Aamc 8

[rgerwin]

Did anyone else feel the physical science section was super hard? I still squeaked by, but my score definitely went down 2 points. The weird thing was I got a fine score on the bio.

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[poppytart]

I thought it was horrible. It was my second time taking the test and my thoughts on the physics section hasn't changed...

 

[PleaseMiami]

I am sooo glad people are saying this...my score on 8 is making wonder if I should not take the test in april...by how many points did your 8 score go down compared to your other tests?? Mine was 5pts...

 

[rgerwin]

i was getting an average of 10 on the previous tests, and now I got an 8. I wouldn't base it solely on this test. Take 7 and 9, and then decide. I'm still going for it in April

 

[PBandJ]

i was averaging 10-11 on PS and i got an 11 on test 8, but it was my highest raw score (65/77, 1 point from a 12). i can't honestly remember if i thought it was difficult while i was taking it, but afterwards i definitely felt like i did well. so who knows. i guess it depends on what you find easy/hard/etc.

 

[Lanced]

I thought it was hard because it was mostly Gchem. It was my worst AAMC PS score so far.

 

[PBandJ]

yea, i love gchem, and don't like physics so much, so i guess that's why it was good for me!

 

[poppytart]

Don't worry...I did bad on test 8 but improved my score by three points on test 9.

 

[ADeadLois]

I thought the PS was hard, but compared to the Kaplan PS sections, it was very easy. I ended up with the highest score I've gotten on any section of any practice test (12). This lends proof to the advantages of suffering through Kaplan PS sections.

 

[oxeye]

I just finished AAMC 8 PS and it was definitely harder than 7 & 9 for me. I just barely got a 12, and I was well into the 13 range (pretty close to 14) on 7 & 9. So I dropped about 1.5-ish points.

Still a good score, but I had a horrible feeling after I finished it. I think I'm going to spend a lot of time reviewing that test and the topics associated with it.

 

[albaniandoc]

You make me sick. Just kidding.
I got 11 on AAMC 7 PS and 7 on AAMC 8 PS. My score dropped by 4 points. I am looking forward to AAMC 9 and see how I do. I thought for a moment about not taking the test at all.

I just finished AAMC 8 PS and it was definitely harder than 7 & 9 for me. I just barely got a 12, and I was well into the 13 range (pretty close to 14) on 7 & 9. So I dropped about 1.5-ish points.

Still a good score, but I had a horrible feeling after I finished it. I think I'm going to spend a lot of time reviewing that test and the topics associated with it.

 

[witt105]

I got a PS 12 (by one point) VR 10 BS 10 on test 8. I think that the scale for the PS was rediculous.

 

[zimmie256]

I have the solutions for 8r, but for some reason the answers for #52 and #76 are missing? Anyone know the correct answer for these questions? Thanks in advance!

 

[IooI]

my score on 8 is making me feel very nervous about thiswhole thing.

i got an 11 10 12...ive gotta say this was the hardest verbal ive done missing a bunch on the 2 10-question passages and the passage on behaviorism
made a lot of careless PS mistakes..and thought bio was easy but apparently i screwed up

ive been heading downhill for the past 2 weeks (in chronological order)
AAMC
3 38
4 35
5 37
6 35
took PR test A from their supplementary booklet and got like a 31
8 33

7 & 9 - im literally praying to God that these last two tests I can once again raise my scores and my confidence and peak on the real MCAT

has anyone else been suffering form a downward trend? i think its because i havent studied a topic or opened a book in 3 weeks...all ive been doing since late march is taking practice tests and reviewing them.

 

[oxeye]

I have the solutions for 8r, but for some reason the answers for #52 and #76 are missing? Anyone know the correct answer for these questions? Thanks in advance!

PM'ed you.

 

[oxeye]

has anyone else been suffering form a downward trend? i think its because i havent studied a topic or opened a book in 3 weeks...all ive been doing since late march is taking practice tests and reviewing them.

