ข้อสอบ ACT Science วัดความรู้และทักษะทางวิทยาศาสตร์พร้อมเฉลย

A new drug is in its clinical trial phase. The graph below shows the data for participants sleep patterns before medication use and then after using the medication for three months. Series 1 shows the average hours slept a night for each participant prior to medication. Series 2 shows the average hours slept a night for each participant after three months of use. The average hours slept a night was obtained by recording sleep every night for one month, and then finding the average. Patients one through five took a placebo pil, not the actual Moonlight medication. Note: The y-axis is measured in hours slept a night, while the x-axis lists each anonymous patient numerically.

1. The overall trend when comparing sleep before and after mediciation use is __________.

Patients who slept the least prior to the medication saw the greatest increase in hours slept when on the medication.

Patients who slept the most prior to the medication saw the least increase in hours slept when on the medication.

There was not a difference in the average hours slept a night by a patient before the medication use and after the medication use.

All patients experienced an increase in hours slept when on the medication, except those taking the placebo.

2. What information would strengthen the experiment?

Patient 4 and patient 5 both had family deaths occur during the first month of testing.

All of the answers listed would strengthen the experiment.

Statistical data results showing those on the placebo had the same increase in hours slept a night as those taking the medication.

Data comparing the number of times a patient wakes up in the middle of the night prior to and after medication usage.

Another experiment using the medication that shows only female patients saw an increase in hours slept a night.

Sleep plays a vital role in defining the daily activities of virtually all animals. During periods of sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system becomes active and induces a relaxed state in response to increased levels of the hormone melatonin. Yet, despite its ubiquity in the animal kingdom, the purpose of sleep and its role in our daily lives has been disputed by scientists. Two scientists discuss their theories about the purpose of sleep.

Scientist 1
During periods of sleep, animals are able to conserve energy that they would otherwise be spending on unnecessary activity. If an animal’s primary food source is most abundant during daylight, it is a waste of precious energy to be moving about at night. For example, many herbivores, such as squirrels, are diurnal (sleep during the night) because their food source is available during the day, while many insectivores, such as bats, are nocturnal (sleep during the day) because their food source is available during the night. Food sources, as an animal’s most valuable resource, dictate their sleep cycles. Many animal traits observable today evolved as a result of the supply and demand of food in their natural habitat.

Scientist 2
During waking hours, it is true that the body utilizes large amounts of energy. However, the role of sleep is to restore biological products that were utilized during periods of wakefulness, rather than simply avoid utilizing energy in the first place. Many types of biological molecules, such as hormones, are released throughout the body while an animal is active. Sleep serves as a period of inactivity during which the body can manufacture and store a supply of these molecules for future use during the next period of activity. Furthermore, sleep allows the body to repair cellular damages that has accumulated during waking hours. Experimental evidence shows that when animals are deprived of sleep, their immune system quickly weakens and death rates increase. Sleep is necessary for animals to prevent accumulation of damage and to regenerate crucial biomolecules for daily life.

3. Both scientists give evidence to support their theories. The evidence given by Scientist 1 can best be described as __________.

observational

empirical

quantitative

experimental

natural

4. Both scientists give evidence to support their theories. The evidence given by Scientist 2 can best be described as __________.

observational

experimental

situational

quantitative

theoretical

5. Which of the following, if true, would most support Scientist 1?

Bears hibernate in the winter because their food source is scarce.

Birds sleep in trees to avoid predators on the ground.

Bats that are given infinite food availability sleep more.

Human ancestors evolved from being nocturnal to being diurnal.

Many rodents are nocturnal, but squirrels are diurnal.

6. Which of the following, if true, would most support Scientist 2?

Antelope that have been injured sleep less than those that are healthy

Elephants in a herd sleep at the same time as a group

Humans have more energy in the morning than in the evening

Tigers that are deprived of sleep often become sick

Mother dogs often stay awake at night to guard their pups

An experiment was done to test the antibiotic resistance of the bacteria Pseudomonas flourescens and Escherichia coli by using the antibiotic disk sensitivity method. Four different antibiotics were tested on each bacterium. Media were prepared with each type of bacterium and a drop of each antibiotic was added to each corner of the plates, a different antibiotic in each corner. The cultures were observed for eighteen hours. After this period of time, the zones of inhibition (where the bacteria was not able to grow due to the antibiotic) were measured. The table below shows the results of the four antibiotics on the two bacteria, Pseudomonas flourescens and Escherichia coli.

