Science

Did you know the GED® Science test has a 90% pass rate? You have a very good chance of succeeding if you have a basic understanding of scientific concepts and how they work.

Here’s what you need to know:

  • You'll need to understand science concepts, know how to read graphs and charts displaying scientific data, and use reasoning to interpret science information.
  • The science test is not a memorization test! For example, you won’t need to memorize the periodic table of elements, but you will need to recognize names and symbols of key elements in answering some questions.
  • Use the free Science Study Guide to start studying. It will help you understand the skills being tested. Log in to start using the study guide.
  • The GED Ready® practice test for Science can help you determine if you are ready to take the official GED® test. Log in to give it a try.

Try a Sample Question

This question asks you to use the data presented in the graph to support a given conclusion about a vaccine and its relationship to chicken pox.

Varicella is a virus that causes the disease chicken pox. Medications are used to treat the symptoms of fever and discomfort associated with chicken pox. In 1995, a varicella vaccine was made available to people in the United States.

The graph shows the number of chicken pox cases reported in four U.S. states from 1991 to 2007.

X-axis labeled year starts with 1991 to 2007 in two-yer increments. Y-axis labeled number of reported cases (in thousands) starts with 0 to 105 in increments of 15. The line begins at 90 in 1991 then dips and rises again several times until it reaches 75 in 1997. The line then falls steadily to approximately 15 in 2007

 

Which conclusion is supported by the data in the graph?

Option A is incorrect. If you chose this option you likely made an incorrect conclusion which is not based on the graph data. The data in the graph shows that the varicella vaccine leads to a reduction in the number of cases, but it does not show that it acts as a symptom reliever in infected people. Chicken pox symptoms is not represented by the values on either axes of the graph.

Option B is incorrect. . If you selected this option you likely made an incorrect conclusion which is not based on the graph data. The data in the graph shows that the varicella vaccine leads to a reduction in the number of cases, but it does not show that it can be used to treat people presenting chicken pox. The treatment of chicken pox not represented by the values on either axes of the graph.

Option C is correct. If you picked this answer option you likely noticed that the data in the graph suggests that the vaccine has contributed to a significant reduction in reported chicken pox cases in four U.S. states between the years of 1995-2007. Therefore, it can be concluded that the varicella vaccine is effective in preventing chicken pox.

Option D is incorrect. If you chose this option you likely made an incorrect conclusion which is not based on the graph data. The data in the graph shows that the varicella vaccine leads to a reduction in the number of cases, but it does not show that it has completely eliminated chicken pox. The last data point in 2007 shows that there were still approximately 17 thousand reported cases of chicken pox in the four U.S. States represented on the graph.