AAMC CBT3 and 3R OFFICIAL Q&A

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This is the official Q&A thread for AAMC CBT3 and 3R.

Please post ONLY questions pertaining to AAMC CBT3 and 3R.
Out of respect for people who may not have completed the other exams, do not post questions or material from any other AAMC exam.

Please see this thread for the rules of order before you post.

Good luck on your MCAT!

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For question #22 on the CBT (first one on the passage about waves, harmonics, etc) ... how am I supposed to know which of three superimposed waves in Figure 1a is first harmonic, which is second harmonic, or third harmonic? Is there a way to read a graph that has superimposed waves? A convention I just don't know about? I understand the question otherwise. I missed it because I thought the "first harmonic" was the "third harmonic."

Any help is appreciated.


The way I figured it out was the more 1/2 wavelengths you can fit in there, the higher the harmonic. Do you have the PR review book? There is a good diagram in there.
 
For question #22 on the CBT (first one on the passage about waves, harmonics, etc) ... how am I supposed to know which of three superimposed waves in Figure 1a is first harmonic, which is second harmonic, or third harmonic? Is there a way to read a graph that has superimposed waves? A convention I just don't know about? I understand the question otherwise. I missed it because I thought the "first harmonic" was the "third harmonic."

Any help is appreciated.

Figure 1 shows the sequential addition of the harmonics. There is a graph that shows the first two harmonics, then there is a graph that shows the first three harmonics.

The first harmonic has the longest wavelength of the three, and the second harmonic is the one that combines with the first harmonic to produce figure 1B. Then, via process of elimination, the third harmonic is the one that is remaining.

You could also answer questions in this passage by knowing that, by adding a node, you go to the next harmonic, and when you add a node, the frequency of the wave increases. Therefore, you could reason that the third harmonic is the one that has the highest frequency.
 
In the question about the original concentration of protons prior to the addition of NaOH, the answer key provides a suitable explanation, but I was wondering why solving the question via the equivalence point of the titration leads to an incorrect answer.

From the way I saw it:
The steepest point of the curve occurs when 25-30 mL of 0.1M NaOH is added to the unknown acid. Therefore:
n = [OH]V
n = (.1 mol/L)(.025L)
n = .0025 mol

There should then be .0025 mol of acid in the unknown solution. The volume of the unknown solution is 30 mL (so let's just round .0025 mol to .003 mol).

In that case, n/V = [H+] = .003/.03=.1 M

I must be missing something VERY basic (no pun intended) here. Like I said, the answer key makes sense, but now I'm worried that about my grasp of titrations. Any suggestions?
 
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maybe this is going too far but I got Question 122 CBT wrong because there is no mention of cycling the estrogen and progesterone....so I assumed there would be no menstruation, rather just a constant developed endometrial lining that doesn't slough off...should I have just assumed that the hormones would be given so as to replicate pre-menopausal hormone cycles?
 
This might be a stupid question but I have the PDFs of AAMC 3R-10R. Are the practice CBTs that are on the AAMC website the same as these PDFs? Thank you
 
Hi, I seem to have problems with these types of "comprehending" questions on the bio section. By showing that it's not environmental doesn't necessarily mean that it's genetic right? I ended up picking A. If the answer choice in B wasn't stated in the passage would B still be the correct response? Thanks. For reason I keep getting tripped up by questions like these where it seems alot of the answers could be correct.
 
Also for ps #10 how come increasing the voltage of HV wouldnt affect KE since it regulates temperature and T is proportional to KE??
 
Can you please explain number 16 a little further. I was under the impression that P1 would be more probable because it has the lower intensity and because by the looks of the curve, more X-ray photons are emitted at the P1 state, they are just at a lower intensity. I would think electrons would want to expend as least energy as possible in transitioning states, and filling the lower ground state would be more likely than the higher level states (n=2, 3 ,etc). Can you let me know if my understanding is totally off?
 
Guys, please remember to post AAMC practice material ONLY in the thread made specifically for that purpose.

