ACT Practice Test Sample Questions
Try these free sample questions from the ACT Practice Test. Each one shows the correct answer and an explanation. The full practice tests covers: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science.
Question 1
The Personality of Superman<br><br>In the original Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster "Superman" stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He was seen stepping in to stop wife beaters, profiteers, <span class="question-text-highlight">a lynch mob and gangsters</span>, with rather rough edges and a looser moral code than we may be used to today. In later adventures he became, softer, and had more of a sense of idealism and moral code of conduct. Although not as cold-blooded as the early Batman, the Superman featured in the comics of the 1930s is unconcerned about the harm his strength may cause, tossing villainous characters in such a manner that fatalites would presumably occur, although these were seldom shown explicitly on the page. This came to an end when Superman vowed never to take a life.<br><br>Superman is an extremely moral person, believing it immoral to kill anyone under any circumstances, and will do whatever he can to avoid it. Clark's upbringing in the Midwest largely contributes to this, as his adoptive parents raised him to do the right thing.<br><br>In Superman/Batman #3, Batman says, "It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then … he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him."<br><br>Superman is also a bit of a loner, in that, for much of his life, he doesn't reveal his true identity and powers to anyone, not even his closer friends. Many times they come close to figuring it out on their own, but often he will arrange an elaborate deception to trick them into believing Clark Kent and Superman are entirely separate. He's known to collect mementos of his adventures and his life in the Fortress of Solitude, and has even been known to have wax statues of all his friends their.<br><br>Select the Answer that best completes the corresponding underlined portion of the passage.
- NO CHANGE
- a lynch, mob and gangsters
- a lynch mob, and gangsters
- a, lynch mob and gangsters
Answer: a lynch mob, and gangsters
Explanation: a lynch mob, and gangsters is correct. Commas are supposed to follow each item in a series of three or more.
Question 2
The Personality of Superman<br><br>In the original Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster "Superman" stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He was seen stepping in to stop wife beaters, profiteers, a lynch mob and gangsters, with rather rough edges and a looser moral code than we may be used to today. In later adventures he became, softer, and had more of a sense of idealism and moral code of conduct. Although not as cold-blooded as the early Batman, the Superman featured in the comics of the 1930s is unconcerned about the harm his strength may cause, tossing villainous characters in such a manner that <span class="question-text-highlight">fatalites</span> would presumably occur, although these were seldom shown explicitly on the page. This came to an end when Superman vowed never to take a life.<br><br>Superman is an extremely moral person, believing it immoral to kill anyone under any circumstances, and will do whatever he can to avoid it. Clark's upbringing in the Midwest largely contributes to this, as his adoptive parents raised him to do the right thing.<br><br>In Superman/Batman #3, Batman says, "It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then … he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him."<br><br>Superman is also a bit of a loner, in that, for much of his life, he doesn't reveal his true identity and powers to anyone, not even his closer friends. Many times they come close to figuring it out on their own, but often he will arrange an elaborate deception to trick them into believing Clark Kent and Superman are entirely separate. He's known to collect mementos of his adventures and his life in the Fortress of Solitude, and has even been known to have wax statues of all his friends their.<br><br>Select the Answer that best completes the corresponding underlined portion of the passage.
- NO CHANGE
- faytalities
- fatalitys
- fatalities
Answer: fatalities
Explanation: fatalities is correct. The singular, "fatality," contains consonant before the y, thus requiring a change to -ies for the plural.
Question 3
The Personality of Superman<br><br>In the original Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster "Superman" stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He was seen stepping in to stop wife beaters, profiteers, a lynch mob and gangsters, with rather rough edges and a looser moral code than we may be used to today. In later adventures he became, softer, and had more of a sense of idealism and moral code of conduct. Although not as cold-blooded as the early Batman, the Superman featured in the comics of the 1930s is unconcerned about the harm his strength may cause, tossing villainous characters in such a manner that fatalites would presumably occur, although these were seldom shown explicitly on the page. This came to an end when Superman vowed never to take a life.<br><br>Superman is an extremely moral person, believing it immoral to kill anyone under any circumstances, and will do whatever he can to avoid it. Clark's upbringing in the Midwest largely contributes to this <span class="question-text-highlight">as his adoptive parents raised him to do the right thing.</span><br><br>In Superman/Batman #3, Batman says, "It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then … he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him."<br><br>Superman is also a bit of a loner, in that, for much of his life, he doesn't reveal his true identity and powers to anyone, not even his closer friends. Many times they come close to figuring it out on their own, but often he will arrange an elaborate deception to trick them into believing Clark Kent and Superman are entirely separate. He's known to collect mementos of his adventures and his life in the Fortress of Solitude, and has even been known to have wax statues of all his friends their.<br><br>Deleting this phrase — "as his adoptive parents raised him to do the right thing" — in the final sentence of paragraph 2 would primarily lose details that:
- Superman's biological parents were not very kind people.
