Hey everyone,
First, I should let you guys know that I've tried calling the center at 601 Walnut Street to investigate supplies, and I don't think there really is a working number -- the one online just keeps ringing without anyone answering. Suffice it to say, most test centers use the same type of scratch paper (either computer paper or "blue books") and ear protection (both earplugs and headphones). I'm not sure about the mouse (wheel or not); hopefully it will not impact your test-taking strategy too much!
A few words about the homework for our upcoming session (General Chemistry III) next time:
- General Chemistry Review Notes Chapters 10-11 (Acids & Bases, Redox Reactions and Electrochemistry)
- We will be discussing titrations in quite a bit of depth so don’t worry if you find the Review Notes don’t give it enough attention. As a heads-up, the lesson book page devoted to titrations might not have enough for you to write down everything, so bring a couple post-its or an extra sheet of paper.
- In the redox chapter a lot of attention is given to balancing redox reactions, but we will not review how to balance these reactions in class because the MCAT rarely tests this concept. For now, just keep in mind all that happens is we have to balance charge as well as mass.
Helpful Hints from Physics III:
- Now that you’ve taken one full length CBT practice test, it’s time to begin building additional practice tests into your study schedule. Kaplan offers a total of 19 full lengths – only five of them are formally scheduled in the course (and required for HSG eligibility). Our strong recommendation is that between now and Test Day you take all eight of the AAMC Practice Tests which are available through your kaptest.com syllabus (My ToolBox tab). Unlike Kaplan Full-Lengths 1-5, you can take the AAMC Practice Tests and Kaplan Full-Lengths 6-11 as many times as you like and you can suspend the test if you need to and resume it at a later time.
- Remember that the buoyant force exerted against an object placed in a fluid is simply equal to the weight (F = mg = rfluidVsubmergedg) of the fluid displaced by the volume of the object submerged. Be careful of subscripts!
- An object whose specific gravity is equal to 1.0 will be fully submerged but will not sink when placed in water.
- While ray diagrams are helpful for us to determine what type of image we’ll see (real/inverted), resist using them on Test Day. Stick to the mathematical side and sign conventions to determine your images. For practice on just “seeing” what’s going on, check out this applet:
- Remember light! IR and UV are two types of light just outside the visible spectrum and they help us remember that inverted = real and upright = virtual.
Finally, let’s discuss the review assignment for Physics III as it appears in your syllabus:
- Light & Geometrical Optics Test 1
- Atomic & Nuclear Structure Test 1
- Fluids & Solids Test 1
- Each one of the topical tests is tough, but they’re good learning opportunities. The first passage from the Fluids & Solids Test 1 lightly applies fluid dynamics to the circulatory system (the AAMC has gone here before), and the first passage of the Light & Geometric Optics Test talks about nearsightedness and farsightedness (another concept the AAMC has tested before).
- Physical Science Section Tests
- The online syllabus has recommended that you complete the first few PS section tests; however, it is probably in your best interest to wait on these because we have not even covered General Chemistry III yet. Moreover, wait until you finish your review of the LB and topical tests before attacking the section tests. For those who are ready to tackle these PS section tests now, a word of caution: these tend to run on the more difficult side.
That’s all! See you at General Chemistry III.
Alexander S. Macnow
Master Teacher - MCAT/DAT/OAT/PCAT
Philadelphia and University City Kaplan Centers
Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions
(215)546-3317 (o)
(215)243-1711 (o)
(610)291-4587 (c)
Alex.Macnow@Kaplan.com
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