Please read this thred carefully: AAMC Official Practice Exam Q&A Discussion Threads & Rules of Order

In addition, please remember to use the Study Question Q&A forum located here to ask specific questions about scientific concepts or practice questions that are MCAT relevant. I'll merge this thread with the AAMC 3R thread now. Thanks. :)
 
this is very weird... because I've done 4R and a TON of EK VR101's and i've never pulled above a 10...

i got a 12 on this test's VR and a 13 on BS, which i've never done either...

what the hell? I felt awful about all my verbal answers and nearly ran out of time.
 
Can someone please explain number 117 in the BS section. The question was

The most likeley function of phosphorylated protein P was?

- How would we know between the protein receptor of the protein channel? Wouldn't both help the infulx of calcium ions?

thanks :)
 
Can someone please explain number 117 in the BS section. The question was

The most likeley function of phosphorylated protein P was?

- How would we know between the protein receptor of the protein channel? Wouldn't both help the infulx of calcium ions?

thanks :)

A cell-surface receptor does not transfer whatever it receives into the cell. A receptor attaches to something and uses another secondary messenger to create effects within the cell. The receptor itself never enters the cell.
 
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The last passage. Last sentence of the first paragraph:

"And at the same time Socrates was questioning the whole traditional fabric so indefatigably, that his prosecutors, who secured his death sentence, were hardly wrong to accuse him of "not believing in the gods in whom the city believes."

I don't see how this statement fits in first paragraph. Wasn't the author providing examples of Greek's tendency to disrespect gods?

Please explain how this fits. I'm pretty sure I am missing something. Thanks.
 
Which of the following statements provide the strongest support for the hypothesis that HC is a genetic disease rather than a disease caused by environmental factors?

A) HC is relatively common in some families and absent from others.
B) There is no significant difference in dietary habits of individuals in affected families versus individuals in unaffected families.
C) HC appears to be caused by malfunction at the plasma membrane.

The credited response was B). I picked C). I thought B) was vulnerable to an argument that the disease could have been caused by external factors other than diet. I don't know. Lack of exercise?

As for C). "Malfunction at plasma membrane" is vague, but that's where the hormone receptors are located, right. And the only way these could malfunction (that i know of) is if they were not made correctly, i.e. some kind of mutation or disease that changes receptor's amino-acid sequence. This had to be genetic, i thought.
 
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Equal concentrations of 8 mg/mL of Substance A and glucose are found in volunteer's plasma. Based on figure 1, which substance will the kidney clear from plasma more rapidly?

Why is the answer B) and not C)?

Wouldn't glucose be cleared faster than A? 8 mg/ml of substance A is being reabsorbed at 6 mg/ml, right? That's the maximum, am I wrong?

While all of 8mg/ml of glucose is being absorbed, so at of 8 mg/ml?

What am i missing?
 
Equal concentrations of 8 mg/mL of Substance A and glucose are found in volunteer's plasma. Based on figure 1, which substance will the kidney clear from plasma more rapidly?

Why is the answer B) and not C)?

Wouldn't glucose be cleared faster than A? 8 mg/ml of substance A is being reabsorbed at 6 mg/ml, right? That's the maximum, am I wrong?

While all of 8mg/ml of glucose is being absorbed, so at of 8 mg/ml?

What am i missing?

Uh, never mind. I just realized that plasma clearance is the rate of substance being lost to urine.
 
An intravenous infusion causes a sharp rise in the serum level of albumin (the major osmoregulatory protein in the blood). This will most likely cause an

A) increase in the immune response
b) increase in tissue albumin levels
c) outflow of blood fluid to the tissues
d) influx of tissue fluid to the bloodstream

I understand kaplan’s explanation that increase in albumin concentration in the blood will cause the blood to become more concentrated. This sets up a concentration gradient such that water will enter the blood. However, does it matter that the protein is albumin? In other words, this question could very well have used any protein with the same logic, right (not necessarily albumin)?
 
An intravenous infusion causes a sharp rise in the serum level of albumin (the major osmoregulatory protein in the blood). This will most likely cause an

A) increase in the immune response
b) increase in tissue albumin levels
c) outflow of blood fluid to the tissues
d) influx of tissue fluid to the bloodstream

I understand kaplan’s explanation that increase in albumin concentration in the blood will cause the blood to become more concentrated. This sets up a concentration gradient such that water will enter the blood. However, does it matter that the protein is albumin? In other words, this question could very well have used any protein with the same logic, right (not necessarily albumin)?