- Superman was an orphan.
- Superman had adoptive earth parents who raised him.
- Superman was raised by a supervillain.
Answer: Superman had adoptive earth parents who raised him.
Explanation: Superman had adoptive earth parents who raised him. is correct. The phrase does not disparage Superman's biological parents in any way. Upbringing implies he wasn't just raising himself. There are no mentions of supervillains.
Question 4
The Personality of Superman<br><br>In the original Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster "Superman" stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He was seen stepping in to stop wife beaters, profiteers, a lynch mob and gangsters, with rather rough edges and a looser moral code than we may be used to today. In later adventures he became, softer, and had more of a sense of idealism and moral code of conduct. Although not as cold-blooded as the early Batman, the Superman featured in the comics of the 1930s is unconcerned about the harm his strength may cause, tossing villainous characters in such a manner that fatalites would presumably occur, although these were seldom shown explicitly on the page. This came to an end when Superman vowed never to take a life.<br><br>Superman is an extremely moral person, believing it immoral to kill anyone under any circumstances, and will do whatever he can to avoid it. Clark's upbringing in the Midwest largely contributes to this, as his adoptive parents raised him to do the right thing.<br><br>In Superman/Batman #3, Batman says, "It is a remarkable <span class="question-text-highlight">dichotomy</span>. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then … he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him."<br><br>Superman is also a bit of a loner, in that, for much of his life, he doesn't reveal his true identity and powers to anyone, not even his closer friends. Many times they come close to figuring it out on their own, but often he will arrange an elaborate deception to trick them into believing Clark Kent and Superman are entirely separate. He's known to collect mementos of his adventures and his life in the Fortress of Solitude, and has even been known to have wax statues of all his friends their.<br><br>Based on context clues from the passage, we can assume "dichotomy" means:
- butchery
- division
- contradiction
- physician
Answer: contradiction
Explanation: contradiction is correct. Batman is pointing out Clark is the "most human" despite not really being a human or having human limitations. This is the very definition of a walking contradiction.
Question 5
The Difference Between a Llama and an Alpaca, excerpted from KnowledgeNuts (http://knowledgenuts.com/2013/12/15/the-difference-between-a-llama-and-an-alpaca/) <br><br>One of the most obvious differences between the two species is their wool or (more accurately) their fiber. Both the llama and the alpaca have been raised for their fiber, which is shorn once a year in both cases. The alpaca is much more prized for their fiber, and for many farmers, that’s the only reason they are raised.<br><br>There are two types of alpacas, each defined by their fiber; both types are soft and hypoallergenic. The Huacaya has a sheep-like appearance, with short, soft fiber. The Suri has a longer coat, with a fleece that gathers like ropes and hangs from the body. The fleece of both types of alpaca is very, very soft, and is usually used to make clothing. There are 22 different “recognized” colors for an alpaca, ranging from black to white and including every shade of brown, cream, and gray in between. Alpacas are typically one color, with white markings only on the face and legs, making their fleece uniform in color.<br><br>The llama, on the other hand, has two layers to their fleece. The inner coat is soft; on the animal, it keeps them warm while their outer coat, made of stiffer guard hairs, keeps them dry. The undercoat is soft enough to use for clothing, while the outer coat is more often used to make more <span class="question-text-highlight">utilitarian items like rugs and ropes</span>. Before anything can be done with the fiber, the two coats have to be separated. Llamas come in fewer colors then alpacas, and can be spotted.<br><br>Llamas are much larger than alpacas, and because of their size they can also be used as pack animals. An adult llama usually stands around 1.8 meters (6 ft) tall and weighs anywhere between 125 and 200 kilogram (280 and 450 lbs), while an average alpaca only stands about 0.9 meters (3 ft) tall at the shoulder and weighs between 45 and 80 kilograms (100 and 175 lbs).<br><br>While alpacas are mainly kept for their fleece, llamas can serve a few different purposes on a farm. When kept with other animals such as sheep, llamas can serve as guard animals against predators and intruders, although not all llamas have the personality for guard duty. Both are easy to train, and because of their size and strength, llamas can be taught to pull carts and small carriages. Llamas can also be trained to accept a rider, although that rider needs to be fairly lightweight.<br><br>Choose the answer that best completes the corresponding underlined portion of the passage.
- NO CHANGE
- utilitarian items like rugs and ropes
- the most utilitarian items like rugs and ropes
- more utilitarian items unlike rugs and ropes
Answer: utilitarian items like rugs and ropes
Explanation: utilitarian items like rugs and ropes is correct. Use of "more" in the original phrasing is redundant. “the most utilitarian items like rugs and ropes” draws an unnecessary extreme in its use of "the most." “more utilitarian items unlike rugs and ropes” uses "unlike" instead of the more appropriate "like."