Biology Tips
There are certain concentrations in Biology topics that you should focus on and make sure you have a good grasp of the concepts presented in those topics.
– Genetics has been getting a bigger focus in recent years due to its involvement in current news as well as new research. You should also be paying more attention to this topic in your studies. Not only Mendelian genetics, but pedigrees, transcription, translation, and anything involving the actual DNA double helix.
– Glycolysis is a huge section. Know the ins and outs.
– Pay attention to any particular biology topic that could have an analog to Organic Chemistry. Especially glycolysis, digestion, respiration.
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Organic Chemistry Tips
Organic Chemistry is pretty daunting. There’s a lot of content to cover and much of it can be confusing. here’s a couple tips to help you get through it.
– Remember the IUPAC naming rules. These will be outlined in any organic chemistry textbook worth its price of purchase.
– Know your prefixes. Not only the numerical prefixes (methyl, ethyl, propyl, etc.), but also the prefixes that you use for functional groups (differences between benzyl and phenyl, chloryl, etc.)
– Know your suffixes. This becomes very important for aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids/carboxylic acid derivatives.
– Be very familiar with the main reactions Sn1, Sn2, E1, E2. What conditions do they happen under, what actually happens in these reactions, what’s the results of these reactions
– Nitrogen containing compounds will show up. Learn how nitrogen is similar to carbon and how it is different.
– Learning synthesis rules can be helpful but only in terms of how different reactions take place.
More tips to come.
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1. Two identical conducting spheres on insulating supports carry charges of magnitude +Q and +2Q respectively. When they are separated by a distance of d the electrostatic repulsive force is F. The spheres are made to touch and then restored to their original separation d. If there is no loss of charge, what is the new force of repulsion?
A. F/2
B. 3F/4
C. 8F/9
D. 9F/8
2. The resistance of a circuit element can be varied by changing its length, L. If the length of the resistor is doubled, the current through it:
A. doubles.
B. remains the same.
C. is halved.
D. is quadrupled.
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Tags: Electromagnetics, Physics
General Chemistry Warm-Up
Let’s start thinking about questions. These aren’t quite passage based but we’ll work up to those at a later time. For now, a couple simple questions about General Chemistry. Answers after the jump
1. A student represents electrons in the same orbital as having parallel spins. What principle does this violate?
a. Planck’s Quantum Theory
b. Pauli Exclusion Principle
c. Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
d. Bohr’s model of the Hydrogen Atom
e. None of the above
2. Atoms with the same atomic number but different atomic weights are known as
a. elements
b. ions
c. isomers
d. isotopes
3. An element with an atomic number of 26 has how many electrons in the 3d orbital?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 0
d. 8
e. 6
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Verbal Reasoning – Deeper We Go
What did I mean by all of this?
- VR tests your ability to understand what the author is thinking and doing at the time they wrote this particular section of text. Therefore, focus on the author, not the content.
- That being said, as you read each passage, take note of the topic of the paragraphs rather than the content of the paragraph.
- Details in the passage are only there to illustrate what the author has in mind. Instead of asking yourself “What is this?”, ask yourself “Why?”
- Read over details quickly and go back and read them more carefully only when questions demand it.
Let’s go over this one by one.
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Verbal Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning, in my opinion, is the bane of any MCAT test taker. The reason being that you can’t actually study for VR because there is no locked down information that can be constantly memorized and applied to this section of the exam. Also, the topics covered in VR aren’t necessarily the focus of your typical hard-nosed pre-med student. In a survey of demographics, students who come from non-science based majors tend to score better on the VR section of the MCAT than those in the “traditional” science pre-med majors. The unfortunate thing is, many people consider the VR section to be the best indication of success in medical school, so scoring high here is to your benefit. Finally, the passages presented in VR aren’t cut and dry beginning to end sections of writing. They are often excerpts from a much larger chapter on that topic so you’re rarely, if ever, given an introduction and a conclusion. You’re often picking up the argument from the middle.
So how do you get around this section that’s so different from much of the subject matter you’ve concentrated on over the past years? Instead of the traditional study method, thinking of strategy to tackle VR should be your main focus instead of straight memorization of facts, figures, and equations.
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Tags: Content, Topics, Verbal Reasoning
Biology Topics
Here’s a listing of all the topics that will possibly be tested on the MCAT for the subject of Biology. There are a variety of questions that can be generated from these topics so it is in your best interest to be very familiar with all of them. That can seem like a pretty daunting task. The best thing to do would be to pick out the topics you know and are familiar with and save them for later study. The topics you feel shaky on should be your focus in the beginning stages of MCAT study. After you’ve reviewed your shakier subjects, then you can go back and review the topics that you feel you have a stronger knowledge base in so you can keep everything fresh.
Also note that even though these topics cover Biology, there isn’t any rule that says questions cannot be asked within these topics that bleed over into Organic Chemistry. Questions about Enzymes, Homeostasis, and Digestion are ripe for Organic Chemistry questions so stay on your toes.
