ACT Practice Questions — All Questions
22 questions
The box of old photographs ___ been sitting in the attic for years. Which choice is correct?
- a.has✓
- b.have
- c.were
- d.are
The subject is 'box' (singular), not 'photographs', which is part of the prepositional phrase 'of old photographs'. A singular subject takes the singular verb 'has'.
Neither the manager nor the employees ___ aware of the schedule change. Which choice is correct?
- a.was
- b.were✓
- c.is
- d.has been
With 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject. The nearer subject 'employees' is plural, so the plural verb 'were' is correct.
My brother and ___ went to the concert together. Which choice is correct?
- a.me
- b.myself
- c.I✓
- d.him
The blank is part of the compound subject performing the action, so the subject pronoun 'I' is required. Test it by dropping 'My brother and': 'I went' is correct, not 'me went'.
Choose the option that corrects the dangling modifier: 'Walking to school, ___'
- a.the fresh snow was noticed by Maria
- b.it was snowing on the walk
- c.the snow looked fresh that morning
- d.Maria noticed the fresh snow✓
The introductory phrase 'Walking to school' must be followed immediately by the person doing the walking. Only 'Maria noticed the fresh snow' places the walker (Maria) right after the modifier.
If she ___ harder, she would have passed the exam. Which choice is correct?
- a.had studied✓
- b.studied
- c.studies
- d.would study
This is a past (third) conditional describing an unreal past result. The 'if' clause needs the past perfect 'had studied' to match 'would have passed' in the main clause.
Which punctuation correctly joins these two independent clauses: 'The rain stopped ___ we went outside.'
- a.stopped, we went
- b.stopped; we went✓
- c.stopped we went
- d.stopped, we, went
Two independent clauses cannot be joined by a comma alone (a comma splice) or by nothing (a run-on). A semicolon correctly links two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction.
The ___ toys were scattered across the floor. Which choice is the correct plural possessive?
- a.childrens
- b.children
- c.children's✓
- d.childrens'
'Children' is already plural, so the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe and 's': children's. 'Childrens' and 'childrens'' are not real words.
The dog wagged ___ tail happily. Which choice is correct?
- a.it's
- b.it is
- c.its'
- d.its✓
'Its' is the possessive form meaning 'belonging to it'. 'It's' is a contraction of 'it is', and 'its'' is not a word, so 'its tail' is correct.
She packed three things ___ a map, a compass, and a bottle of water. Which punctuation best introduces the list?
- a.a colon (:)✓
- b.a comma (,)
- c.a semicolon (;)
- d.no punctuation
A colon correctly introduces a list that follows a complete independent clause ('She packed three things'). A comma or semicolon would be incorrect here.
Choose the most concise phrasing: 'We rescheduled the meeting ___ several members were traveling.'
- a.due to the fact that
- b.because✓
- c.on account of the fact that
- d.in light of the fact that
ACT rhetoric rewards concise wording that keeps the meaning. 'Because' conveys the same cause-and-effect relationship as the wordier alternatives in a single word.
Solve for x: 3x + 7 = 22.
- a.3
- b.7
- c.5✓
- d.29
Subtract 7 from both sides to get 3x = 15, then divide both sides by 3 to get x = 5. Check: 3(5) + 7 = 15 + 7 = 22.
Solve for x: 2(x - 3) = 10.
- a.2
- b.5
- c.11
- d.8✓
Divide both sides by 2 to get x - 3 = 5, then add 3 to both sides to get x = 8. Check: 2(8 - 3) = 2(5) = 10.
If f(x) = 2x^2 - 3, what is f(4)?
- a.29✓
- b.13
- c.5
- d.61
Substitute x = 4: 2(4)^2 - 3 = 2(16) - 3 = 32 - 3 = 29. Squaring must be done before multiplying by 2.
What is the slope of the line passing through the points (2, 3) and (6, 11)?
- a.4
- b.2✓
- c.1/2
- d.3
Slope equals the change in y over the change in x: (11 - 3) / (6 - 2) = 8 / 4 = 2.
20% of a certain number is 15. What is the number?
- a.3
- b.30
- c.75✓
- d.300
Let the number be n. Then 0.20 * n = 15, so n = 15 / 0.20 = 75. Check: 20% of 75 = 0.20 * 75 = 15.
A triangle has a base of 10 units and a height of 6 units. What is its area?
- a.60
- b.16
- c.15
- d.30✓
The area of a triangle is one half the base times the height: (1/2)(10)(6) = (1/2)(60) = 30 square units.
A right triangle has legs of length 6 and 8. What is the length of the hypotenuse?
- a.10✓
- b.14
- c.12
- d.48
By the Pythagorean theorem, the hypotenuse c satisfies c^2 = 6^2 + 8^2 = 36 + 64 = 100, so c = 10.
What is the area of a circle with radius 5, expressed in terms of pi?
- a.10π
- b.25π✓
- c.5π
- d.100π
The area of a circle is pi times the radius squared: π(5)^2 = 25π. The circumference (not asked here) would be 10π.
What is the sum of the interior angles of a regular pentagon?
- a.360°
- b.450°
- c.540°✓
- d.720°
The sum of interior angles of a polygon is (n - 2) * 180 degrees. For a pentagon, n = 5, so (5 - 2)(180) = 3(180) = 540 degrees.
A student heats water and records its temperature. Time (min): 0, 5, 10, 15. Temperature (°C): 20, 30, 40, 50. If the trend continues, what is the predicted temperature at 20 minutes?
- a.55
- b.50
- c.70
- d.60✓
The temperature rises 10 °C every 5 minutes (a constant rate). Continuing the pattern from 50 °C at 15 minutes adds another 10 °C, giving 60 °C at 20 minutes.
A plant is given fertilizer and its height is measured. Fertilizer (g): 0, 2, 4, 6. Height (cm): 5, 9, 13, 17. If the trend continues, what height is expected at 8 g of fertilizer?
- a.21✓
- b.19
- c.20
- d.23
Height increases by 4 cm for every 2 g of fertilizer added (a constant rate). Continuing from 17 cm at 6 g adds another 4 cm, giving 21 cm at 8 g.
A student drops a ball from different heights and measures how high it bounces. In this experiment, which is the independent variable (the one deliberately changed)?
- a.bounce height
- b.drop height✓
- c.ball mass
- d.air temperature
The independent variable is the one the experimenter deliberately sets and varies. Here the student chooses the drop height, and the bounce height is the measured (dependent) result.