Introduction

You’ve decided to take the General Education Development (GED) test to earn the equivalent of a high school diploma. Congratulations! You’re about to clear a major hurdle standing between you and your educational and professional goals. But now you realize that you need extra guidance in reading, writing, and reasoning to tackle the GED Science test. Perhaps you took the test once or even twice and didn’t do so well. Perhaps you’ve done an honest self-assessment and now realize that science was never your favorite or best subject. Whatever the reason, you need to quickly review the essentials and practice answering questions like those you’ll encounter on the test. You want to know what to expect, so you’re not blindsided on test day.

Welcome to GED Science Test For Dummies — your key to excelling on the GED Science test. Here, you find everything you need to do well on the test, from guidance on how to improve reading speed and comprehension to whirlwind tours of biology, physics, chemistry, ecology, earth science, and astronomy that get you up to speed on the basics. You also find out how to write top-notch short response essays. Along the way, you find plenty of practice questions to reinforce your newly acquired knowledge and skills.

About This Book

As we were writing GED Test For Dummies, 3rd edition (Wiley), we didn’t have the space to cover all four sections of the GED test in great detail. In that book, we provided a general overview of the GED test and two full-length practice tests that covered all four sections — Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA), Mathematical Reasoning, Science, and Social Studies.

Knowing that each section of the GED test can be taken separately and that test-takers probably need more guidance in some subject areas than in others, we decided to develop a separate book for each section — four books, each with a balance of instruction and practice. In this book, GED Science Test For Dummies, we focus exclusively on the GED Science test. Our goal is twofold: to prepare you to answer correctly any science question you’re likely to encounter on the test, so that you’ll receive a high score, and to help you do well on the short response questions.

We begin by giving you a sneak peek at the test format and an overview of what’s on the GED Science test. We then provide a diagnostic test that presents you with science questions that challenge your reading and reasoning knowledge and skills and identify your unique strengths and weaknesses. The diagnostic test and answer explanations following the test guide you to specific skills and knowledge areas where you may need to focus your test-prep activities. When you feel ready, you can then tackle the full-length practice test in Chapter 11 and turn to Chapter 12 for answers and explanations. Check the answers even for questions you answered correctly because the answers provide additional insight.

We wrap up with two Part of Tens chapters — one that presents ten performance-enhancing tips and another that highlights ten science facts and concepts you’re likely to bump into on the test.

Foolish Assumptions

When we wrote this book, we made a few assumptions about you, dear reader. Here’s who we think you are:

• You’re serious about earning your GED as soon as possible.
• You’re looking for additional instruction and guidance, specifically to improve your score on the GED Science test, not the Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA), Mathematical Reasoning, or Social Studies tests. We have a separate book for each of those tests when you’re ready to tackle them.
• You’ve made earning your GED a priority in your life because you want to advance in the workplace or pursue higher learning that requires a GED or high school diploma.
• You’re willing to give up some activities so you have the time to prepare, always keeping in mind your other responsibilities.
• You meet your state’s requirements regarding age, residency, and the length of time since leaving school that make you eligible to take the GED test. (See Chapter 1 for details.)
• You have sufficient English language skills to handle the test.
• You want a fun and friendly guide that helps you achieve your goal.

If any of these descriptions sounds like you, welcome aboard. You’re about to embark on a journey that takes you from point A (where you are right now) to point B (passing the GED Science test with flying colors).

Icons Used in This Book

Icons — little pictures you see in the margins of this book — highlight bits of text that you want to pay special attention to. Here’s what each one means:

Whenever we want to tell you a special trick or technique that can help you succeed on the GED Science test, we mark it with this icon. Keep an eye out for this guy.

This icon points out information you want to burn into your brain. Think of the text with this icon as the sort of stuff you’d tear out and put on a bulletin board or your refrigerator.

Take this icon seriously! Although the world won’t end if you don’t heed the advice next to this icon, the warnings are important to your success in preparing to take the Science test.

We use this icon to flag example questions that are much like what you can expect on the actual GED Science test. So if you just want to get familiar with the types of questions on the test, this icon is your guide.

Beyond the Book

In addition to the book content, you can find valuable free material online. We provide you with a Cheat Sheet that addresses things you need to know and consider when getting ready for the GED Science test. You can access this material at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/gedsciencetest.

We also include additional articles at www.dummies.com/extras/gedsciencetest that provide even more helpful tips and advice to help you score your best on the GED Science test.

Where to Go from Here

Some people like to read books from beginning to end. Others prefer to read only the specific information they need to know now. Here we provide a road map so you can find your way around.

Chapter 1 starts off with an overview of the GED test and how to register for the exam. Chapter 2 brings you up to speed on what the Science test covers. Chapter 3 is a must-read — a diagnostic test followed by answers and explanations that point you to the chapters where you can find out more about answering each question type. Based on the questions you struggled with, the answers and explanations send you to the specific chapters in Part II you need most:

• Chapter 5 for guidance in improving reading speed and comprehension and writing short answer responses on the test.
• Chapter 6, where you find out about the scientific method of answering questions and solving problems and discover how to evaluate evidence.
• Chapter 7 for more about reasoning through science questions that involve math.
• Chapter 8 to find out more about life sciences, which cover everything from cell theory and human anatomy to ecosystems and evolution.
• Chapter 9, where you find out more about the physical sciences — physics and chemistry.
• Chapter 10, which brings you up to speed on earth science and astronomy.

When you’re ready to dive into a full-length practice test that mimics the real GED Science test, check out Part III. After the test, you can check your answers with the detailed answer explanations we provide. (But be sure to wait until after you take the practice test to look at the answers!).

If you need a break, turn to the chapters in Part IV, where you’ll find ten tips for boosting your score and ten key science facts and concepts that will help you answer science questions faster and more accurately.