ACT Science — Conflicting Viewpoints — Drill 5

About This Drill

ACT Science — Conflicting Viewpoints — Drill 5 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 ask you to analyze and compare two competing explanations. In this drill, two scientists debate the primary driver of Earth's glacial cycles — orbital (Milankovitch) cycles versus atmospheric CO₂ concentration — requiring identification of evidence, assumptions, and evaluation of new data.

Questions in This Drill

1. Which of the following does Scientist 1 cite as the primary evidence that orbital cycles drive glacial periods?
2. Which of the following statements would both Scientist 1 and Scientist 2 most likely accept as accurate?
3. Which of the following findings, if confirmed, would most weaken Scientist 1's hypothesis?
4. Scientist 2 argues that CO₂ is the primary driver of glacial cycles. This argument assumes which of the following?
5. High-precision analysis of an Antarctic ice core reveals that at each of the last eight glacial terminations, Antarctic temperature began rising approximately 800 years before atmospheric CO₂ concentrations increased. This finding most strongly supports the hypothesis of: