Diary: ExamKracker MCAT studying begins... Who is with me? Version 6 for May

[christian15213]

Hey everyone!!!

Just wanted to invite anyone who owns the examkrackers examination books version 6 and is starting to study for the mcats this upcomming April / May. I can only afford to take this test one time because the application and entire process begins for me this summer.

I have started first with the Biology section and have a couple comments and things about the book that I like so far and some complaints so far. I have only done lecture one.

As well, I have audio osmosis and one of the things I really like is that is follows the book quite nicely. Please respond asap and we can work on things and go through things together.

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[dr.kicia]

Didn't AAMC used to have a full membership where you would pay like 90 bucks and have access to all of the old tests? I just spent $245 for all of the CBT tests and it hurts!!!

well it is still cheaper then prep-course but i can totally hear you.
I am not going to buy all of these tests because i have some in paper based form. I will deffinetly buy the 8-10 though for the CBT practice but i won't be buying 4-7. SO this will save me some money$$$
I think all this process is rediculously expensive, but what can we do?

 

[phospho]

i just think it is written in a language that is very easy to understand. It is devided into chapters and it is like a language book. First the easiest stuff, the 'alphabets' of the orgo before you move on to sentences (<---reactions).
If not for that book i would be so lost during my orgo class. It was nice because it corelletes with the chapters in my textbook and sometimes i wouldn't even have to read my text because this book was explaining stuff well enough that i was able to go straight to the problems.
In terms of the MCAT i think this book has all the info you need, resonance, reactions, stereochemistry, SN1 SN2 and all that business explained in a way that even a child would be able to understand it.
I personally love it and think it is absolutely worth the time and money. It is also written in a way that will keep u interested and able to go through more then 2 pages/hr

thank you

 

[dr.kicia]

thank you

no problem...
i think i should go back to working in salesj/k
i just read my reply ...LOL.

 

[phospho]

no problem...
i think i should go back to working in salesj/k
i just read my reply ...LOL.

haha, hilarious... I just bought it like 30 seconds ago from half.com... they should give you commission! haha

 

[dr.kicia]

haha, hilarious... I just bought it like 30 seconds ago from half.com... they should give you commission! haha

i can't say that i wouldn't use it
you will love these books.
Let me know when you get them. I am curious, now that i made you buy them i feel responsible

 

[cabrillo]

talking about orgo. I am kind of stuck in chapter 1 but I should finished it today. I am slowly learning all this stuff again and doing the 1001 orgo questions I am getting most of them right which gives me hope. The material doesnt seem that difficult, I hope. is there a relationship between doing good on the 1001 and the 30 min test. I am asking this since they 1001 questions are not passage based. I have been slacking a little bit but I am going to get it done. I am always thinking that orgo has only 4 chapters and I have 15 days left to get to my goal. any suggestions will be appreciated

 

[phospho]

i can't say that i wouldn't use it
you will love these books.
Let me know when you get them. I am curious, now that i made you buy them i feel responsible

haha, i'll definitely let you know when I get them...

 

[dr.kicia]

talking about orgo. I am kind of stuck in chapter 1 but I should finished it today. I am slowly learning all this stuff again and doing the 1001 orgo questions I am getting most of them right which gives me hope. The material doesnt seem that difficult, I hope. is there a relationship between doing good on the 1001 and the 30 min test. I am asking this since they 1001 questions are not passage based. I have been slacking a little bit but I am going to get it done. I am always thinking that orgo has only 4 chapters and I have 15 days left to get to my goal. any suggestions will be appreciated

1001 questions are kinda on the easier side compering to the end of lecture exams. the 30-minute exam for the first one was a b!tch

aaahh, since i am in the seller mood i recomend you do the same as phospho
no but seriously. It will be much better and much less time consuming then trying to follow EK. You will see what i mean when you take 30-minute for orgo lecture1
I think out of all EK books i like orgo the least.


and as for my updates, i am done with phys lecture 1 (scores posted in the EK-30minute exam scores thread) and moving to bio lecture2
I plan on doing lecture2 in gen chem tomorow and hopefully finish phys lecture7(since i will have my electricity exam next week, might as well just use some extra practice and kill two birds with one stone)by the end of this week. In general i want to manage one lecture in each subject per week. I think i will leave orgo for the very last since i am pretty fresh with the material and i have only 3 more lectures to go.
and then i will practice verbal for one month before the MCAT.

 

[mvenus929]

Just for the heck of it, I'll post all my 30 minute lecture scores for my first run through. I wasn't really trying, just wanted to see what I really needed to work on. Here goes....