I had a downward trend for quite a few tests. But I got my highest score yet on AAMC 7, and my second highest on AAMC 9. I think I will go down a bit on AAMC 8 (because I already went down a point on PS), but it seems like most people here go down a bit on 8 for some reason.

 

[Ugly Boy]

I'm not trying to sound like a jerk but honestly, what's so different about 8 than every other test? Sure there were roughly 5-6 reading comprehension questions but other than that, it's pretty standard, especially the G Chem. However, I did score the lowest in 8's PS - one point lower than average.

 

[jessiel8]

yeah, the bio on aamc 8 was tough. missed a buttload on the one about lizard dwalaps reflectence. Boo!

 

[Mr. Tee]

I thought that the PS and BS on 8 were harder than 7, but the VR on 8 was easier than 7. The science questions had their technical moments, which kinda threw me off.

 

[oxeye]

I'm not trying to sound like a jerk but honestly, what's so different about 8 than every other test? Sure there were roughly 5-6 reading comprehension questions but other than that, it's pretty standard, especially the G Chem. However, I did score the lowest in 8's PS - one point lower than average.

I tend to score better in physics than in gen. chem, so that's why it was tougher for me. Solubility is also one of my weak areas (will take care of that with studying this week) and it seemed like there was a bunch of that on the PS.

I think it just depends a lot on what your strengths and weaknesses are.

 

[littlephiLLy]

i took 8 today and my ps went from 11 to 9. i agree that there was alot of inorganic chem, i also feel the bio was a little tougher as i scored one point less than prior.

 

[Whatsamatta U]

Just took it today 11/11/10. I personally found the PS harder than 7 but not impossible. I did however feel the bio was way harder than 7. My room was getting incredibly hot (nice day) so I started to get really uncomfortable during bio but that doesn't explain everything. In particular, the testes passage just killed me for some reason.

Oh and solubility is my absolute worst topic in PS too by the way. I have to do all those EK1001 solubility problems again! bah...

 

[oxeye]

... the testes passage just killed me for some reason.

I took the BS section today and the testes passage killed me also. I missed 4 out of the 6 questions. One was a result of just not going back and really reading that part of the passage (tried to go by memory and that didn't work apparently), one I read too much into because the right answer just seemed too obvious - the other two I really was clueless about (because they required outside knowledge to answer).

But yeah - I missed more questions from that one passage than I did from the rest of the entire test. Ridiculous ...

 

[RB69]

I took the BS section today and the testes passage killed me also. I missed 4 out of the 6 questions. One was a result of just not going back and really reading that part of the passage (tried to go by memory and that didn't work apparently), one I read too much into because the right answer just seemed too obvious - the other two I really was clueless about (because they required outside knowledge to answer).

But yeah - I missed more questions from that one passage than I did from the rest of the entire test. Ridiculous ...

Yeah, and talking about the 'testes' passage, how the heck are 'nurse cells' analogous to the Golgi apparatus? Like, what the heck?

RB

 

[Mr. Tee]

Yeah, and talking about the 'testes' passage, how the heck are 'nurse cells' analogous to the Golgi apparatus? Like, what the heck?

RB

It certainly made more sense than the other answer choices :/

 

[Ugly Boy]

I got that question too. Passage wasn't so bad. Made me feel kind of macho.

 

[nekrogg]

haha after taking kaplan tests honestly aamc tests are a god send

 

[oxeye]

Yeah, and talking about the 'testes' passage, how the heck are 'nurse cells' analogous to the Golgi apparatus? Like, what the heck?

RB

That's one that I missed because I had no clue. I narrowed it down to Golgi and mitochondria and ended up picking mitochondria. I figured mitochondria provide energy and nurse cells sort of provide energy. Obviously that was not the right logic to use!

 

[Whatsamatta U]

That's the exact same logic I used. Had it down to mitochondria and golgi...nurse provides nutrients, mitochondria provides energy...damn you AAMC, damn you...

