ACT Science Quiz: Interpreting Data From Diagrams

A student uses a calorimeter to measure heat released by dissolving a salt in water. Figure 1 shows the calorimeter cup, lid, thermometer, and stirrer, including which parts contact the solution. According to Figure 1, which component is inserted through the lid and extends into the solution to measure temperature?

A biologist traces airflow through a simplified human respiratory system diagram (Figure 1). Arrows indicate the direction of airflow during inhalation. Based on Figure 1, air flows from the trachea directly into the:

A hydrologist drilled four wells across a hillside and recorded the depth of the bottom of each well. The water table is the upper surface of the saturated zone; a well yields water only if it extends below the water table. Figure 1 shows a cross section of the hillside.

According to Figure 1, which well does not extend below the water table?

Figure 1 shows a vertical cross section of four rock layers that have been cut by a fault. The rock on the right side of the fault has moved downward relative to the rock on the left side. Depths are measured below the ground surface on the left side.

According to Figure 1, how far has the rock on the right side of the fault moved down relative to the rock on the left side?

Figure 1 shows the paths by which nitrogen atoms move among five reservoirs in an ecosystem. Each arrow points in the direction that nitrogen moves.

Based on Figure 1, a nitrogen atom moving from atmospheric nitrogen gas into plant protein passes through which sequence of soil reservoirs?

Figure 1 is a surface pressure map for one region. Each isobar connects points of equal air pressure, and adjacent isobars differ by 4 millibars. Wind speed increases as the horizontal distance between neighbouring isobars decreases.

Based on Figure 1, at which site would the wind be fastest?

Figure 1 shows a block resting on a surface inclined at 30° to the horizontal. Four forces acting on the block are drawn as arrows. The normal force is the force that a surface exerts on an object, and it always acts perpendicular to that surface, directed away from it.

According to Figure 1, which labeled arrow represents the normal force on the block?

Figure 1 shows two light rays leaving the top of an object and passing through a converging lens. The lens sits at the 0 cm mark, and its focal points are marked F on each side. An image forms where the rays meet after passing through the lens.

According to Figure 1, the image forms at what distance from the lens?

Figure 1 shows a circuit built by a physics student. An ammeter is connected in line with the circuit to measure current, and a voltmeter is connected across a single component to measure the potential difference between its two ends.

According to Figure 1, the voltmeter measures the potential difference across which component?

After an earthquake, three seismograph stations each calculated their distance from the epicenter. In Figure 1, a circle is drawn around each station with a radius equal to that distance, so the epicenter lies somewhere on each circle.

Based on Figure 1, which labeled point is the epicenter of the earthquake?

Figure 1 shows six reservoirs of water and the processes that move water between them. Each arrow points in the direction that water moves.

According to Figure 1, which two processes move water into the water vapor reservoir?

A soil scientist recorded the four horizons present at a study site and the maximum depth reached by the roots of three plants growing there. Figure 1 shows the results.

According to Figure 1, the roots of which plant extend into Horizon C?

Ecologists mapped the feeding relationships among six organisms in a grassland community. The results are shown in Figure 1.

Based on Figure 1, which organism serves as a direct food source for both the snake and the hawk?

Figure 1 shows an apparatus used to separate a liquid mixture by distillation. The mixture is heated in the flask, the vapor that forms travels through the apparatus, and the purified liquid is collected. Cold water flows through the outer jacket of the sloping tube.

Based on Figure 1, at which labeled location does vapor first cool enough to return to the liquid state?

Figure 1 shows a cross section of a single plant cell as seen under a microscope, with five structures labeled.

According to Figure 1, which structure lies immediately inside the cell wall?

Figure 1 is a topographic map of a hillside. Each contour line connects points that are at the same elevation, and adjacent lines differ by 10 m. Where contour lines are drawn close together, elevation changes over a short horizontal distance.

Based on Figure 1, at which labeled point is the ground steepest?

A geology student examined a vertical cross section of an exposed rock outcrop. Figure 1 shows the five rock layers that were present and the depth of each boundary below the ground surface.

According to Figure 1, what is the thickness of Layer III?

Figure 1 traces the path taken by blood as it circulates through the heart, the lungs, and the rest of the body. Each arrow points in the direction that blood flows.

According to Figure 1, blood leaving the lungs flows into which structure next?

Figure 1 shows three bulbs connected in parallel across a battery. When switch S is closed, all three bulbs are lit. Each branch of a parallel circuit provides a separate path for current, so opening a switch in one branch stops current only in that branch.

Based on Figure 1, which bulbs remain lit once switch S is opened?

Figure 1 shows the order in which food passes through five parts of the digestive tract, along with two organs that release substances into the tract. Each arrow points in the direction that material moves.

Based on Figure 1, bile from the liver and enzymes from the pancreas are both released into which organ?