7. Which of the following changes would weaken the experimental results?

The experiment tested one bacterial strain instead of two

The experiment looked at two antibiotics instead of four

Two of the antibiotics tested had synergistic effects

All of the scenarios listed would weaken the experiment

The zone of inhibition was measured after five hours of plating

8. Which change to the experimental design would strengthen the results?

Focusing on only two antibiotics instead of four

Focusing on only one bacteria strain and using more than four antibiotics

Testing the four antibiotics on separate plates

All of the choices listed would strengthen the experiment

Observing the cultures after two hours instead of eighteen hours

Three doctors are discussing the most optimal way to approach cancer treatment. While they all acknowledge that cancer is uncontrolled cell proliferation, they have different opinions on whether chemotherapy is the best treatment method. Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with cytotoxic antienoplastic drugs. These drugs are used to kill fast-growing cancerous cells. All three doctors agree that chemotherapy has many associated side effects.

Doctor 1
While the drugs used for chemotherapy can be very strong, they need to be. Cancer, by its very definition, is made up of cells growing at a faster than normal rate. This means the treatment needs to be aggressive. The slower the effects of treatment, the more time the cancer has to spread; therefore, while the chemotherapy can also kill some healthy noncancerous cells in the process, it is still the best option.

Doctor 2
Chemotherapy does much more harm than good. Chemotherapy might temporarily destroy the cancer, but it does not cure the cancer. In addition, killing the cancerous cells means poisoning the body with chemicals and toxins. Instead, we should be addressing the reasons cancer exists in the first place, treating it at that step. Cancer is due to toxins in the body, industrial pollutions, and drugs. Avoiding sugar, exercising, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle—free of toxins, processed food, and other containments—is the best approach.

Doctor 3
Chemotherapy is effective in the sense that it kills the cancer cells. The downfall is that chemotherapy also kills the healthy cells in the process; therefore, we should be looking at way to decrease the amount of chemotherapy needed, so that we are only introducing the minimum amount of toxins into the body. Insulin Potentiating Therapy is a type of chemotherapy in which lower doses of chemotherapy are used because they are combined with insulin. Cancer cells have more insulin receptors than non-cancerous cells; therefore, cancer cells will have a biased absorption of such insulin-based chemotherapy when compared with noncancerous cells. In other words, piggybacking chemotherapy onto insulin allows cancer cells to absorb more of the chemotherapy, meaning less chemotherapy is needed and fewer noncancerous cells absorb the chemotherapy.

9. Which of the following best states the opinion of Doctor 1?

Chemotherapy does more harm than good.

Chemotherapy is one of the most effective methods to treat cancer.

Chemotherapy is the best treatment because cancer needs an aggressive treatment method.

The side effects of chemotherapy make it a treatment that should only be used for late stage cancer patients or quickly advancing cancer.

None of the choices listed.

10. What fact do all three doctors seem to agree upon?

Chemotherapy cures cancer, but is still dangerous.

Chemotherapy has side effects.

Chemotherapy has many harmful side effects that might outweigh the good effects of chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy should be used as a last option.

Chemotherapy should not be used.

Two students are studying hydrocarbon combustion, or the burning of compounds containing carbon and hydrogen in the presence of oxygen gas. Both students express their views on this phenomenon.

Student 1: Hydrocarbons are high in energy and therefore naturally burn in order to release that energy. That energy is released in the form of light and heat. If water is thrown onto a fire, it will extinguish it because it cuts the combustion from the oxygen gas required for it to burn.

Student 2: Hydrocarbons are compounds at a greater energy state than the compounds produced when they burn. This excess energy changes to heat when hydrocarbons burn. Lastly, hydrocarbons require a spark to initiate the combustion.

11. Which of the following statements would both students be most likely to agree?

Hydrocarbons burn naturally.

Hydrocarbons produce light when they burn.

Hydrocarbons are high energy compounds.

The products of hydrocarbons do not burn.

The products of combustion are low in energy.

12. Which of the following statements would Student 2 be most likely to agree with and not Student 1?

The energy produced by combustion comes directly from the products of combustion.

Hydrocarbons store high levels of energy.

Oxygen is necessary for combustion.

Hydrocarbons require an initial amount of energy in order for combustion to occur.

The energy released by combustion takes multiple forms.

13. At a constant pressure and volume, the relationship between the number of moles and temperature may best be modeled as:

14. At a constant pressure, the relationship between volume and temperature may best be shown as:

15. What is a controlled variable in this experiment?

The specific heat capacity of the food items

The initial mass of the food items

The specific heat capacity of water

The initial temperature of the water

16. Based on the information in Table 1, what variables must be measured in order to calculate the energy of the food samples?

Change in mass of the food and change in temperature of the water

Change in mass of the food sample alone

Change in mass and temperature of the water

Change in temperature of the water alone

17. In an oxygen molecule, O2, the two oxygen atoms oscillate about a fixed central point. Which form of kinetic energy is best described here?

