Posts Tagged ‘learning’

Organic Chemistry 101

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

Organic chemistry is a branch and specific discipline of chemistry. Organic chemistry deals specifically with the properties, structure, and composition of organic compounds. Organic compounds, by definition, are compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen atoms. It is generally agreed that the science of organic chemistry began in 1828. It is then that Friedrich Woehler accidentally evaporated an aqueous solution and came up with the organic compound called urea.

Although carbon is not the most common element in the world, it is one of the most versatile. Organic compounds are composed of carbon and hydrogen molecules, but may also contain other elements. Some of the most common elements found in organic compounds include oxygen, halogens, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur or phosphorus.

Most organic compounds are covalently bonded, which allows them to form long, complex carbon chains and rings. Carbon atoms are very stable, and are able to form stable covalent bonds with one another (known as catenation). Unlike non-organic materials, organic compounds will usually melt or decompose if exposed to temperatures below 300 degrees Celsius. Another characteristic of organic compounds is that they tend to be more soluble in organic solvents. Solubility, however, always depends on the overall structure of the compound and the functional groups present. A functional group refers to the parts of a molecule that make up its specific chemical nature.

Perhaps the most important and most studied types of organic compounds are those that contain nitrogen. These compounds usually contain parts of the amino group. When the amino group combines with the carboxyl group, amino acids are born. Amino acids are regarded as the building blocks of proteins.

Scientists and researchers use several types of methods in order to determine the molecular structure of an organic compound. Here are the most common methods currently in use:

Crystallography: Crystallography is the science of determining the arrangements of atoms in solids. By studying the diffraction patterns given off by a sample, scientists are able to determine its structure. This is the most precise method for studying compounds. However, most crystals are not large enough to produce a clear picture of some compounds.

Mass Spectrometry: This method involves examining the molecular weight and fragmentation pattern of a compound to determine its chemical structure.

Elemental Analysis: Elemental analysis involves analyzing the sample of the compound to determine its elemental and isotopic composition. In studying organic compounds mostly destructive methods, such as flame atomic absorption or graphite furnace atomic absorption, are used to determine the elemental composition of a molecule.

Infrared Spectroscopy: Spectroscopy is used to determine the presence or absence of functional groups to learn the chemical nature of a molecule.

UV/VIS Spectroscopy: Ultraviolet-Visible spectrophotometry to determine the nature of a compound. Spectrophotometry uses a spectrophotometer to measure how much light is absorbed by the sample.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR): NMR spectroscopy is one of the most common methods to obtain the physical, chemical, structural and electronic nature of a molecule. NMR works by studying the magnetism of a nucleus by placing it in alignment with a magnetic field, and then using an electromagnetic field to disrupt this alignment.

Struggling Readers: The Struggles

Monday, April 18th, 2011

Struggling readers have a number of barriers to their success that can be overcome if they are properly understood and addressed. Left unchecked, these barriers can grow into an unmanageable weight for both the student and the educators who are trying to help them.

1. The Experience Struggle

Ten chances to one, a struggling reader will not have much book experience. There is a great disparity in the amount of book experience children entering kindergarten have: some have none; some have well over 1000 hours of quality book experience with their parents. Children with no book experience enter kindergarten without such simple knowledge as where the book begins, what direction the text is supposed to be read, and where the book ends. Children without book experience probably don’t have parents who read, and they don’t see reading as being an everyday activity that is done for enjoyment. As time goes by, the difference in the amount of book experience a struggling reader has and his or her peers have increases.

Solution: A lot of book experience before, during, and after school. This is easier said than done because resource people including the parents are required to fully help this struggling reader.

2. The Self-Esteem Struggle

Struggling readers are often embarrassed to read in front of their peers because they can not read as well as them. Struggling readers are the brunt of criticism, jokes, and teasing when they read in front of their peers, so they often avoid it like the plague. They might deliberately try to get sent into the hall or office if they know that oral reading is approaching. If they are called on to read, they try extra hard to struggle because they quickly learn if they struggle too much, someone else will take over. If they do manage to read out loud, they might obsess over how the reading sounds rather than trying to make meaning from the text.

Solutions: Have struggling readers read one-on-one with a teacher or a peer who can give them positive feedback on their reading. Let them practice ahead of time, anything they need to read in front of others. Instruct the whole class that saying words out loud while someone else is reading doesn’t allow that person to use reading strategies themselves. This will make the struggling reader accountable to try their best without singling them out.

