Science and technology passages are a regular fixture in CAT RC. They come primarily from Smithsonian Magazine and Scientific American and test a specific skill: understanding a mechanism or discovery well enough to answer questions about what the passage implies, not just what it states.
Science passages explain a natural phenomenon, a research finding, a technological development or a debate within a scientific field. The language is more precise than a philosophy passage but more accessible than an academic journal. The argument usually follows a structure of claim, evidence and implication. The author often introduces a finding and then explores why it matters or what it challenges.
The difficulty in science passages is not the vocabulary. It is the precision required in answering questions. CAT questions on science passages frequently distinguish between what the passage directly states and what can be inferred. The wrong answer options are often factually true but either not supported by the passage or outside the scope of what the author claims.
Reading carefully for the distinction between correlation and causation is a reliable skill for science passages. CAT setters regularly write wrong options that confuse these two things.
Identify the main finding or claim in the first reading. Then identify the evidence used to support it. Note any qualifications the author makes, phrases like "suggests", "may indicate" or "appears to" rather than "proves" or "demonstrates". CAT questions often probe whether you noticed these qualifications.
Read Smithsonian Magazine for science and history writing that matches CAT RC style. GRADFLIX publishes essays on science and technology written in the exact passage format, with questions that test the same distinction between stated fact and inference that CAT tests. Reading one GRADFLIX science essay per week builds the precision that science passages demand.
GRADFLIX science essays are written in CAT passage style with questions that test inference, tone and author's purpose. Free to start.
Read Science EssaysScience passages in CAT RC primarily come from Smithsonian Magazine and Scientific American. These publications write about science in a style that is precise but accessible to a general reader.
The difficulty is in the precision of questions. CAT tests whether you can distinguish between what the passage states and what it implies, and between correlation and causation.
No. All answers come from the passage. However, comfort with scientific writing style speeds up comprehension significantly.
Read Smithsonian and Scientific American regularly. Practice identifying the main finding, the evidence, and any qualifications the author makes in each article.