 

[Mr. Tee]

I'm sure you've read the solutions guide already, but here was my reasoning when I saw it:

-sperm cells/progenitors already have mitochondria, key principle (meiosis is energetically expensive)
-nurse cells = Sertoli cells, which nourish the sperm --> must secrete something; proteins are nutrients that are secreted; any secreted protein must go through the Golgi

 

[rgerwin]

I see the logic in the actual answer, and I'm sure that question was written with them cackling, of course they'll pick mitochondria!

 

[oxeye]

I'm sure you've read the solutions guide already, but here was my reasoning when I saw it:

-sperm cells/progenitors already have mitochondria, key principle (meiosis is energetically expensive)
-nurse cells = Sertoli cells, which nourish the sperm --> nutrients; proteins are nutrients; any secreted protein must go through the Golgi

Yeah, if I had taken one extra step in my mind and remembered that sperm have mitochondria I would have been able to answer Golgi completely by process of elimination.

 

[oxeye]

I got that question too. Passage wasn't so bad. Made me feel kind of macho.

Maybe that was my problem since I'm not a guy.

 

[Mr. Tee]

yeah....for the bio questions i wish i could look down and get the answer from my own cells

 

[Jacqui3932]

Did anyone else feel the physical science section was super hard? I still squeaked by, but my score definitely went down 2 points. The weird thing was I got a fine score on the bio.

I really think that it depends what your strengths and weaknesses are. I always get 10's and 11's on P.S., and I got a 13 on P.S 8. Either I got a really great cup of java that morning, or I happened to be comfortable with the material

 

[sweetstuff25]

i'm soooooooo frustrated with verbal reasoning. i feel like giving up!!! ek101 verbals felt so much more engaging versus aamc verbals. i hate seeing 6's in verbals. i hate it. ahhhhh. at least on ek i can score 8 and 9's but wtf aamc???

 

[modelslashactor]

I can empathize, sweetstuff, it really bums me out that after 6 months of studying and seeing vr scores go up on other tests, you get to the last aamc tests and tank. just keep your head up and you'll be alright, you'll probably be pretty pumped during the actual test so engagingness of the passages shouldn't be a problem. good luck!

 

[xanthomondo]

i'm soooooooo frustrated with verbal reasoning. i feel like giving up!!! ek101 verbals felt so much more engaging versus aamc verbals. i hate seeing 6's in verbals. i hate it. ahhhhh. at least on ek i can score 8 and 9's but wtf aamc???

i have the same EXACT problem....
one ive done to improve a little better is just read the passages and dont let urself glaze over it...if u didnt pick up what the sentence said re-read it...the only problem with this is you usually abandon a passage at the end...but its worth it if you get some right

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Yeah, and talking about the 'testes' passage, how the heck are 'nurse cells' analogous to the Golgi apparatus? Like, what the heck?

RB

Nurse cells secrete nutrients. Golgi is the cell packaging/modifying/trafficking center. Therefore, cells that secrete would be exprected to have lots of Golgi (and ER, but ER was not one of the choices.)

 

[Shake_yabooties]

Nurse cells secrete nutrients. Golgi is the cell packaging/modifying/trafficking center. Therefore, cells that secrete would be exprected to have lots of Golgi (and ER, but ER was not one of the choices.)

additionally, yes mitochondria provides energy via synthesizing ATP,
but if u think more carefully, no cells ever take up ATP from extracellular matrix. Thus ATP is energy for it's own. Then logically, what do our cells pick up for nutrients and nourishments? it's carbo, protein... etc.. remember..
golgi is associated with carboxylation and whatnot..
just adding to your explanation

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

additionally, yes mitochondria provides energy via synthesizing ATP,
but if u think more carefully, no cells ever take up ATP from extracellular matrix. Thus ATP is energy for it's own. Then logically, what do our cells pick up for nutrients and nourishments? it's carbo, protein... etc.. remember..
golgi is associated with carboxylation and whatnot..
just adding to your explanation