Translational

None of the Above

Rotational

Vibrational

18. An oxygen molecule moving from the left side of a chamber to the right would display what type(s) of kinetic energy?

Translational

Vibrational

Rotational

All of the Above

19. In order to display the relationship between the number of moles of H+ and the rate of the reaction in Experiments 1 and 4, the scientist could:

Plot the number of moles of H+ against the moles of acid convertase

Plot the number of moles of H+ against the rate of the formation of HCl

Plot the number of moles of H+ against the temperature

Plot the number of moles of H+ against the moles of Cl-

20. The effect of temperature on the rate of reaction is best demonstrated by comparing which two trials?

Trials 1 and 8

Trials 5 and 8

Trials 1 and 4

Trials 3 and 6

21. A red-shift can be used to estimate_________.

The size of the universe

Whether an object is moving away.

The intensity of light

Color

22. Which model suggests a greater age of the universe?

Steady State Theory

There is no solution because the Steady State Theory does not propose a finite age to the universe.

Big Bang Theory

There is no solution because supporters of the Big Bang Theory cannot agree on the age of the universe.

23. A primordial gas has less mass than ________.

Light

An atom

Hydrogen

Energy

24. The discovery of primordial gas clouds supports which theory?

Big Bang Theory

Both theories

Neither theory

Steady State Theory

25. On the comet, the best description of the relationship between depth of sampling and the concentration of organics is:

No relationship

Direct

Initially direct, then inverse

Inverse

26. The units expressing the concentration of organic molecules in the samples from Mars and comet are in mg/L. This unit is most precisely a measure of:

Volume

Mass

Specific Gravity

Density

Weight

27. In order to replicate the above study, which of the following must be known?

The location and depth from which each sample was taken

The total number of spores in each sample

The time of year the samples were taken

The average precipitation over the year in which the samples were taken

28. In Table 2, what is the most likely explanation for the varying concentrations of spores from Plant 1 across each sample?

Plant A is currently extinct.

Spores are randomly distributed by the wind, so spore count will naturally vary across each sample.

There is no significant difference in spore concentration across each sample.

The older the sample, the fewer the spores that are able to survive intact.

Each sample represents the vegetative distribution from a different period of time.

29. A new planet is discovered 11 megaparsecs (MPSC) away from the Earth. Which of the following is its likely velocity?

\displaystyle 800\frac{km}{s}

\displaystyle 1100\frac{km}{s}

\displaystyle 500\frac{km}{s}

\displaystyle 750\frac{km}{s}

30. Two planets, one with mass x, the other with mass 2x, are the same distance away from Earth. What will their relationship be in terms of their velocity, v?

The planet with mass x will have a higher velocity away.

They will have the same velocity away.

They will have different velocities, but there is insufficient data to be able to tell which will have the higher velocity.

The planet with mass 2x will have a higher velocity away.

31. If the students' hypotheses were correct, what might be a worthwhile question for them to study next?

Does the length of the sample used affect the velocity of sound through a substance?

What other properties of matter affect velocity of sound through a substance?

What is the velocity of sound in water over 100°C?

Does density affect the velocity of sound in substances other than those tested in Study 1?

32. Suppose a second group of students hypothesizes that the velocity of sound is inversely dependent upon the density of the substance through which the sound travels. Which study would best support their hypothesis and why?

Study 2, because velocity decreases as density increases

Study 1, because velocity decreases as density decreases

Study 2, because velocity increases as density increases

Study 1, because velocity decreases as density increases

33. According to Study 2, over what temperature interval does velocity begin to decrease as water temperature rises?

\displaystyle 60^{\circ}C to \displaystyle 80^{\circ}C

\displaystyle 80^{\circ}C to \displaystyle 100^{\circ}C

\displaystyle 50^{\circ}C to \displaystyle 60^{\circ}C

\displaystyle 0^{\circ}C to \displaystyle 10^{\circ}C

34. According to the data in Study 1, as density increases, what happens to the velocity of sound?

It either increases or decreases.

It does not change.

It decreases.

It increases.

35. Jackie read about this experiment and decided to recreate Study 1. She found that each of the velocities she measured are higher than those in the original experiment. What is one possible explanation for this difference?

Jackie didn't measure the density of each substance.

Jackie used substances at a different temperature than those used in the original experiment.

Jackie used lower-quality microphones.

Jackie used a shorter sample of each substance.

36. A second scientist is examining this data and wants to test if introducing an electric field around the ramp in Experiment 1 changes the measured energy values. To do this, he sets up another system, identical to that in Experiment 1, but with the addition of an electric field. He compares data generated by both the original system in Experiment 1 and the new system with the electric field. Experiment 1 is now serving as what?