ATI TEAS Concept Review

Overview

This chapter is about understanding what a passage actually says. You will practice finding the topic and the main idea, picking out the details that support it, making sound inferences, and following written steps in the right order.

The topic is the general subject of a passage, often just a word or two. The main idea is the one point the author wants you to take away about that topic, and every supporting detail helps prove or explain it. When an answer choice is true but covers only one detail, it is usually not the main idea.

An inference is a conclusion you reach by combining clues in the text. A good inference is supported by the passage, not just possible in real life. For directions and sequences, read every step before acting and watch for order words such as first, next, then, and finally. Labels, maps, and simple charts are read the same way: check the title, the key, and the units before answering.

Overview

This chapter looks at how a passage is written, not just what it says. You will tell facts from opinions, figure out why the author wrote the passage and how the author feels about the subject, recognize how the text is organized, and use context to work out word meanings.

A fact can be checked and proven true or false. An opinion expresses a belief, feeling, or judgment, and often uses words such as best, should, or terrible. Authors usually write to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain, and the word choices reveal their point of view and tone.

Writers organize ideas in common patterns: sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, and description. Signal words help you spot each pattern. When you meet an unfamiliar word, use the sentence around it, such as a definition, an example, or a contrast, to make a reasonable guess.

Overview

This chapter asks you to put information together. You will compare two or more sources, judge whether the evidence really supports a claim, combine words with charts or graphics, and choose the most trustworthy source for a task.

An argument has a claim, which is the point being argued, and evidence, which is the support for it. Strong evidence is relevant to the claim and sufficient to back it up. Watch for reasoning that jumps to a conclusion or relies only on personal feelings.

Primary sources are first-hand records made by people who were there, such as a diary, an original study, or a photograph. Secondary sources describe or interpret primary sources, such as a textbook or a news analysis. When choosing a source, look at who wrote it, how current it is, and whether the author has a reason to be biased.

Overview

This chapter covers the number skills used in everyday math: fractions, decimals, and percents, ordering numbers, ratios and proportions, and solving simple equations and inequalities. Many questions are word problems, so turning sentences into math is a key skill.

Fractions, decimals, and percents are three ways to write the same amount. To change a fraction to a decimal, divide the top by the bottom; to change a decimal to a percent, multiply by 100. When solving a problem with several operations, follow the order of operations: parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division from left to right, then addition and subtraction from left to right.

A ratio compares two amounts, and a proportion says two ratios are equal. You can solve a proportion by cross-multiplying. To solve an equation, do the same operation to both sides until the variable is alone. Inequalities work the same way, except that multiplying or dividing both sides by a negative number flips the inequality sign.

Overview

This chapter covers measuring and describing things with numbers. You will read tables and graphs, find the mean, median, mode, and range of a data set, spot outliers, convert between U.S. customary and metric units, and find perimeter, area, and volume of basic shapes.

The mean is the average: add all the values and divide by how many there are. The median is the middle value after the data are put in order, and the mode is the value that appears most often. For the data 2, 3, 3, 4, 8, the mean is 20 divided by 5, which is 4, while the median and the mode are both 3. The single high value of 8 is an outlier, and it pulls the mean up but barely moves the median, while the range (highest value minus lowest) shows how spread out the data are.

For unit conversions, multiply by a conversion factor so that the unwanted unit cancels out. Common factors include 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters, 1 kilogram is about 2.2 pounds, and 1 liter = 1,000 milliliters. Perimeter is the distance around a shape, area is the space it covers in square units, and volume is the space it fills in cubic units.

Overview

This chapter covers how the human body is organized and how its major systems work together. You will learn directional terms, the path of blood and air, how food is digested, how nerves and hormones send signals, and how the body keeps itself in balance.

The body is organized from cells to tissues to organs to organ systems. Directional terms describe location: superior means toward the head, inferior means toward the feet, anterior means front, posterior means back, medial means toward the midline, and lateral means away from it. Proximal and distal describe a limb, meaning closer to or farther from where it attaches to the trunk.

In the heart, oxygen-poor blood enters the right atrium, moves to the right ventricle, and is pumped to the lungs. Oxygen-rich blood returns to the left atrium, moves to the left ventricle, and leaves through the aorta to the body. In the lungs, oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged in tiny air sacs called alveoli. Most digestion and absorption of nutrients happen in the small intestine.