Yes, the question could've been any other proteins found in blood. However, albumin is the major protein found in blood, and it alone is the cause of osmotic pressure (I think it's mentioned in the passage too)
 
I am using the old version (the paper version) of aamc 3 and I am having a lot of trouble with passage 2 of PS, the one about supercritical point. Can anyone explain to me question 6, and what figure 2 is showing?
 
i only have the CBT version and perhaps you can post the graph and the question?

for 130 of the BS, passage 5
"in experiment 2, the increased blood pressure resulting from the higher than normal conc. of ADH most likely affected urinary output of substance A by increasing the:

i have an inkling that glomerular filtration rate is just "the better answer," but perhaps there's a better explanation why C (water reabsorption from the tubules) isn't as good. i understand the whole increase in blood pressure = in crease in GFR, but incr in ADH is also incr water reabsorption.

then in the answer as they explained to rule out C, they say "increasing blood pressure should increase flow of fluid through the kidney and decrease water reabsorption, so the answer choice is incorrect. if the increased blood pressure is due to ADH, then water would be reabsorbed?
 
I havent taken the free exam and decided to leave it for a day where I didnt feel like spending 35 dollars. I have been averagin 8's so far with 6 bieng the lowest until today. I pulled a very humbling 5. i dunno what came over me.
 
item 10: In order to increase the maximum kinetic energy of electrons colliding with the anode, the scientist made which of the following changes?

answer: The voltage of HV was increased.

Why is increasing the voltage of HV a better answer than increasing the voltage for LV?

First, I thought LV regulates filament temperature so increasing the voltage of LV will increase the temperature through Power = IV = joules/sec. Since temperature and kinetic energy are proportional, increasing the voltage of LV should be the answer. Then I read HV regulates electron acceleration and thought kinetic energy = 1/2(mv^2) = ma(distance). Increasing acceleration will increase kinetic energy, which seemed more of a direct answer.

I had a tough time with this. Does any one think I was thinking too deep about this question, i.e. did I make an easy question harder to answer?

Please help. I'm going nuts trying to figure out why increasing the voltage of LV won't increase the kinetic energy. Thank you in advance.
 
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item 10: In order to increase the maximum kinetic energy of electrons colliding with the anode, the scientist made which of the following changes?

answer: The voltage of HV was increased.

Why is increasing the voltage of HV a better answer than increasing the voltage for LV?

First, I thought LV regulates filament temperature so increasing the voltage of LV will increase the temperature through Power = IV = joules/sec. Since temperature and kinetic energy are proportional, increasing the voltage of LV should be the answer. Then I read HV regulates electron acceleration and thought kinetic energy = 1/2(mv^2) = ma(distance). Increasing acceleration will increase kinetic energy, which seemed more of a direct answer.

I had a tough time with this. Does any one think I was thinking too deep about this question, i.e. did I make an easy question harder to answer?

Please help. I'm going nuts trying to figure out why increasing the voltage of LV won't increase the kinetic energy. Thank you in advance.

I think you may have been thinking too deeply. I think this is a case of the "choose the best answer" bull that testmakers like to pull. So like you said, increasing HV is more of a direct answer because KE = 1/2mv^2 and increasing the acceleration would increase the velocity.
 
Can someone please help me understand the answer choices in the first question of Passage V in BS?

To start, the passage states that "the Tm is the maximum rate of transport (mg/min) at which a substance can be reabsorbed by the kidney. That is, if the filtration rate of a substance exceeds its Tm, the substance will begin to appear in the urine."

The question asks, "according to the passage, the Tm represents the rate of plasma filtration that just exceeds the:

A) rate of concentration of the substance in the glomerular filtrate.
B) rate of concentration of the substance in the urine.
C) capacity of the kidney tubules to reabsorb the substance.
D) capacity of the bladder to store and excrete the substance."