Sure....I guess. I never thought of ATP as a nutrient, so mitochondria never crossed my mind as a possibility. This was a classic MCAT question (there seems to always be one about organelles involved in secretion on each AAMC MCAT that I have taken) and the answer is probably going to be rough ER, smooth ER, or Golgi when the question is taking about a cell involved with secretion. Rough ER synthesizes secreted proteins, Smooth ER synthesizes secreted lipids, and the Golgi can modify both secreted proteins and lipids.

 

[Ginkneephur]

I got a 32 on 7R but my score went down on 8R (28). This sucks. Maybe I'll take 9R and it'll go up...maybe...

 

[ruitao]

You make me sick. Just kidding.
I got 11 on AAMC 7 PS and 7 on AAMC 8 PS. My score dropped by 4 points. I am looking forward to AAMC 9 and see how I do. I thought for a moment about not taking the test at all.

I feel ya. Got an 8PS on 8 whereas on 9 I got an 11...

 

[MasterMD]

i want to cry after taking 8...

 

[CptCrunch]

i want to cry after taking 8...

I hear ya .

 

[MasterMD]

i did well enough but my score went down quite a bit... but i guess i could just be tired since i also took a test yesterday...

 

[PBandJ]

yea, i definitely think sleep will help everyone!!

and to ginkneeper, i had a 29 on 8 and just got a 31 on 9 with not a ton more studying...just cracking down on not making stupid mistakes. i definitely think your score can go up. best of luck to ya.

 

[MaluDoc]

i honestly dont know what to do about verbal.. i went from getting solid 10s on kaplan verbals to barely 8s on the AAMCs... i guess its too late to do anything about it now, but if anyone has some key strategies they can suggest, i'm ALL ears!! im taking my last aamc (9), tuesday/wednesday, hopefully it doesnt destroy my confidence going into the exam!!

 

[jsong812]

Can anyone explain number 27 to me on the PS section? For some reason, I can't seem to understand their logic. I thought if you wanted to soften the water, one would have to remove the calcium ions and make the solid calcium carbonate. Because you are boiling the water, it shifts the reaction to the right thereby removing calcium ions and making more solid but you are using up bicarbonate (which is basic?) as well, so i figured the reaction should have a decreased pH? I understand that the increased temperature should decrease the solubility of carbon dioxide (which is acidic?) but is that effect stronger than using up a basic bicarbonate? thanks in advance.

 

[PBandJ]

Can anyone explain number 27 to me on the PS section? For some reason, I can't seem to understand their logic. I thought if you wanted to soften the water, one would have to remove the calcium ions and make the solid calcium carbonate. Because you are boiling the water, it shifts the reaction to the right thereby removing calcium ions and making more solid but you are using up bicarbonate (which is basic?) as well, so i figured the reaction should have a decreased pH? I understand that the increased temperature should decrease the solubility of carbon dioxide (which is acidic?) but is that effect stronger than using up a basic bicarbonate? thanks in advance.

you're right that in order to soften the water, you'd have to remove the calcium ions and make solid CaCO3 (rxn proceeding to the right). however, i understand that AAMC's explanation might seem a little convoluted. first, consider the solubility. as the rxn proceeds to the right, you are removing calcium ions and producing more of the precipate, solid CaCO3, which reduces its solubility. so right there, you can narrow down the answer choices to A and B. then, to figure out what's going on with pH, consider the behavior of bicarbonate ion. it's an amphoteric species, whose conjugate base is H2CO3, and whose conjugate acid is (CO3)2- (which combines with Ca2+ to form insoluble CaCO3). the pH of H2CO3 in sol'n is less (more acidic) than the pH of HCO3-, which is less (more acidic) than the pH of (CO3)-. thus, the pH of the reaction increases as you proceed to the right. i hope that helps.