Mcat Tricks With Constants!

[shaq786]

Does the mcat trick you by giving you a constant lets say 1.00g/cm^3. However, you have to know to convert it to kg/m^3. So that would be 1000kg/m^3. Overall this means that the mcat expects you to know what form(units) the constant goes into the equation.

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[AxlxA]

i would say for the big known ones u should, like gravitational g 9.8m/s. density of water 1kg/1L. those are the only two i know for now. i guess as long as u know what the units are and know what units u need, u can probably do dimensional analysis for it. In the TPR tests, i've seen ones where they give u non standard units and try to trick you into picking those. cm = 10^-2 m that kinda thing.

 

[confewshz]

Does the mcat trick you by giving you a constant lets say 1.00g/cm^3. However, you have to know to convert it to kg/m^3. So that would be 1000kg/m^3. Overall this means that the mcat expects you to know what form(units) the constant goes into the equation.

Yes, the MCAT does expect you to be able to do dimensional analysis, which is basically converting units from one system to another. I have seen this quite a bit on the AAMC practice tests.

 

[Clemson Doc]

Just make sure that you're consistent with your units. One way they tend to try to trick you is with mass. For instance, you might need to solve a problem using q=mc(delta T), and c is given in J/kg*K, but m is given in grams. If you don't convert grams to kg before you plug 'n chug, you'll miss the problem (and think you're getting it right, because that answer will probably be one of the incorrect choices).

 

[shaq786]

thanks for the advice