

P (patterns): What happens to the concentration of reactant A as time passes? Over time, the concentration of reactant A decreases according to the graph. As such, the y-axis contains the dependent variable, which is the concentration of reactant A in this case. I/D (independent/dependent variables): Since the x-axis always contains the independent variable, we know that the independent variable in this experiment is time. The y-axis measures the concentration of reactant A in moles/liter, which is also known as molarity. T (title): What does the title tell us? Importantly, the title tells us that we are looking at a first-order reaction, or a reaction in which the reaction rate only depends on the concentration of a single reactant.Ī (axes): The x-axis tracks the time of the reaction in seconds. We are much more used to seeing the following question: “How much work is done when a student moves a block 5 meters using 50 N of force?” Remember, the formulas you are using here are the exact same! How does this strategy help us? Let’s look at a practice question: “How much work is done when a protein is extended by 5 nm using 50 pN of force?” If we know that the formula for work is work equals force times distance, we can solve this question by simply multiplying 5 nanometers by 50 picoNewtons.Ī lot of students tend to panic when asked physics questions in a biologic context. If it shows up on an exam or practice problem, it is a big formula! You can also extend this definition to practice questions you take from test prep companies.

If a formula shows up on AAMC practice questions, it is fair game for your actual exam. What do we mean by “ big formulas”? We define a big formula for the MCAT as any formula you see on an AAMC practice question, whether it comes from the question packs or one of the five AAMC full-length exams. However, just as it is essential on the MCAT to know your amino acids backwards and forwards, “big formulas” like the work or force formulas are no exception. Like many students, terms such as “work” or “force” ring a bell in your head, but you may not have the formulas on the tip of your tongue. MCAT Physics Tip #1: Know the big formulas and their units. In this section of the guide, we will present three high-yield study strategies you can use to handle MCAT general chemistry questions.

In this resource, we provide all of the content you need to know to answer MCAT physics questions, in addition to study strategies that will help you maximize your Chem/Phys score. Given how valuable your study time is, we’ll highlight the highest-yield MCAT physics topics in our physics content guides. Hence, you can expect to see 12 to 18 physics questions (out of 230 total questions) on the entire MCAT-about 5 to 8 percent of the exam. Physics will represent somewhere between 20-30 percent of your MCAT Chem/Phys section, which is one of four MCAT sections. Similar to MCAT organic chemistry, MCAT physics does not show up on the exam as much as biochemistry. Instead, let questions you miss on low-yield topics help focus your content review on what you need to study. Conversely, don’t sink your valuable time into topics that are less likely to show up on the exam. How exactly can you study smarter for the MCAT? By understand the topics that are high-yield and focusing your time and energy on these areas to squeeze the most points out of your exam come test day. How can you study for that many subjects at one time? In addition to building a strong MCAT study schedule, you need to follow the age-old wisdom of “study smarter, not harder,” especially when we all know how important it is to achieve a good MCAT score.

The MCAT covers many different topics: biology, biochemistry, physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, critical reading, sociology, and psychology.
