Any good quicksheet to use for memorizing? Is kaplan's good?

[fastfingers]

I have kaplan's mcat quicksheet. Is this very complete or should I make one myself using my BK books? If I memorize and understand everything on the kaplan mcat quicksheet, should I know enough content for the MCAT?

edit: if not, could anybody give me any recommendations? I finished all my content review going through the BK books and EK books, but I'd like some sort of review sheet or quicksheet for me to just sit down and memorize things that are very important and assumed I should know on the MCAT. There's a lot of information in the BK book that I'm pretty sure I don't have to memorize, so I'd like to have a separate guide where I can just focus on retaining everything.

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[apumic]

I have kaplan's mcat quicksheet. Is this very complete or should I make one myself using my BK books? If I memorize and understand everything on the kaplan mcat quicksheet, should I know enough content for the MCAT?

edit: if not, could anybody give me any recommendations? I finished all my content review going through the BK books and EK books, but I'd like some sort of review sheet or quicksheet for me to just sit down and memorize things that are very important and assumed I should know on the MCAT. There's a lot of information in the BK book that I'm pretty sure I don't have to memorize, so I'd like to have a separate guide where I can just focus on retaining everything.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....

Seriously, though. Memorizing is pointless. Go learn the stuff. Learn it deeply. Short-circuiting the process will only cost you in the end.

 

[Ismet]

I have kaplan's mcat quicksheet. Is this very complete or should I make one myself using my BK books? If I memorize and understand everything on the kaplan mcat quicksheet, should I know enough content for the MCAT?

edit: if not, could anybody give me any recommendations? I finished all my content review going through the BK books and EK books, but I'd like some sort of review sheet or quicksheet for me to just sit down and memorize things that are very important and assumed I should know on the MCAT. There's a lot of information in the BK book that I'm pretty sure I don't have to memorize, so I'd like to have a separate guide where I can just focus on retaining everything.

I used Kaplan's quicksheet. It covers every equation that I ever needed, and more. But don't just memorize. Make sure you understand them! If you get anxious during tests like I do, having that equation bank floating in your head (and writing it down during the tutorial) is a huge help!!

 

[ridethecliche]

I had the sheet, didn't memorize it, and think I will pay for it. Some of the stuff I needed was on there and I didn't know the eq's forwards and backwards.

A lot of the time you can get away with manipulating a couple of equations to figure out some of the harder stuff, but you shouldn't be wasting time doing that if you have most of the test left.

Best to just guess, mark the question, move on, and come back to it if you have a few minutes left.

 

[Dr Dazzle]

I used Kaplan's quicksheet. It covers every equation that I ever needed, and more. But don't just memorize. Make sure you understand them! If you get anxious during tests like I do, having that equation bank floating in your head (and writing it down during the tutorial) is a huge help!!

In what terms should we understand the eq's? Variables or various manipulations?

 

[ridethecliche]

In what terms should we understand the eq's? Variables or various manipulations?

F=eq

Why is the force equal to the field times the charge? Intuitively, what happens if we manipulate charge or field strength? What is the particle feeling?

If something was moving through a field, what would it experience? Would it curve in any direction? Is the force doing work? Can perpendicular forces ever do work?

etc etc etc.

The mcat will pull out all sorts of things like the above. You need to be able to think they up without having to go back to the equations or you'll run low on time.

Honestly, I slacked on this part of stuff and I think I paid for it. I'm good with the understanding, but I forgot 1-2 key equations that came up on my test.

We'll see how it goes for me, but you should learn from these mistakes.

Everytime you learn a formula, you should figure out what information you can glean from it.

Found this site that maps the charge/field stuff together. You should be able to do this with almost all the equations you learn, .i.e. concept maps.

http://www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk/camphy/electron/electron4_1.htm

In summary, quicksheets are good. Your own maps are better.

 

[MDminded]

In summary, quicksheets are good. Your own maps are better.

I think Kaplan left off a few things, including amino acids.

But I agree - memorizing is one thing (and I can assert that I definitely had Kaplan memorized backwards, forwards, upside down before I took my MCAT last year), but understanding the concept is better. I think that the more practice problems you do, the easier it will be to "memorize", and you'll understand the concepts that are tested much easier. The MCAT isn't going to test you on what's in front of you...it's going to make you jump through a few hoops to relate two seemingly-unrelated topics. That's why I like SN2ed's idea of the Hat Trick. Somehow, everything relates, and the MCAT will find the two strangest ideas and link them and throw it at you in a passage. Be ready for that by having concept maps constructed in your head.

 

[fastfingers]

yeha, i mean i understand all the concept, but i just need to memorize certain facts that seem to come up often in the mcat.

 

[Ismet]

I think Kaplan left off a few things, including amino acids.

Oops! Yeah, should have said I only used the quicksheet for physics and a little gen chem. It doesn't go very in depth for bio and the orgo part made me crazy.

 

[fastfingers]

is memorizing amino acid a must for the mcat? i loosely remember them due to biochem, but should i know them in detail? i've gone through physics and chemistry and they seem to include almost everything i need so far.

not sure about bio and orgo so far.