The nervous system sends fast electrical signals, while the endocrine system sends slower chemical signals called hormones through the blood. Both help maintain homeostasis, the body's effort to keep conditions such as temperature and blood sugar stable. Most of this control uses negative feedback, where a change triggers a response that brings things back toward normal.

Overview

This chapter covers life at the level of the cell. You will learn the parts of a cell and what they do, how cells divide, how DNA carries instructions to make proteins, how traits are passed from parents to children, and the basic types of microorganisms.

Each organelle has a job. The nucleus holds the DNA, mitochondria make most of the cell's energy in the form of ATP, ribosomes build proteins, and the cell membrane controls what goes in and out. Plant cells also have a cell wall and chloroplasts for photosynthesis.

Mitosis makes two identical body cells for growth and repair, while meiosis makes four cells with half the usual number of chromosomes, which become sex cells. DNA is copied into RNA in a step called transcription, and RNA is used to build a protein in a step called translation. In genetics, a dominant allele shows its trait even if only one copy is present, while a recessive trait shows only when both copies are recessive.

Overview

This chapter covers the basics of matter and how it changes. You will learn the parts of an atom, how the periodic table is arranged, how atoms bond, the states of matter, how to balance a chemical equation, and how acids, bases, and solutions behave.

An atom has protons and neutrons in its nucleus and electrons around it. The atomic number is the number of protons, which decides which element it is, and the mass number is protons plus neutrons. Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes. Ionic bonds form when electrons are transferred, usually between a metal and a nonmetal, while covalent bonds form when electrons are shared, usually between nonmetals.

A balanced chemical equation has the same number of each kind of atom on both sides, because matter is not created or destroyed. The pH scale runs from 0 to 14: below 7 is acidic, 7 is neutral, and above 7 is basic. In a solution, the solute is the substance being dissolved and the solvent is the substance doing the dissolving.

Overview

This chapter covers how scientists ask and answer questions. You will learn the steps of an investigation, the different types of variables, how to write a testable hypothesis, which tools and units to use for measurements, and how to draw fair conclusions from data.

An investigation usually starts with an observation and a question, followed by a hypothesis, an experiment, data collection, analysis, and a conclusion. The independent variable is what the scientist changes on purpose, the dependent variable is what is measured, and controlled variables are kept the same so the test is fair. A control group receives no treatment so the results can be compared.

Choose tools that match what you measure: a balance for mass, a graduated cylinder for liquid volume, a thermometer for temperature. A conclusion should come only from the data collected and should say whether the data support the hypothesis. Correlation, where two things change together, does not by itself prove that one causes the other.

Overview

This chapter covers the rules that make writing correct and easy to read: spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and complete sentences. Questions usually ask you to find an error or choose the correctly punctuated sentence.

A complete sentence, or independent clause, has a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. A fragment is missing one of these. A run-on sentence joins two independent clauses with no punctuation, and a comma splice joins them with only a comma. You can fix either with a period, a semicolon, or a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or so.

Commas separate items in a list, follow an introductory phrase, and set off extra information. Apostrophes show possession or replace missing letters in contractions, but they never make a word plural. Capitalize proper nouns, the first word of a sentence, and titles used before a name.

Overview

This chapter covers using grammar correctly in real writing. You will make subjects agree with verbs and pronouns agree with the nouns they replace, keep verb tenses consistent, and choose a style that fits the audience.

A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, even when words come between them. Subjects joined by and are usually plural, and words such as each, everyone, and nobody are singular. A pronoun must match its antecedent, the noun it refers to, in number and person, and it should be clear which noun it means.

Keep the verb tense the same unless the time of the action really changes. Formal writing, such as a report or a letter to a school, avoids slang, contractions, and overly casual phrases. Clear writing is also concise: it cuts repeated words and uses the active voice when possible.

Overview

This chapter covers how to figure out word meanings and how to organize writing clearly. You will use context clues and word parts, such as prefixes, roots, and suffixes, and you will learn how topic sentences, supporting details, and transitions hold a paragraph together.

Many English words, especially medical and science terms, are built from Greek and Latin parts. A prefix comes at the start and changes the meaning, a root carries the core meaning, and a suffix comes at the end and often shows the part of speech. For example, hypo- means under and hyper- means over, so hypothermia is low body temperature and hyperthermia is high body temperature.

A well-organized paragraph starts with a topic sentence that states its main point, follows with supporting details, and ends with a closing sentence. Transition words guide the reader: however and on the other hand show contrast, therefore and as a result show cause and effect, and first, next, and finally show order. Choosing the right transition makes the relationship between ideas clear.