3. The Motivation Struggle

If a struggling student sees himself or herself as a non-reader or a poor reader, they may not be motivated to learn to read. They might not see any use in learning to read. If there isn’t any intrinsic or extrinsic motivation for them to read, they might choose to give up. Struggling readers may have a defeatist attitude toward reading since they have already decided that they “can’t” read. Students are disinterested in reading because of their lack of success in reading. Reading becomes an activity that is irritating, annoying and negative to them, so they find other activities with which they can experience success (such as sports).

Solutions: The key solution is to give the struggling reader many good reasons why they should learn to read. This might involve exposing them to many different jobs where reading is necessary, not to mention the benefits to their school career. Struggling readers need to experience success–that is the intrinsic motivation–in reading many times, so goals should be set that are achievable in the short-term. For some students, extrinsic motivation might work at the beginning. For example, they might receive stars on a chart, or a pencil for reaching a goal. Try to move from the extrinsic to the intrinsic because after a while extrinsic rewards don’t carry the same weight.

4. The Comprehension Struggle

Many struggling readers are able to decode text with few problems, but they have no idea what it is about. They may be able to answer explicit questions about the text, but any question requiring a higher level of thinking may be difficult.

Solutions: Good readers already have a sense of how to make meaning from text–they re-read, they question, they interpret, they self-monitor, they clarify, they judge, they predict, they do everything that a struggling reader does not. The solution is to teach the struggling reader all of the reading strategies that good readers use as a matter of practice. What is innate in good readers is a mystery to struggling readers. Give them many opportunities to practice these reading strategies.

5. The Other Struggle

Each struggling reader is unique. There could be another or many other reasons why they struggle. They might have a learning disability or a rotten home life. Whatever the struggle, try to overcome it by educating yourself on the struggling reader’s needs including finding as many strategies as possible that will support him or her.

Using Math Games to Enhance Learning

Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Ever wonder how you could get your son or daughter to be more interested in math? Math is hard work, but with some fun maths games, you can capture their attention while they learn. So, how can you find some fun maths games? They are actually not very hard to find. If you look up math games on Amazon.com, for instance, many books will come up that have math games. Or, you can look up math game on the internet for free, and find many free resources for math games. There are online games, or games that you can read about and play at home with your child.

So, what is the best way to incorporate them into your child’s study schedule? It is best to cover the basics first, but let him know that the game awaits him if he masters the subject. Positive reinforcement is a proven technique for children. By saving the fun maths games for the end, you’ll not only grab your child’s attention for learning math, but you’ll give him a reward that he’ll enjoy and benefit from.

Here is an example of a challenging, but fun game. Jot down on a piece of paper the number 1-20. The game is then to, using the same number no more than 5 times and using any standard mathematical function, try to have that written number as the result. For example, if trying to get the number 1 with 5, 7’s, one may come up with1 = (7 7)/7 7/7. For 2, you may come up with (7 7)*7/7/7 = 2. Pretty simple at first, but it gets challenging later on. This and other fun maths games can be used to challenge children to use math in new and creative ways.

There are other fun maths games that can help a child expand his mind or your mind. For example, a popular game called Sudoku is being played by many adults these days. The game is easy enough for kids, but can be challenging enough for adults to enjoy. Try, and you’ll be hooked!

Tips For Taking The ACT

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

The ACT is a national college admission examination that consists of subject area tests in English, mathematics, reading, and science with an optional writing exam.

The ACT includes 215 multiple-choice questions and takes approximately three hours and 30 minutes to complete with breaks (or just over four hours if taking the Writing Test). Actual testing time is two hours and 55 minutes (plus 30 minutes for the Writing Test).

ACT results are accepted by all U.S. colleges and universities. The basic registration fee includes score reports for up to four college choices for which a valid code is listed at the time of registration.

The ACT can be an important factor in college education. Not only is it an important criteria for admission to most universities but some degree programs also use scores to determine admission. For these reasons it is important to prepare carefully before taking the exam.

The best preparation for the ACT is taking a solid high school program that includes courses in English, math, science, and social studies and taking your school work seriously.

But it’s also true that attitude, emotion, and physical state may influence performance. So start preparing early and know what to expect on the test day. Read all the information in the registration packet and take the complete practice test included.

On test day itself make sure to:

~ Carefully read the instructions on the cover of the test booklet.

~ Read the directions for each section carefully.

~ Read each question carefully.

~ Pace yourself&ndashdon’t spend too much time on a single passage or question.

~ Use a soft lead No. 2 pencil with a good eraser; do not use a mechanical pencil, ink pen or correction fluid.