- The Cell
- Enzymes
- Cellular Metabolism
- Reproduction
- Embryology
- Musculoskeletal System
- Digestion
- Respiration
- Circulation
- Homeostatis
- Endocrine System
- Genetics
- Molecular Genetics
- Evolution
Everyone is different. It’s up to you to determine where your strengths and weaknesses lie for these topics. My biggest struggles came in the subjects of the Endocrine System and Homeostasis so I focused most of my energy trying to lock those down in my memory. The Cell, The Musculoskeletal System and Circulation were probably the easiest topics in Biology so I saved those for review near the end of my study time.
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Tags: Biology, Content, Topics
Organic Chemistry Topics
Here’s a listing of all the topics that will possibly be tested on the MCAT for the subject of Organic Chemistry. There are a variety of questions that can be generated from these topics so it is in your best interest to be very familiar with all of them. That can seem like a pretty daunting task. The best thing to do would be to pick out the topics you know and are familiar with and save them for later study. The topics you feel shaky on should be your focus in the beginning stages of MCAT study. After you’ve reviewed your shakier subjects, then you can go back and review the topics that you feel you have a stronger knowledge base in so you can keep everything fresh.
Also note that even though these topics cover Organic Chemistry, there isn’t any rule that says questions cannot be asked within these topics that bleed over into Biology. Questions about Isomers, Aromatic Compounds, and Carboxylic Acids ripe for Biology questions.
- Nomenclature
- Isomers
- Bonding
- Alkanes
- Alkenes and Alkynes
- Aromatic Compounds
- Alcohols and Ethers
- Aldehydes and Ketones
- Carboxylic Acids
- Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
- Amines and Nitrogen Containing Compounds
- Purification and Separation
- Spectroscopy
- Carbohydrates
- Amino Acids, Peptides and Proteins
Everyone is different. It’s up to you to determine where your strengths and weaknesses lie for these topics. My biggest struggles came in the subjects of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives and Nitrogen Containing Compounds so I focused most of my energy trying to lock those down in my memory. Alkanes, Alkenes and Alkynes were probably the easiest topics in Organic Chemistry so I saved those for review near the end of my study time.
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Tags: Content, Organic Chemistry, Topics
Physics Topics
Here’s a listing of all the topics that will possibly be tested on the MCAT for the subject of Physics. There are a variety of questions that can be generated from these topics so it is in your best interest to be very familiar with all of them. That can seem like a pretty daunting task. The best thing to do would be to pick out the topics you know and are familiar with and save them for later study. The topics you feel shaky on should be your focus in the beginning stages of MCAT study. After you’ve reviewed your shakier subjects, then you can go back and review the topics that you feel you have a stronger knowledge base in so you can keep everything fresh.
Also note that even though these topics cover Physics, there isn’t any rule that says questions cannot be asked within these topics that bleed over into General Chemistry. Questions about Thermodynamics, Fluids and Solids, and Work, Energy, and Momentum are ripe for General Chemistry questions.
- Units and Kinematics
- Newtonian Mechanics
- Work, Energy, and Momentum
- Thermodynamics
- Fluids and Solids
- Electrostatics
- Magnetism
- AC and DC Circuits
- Periodic Motion
- Waves and Sound
- Light and Optics
Everyone is different. It’s up to you to determine where your strengths and weaknesses lie for these topics. For me, my biggest struggles came in the subjects of AC and DC Circuits, Periodic Motion and Light and Optics so I focused most of my energy trying to lock those down in my memory. Everything else was fairly straightforward for me but I didn’t neglect studying these topics so I could easily answer questions on all topics regarding Physics.
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Tags: Content, Physics, Topics
General Chemistry Topics
Here’s a listing of all the topics that will possibly be tested on the MCAT for the subject of General Chemistry. There are a variety of questions that can be generated from these topics so it is in your best interest to be very familiar with all of them. That can seem like a pretty daunting task. The best thing to do would be to pick out the topics you know and are familiar with and save them for later study. The topics you feel shaky on should be your focus in the beginning stages of MCAT study. After you’ve reviewed your shakier subjects, then you can go back and review the topics that you feel you have a stronger knowledge base in so you can keep everything fresh.
Also note that even though these topics cover General Chemistry, there isn’t any rule that says questions cannot be asked within these topics that bleed over into Physics. Questions about thermodynamics, phase changes, gases, and atomic structure are ripe for Physics questions.
- Atomic Structure
- The Periodic Table
- Bonding
- Compounds and Stoichiometry
- Kinetics and Equilibrium
- Thermochemistry
- The Gas Phase
- Phase and Phase Changes
- Solutions
- Acids and Bases
- Redox Reactions
- Electrochemistry
Everyone is different. It’s up to you to determine where your strengths and weaknesses lie for these topics. For me, my biggest struggles came in the last 3 subjects of Acids and Bases, Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry so I focused most of my energy trying to lock those down in my memory. Everything else was fairly straightforward for me but I didn’t neglect studying these topics so I could easily answer questions on all topics regarding General Chemistry.
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Tags: Content, General Chemistry, Topics
MCAT Test Prep 