Why would the answer be C? According to the passage, if the rate of filtration exceeded the rate of reabsorption, then it has technically exceeded the Tm at that point. So Tm would have to represent a value where filtration rate is probably equal to reabsorption, not where filtration slightly exceeds reabsorption. Could someone give an argument for C being correct? I guess I'm just not entirely convinced or clear on this answer choice.
 
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I looked through peoples response to question 11. That's not really sufficient for me. There is NO indication from this passage that more probable events happen with a greater intensity. Moreover, looking at the trends in THIS graph, it seems as if the Intensity at P2 should be at a LOWER intensity, and thus why I thought P1 was more probable. I know I'm wrong, but the explanation is not sufficient. Does this have ANYTHING to do with the wavelength? What do P1 and P2 represent? Can ANYONE help clarify this?

#35
It says that because oxalic acid is DIprotic at a pH of 4.7 it will have a great solute concentration because it requires TWICE as many NaOh to reach the same pH. I'm not entirely sure how this makes ANY sense. It cannot simply be based off of the fact that it is diprotic right? Isn't it because it is diprotic AND because the pKa of the first COOH is well below 4.7, while the pKa of the other COOH is around 4.7. What I'm saying is, that if the Pka of the OTHER Cooh was at like 9, you wouldn't need TWICE the NaOH to reach that pH 4.7 compared to a monoprotic acid right?

Please Help!!!!!
 
Hey everyone,

I recently took AAMC3 the computer based one and I got a 11P 10V 12B however I have taken this exam before in back in June when I was studying for my first MCAT. I do not want to get too happy with this score because I might have subconsciously knew how to solve the answers, however when I was taking it I was not just guessing and I really felt as though I thought through each problem correctly. I had taken like 12 practice tests back in June for my first mcat which I took in July, but if I had remembered all the answers I should have gotten a 45. I have taken all the AAMC tests back in June, please someone let me know what you think and your opinion. The first time I took AAMC3 I got a 8P 8V 8B so i did drastically improve.
 
Hey everyone,

I recently took AAMC3 the computer based one and I got a 11P 10V 12B however I have taken this exam before in back in June when I was studying for my first MCAT. I do not want to get too happy with this score because I might have subconsciously knew how to solve the answers, however when I was taking it I was not just guessing and I really felt as though I thought through each problem correctly. I had taken like 12 practice tests back in June for my first mcat which I took in July, but if I had remembered all the answers I should have gotten a 45. I have taken all the AAMC tests back in June, please someone let me know what you think and your opinion. The first time I took AAMC3 I got a 8P 8V 8B so i did drastically improve.

Yes, you have made an improvement. I don't think it can all be attributed to your having seen the exam before. Keep working hard. :thumbup:
 
Number 11:
I read the detailed post on this, but how are you supposed to know what the peak necessarily indicates? I thought it was just an emission event.

Number 35:
If oxalic acid has a lower pka than crotonic acid, wouldn't it require more NaOH to get the PH up to 4.7 for oxalic acid. More NaOH would mean more H2O, decreasing the molality of the oxalic acid solution relatively to the crotonic acid solution thus giving a lower freezing point depression contrary to what they said?
 
I looked through peoples response to question 11. That's not really sufficient for me. There is NO indication from this passage that more probable events happen with a greater intensity. Moreover, looking at the trends in THIS graph, it seems as if the Intensity at P2 should be at a LOWER intensity, and thus why I thought P1 was more probable. I know I'm wrong, but the explanation is not sufficient. Does this have ANYTHING to do with the wavelength? What do P1 and P2 represent? Can ANYONE help clarify this?

#35
It says that because oxalic acid is DIprotic at a pH of 4.7 it will have a great solute concentration because it requires TWICE as many NaOh to reach the same pH. I'm not entirely sure how this makes ANY sense. It cannot simply be based off of the fact that it is diprotic right? Isn't it because it is diprotic AND because the pKa of the first COOH is well below 4.7, while the pKa of the other COOH is around 4.7. What I'm saying is, that if the Pka of the OTHER Cooh was at like 9, you wouldn't need TWICE the NaOH to reach that pH 4.7 compared to a monoprotic acid right?

Please Help!!!!!

I havnt done the bio section yet but I can help u w the first.