~ Answer the easy questions first, then go back and answer the more difficult ones.

~ On difficult questions, eliminate as many incorrect answers as you can, then make an educated guess among those remaining.

~ Answer every question. Your scores on the multiple-choice tests are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for guessing.

~ Review your work. If you finish a test before time is up, go back and check your work.

~ Mark your answers neatly. If you erase, erase completely and cleanly without smudging.

~ Do not mark or alter any ovals on a test or continue writing on the writing Test after time has been called or you will be disqualified from the exam.

~ You’ll have 30 minutes to read and think about the issue in the writing prompt, and to plan and write your essay. Do some planning before writing the essay. Carefully consider the prompt and make sure you understand it. Think of how best to organize the ideas in your essay. Use specific examples.

Preparing for the ACT is important for your college education and your future.

The Interesting History Of Sparta

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

When one studies the history of Sparta, it is difficult to conclude that this society was not one of history’s strangest. Maybe due to design by a man names Lycurgus than through developing naturally.

In the last few centuries, quite a few societies have been constructed by committees, and there have been many more failures than successes. The history of Sparta can serve as an example of both a success and a failure, and it would be helpful to remember these ancient people whenever we opt to design anything, such as a business or family.

In a time when cities were typically surrounded by walls to protect them from the latest conquering horde, Sparta needed none. Each and every male citizen was trained literally from birth to be a hardened, world-class soldier.

In English, the term “Spartan” has connotations of discipline and frugality. A Spartan room, for example, might contain nothing but a table and chair. This is an accurate description of the Spartan way of life. In the mind of a historian, however, the meaning of “Spartan” leans more towards “brutal” and “militaristic.” Sparta was a society designed to dominate its neighbors: A warrior culture.

Sparta was a considerable military power for over a thousand years. Their system of warfare based on hoplite spearmen was copied by every army in the Mediterranian region. Their soldiers’ prowess was demonstrated most vividly in 480 B.C. at Thermopylae, a narrow stretch of land between cliff and sea where only 300 Spartan hoplites held off an entire Persian army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

This power dearly cost the Spartan citizens, and their unusual society eventually garnered a more humble status as a Roman tourist attraction.

Sparta took common Greek practices to extremes, even ones which would seem brutal to modern people. For example, it was acceptable in most of Greece to abandon an unwanted newborn in the woods. There was a chance that someone would find and adopt such a baby. In Sparta, babies were a communal asset, unless they were considered a liability due to being somehow weak or deformed. These infants were thrown over a cliff!

Every day of a young boy’s life was a struggle for survival. Boys lived as members of small bands, living off the land and raiding farms and villages. They were punished for stealing from other Spartans, but more for getting caught than for the act itself.

Surviving teenagers were each assigned a mentor/lover (homosexuality was considered necessary for a soldier far from home). They were put through a coming-of-age gauntlet during which a significant percentage were mortally wounded.

Marriage was a contract between two families. Young women were trained for marriage and child rearing as young men were trained for war. Women were responsible for controlling all aspects of sex and reproduction. This was often a jolting experience for the man who had seen few women during his short life.

When it came time for war, Sparta was always ready. However, they were spread very thin. The number of slaves and serfs in the wide regions around Sparta was hundreds of times the number of Spartan citizens. Sparta controlled vast wealth, but its citizens never enjoyed any of it.

Eventually, all of Greece was absorbed into the Roman empire. They were spared most of the downsides of conquest faced by the “barbarians” of places such as Gaul. Romans respected Greek culture, and even believed that Rome was founded by Greeks. Therefore, they left Greek society very much intact, including Sparta.

The Spartan culture caused each of its citizens to become an awesome powerhouse of strength and discipline. Unfortunately, there just weren’t enough of them, and there wasn’t much variety.

However, Sparta was now just another state within a vast empire. Though its traditions were still alive, suddenly they were quaint rather than brutally effective.

Rome won over Sparta because Romans valued individuality and personal rewards as well as communal strength and power. Sparta’s society had just a few fatal flaws. It was too elitist. People couldn’t “join” Sparta: They had to be born into it. Spartan men had to be warriors before being husbands, merchants, or politicians. Other cultures were allowing different men to perform different tasks. Sparta’s population began to shrink as soon as Lycurgus implemented his militaristic reforms, and it never recovered.

Of course, Rome was won over by a certain movement, and you probably know what it is (This would make a good article). Think about this also when you next decide to design something.