Biology - 12-10-7-5-8-7-11-12-8
Physics - 10-11-9-7-11-8-8-8
Chemistry - 12-10-7-10-13-5 (didn't take the last one)
Verbal - 9-10-6
O Chem - 10-8-10-10

Obviously, there's some areas that I really need to work on. Back to studying now...

 

[MDwannaBe81]

Hey all!

I started studying with EK, VERY SLOWLY, last semester. I'm about halfway through all the books and I am having the hardest time finishing! I'm about to put it into gear again today, but it's so hard. Anyone else having difficulties staying focused?

Someone please tell me something to bring me back to reality (I'm taking the MCAT in May)!!

 

[christian15213]

The best web site ever for this material... will totally help you out for chapter 7 of Bio in EK

http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/book/video.htm

 

[cabrillo]

1001 questions are kinda on the easier side compering to the end of lecture exams. the 30-minute exam for the first one was a b!tch

aaahh, since i am in the seller mood i recomend you do the same as phospho
no but seriously. It will be much better and much less time consuming then trying to follow EK. You will see what i mean when you take 30-minute for orgo lecture1
I think out of all EK books i like orgo the least.


and as for my updates, i am done with phys lecture 1 (scores posted in the EK-30minute exam scores thread) and moving to bio lecture2
I plan on doing lecture2 in gen chem tomorow and hopefully finish phys lecture7(since i will have my electricity exam next week, might as well just use some extra practice and kill two birds with one stone)by the end of this week. In general i want to manage one lecture in each subject per week. I think i will leave orgo for the very last since i am pretty fresh with the material and i have only 3 more lectures to go.
and then i will practice verbal for one month before the MCAT.

thanks kicia but tell me, how would I incorporate the book in my studies? read ek and then the book or viceversa? does it have questions to practice? tell me your approach with it. Thanks

 

[christian15213]

I have great news to report.... I murdered chapter 7 of BIO on EK... I only missed two = (13) and would have missed just one if I wouldn't have made a mistake thinking about gas exchange... my mind was right but nonetheless I missed that question. I am totally psyched because I feel like I am getting the information more and more. As well, I am learning how to use the passages in regards to the questions that are being asked.

for anyone thinking of whether it is important to read and pay attention to bio passages the answer is Heck yes... You have to rely on information you know but you need to have an complete understanding of the passage at hand as well. To save time... because studying the passage is not to smart either. I have tried to implore the strat of reading the passage once quickly but to know where to go back to it whenever a question involved required further "verification" per se.... sometimes the answer is right there.

I have two more chapters that I am actually going to try and pump out pretty fast this weekend. My next major strat is to do verbal and physics at the same time. but obviously physics is going to take more time to do.

Lastly, as promised I spent a lot of time on this chapter and actually found it neccessary to look up additional information to get a broader and better understanding of various things involved. This helped tremendously I believe. See this is the thing. If your school was weak, like mine, at spreding out important material all over various classes. I.e. genetics, bio chem, molec cell and micro bio. and NONE of the main ie. BIO I and II provide enough of total information to have a strong understanding of Biology as could and will be tested on an MCAT exam. Obviously anatomy and immunology are very important as well. With that saidthe web sites I found were freaking awsome for immunology, micro bio, bacteriology and virology by giving real actual med school classes that you can skim through to get pertinant information. I included that web site and in my next thread I will include the heart information that is really good for understanding gas exchange in the RBC...

 

[christian15213]

First here is the actuall link to the thread, lol as you can see I started out with a ******ed question.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=368447

******************
Now, here is the information that was most relevent to this topic of lecture 7 in the EK version 6 book for BIOLOGY!!!

*******************************(QUESTION)
Yes, there is mad learning going on here... and because I want to do something with the heart one day I am loving it as a premed... I know the stuff is blowing my mind right now but hey I am glad these people are on this level... shows me that being a doctor is the most prestigous thing on earth.

Ok, here is my question slash concern...

This is a cardiovascular question...

When you exercise heavy your RBC increase in CO2 and thus a decrease in PH causing it to become acidic... why, why does CO2 specifically cause lower PH? where exactly is this coming from in a mechanistic way? As well, is that the true reason why we breath harder to expel more CO2 and thus balance out the PH. please give the lamen term answer... The reason why I am having a problem of understanding why CO2 causes a higher PH is because in order to make the CO2 and H2O the bicarbonate ion has to come into the RBC and react with an H+ ION... I would think this reaction right here would cause an increase in PH even if the result is an increase in CO2... Meaning CO2 isn't even acidic is it?

