ACT Science: Conflicting Viewpoints 3

Question 1

Two students debate whether a river formed by erosion or by a tectonic crack. A question asks for a point of DISAGREEMENT. You should find where:

Accepted Answer

Their explanations of the cause differ

Answer

Disagreement appears in the differing causal explanations, not in shared descriptive facts.

Question 2

A Conflicting Viewpoints passage gives Hypothesis A and Hypothesis B. A question says 'According to Hypothesis A...' You should:

Accepted Answer

Use only the information from Hypothesis A

Answer

When a question specifies one hypothesis, answer strictly from that viewpoint's stated information.

Question 3

Which finding would most strongly SUPPORT a hypothesis that a fossil belonged to a warm-climate animal?

Accepted Answer

Tropical plant fossils found in the same rock layer

Answer

Tropical plants in the same layer indicate a warm environment, supporting the warm-climate hypothesis.

Question 4

Scientist 1's model requires that light travels as a wave. Discovering light behaves only as particles would:

Accepted Answer

Undermine Scientist 1's model

Answer

Removing the wave behavior the model depends on directly undermines that scientist's position.

Question 5

A reliable strategy for Conflicting Viewpoints passages is to:

Accepted Answer

Read the introduction carefully since it gives shared background

Answer

The intro usually states the shared phenomenon and context that both viewpoints attempt to explain.

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