ACT Science Practice Test: Calculations with Scientific Data
- Calculations with Scientific Data
- 10 questions
- 10 minutes
This test has two original passages with data tables, each followed by five questions that need a short calculation. Calculators are not allowed on the ACT Science section, so the numbers are chosen to work out by hand; read the units in each column before you compute.
Tap an option to mark your answer. You can change your mind, or tap the same option again to leave the question blank. The correct answers and explanations appear when you finish the test.Tap an option to answer; tap it again to leave the question blank.
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Question 1
Passage I
A student dropped three different balls, X, Y and Z, onto a concrete floor from four heights and measured how high each ball rose on its first bounce. Table 1 shows the results.
Table 1 Drop height (cm) Ball X bounce (cm) Ball Y bounce (cm) Ball Z bounce (cm) 50 40 30 15 100 80 60 30 150 120 90 45 200 160 120 60 For Ball Y, the ratio of bounce height to drop height was the same at every drop height. What is this ratio?
Correct answer: A
For Ball Y, 30 ÷ 50 = 60 ÷ 100 = 0.6. The choice 1.67 divides the drop height by the bounce height, and 0.8 is the ratio for Ball X.
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Question 2
Passage I (see above):
What was the average (mean) bounce height of Ball Z over the four drops?
Correct answer: B
The four bounces add up to 15 + 30 + 45 + 60 = 150 cm, and 150 ÷ 4 = 37.5 cm. The choice 150 cm is the total before dividing.
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Question 3
Passage I (see above):
At a drop height of 100 cm, Ball X bounced higher than Ball Y. By approximately what percent was Ball X's bounce greater than Ball Y's?
Correct answer: C
The difference is 80 − 60 = 20 cm, and 20 ÷ 60 ≈ 0.33, or about 33%. The choice 25% divides by Ball X's height instead of Ball Y's.
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Question 4
Passage I (see above):
Suppose each bounce of Ball X reaches the same fraction of the height it fell from as in Table 1. If Ball X is dropped from 100 cm, how high will it rise on its second bounce?
Correct answer: D
Ball X keeps 0.8 of its height each bounce: 100 × 0.8 = 80 cm, then 80 × 0.8 = 64 cm. The choice 60 cm subtracts 20 cm twice instead of multiplying by 0.8 twice.
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Question 5
Passage I (see above):
At a drop height of 150 cm, how much higher did Ball X bounce than Ball Z?
Correct answer: A
At 150 cm, Ball X bounced 120 cm and Ball Z bounced 45 cm, so the difference is 120 − 45 = 75 cm. The choice 165 cm adds the two heights.
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Question 6
Passage II
A biology class grew bean plants in two groups. Group 1 received only water; Group 2 received water mixed with a liquid fertilizer. Table 2 shows the average plant height in each group, measured every 7 days.
Table 2 Day Group 1 height (cm) Group 2 height (cm) 0 4.0 4.0 7 6.1 7.5 14 8.3 11.2 21 10.2 14.8 What was the average growth rate of Group 2 from Day 0 to Day 21, to the nearest hundredth of a centimeter per day?
Correct answer: B
Group 2 grew 14.8 − 4.0 = 10.8 cm in 21 days, and 10.8 ÷ 21 ≈ 0.51 cm/day. The choice 0.70 divides the final height by 21 without subtracting the starting height.
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Question 7
Passage II (see above):
From Day 0 to Day 21, how many more centimeters did the average Group 2 plant grow than the average Group 1 plant?
Correct answer: A
Group 2 grew 10.8 cm and Group 1 grew 10.2 − 4.0 = 6.2 cm, so the difference is 4.6 cm. The choice 6.2 cm is Group 1's growth alone.
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Question 8
Passage II (see above):
During which 7-day interval did the average height of Group 1 increase the most?
Correct answer: B
Group 1 grew 2.1 cm, then 2.2 cm, then 1.9 cm, so the largest increase was from Day 7 to Day 14. The increases are close but not equal.
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Question 9
Passage II (see above):
By what percent did the average height of Group 1 increase from Day 0 to Day 21?
Correct answer: C
The increase is 10.2 − 4.0 = 6.2 cm, and 6.2 ÷ 4.0 = 1.55, or 155%. The choice 255% is 10.2 ÷ 4.0, which compares the final height with the start instead of the increase.
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Question 10
Passage II (see above):
What was the average height of Group 2 on Day 21, expressed in millimeters? (1 cm = 10 mm)
Correct answer: D
Since 1 cm = 10 mm, 14.8 cm × 10 = 148 mm. The choice 1.48 mm divides by 10 instead of multiplying.
Questions you leave blank are not counted as wrong.
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