Practice

Practice bank

Passage sets in the style of the MCAT. Think first, then choose. Every answer choice, right or wrong, comes with its reasoning. No calculator needed.

C/P Chemical and Physical Foundations

10 of 10 sets

1. 01A Narrowed TubeUse continuity, Bernoulli and Poiseuille to read two flow experiments.Fluid flow · 6 questions→
2. 02Warming Metal and Melting IceUse calorimetry and a heating curve to find specific heat and latent heat.Heat, phase change and entropy · 6 questions→
3. 03Light Through Glass and LensesUse the thin lens equation, Snell’s law and the critical angle to read optics measurements.Lenses, refraction and the eye · 6 questions→
4. 04Resistors and Ion ChannelsAnalyze a series–parallel circuit, then apply the same rules to channels in a membrane.Circuits, Ohm's law and membranes · 6 questions→
5. 05A Cart and a Block on a RampUse Newton’s second law, kinematics and energy to analyze motion on an incline with and without friction.Forces, motion and work on an incline · 6 questions→
6. 06Gas in a Syringe and Gas in the LungsApply Boyle’s law, gas pressure–temperature relationships and partial pressures to a syringe and to the lungs.Gas laws and respiratory gas exchange · 6 questions→
7. 07Rate Laws and TemperatureFind reaction orders from a table, then use the rate law, temperature and catalysis.Reaction kinetics · 6 questions→
8. 08Sound, Pipes and the EarUse standing waves, the Doppler effect and decibels, then connect them to the cochlea.Sound waves and hearing · 6 questions→
9. 09Galvanic Cells and ElectroplatingUse reduction potentials, ΔG° = −nFE°, the Nernst equation and Faraday’s law.Electrochemistry · 6 questions→
10. 10Separating and Identifying CompoundsCombine extraction, TLC, IR and mass spectrometry to separate and identify a three-component mixture.Organic laboratory techniques · 6 questions→

B/B Biological and Biochemical Foundations

10 of 10 sets

1. 01Three Patients, One BufferRead blood gas data from patients and a short experiment, and sort out which organ is doing what.Acid–base balance · 6 questions→
2. 02Two Inhibitors of One EnzymeRead a rate table to find Vmax and Km and to tell competitive from noncompetitive inhibition.Enzyme kinetics and inhibition · 6 questions→
3. 03Switching the Liver Between Fed and FastedUse two tables to trace how glucagon, cAMP and F2,6BP shift the liver between glycolysis and gluconeogenesis.Hormonal control of liver glucose metabolism · 6 questions→
4. 04A Reporter Assay for a Hormone-Responsive GeneUse reporter constructs and receptor mutants to work out how a steroid hormone turns on a gene.Gene regulation and steroid hormone receptors · 6 questions→
5. 05A Vaccine Trial in MiceRead antibody titers and challenge data to follow a primary response, class switching and memory.Adaptive immunity and vaccination · 6 questions→
6. 06A Checkpoint Inhibitor and p53Use flow cytometry data to reason about the G1 and G2 checkpoints and a cancer-drug strategy.Cell cycle checkpoints and p53 · 6 questions→
7. 07Ions, Toxins and the Action PotentialUse the Nernst equation and channel blockers to explain each phase of a neuron’s action potential.Membrane potentials and action potentials · 6 questions→
8. 08Characterizing a ProteinUse gel electrophoresis, pI and refolding data to work out a protein’s structure and stability.Protein structure and electrophoresis · 6 questions→
9. 09Mitochondria and Their InhibitorsUse an oxygen electrode experiment to work out how inhibitors and uncouplers change respiration and ATP synthesis.Electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation · 6 questions→
10. 10Four Patients and the Thyroid AxisUse hormone levels and a TRH test to locate a fault along the hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid axis.Endocrine axes and feedback · 6 questions→

CARS Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills

10 of 10 sets

1. 01Keeping the Question OpenA humanities passage on cities, buildings and what preservation is for.Humanities: architecture and public memory · 6 questions→
2. 02Feeling for NobodyA humanities passage on why we are moved by characters we know are invented.Humanities: philosophy of art and literature · 6 questions→
3. 03The Obligation to ReturnA social-science passage on gifts, markets and why some debts are meant to be kept.Social science: anthropology and economic life · 6 questions→
4. 04What a Translator OwesA humanities passage on the old quarrel between faithful and fluent translation.Humanities: translation and literary interpretation · 6 questions→
5. 05When the Measure Becomes the TargetA social-science passage on indicators, incentives and why numbers drift from what they measure.Social science: institutions and measurement · 6 questions→
6. 06The Score and the PerformanceA humanities passage on what a musical work is and what a performer owes it.Humanities: music and philosophy of art · 6 questions→
7. 07Whose Grammar?A social-science passage on standard languages, prestige and what schools should teach.Social science: linguistics and education · 6 questions→
8. 08What the Archive Leaves OutA social-science passage on how records are made and kept, and what that means for historians.Social science: history and historical method · 6 questions→
9. 09The Tragedy That Was Not InevitableA social-science passage on shared resources and the conditions under which people govern them well.Social science: political economy and institutions · 6 questions→
10. 10The Perfect CopyA humanities passage on forgery, authenticity and why an identical copy is not the same thing.Humanities: aesthetics and the value of art · 6 questions→

P/S Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations

10 of 10 sets

1. 01Pressure and PerformanceRead a randomized experiment and a survey on arousal, sleep and anxiety.Arousal, anxiety and research design · 6 questions→
2. 02Blinks and Lever PressesRead data on classical conditioning and reinforcement schedules.Classical and operant conditioning · 6 questions→
3. 03Going Along and Standing ByInterpret three tables from studies of conformity and helping.Conformity, bystanders and research ethics · 6 questions→
4. 04Anchors and FramesInterpret experiments on anchoring, framing and time pressure.Heuristics, biases and experimental design · 6 questions→
5. 05Thresholds and DecisionsInterpret absolute and difference thresholds, Weber’s law and signal detection data.Psychophysics and signal detection · 6 questions→
6. 06Income, Stress and Blood PressureRead three tables on a health gradient: prevalence, relative risk, adjustment and correlation.Social determinants of health and study design · 6 questions→
7. 07How Memory Works: Four StudiesInterpret studies of serial position, spacing, depth of processing and interference.Memory encoding, storage and forgetting · 6 questions→
8. 08Changing MindsInterpret experiments on cognitive dissonance and the two routes to persuasion.Attitude change · 6 questions→
9. 09Testing a Depression TreatmentRead a randomized trial of an SSRI and CBT, including placebo effects, blinding, relapse and dropout.Mental disorders and treatment research · 6 questions→
10. 10Stages of DevelopmentInterpret data on conservation, moral reasoning and attachment, and think about study design.Piaget, Kohlberg and attachment · 6 questions→