What does this all mean, and why should you care? History shows us what has been done right in the past, and what has been done wrong. There are quite a few lessons we might take away from the history of Sparta:

To grow and expand, to gain control of assets, you need to be able to grow internally.

It’s better to open your doors to diversity than to screen and weed people, or to stuff them into a mold. Think of some other regimes in the last hundred years or so that tried to do this, and what happened to them.

Wealth, power, and respect are all some people are looking for. Sparta had all of this, and for a long time. In the long run, however, these things amounted to only a few moments of glory and a place in the history books. Maybe you’re looking for something more “in the moment”.

When studying the history of this most interesting society, you must decide how to intrepret it and its effect on society (if any). That, after all, is why the study of history is so important.

Footage Knowledge Doctorate Degrees - What To Do After Your Masters Degree

Saturday, March 5th, 2011

Online indoctrination is becoming an increasingly popular method of earning a bachelor’s or associate’s degree. However, diverse schools are not also donation advanced degrees with a view genius’s and doctoral degrees. A stretch lore doctorate is an acme elucidation for individuals who participate in a skipper’s to a considerable extent already and do not have the time to leave back to denomination busty time narrative essay introductory paragraph. Most people with a higher learning are already in the workforce and have stringent days commitments for dear and educated obligations. This can inhibit someone from continuing their education but with the conformability of online programs, this outcome can be solved.

In symmetry to attain a mileage erudition doctorate, you sine qua non have access to a computer and take an Internet connection. If you are not to this day skilled in the central functions of a computer and how to avail oneself of the Internet, it is practical to learn previous starting classes. You determination utilization this resource heavily, so you should suffer with wizard consciousness already. Most people already require sufficient knowing of the Internet and computers since they are worn so continually in proprietorship today.

There are divers methods for attaining a coolness scholarship doctorate. Explore different schools to their philosophies and curriculum before committing to a program. There are various approaches and anecdote will likely satisfy you best. It is sound to start a doctoral program at the constant place you aim to superlative it so there is no re working of existing work or credits that do not transfer. Be involved your period to fact-finding methods and decide one that will realistically suit your style of scholarship and dead for now constraints.

Limerick method to obtain a gap wisdom doctorate is a perfectly volume unrestrained method that is tradition made to your unfriendly goals. This method brings you in friend with a professor who specializes in your field and wishes dream up a curriculum for those needs. The assignments are flatly written and comprise related topics in your field. You drive demand to explore and notation about a number of topics all relating to the commerce in which you specialize. This is a applicable option because you are scholarship practical applications exchange for your business.

Another method is to utilize the interval culture doctorate curriculum to swatting and research with testing and point submissions. The number of the line is done online but has a more structured orbit schedule. You desire likely keep precise assignments and privation to run out of books as properly as do Internet research. Testing may be required at local affiliated testing centers that are located in your area. Some schools last wishes as constant bear a split curriculum where portions are on site and other portions are available online.

Unwritten methods of erudition are very well-built; however, scads people include too scads responsibilities at fit in or in their particular lives to sentence to the continuously confusing in earning a doctorate degree. Colleges and universities obtain recognized this and procure adapted interval knowledge doctorate programs to account seeing that this. Accelerated and specially rate curriculum account for the treatment of accommodate wheedle familiarity and grasp to succour dart the process. Utilizing technology, the schools sell comparable classes with the added convenience of working at your own traverse from your own home.

Why Should You Become A Lifelong Learner?

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

I am a student, a teacher, and a mother (in order of the role’s appearance in my life). Being a teacher and a mother means I am continually learning something new. I learn so I can keep up with my students and son; I learn from my students and my son; and I learn so I can do my best as a teacher and a mother.

However, even if the role of a student wasn’t forced on me by life I think I would be a lifelong learner. I love to learn. The universe is such a large and diverse place and even our small corner of it is so complex and varied that you can find a new challenge in any direction you look. I love learning big things and small things and even trivial things.

I love the investigation and the discovery involved in the process of learning. Sometimes only the process interests me and I don’t worry about the end result.

I’ve always suspected that being a lifelong learner was a good thing and I recently came up with three very good reasons for embracing lifelong learning.

However, resarchers at the University of Toronto have found learning can not only be good for your life but also for your brain. Learning may actually protect the brain from some of the negative impacts of aging such as memory loss, by building alternate neural networks absent in less-educated people. The more years you spend learning, the more prevention against memory loss you have.