First of all idont know that u did read ALL the explanations because one of them clearly has answered ur question- quite well if I may. But I will give it a fresh try

first of all this exam takes advantage of what most students read-the NMR chart in organic chemistry. But it takes advantage of ur mental block. The test is designed to confuse u and it seems yo be working. The problem is ppl glance at the graph and immediately think well it's either the higher peak or the higher wavelength. Then confusion sets in because the graph doesn't offer any other answer.

Here's what you should do. The passage clearly indicates that greater intensity is associated w greater photon emissions. In addition photons are what cause the spike to appear as it is an emission of energy from the electron due to photon striking the plate. Thus if more photons strike the plate there is a higher chance that the photon of correct energy will cause an emission of energy to take place. That is what the intensity chart reflects.
 
The last passage. Last sentence of the first paragraph:

"And at the same time Socrates was questioning the whole traditional fabric so indefatigably, that his prosecutors, who secured his death sentence, were hardly wrong to accuse him of "not believing in the gods in whom the city believes."

I don't see how this statement fits in first paragraph. Wasn't the author providing examples of Greek's tendency to disrespect gods?

Please explain how this fits. I'm pretty sure I am missing something. Thanks.

This is off the top of my head but I think u may have missed the point that the PHILOSOPHERS were the ones who were treating the gods cavalier. I have a feeling the passage specifically mentioned that it was the thinkers not everyone. Or at least that it was commonplaceto disrespect the gods and uses Socrates as an example. Thus they don't say UNIVERSAL whch would be supported by saying the entire Greece was making fun of gods. The passage does not say this and indeed if it did ur argument would b correct
 
Can anyone help with this one. This physics section wasn't too bad I got a 12 on it, however there are some problems that stumped me.. Verbal was brutal though... only got a 9 while I've been getting 10s+ on 6,7,8,9..

Q # 41 of PS in 3R, the question asks:

2 identical photoelectric devices are connected in parallel with each other. Compare to the voltage generated by a single device. The total voltage supplied to the circuit by the parallel devices will be a) 4 times as large, b) two times as large, c) 1/2 as large, d) the same.

The answer is D and the explanation is as follows: identical voltages in parallel produce the same voltage as a single source, but if connected in series, the voltages would be added.

Huh? I've never seen review material on voltage sources added parallel/series... Is this suppose to be a capacitor or something? no clue..
 
Can anyone help with this one. This physics section wasn't too bad I got a 12 on it, however there are some problems that stumped me.. Verbal was brutal though... only got a 9 while I've been getting 10s+ on 6,7,8,9..

Q # 41 of PS in 3R, the question asks:

2 identical photoelectric devices are connected in parallel with each other. Compare to the voltage generated by a single device. The total voltage supplied to the circuit by the parallel devices will be a) 4 times as large, b) two times as large, c) 1/2 as large, d) the same.

The answer is D and the explanation is as follows: identical voltages in parallel produce the same voltage as a single source, but if connected in series, the voltages would be added.

Huh? I've never seen review material on voltage sources added parallel/series... Is this suppose to be a capacitor or something? no clue..


Someone explained this to me by looking at them as batteries. When batteries line up their voltage is added but in parallel they do not affect one another. I know that is a very crude explanation but it makes sense to me now.
 
Someone explained this to me by looking at them as batteries. When batteries line up their voltage is added but in parallel they do not affect one another. I know that is a very crude explanation but it makes sense to me now.

I guess I just have to know that as a fact.. Tried to look it up online, but couldn't really find anything definitive.

Thanks though. If anyone else have any inputs please let me know.
 
i only have the CBT version and perhaps you can post the graph and the question?

for 130 of the BS, passage 5
"in experiment 2, the increased blood pressure resulting from the higher than normal conc. of ADH most likely affected urinary output of substance A by increasing the:

i have an inkling that glomerular filtration rate is just "the better answer," but perhaps there's a better explanation why C (water reabsorption from the tubules) isn't as good. i understand the whole increase in blood pressure = in crease in GFR, but incr in ADH is also incr water reabsorption.

then in the answer as they explained to rule out C, they say "increasing blood pressure should increase flow of fluid through the kidney and decrease water reabsorption, so the answer choice is incorrect. if the increased blood pressure is due to ADH, then water would be reabsorbed?

