GED Science test: what is on it and how to prepare

What is tested

• Life science (about 40 percent): the human body and health, cells, heredity, evolution and ecosystems.
• Physical science (about 40 percent): chemistry (matter, atoms, reactions) and physics (motion, forces, energy).
• Earth and space science (about 20 percent): Earth's systems, weather and climate, and the solar system.

The skills that earn the marks

• Reading for meaning in science: finding what a passage or diagram actually says.
• Designing and interpreting experiments: hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, controls, and whether a conclusion is supported.
• Using numbers and graphics: reading graphs and tables, and doing simple calculations with a formula you are given.

Most questions give you the information you need in a passage, graph or table. Students who lose marks usually misread the graph or the question, not the science.

How to prepare

1. Start with scientific reasoning: variables, controls, and reading graphs and tables.
2. Work through the content areas to learn the vocabulary, so that passages are not full of unknown words.
3. Practise questions based on a shared passage or experiment.
4. Write timed practice exams: 90 minutes with no break needs stamina.

Our Science course follows this order in 45 lessons. Try a free science sample lesson.

Common questions

Is the GED Science test hard?

Many students find it more manageable than they expect, because most answers can be worked out from the passage, graph or table provided.

Do I need to memorise science facts for the GED?

You need the basic vocabulary and ideas, but the test mainly checks reading, reasoning and data skills.

Can I use a calculator on the GED Science test?

Yes, the on-screen TI-30XS calculator is available.

Sources

• GED Testing Service: test subjects

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• GED Maths test: what is on it and how to prepare
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