MCAT (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) Instruction
Certification: Test Prep MCAT - Medical College Admission Test
If you are a pre-med student then, the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is imperative to you. This is the main exam that will determine whether you get into a good medical college and pursue your career of being a medical profession. Since the test was introduced, it has provided an ideal benchmark for many medical schools. The test customarily gauges the skills and ability of the applicant in the various medical fields. Currently, the MCAT has four sections that is:
- Physical Sciences
- Verbal reasoning
- Biological Sciences
- Trial Sections
Each of these sections asses the different skills from the candidate. The Physical science section mainly handles topics concerned with physics and general chemistry. Verbal reasoning is concerned with the ability of the candidate to comprehend, evaluate and apply skills in information and arguments. The Biological Science section is concerned with the topic related to biology and organic chemistry. The Trial section is an optional section which mainly entails either chemistry, biology and biochemistry or biology, psychology and sociology. So one can easily deduce that the MCAT exam mainly revolves around three main subjects, which are Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Each of the sections has a certain amount of questions that should be answered within a certain duration. Let's look at each part and what it entails:
Physics
This section is mainly supposed to test the candidate's knowledge in in scientific concepts. This section comprises of both general chemistry and physics. Physics is tested to mainly assess the level of skills that the candidate has. Some of the concepts that are tested in the MCAT include the following:
Basic concepts and general techniques: This includes topics such as time, mass, metric units, random vs. systematic errors and many other related.
Electric Circuit Elements: this includes sub-topics such as circuits, Resistance and Capacitance.
Atomic and Nuclear Structure: Sub-topic included here are atomic number and weight and atomic energy levels.
Sound: Sub-topic one should expect to be tested harmonics, Doppler Effect, speed of sound and also attenuation.
Other topics tested in the physics include fluids and solids, work and energy, translation motion and so much more. As a pre-med applicant, you need to understand what is require of you in this section so that you correctly answer the subjects. The great thing about the MCAT is that the questions are all multiple choices. One needs to understand the questions and the passages provided so as to choose the right answers for each of the questions.
Chemistry
Chemistry is another major topic that is highly tested in the exam. Both general Chemistry and organic Chemistry are examined. Chemistry is found in both the Physical Sciences and Biological sciences section. General Chemistry is examined in the Physical Sciences section while Organic Chemistry is examined in the Biological Sciences section. Some of the Organic Chemistry concepts that are tested are:
Biological Molecules: This topic involves sub-topics such as lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids and proteins and also phosphorous compounds.
The Covalent Bond: Includes sub-topics such as multiple bonding, stereochemistry of covalently bonded molecules and more related topics.
Amines: this topic comprises of sub-topics such as physical properties, nomenclature, important reactions and stereochemistry.
Other topics o expect are molecular structure and spectra, hydrocarbons many more. For one to be fully prepared, they need to understand exactly what is made up of the chemistry part of the paper. The sections contain two different types of questions, and one contains individual questions while the other contains questions based on the passages provided. The questions are limited to a specific time, so one needs carefully to read and understand each question.
Biology
Biology is mainly tested in the Biological Science section. As a pre-med student, by understanding the biology topics being covered, you will be able to do well and get a high score in the Biological Science section. Some of the main biology topics examined include:
Nervous and Endocrine systems
Skin Systems
Muscle and Skeletal Systems
DNA repair
Enzyme Structure and Function
These are just but a few of the topics tested in the MCAT exam. With a wide variety of topics tested in the biological section, one needs to realize that the concepts are all related to the general concepts and life processes. The biological section aims at assessing whether the candidate comprehends of the fundamental concepts related to the biology concept.
These are the main topics in the MCAT paper, and once one fully grasps them, they will be able to tackle the paper in a professional way and get a high score. Each of the topics tested require the candidate to apply the knowledge and skills that one has acquired during their course work. Each section is awarded a particular duration in which the candidate is supposed to grasp fully what they are being asked to do. MCAT will just assess the candidates' basic ability and experience so as to determine whether they will be able to succeed in a medical program.
When preparing for the exam, you need fully to comprehend the topics being tested. One should not spend time on a particular topic, but equally prepare in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. You will find that most good medical schools use the MCAT as their benchmark for admitting new students. They not only consider the overall score, but the performance of each candidate in each section. So as an applicant make sure to perform well in each section and get a good score in each section so that the overall score is high, and this will improve your chances of getting into the best medical school. Biology, Physics and Chemistry are known to be hard topics, but with the right kind of study guide, you will be able to tackle the MCAT without any hitches.