 MCAT High-Yield Topics: A Comprehensive Cheat Sheet
Preparing for the MCAT can be an overwhelming task, with a vast amount of information to cover. To help you prioritize your study efforts, we have compiled a comprehensive cheat sheet of high-yield topics based on the experiences of successful test-takers. This blog post will focus on ranking the MCAT topics from most to least favorite, providing valuable insights and highlighting key concepts to boost your score.
Physics:
- Gravity in relation to radius and mass, solving for velocity
- Pendulum frequency and period unaffected by mass or amplitude
- Photoelectric effect and energy transitions
- Types of decay and momentum problems
- Capacitors, resistance, and altering capacitance
- Particle deflectors and magnetic fields
- Resonance, beat frequencies, and pitch as frequency
- Buoyant force vs pressure at different depths
- Ohm's law and resistors in series vs parallel
- "Apparent weight" of submerged objects in water
Biology:
- Punnett squares and inheritance patterns
- Cholesterol as a precursor for steroids
- Hormone receptors and their locations
- Bone remodeling and the role of PTH, Calcitonin, and osteoclasts/blasts
- Protein production in the RER and Golgi
- Transcription and translation in bacteria vs eukaryotes
- Endosymbiotic hypothesis and mitochondria origins
- Glycolysis, fermentation, PDH, and Krebs cycle locations
- Sympathetic vs parasympathetic effects
- Muscle contraction, Ca2+ and ATP roles
- Action potentials and flow of ions
- Factors affecting hemoglobin's affinity for O2
- Cooperative binding in hemoglobin and myoglobin
- Bicarbonate as a buffer
- Kidney control of blood pressure and GFR
- Hormones in blood pressure regulation
- Fetal circulation and blood types
- Innate vs adaptive immunity
- Cell-mediated vs humoral immunity
- Circulatory system and blood flow
- Developmental stages and germ layers
- Bile function and digestion of fats
- Respiration and the role of the diaphragm
- Immune system and autoimmune diseases
- Menstrual cycle and pregnancy hormones
- Virus components and replication
Organic Chemistry:
- Basic IR peaks and interpreting spectra
- Determining chemically equivalent hydrogens in NMR
- Stereochemistry in Fischer projections
- Extraction of acids and bases
- Number of stereoisomers and chirality
- Sp3 vs sp2 hybridization
- Reactivity and trends of carboxylic acid derivatives
- Enolate reactions and aldol condensation
- Decarboxylation and EAS activators/deactivators
- PI and movement of amino acids in an electric field
General Chemistry:
- Elements in the same group and their properties
- Electron configurations and d^4, d^9 exceptions
- Boiling point elevation and freezing point depression
- Vapor pressure and nonvolatile solvents
- Oxidizing and reducing agents
- Entropy and moles of gases
- Delta G and spontaneous reactions
- Temperature and rate constant
- Catalysts and thermodynamics
- Equilibrium constants and excluding solids/liquids
- Le Chatelier's principle and changes in pressure/temperature
- Reduction potentials and spontaneity
- Elastic and inelastic collisions
- Phase diagrams and critical/triple points
- Titrations
Conclusion:
By prioritizing the high-yield topics in your MCAT study plan, you can focus your efforts on the most important concepts. This comprehensive cheat sheet ranks the topics from most to least favorite, providing a roadmap for your preparation. Remember to allocate more time to your weaker