Second, heavy breathing rate expells more CO2 and thus increases PH Again, I am just having a wEird understanding of this mechanism... I think part of the problem might come from the fact that when O2 is entering into the RBC what type of PH change might that cause?

****************************(REPSONSE Wizard of Oz)
As you already know, the equation is CO2 + H2O to H2CO3 to H+ + HCO3-

If your breathing slows or CO2 can't leave for some reason, CO2 will get backed up and drive the equation to the right by mass action. That's where the H+ (low pH) comes from. Yes the H+ was needed to make the CO2 + H2O in the first place, but now the equation is being pushed back the other way because the CO2 isn't leaving like it's supposed to.

Exercise will also increase lactic acid production. You can try to fix this by blowing off CO2 as well.

Acid will shift hemoglobin O2 binding to the right decreasing O2 affinity, but I don't think you want to go into that stuff here.

************************(additional RESPONSE)
Heavy breathing (specifically DEEP breathing) blows off CO2. By blowing off CO2, you're getting rid of an acidic product, which will increase the pH.

Yes. Lactic acid from your muscles will increase body pH. Poorly controlled diabetics will also have excessive acid in their bodies. Certain substances (aspirin, methanol, antifreeze) will contribute to the acid load in your body.

Take home point is: Don't drink antifreeze, kids. Even if it does taste pleasantly peppermint-y. (It supposedly tastes like peppermint schnapps. Don't ask - this is just what I've heard.)

[I'm not even going to ask the inevitable follow-up question. I just wouldn't respect myself if I did.]

***************(ADDITIONAL RESPONSE)
Yes, metabolic acidosis can occur too.

There shouldn't be any limiting reagents in an equilibrium reaction. If you run out of any of the above, you're probably dead. It's probably best to ignore the RBC membrane to understand this material. The ions will move to their required places via transport mechanisms to maintain homeostasis.

BTW CO2 can react with the peptide chain of Hb to also decrease oxygen affinity.

I think that you're making this subject too complicated.

*********************(MY FINAL RESPONSE TO THAT QUESTION)
First thank you so much... the only reason why I called it cardiovascular is because in my examkracker book that is the section the material came up in... Again, I am only dealing with the heart lungs and blood for this section so that is why I was focusing on it so much... LOL that is where the first question came from as well...

Now, I am a Chemistry major so sorry I got a little deep into the subject but Believe me you all helped so much in what you where explaining that I totally get the concepts now... I mean the take home message was that increase of CO2 decreases PH because of the IONS and Carbonic Acid forming.

Lastly, the rate limiting reaction could occur, while yes the reaction is in equalibrium that is only via the reaction mechanism... if more of a substance is available then more amounts of it will be produced to it limiting reagents capacity... Obviously the limiting reagent is CO2 but I was just being a nerd and saying that if you had way too much CO2 and very little water... an actual increase of water would be the main culprit for causing acidosis.... I know I know... LOL I hear the birds chirping but I gotta be able to contribute some braniac knowledge...

Especially for my oh so bad initial question...

Again, thanks this thread was actually productive and I am going to put the important parts in my diary over on the MCAT thread...

*******************************

Summary of recent websites that were really awsome finding out extra information

http://www.rxlist.com

http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/book/video.htm

r!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Learning... how this thread was helpful...

Oh and P>S> my next strat when I am done with bio is to do the Physics and Verbal at the same time... One to just get used to reading passages... but as well the book for verbal for some reason has a little math review... as well, the verbal book is extremly small.

 

[dr.kicia]

thanks kicia but tell me, how would I incorporate the book in my studies? read ek and then the book or viceversa? does it have questions to practice? tell me your approach with it. Thanks

i would read the whole orgo as second language first and then move to EK.
It has a lot of practice problems after each concept. Acctually it mostly consists of problems, and step by step how to solve things stuff.
I think once you will know the material you would need about a week to go over the whole EK orgo book.
It will be very fast once you know your stuff.

 

[dr.kicia]

First here is the actuall link to the thread, lol as you can see I started out with a ******ed question.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=368447

******************
Now, here is the information that was most relevent to this topic of lecture 7 in the EK version 6 book for BIOLOGY!!!

*******************************(QUESTION)
Yes, there is mad learning going on here... and because I want to do something with the heart one day I am loving it as a premed... I know the stuff is blowing my mind right now but hey I am glad these people are on this level... shows me that being a doctor is the most prestigous thing on earth.

Ok, here is my question slash concern...

This is a cardiovascular question...

