ACT Preparation / Unit 22 ACT 2130 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Using Background Knowledge in a Passage
The idea
Some science questions need background knowledge the passage does not state, and they are answered in three steps. First, identify the concept the question touches: inheritance, reaction rate, energy, density, and so on. Second, recall the core fact from introductory science. Third, combine that fact with the passage's data, and choose the answer consistent with both.
In practice
Worked example: an invented passage reports that a reaction finished in 80 seconds at 20 degrees Celsius and asks for a likely time at 40 degrees, a temperature it did not test. The passage gives no rule, but background knowledge says reactions usually run faster at higher temperature, so the time should be less than 80 seconds. A choice of 120 seconds contradicts that knowledge.
Where people slip
Background knowledge supports the passage; it never overrides it. If the passage's own data show a different pattern, follow the data.
Your place on the trail
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