Dr. Paul Nussbaum have also done extensive research in this area and he reports that new and complex stimulation promotes a healthy brain. He says: “New learning translates to neurophysiological growth and to mental stimulation in the same way that aerobics translates to cardiovascular health.” Nussbaum encourages people of all ages to continually promote their brain’s health by challenging their brain by learning new information and new skills as well as pursuing activities that may be challenging and difficult to master at first.

Lifelong learning also offers additional ways to keep your brain healthy. Studies show that it is important for human beings to have a role and a sense of purpose. Actively pursuing knowledge and/or skills can help you achieve both as well as the stimulation your brain needs to be healthy.

Finally there is the financial incentive for learning. Studies show a strong correlation between health and finances. Other research shows that the more education and skills (learning) a person acquires, the higher their income. People who know more not only earn more money but know how to use it as a tool to further build their financial resources. No matter what your income or your age, it is never too late to begin learning how to manage your money better.

Three very good reasons for becoming a lifelong learner include promoting your brain’s health; giving your life a sense of purpose; and promoting your financial security. Any one of these reasons should be enough but all three combine to a powerful motivation to learn.

Tips For Successful Homeschooling

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

There are many reasons why parents choose to homeschool their kids. For many it is because they want to add religious content to their children’s learning experience.

Making the decision to home school is usually a very difficult not and it is not one to be taken lightly. It is a personal decision that no one can make for you, but maybe I can help in the thought process by providing you with a comprehensive guide to making the choice to homeschool your kids a successful one.

When making the homeschool decision, you must first consider these things:

1. Time commitment that is involved. Homeschooling has a tendency to take up a lot of time in your day. It involves more than just sitting down with books for a couple of hours. There are experiments and projects that have to be done, lessons to prepare, papers to grade, field trips, park days, music lessons, and the list just keeps on going. You can go online and search for some sample schedules that will help to give you an idea of a typical day.

2. Personal sacrifice. The homeschooling parent has very little personal time or time alone and away from their children. If a lot of care is not taken to set aside time for yourself, it is easy for the parent to feel overwhelmed. Basically, the parent and child are together 24 hours a day and this can get frustrating on both sides.

3. Financial problems can arise. Homeschooling can be accomplished with very little cost to you; however, it usually requires that the teaching parent will not be working out of the home. Some sacrifices will need to be made if the family is used to two incomes. Of course, if you are a single parent, this could pose an even bigger problem.

4. Time for socialization. More attention will need to be given to getting your children together with his/her peers. The best part of homeschooling is being able to have more control of the social contacts your child makes. However, the downside is that you must prepare your child yourself on how to socialize with other kids. Homeschooling has a tendency to make your child feel isolated.

5. Household organization is harder. Housework and laundry and other house work will still have to be done, but it probably won’t get done first thing in the morning. If you are a neat freak, you might be in for a big surprise. Not only does housework need to be let go at times, but homeschooling creates messes and clutter on its own. You will have to get organized so that you can keep your home together.

6. Both parents must agree to it. It is important that both parents agree to homeschooling. It is very difficult for this to work if one of the parents is against it. If your spouse is against it at this time, try doing more research and talking to more people so that you can be absolutely certain it is something that both of you can agree upon. Otherwise, the chances for success are much smaller.

7. Your child has to be willing. A willing student is crucial to the success of homeschooling. Ultimately, the decision is the parents to make, but if your child is dead against it, you might have a very difficult time in teaching them. The fact of the matter is that an unwilling child can sabotage his/her own school efforts.

8. Know that it works one year at a time. It isn’t a lifetime commitment and doesn’t have to become one. If you find that homeschooling just isn’t worth it, you can choose to go the regular route.

There is a lot more to homeschooling than to just do it. As a parent, you must know that your child’s education is the most important factor in his/her future. You need to be thoroughly prepared for all of the time and commitment that is involved. If you are thinking of choosing homeschooling for your child (ren), this guide will help to make it a successful transition.

Artistic Urgency of your Computer Can Compel Lingo Information Easier

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Your computer can be acclimated to as a artistic shape in your hunt seek after to learn a unrelated language. Some innovative ideas can remodel your interaction education into an enjoyable, really significant experience.

* Audio Modification

Profuse companies spark software packages that charter you to transmogrify your vote (or someone else’s). You can make your voice feminine, masculine, or robotic. It can be raised to a tipsy pitch or lowered to bass tones.

So how does this purloin you learn a new language?