When you exercise heavy your RBC increase in CO2 and thus a decrease in PH causing it to become acidic... why, why does CO2 specifically cause lower PH? where exactly is this coming from in a mechanistic way? As well, is that the true reason why we breath harder to expel more CO2 and thus balance out the PH. please give the lamen term answer... The reason why I am having a problem of understanding why CO2 causes a higher PH is because in order to make the CO2 and H2O the bicarbonate ion has to come into the RBC and react with an H+ ION... I would think this reaction right here would cause an increase in PH even if the result is an increase in CO2... Meaning CO2 isn't even acidic is it?

Second, heavy breathing rate expells more CO2 and thus increases PH Again, I am just having a wEird understanding of this mechanism... I think part of the problem might come from the fact that when O2 is entering into the RBC what type of PH change might that cause?

****************************(REPSONSE Wizard of Oz)
As you already know, the equation is CO2 + H2O to H2CO3 to H+ + HCO3-

If your breathing slows or CO2 can't leave for some reason, CO2 will get backed up and drive the equation to the right by mass action. That's where the H+ (low pH) comes from. Yes the H+ was needed to make the CO2 + H2O in the first place, but now the equation is being pushed back the other way because the CO2 isn't leaving like it's supposed to.

Exercise will also increase lactic acid production. You can try to fix this by blowing off CO2 as well.

Acid will shift hemoglobin O2 binding to the right decreasing O2 affinity, but I don't think you want to go into that stuff here.

************************(additional RESPONSE)
Heavy breathing (specifically DEEP breathing) blows off CO2. By blowing off CO2, you're getting rid of an acidic product, which will increase the pH.

Yes. Lactic acid from your muscles will increase body pH. Poorly controlled diabetics will also have excessive acid in their bodies. Certain substances (aspirin, methanol, antifreeze) will contribute to the acid load in your body.

Take home point is: Don't drink antifreeze, kids. Even if it does taste pleasantly peppermint-y. (It supposedly tastes like peppermint schnapps. Don't ask - this is just what I've heard.)

[I'm not even going to ask the inevitable follow-up question. I just wouldn't respect myself if I did.]

***************(ADDITIONAL RESPONSE)
Yes, metabolic acidosis can occur too.

There shouldn't be any limiting reagents in an equilibrium reaction. If you run out of any of the above, you're probably dead. It's probably best to ignore the RBC membrane to understand this material. The ions will move to their required places via transport mechanisms to maintain homeostasis.

BTW CO2 can react with the peptide chain of Hb to also decrease oxygen affinity.

I think that you're making this subject too complicated.

*********************(MY FINAL RESPONSE TO THAT QUESTION)
First thank you so much... the only reason why I called it cardiovascular is because in my examkracker book that is the section the material came up in... Again, I am only dealing with the heart lungs and blood for this section so that is why I was focusing on it so much... LOL that is where the first question came from as well...

Now, I am a Chemistry major so sorry I got a little deep into the subject but Believe me you all helped so much in what you where explaining that I totally get the concepts now... I mean the take home message was that increase of CO2 decreases PH because of the IONS and Carbonic Acid forming.

Lastly, the rate limiting reaction could occur, while yes the reaction is in equalibrium that is only via the reaction mechanism... if more of a substance is available then more amounts of it will be produced to it limiting reagents capacity... Obviously the limiting reagent is CO2 but I was just being a nerd and saying that if you had way too much CO2 and very little water... an actual increase of water would be the main culprit for causing acidosis.... I know I know... LOL I hear the birds chirping but I gotta be able to contribute some braniac knowledge...

Especially for my oh so bad initial question...

Again, thanks this thread was actually productive and I am going to put the important parts in my diary over on the MCAT thread...

*******************************

Summary of recent websites that were really awsome finding out extra information

http://www.rxlink.com

http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/book/video.htm

r!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Learning... how this thread was helpful...

Oh and P>S> my next strat when I am done with bio is to do the Physics and Verbal at the same time... One to just get used to reading passages... but as well the book for verbal for some reason has a little math review... as well, the verbal book is extremly small.

Oh, my...thanks so much for posting this stuff. I will deffinetly use it in few weeks.
Good job on the Ek 30 minute

I am done with ek lec2 bio and moved on to lecture 3. Didn't have time to take the exam yet. I'll post sometime over the weekend (it will be a long one with my 3 midetrms next week).

 

[christian15213]

i would read the whole orgo as second language first and then move to EK.
It has a lot of practice problems after each concept. Acctually it mostly consists of problems, and step by step how to solve things stuff.
I think once you will know the material you would need about a week to go over the whole EK orgo book.
It will be very fast once you know your stuff.

