Is this on the MCAT?

[connie95]

Do we need to know how to balance redox rxns. for the MCAT? (using the half-rxn/electron transfer process)

This is something I rly struggle with and it takes a long time…if we do need to know this, how likely is it to show up on the MCAT?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

Yes it's fair game for the MCAT. It tends to be much easier than the stuff you'd find in a hard college textbook, but at the level you'll find in an MCAT prep book :/

 

[becomingdoctor]

I have seen things like this in my previous mcat

 

[Mavs88]

I hate the thought of the stuff that I know least popping up

 

[Thoroughbred_Med]

I'm verrryyyyy doubtful they would have a full blows question that made you balance a redox rxn... that takes at least 5 minutes.

They may have some sort of deviation of the process... like.... actually never mind there's nothing useful from balancing redox rxns except knowing how many moles of H20 and/or OH- to add to a rxn.

F*CK IT

 

[Gauss44]

This sort of question goes back to AAMC's list of topics in their Guide to the MCAT book. That's the official list.

If you ask me, it's unlikely to show up. But if it's on that list, it's fair game.

 

[erythrocyte666]

I doubt the real thing would ask you to do a redox balancing, but you should still know it. Find a high school AP chem book, read through a sample problem and do some practice problems with it - it's not complicated at all. You should aim to have a greater than "required" intuitive understanding of all the AAMC topics rather than hope you don't get asked about it on the real thing, which will ask you to tie together a variety of concepts in a single problem.

 

[texan2414]

Do NOT (I repeat do NOTTTT) discount anything on the MCAT.

For all you know you could end up having 3-4 balancing redox on your exam.

You NEEEED to know everything on AAMC content list inside out... No matter how trivial it might seem.

In fact, I would bet AAMC puts trivial concepts on the MCAT for the sole purpose of people thinking the same as you.

 

[pithy84]

Yes, balancing a redox reaction could definitely be on the MCAT. In fact, I think I saw it at least twice on AAMC practice exams. However, the reactions were relatively easy to balance. Also, the questions were not simply "balance this redox reaction", they asked something else that required you to balance the redox reaction first before answering the actual question.

The slowest PS and BS questions do take up to 3 or 4 minutes, in my experience. Usually there is about one really slow question in the PS section.