ACT Science — Conflicting Viewpoints — Drill 4

About This Drill

ACT Science — Conflicting Viewpoints — Drill 4 is a Science practice drill covering Conflicting Viewpoints. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

ACT Conflicting Viewpoints questions present two competing scientific explanations for you to evaluate. In this drill, two scientists debate the evolution of powered bird flight — the trees-down hypothesis versus the ground-up hypothesis — requiring identification of assumptions and evaluation of hypothetical evidence.

Questions in This Drill

1. According to Scientist 1, what was the first functional step in the evolution of bird flight?
2. Which of the following statements would both Scientist 1 and Scientist 2 most likely accept?
3. Which of the following findings, if confirmed, would most weaken Scientist 1's hypothesis?
4. Scientist 2's ground-up hypothesis depends on which of the following assumptions?
5. Researchers study a species of ground-dwelling juvenile bird that is not yet capable of powered flight. They find that the chicks use vigorous wing-flapping to run up near-vertical rock faces to escape predators, gaining traction they could not achieve with legs alone. This finding most directly supports the hypothesis of: