength is directly

related to potential differenceB. Length is directly related to angular

velocityC. Angular velocity is directly related to potential differenceD. Potential difference is directly related to

length

Length of Bar (m)

Potential Difference(volts)

.25 37.5

.50 150.0

.75 337.5

1.00 600.0

Experiment 3: Now the scientists used a bar .75m long rotating at an angular velocity of 20 rad/s while varying

the magnetic field strength.

Q: A bar of .75 long rotates with an angular velocity of 20 rad/s in a magnetic field of magnitude 100T. The potential difference of the bar is mostly nearly?

A. 125 VoltsB. 281.25 VoltsC. 563 VoltsD. 1,000 Volts

Magnetic Field Strength(Tesla)

Potential Difference(Volt)

10 56.25

20 112.50

30 168.75

40 225.00

50 281.25

We Figured This Out!

• Question: The data indicates that when the magnetic field strength doubles, the potential difference:A. QuadruplesB. DoublesC. Remains the SameD. Halves

Fighting Scientists

• Always have one fighting scientists passage with 7 questions.

• Different Point of Views in the passage• Usually doesn’t have graphs or charts• Must read all of the information– Some of it might not be true-it doesn’t matter

• Do not worry about the topic, but focus on how the argument is constructed.– How do they get their POV?

Tackling The Passage

• Has two main parts:– Introduction– Hypotheses (plural)

• Read the introduction– Sets the stage for you– Usually pretty short-around 20 lines

• Read the hypotheses– Underline or write the supporting points– Key words or nickname– After reading it, you should be able to quickly restate the

scientist’s POV.

Types of Questions

1. Focus on one hypothesis2. Focus on more than one hypotheses

Do the questions that focus on one hypothesis. These are easier to handle

4-Steps

1. Read the Question– Put it in your own words

2. Find the Answer in the Passage– Use line references or lead words

3. Put the Answer in Your Own Words– Do this before you look at the answers

4. Process of Elimination– Read off the answers and cross of the ones that

don’t agree with your answer

What Is It Going To Be About?

• One of the great controversies in the history of science was over what happens when things burn. Below, two scientists present their views on this matter.

Optional Writing Test

• One essay prompt and 30 minutes to write a response.

• Prompt will have an issue and two sides of it.• You will have to choose a side.• The issues are considered to relevant to high

school students.

Writing

• Is optional, but check with where you want to go after high school

• 30 minutes• One prompt

Essay Scoring

• Express judgments by taking a position on the issue in the writing prompt

• Maintain a focus on the topic throughout the essay

• Develop a position by using logical reasoning and by supporting your ideas

• Organize ideas in a logical way• Use language clearly and effectively according

to the rules of standard written English

Tips

• Make sure you write as much as you can. But length does not mean a better score

• Write nicely, they need to read your sentences• A visually and written well-structured essay • “Grab” your reader in the beginning• Start with your strongest example• Vary the lengths of your sentences

Writing It

• Introduction– What is your position– Mention the opposition– Give a preview of the essay

• Body– Use details– Be specific– Use transitions

• Conclusion– Restate your position– Remind what your essay was about

Any Questions?

Good Night and Good Luck!