This is exactly what I was wondering. Increase in ADH will lead to an INCREASE in water reabsorption. What am I missing here? Anybody a better explanation?
 
Hi guys,
for item 38, how are we suppose to identify helium as the alpha particle?

Thanks in advance.
 
Can someone explain #17 for PS.

This answer to me really seems like common sense....I mean..if the temperature is lower of course its going to take longer to melt...but I don't understand why its the waters temperature..and not the water's quantity that decides this. I thought melting point was a colligative property and depends on quantity....
 
For the passage involving waves, do you even really need to use the graphs (maybe except the last question)? I'm asking this because I got about 3 questions wrong, and when I referred back to them to review now, I could have easily gotten them had I used the equation fn = n*f1 and use that to find the link between period and frequency. And is there any significance to the word "harmonic" in this passage (other than the fact that it repeats?)
 
Can someone explain #17 for PS.

This answer to me really seems like common sense....I mean..if the temperature is lower of course its going to take longer to melt...but I don't understand why its the waters temperature..and not the water's quantity that decides this. I thought melting point was a colligative property and depends on quantity....

Water's quantity is irrelevant because the colligative property of water has nothing to do with colligative property of acetamide. They are not mixed together; water is simply heating the test tube so regardless of how much water you have, the amount of water molecules used to heat the acetamide will not change. The only change can come from the temperature due to the kinetic molecular theory.

And like you said, it's a common sense too. Since the temperature is higher than its boiling point but lower than the previous temperature, it will melt, but it will just take longer time.
 
For Q#39, I have a question. I know that the problem gives you the rate law. But this isn't the correct rate law equation. In other words, I thought that it should've been rate law = k[NO2]^2*[F2]. So is it OK to ignore what is right and go with what the question gives you, even if it's wrong?

I thought that this would be like balancing equation. What the problem gives to you may be wrong, so you have to correct it. I put third order but apparently, the answer is 2nd order. Can anyone explain this "paradox" (hope I'm not missing the obvious)?
 
For Q#39, I have a question. I know that the problem gives you the rate law. But this isn't the correct rate law equation. In other words, I thought that it should've been rate law = k[NO2]^2*[F2]. So is it OK to ignore what is right and go with what the question gives you, even if it's wrong?

I thought that this would be like balancing equation. What the problem gives to you may be wrong, so you have to correct it. I put third order but apparently, the answer is 2nd order. Can anyone explain this "paradox" (hope I'm not missing the obvious)?

not entirely sure about this, but I'm pretty sure I read during CR that rate laws can only be determined experimentally (not by the equation), so even if the rate law they gave you isn't factually accurate, it's not something you'd be able to determine by looking at the equation
 
Experimentally, you can determine the rate law and from there the rate order. However, if you're only given a rxn and it's corresponding rate law and asked for the rate order you add the subscripts of the concentrations from the rate law and not the coefficients in the rxn scheme.
 
Can someone explain the answer to this question to me? It is about selective precipitation but i dont understand how the sequence in which the Pb2+ was precipipated in the passage can be extrapolated to deduce the solubilities of the different anions with Pb2+

Thanks in advance
 
Hi guys,
for item 38, how are we suppose to identify helium as the alpha particle?

Thanks in advance.

I got hung up here too.

Obviously they are identifying the alpha particle as (4/2 He) but when you solve the questions assuming conservative forces using m1v1=m2v2 you arrive at:

V = (4)(1.5x10^7)/(222)

I messed up the calculation because the answers are so close. I fell on the wrong side of 3.0 and chose 3.5x10^5. Oops.
 
Question 116:

Which of the following proteins most-likely utilizes ATP for its action?

*B) Protein R only
C) Protein P only

I said (C) protein P because although protein R does the phosphorylating, protein P NEEDS the phosphate group to function. Maybe I just looked to hard into that question but I think think they could have worded it better.
 
On CBT 24 in PS, how am i supposed to know that the 2nd harmonic is 200hz? Does that mean the 3rd harmonic is 300hz? I feel like this is an easy question that I should know how to do.
 
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