Numberless unrelated languages (French and German, instead of pattern) grant gender to nouns. When learning modish vocabulary, why not record tender nouns in a female forum, masculine nouns in a virile spokesman, and epicene nouns in a robotic voice? This approximate can also be worn with other types of vocabulary learning. Perhaps you could document a list of German dative verbs in a the missis’s voice and a heel of German accusative verbs in a male voice. You can unruffled take audio files that demand been recorded past other people and make them more compelling nigh morphing voices or adding characteristic effects.

An internet search as a replacement for ‘declare cloaking’ or ‘present modification software’ intention provide numerous resources to prefer from.

* Don’t Exactly Print

If you own a color printer you can spice up your vocabulary lists with bursts of color - maybe docile nouns in red, masculine nouns in indelicate, and caponize in recondite grey. You dominion stand in want to highlight irregular verbs in another color - or maybe register strong or italics to pass them undergo out on the page. Inquiry with diverse fonts and weights.

* Websites and Online Sources

Every language undergraduate should be experiencing at least a man online wordbook bookmarked (preferably very many). Each glossary desire work a no differently. Some stock up audio clips. Others will concession for users to submit contemporary words and expressions. (Be in the know that not all operator submissions inclination be 100% accurate.) The nicest dictionaries on demonstrably point out ‘verified’ purchaser submissions and will mark colloquial and dialect expressions appropriately.

Are you a poet? Steal is as almost as your computer joy luck club essays. Online language resources subsume helpful rhyming dictionaries. An internet search for ‘rhyming dictionary French’, ‘rhyming dictionary German’, ‘rhyming lexicon Spanish’ etc. will release you good results.

Try to rely on accredited instructive sites (domains ending in .edu) when doing grammar research. For exemplar, if you are looking because of Hungarian verb conjugations, try out a search like ‘Hungarian verb conjugations placement:.edu’. Although at the frequently of chirography the antecedent to search doesn’t vocation at MSN, it does earn a living at Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, and sundry others. The ‘placement:edu’ fragment of the search restricts results to domains ending in ‘.edu’ - which are in the main universities and other similar educational institutions.

* Online Chatting and Video Conferencing

Video-cams, VOIP, microphones . . . notation of b depose them all together and talk with foreign friends from all onto the world. Using a language in palaver is perhaps the quickest approach to learn.

Whatever you do, about that the more senses you incite during the learning course of action, the more rigidly imprinted the culture becomes. Adapt your phrasing learning into a fun-filled sensory familiarity and you purpose to all intents stick with it. If it becomes soporific, you may overcome interest.

What You Should Know About ACT

Monday, January 24th, 2011

A national college admission examination, the ACT consists of subject area tests in English, mathematics, reading, and science plus an optional writing exam.

Originally, “ACT” stood for American College Testing. However, in 1996 the official name of the organization was shortened to simply “ACT” to better reflect the broad array of programs and services offered beyond college entrance testing.

There are three good reasons to take the ACT:

1. The ACT tests are universally accepted for college admission.

2. The ACT is not an aptitude or an IQ test. Instead, the questions on the ACT are directly related to high school courses in English, mathematics, and science.

3. In addition to the tests, the ACT also provides test takers with a unique interest inventory that provides valuable information for career and educational planning and a student profile section that provides a comprehensive profile of high school work and future plans.

In the U.S., the ACT is administered on five national test dates in October, December, February, April, and June. In selected states, the ACT is also offered in late September.

The ACT tests are prepared according to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (1985); Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement, National Council on Measurement in Education (1995); and Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education, Joint Committee on Testing Practices (1988).

People of all ages and grade levels are eligible to take the ACT. This includes junior high or middle school students and those who have already graduated from high school.

The test includes 215 multiple-choice questions in four subject areas: English- 75 questions; Math-60 questions; Reading-40 questions; and Science-40 questions. Plus, one writing prompt in the optional writing portion.

There are no limitations on how many times you can take the ACT, although there are restrictions on how frequently you can do so. For example, you can test only once per national or state test date, or if you test through non-national testing such as special testing, you must wait a minimum of 60 days between retests. Many students take the test twice, once as a junior and again as a senior.

You should definitely consider retesting if you had any problems during the test, such as misunderstanding the directions or not feeling well. You may also want to consider retesting if you aren’t satisfied that your scores accurately represent your abilities.

Retesting may be a good idea if you see a discrepancy between your ACT scores and your high school grades, or if you have completed coursework or an intensive review in the subject areas included in the ACT since you were tested. Research shows that of the students who took the ACT more than once 55% increased their composite score on the retest. If you take the test more than once, you control which scores are sent to colleges or scholarship programs.

You can learn more about the ACT from the ACT corporation, college admission offices, and high school guidance departments.