How about physics Kicia... any advice for that? My physics one is lacking I know but my Physics II is way strong... well strong enough to get started I believe...

 

[dr.kicia]

How about physics Kicia... any advice for that? My physics one is lacking I know but my Physics II is way strong... well strong enough to get started I believe...

i am using EK, EK1001 and Nova physics. The last one especially is really good because it does a great job with teaching how to solve problems step by step and explanations of concepts are short and to the point. I like it couse is more basic then EK(ek kinda tries to make it too complecated).

 

[christian15213]

i am using EK, EK1001 and Nova physics. The last one especially is really good because it does a great job with teaching how to solve problems step by step and explanations of concepts are short and to the point. I like it couse is more basic then EK(ek kinda tries to make it too complecated).

ok cool... so the nova physics isn't too long to get into... I know we don't have to know every single thing about physics.. .

 

[christian15213]

as well what do you recommend for chemistry? I am about to purchase these books right now

 

[dr.kicia]

ok cool... so the nova physics isn't too long to get into... I know we don't have to know every single thing about physics.. .

to be honest i think Nova alone would just enough. I kinda don't like EK's physics. They confuse the hell out of me when they give you all these projectile solving strategies. I rather use the formula and make sure i did it right.
Nova is good in teaching you types of questions that can show up on the exam plus it explains siciense in like 3 pages instead of 25. I like it couse it reminds me of my teachers notes: short but concrete. And then problems are both passage based and discreate so it gives you a lot of good practice.
Hope that helps

 

[christian15213]

to be honest i think Nova alone would just enough. I kinda don't like EK's physics. They confuse the hell out of me when they give you all these projectile solving strategies. I rather use the formula and make sure i did it right.
Nova is good in teaching you types of questions that can show up on the exam plus it explains siciense in like 3 pages instead of 25. I like it couse it reminds me of my teachers notes: short but concrete. And then problems are both passage based and discreate so it gives you a lot of good practice.
Hope that helps

ok, so I am going to do the EK physics book but I am also going to buy the NOVA... that should be enough you think?

Ok, and for chemistry

 

[dr.kicia]

as well what do you recommend for chemistry? I am about to purchase these books right now

to be honest i think that EK is fine...but if you are a visual learner i recomend this web...it is a tremendous help for gen chem. I love it.
http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/chemistry/gilbert/overview/ch1.htm
In general...use internet as much as possible. Whenever i don't understand something i just google it. You can find a lot of descent material out there that has one major thing about it: it's CHEAP

 

[christian15213]

to be honest i think that EK is fine...but if you are a visual learner i recomend this web...it is a tremendous help for gen chem. I love it.
http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/chemistry/gilbert/overview/ch1.htm
In general...use internet as much as possible. Whenever i don't understand something i just google it. You can find a lot of descent material out there that has one major thing about it: it's CHEAP

awsome awsome awsome... I like where you're heads at.

what about the 1001 chem book from EK? would you recommend that...

 

[dr.kicia]

ok, so I am going to do the EK physics book but I am also going to buy the NOVA... that should be enough you think?

Ok, and for chemistry

yeah i belive so.Most important thing is to do lots of practice after you get the concepts down cold.
Also AO is very helpful too.
I have been saving a lot of time thanks to it, couse i manage to have to read lecture only once to get the concepts down. Then i listen to AO whenever i am stuck in the traffic. Some lectures i almost memorized LOL. It can be good practice too. When i listen to it for the gazilionth time i try to answear their questions or think of what they will say next. The cheezy jokes help you to remeber things too.
But then everyone is different so what works for may not work for you but i am just giving my 2 cents.

 

[dr.kicia]

awsome awsome awsome... I like where you're heads at.

what about the 1001 chem book from EK? would you recommend that...

if you lacking in some aeras then yes, but if you are good overall with concepts then i guess you should be good to go if you just google let's say "kinetics test problems"
I do it all the time for orgo when i run out of problems. Ppl post whole tests online with answears somethimes. It's free stuff so always good for the pre-med.
Overall i think the most usefull out of the 1001 books is the bio, verbal and orgo. I do not like the gen chem that much. They also have erros sometimes so double check because you may get confused when they tell you the wrong answear is right

 

[christian15213]

yeah i belive so.Most important thing is to do lots of practice after you get the concepts down cold.
Also AO is very helpful too.
I have been saving a lot of time thanks to it, couse i manage to have to read lecture only once to get the concepts down. Then i listen to AO whenever i am stuck in the traffic. Some lectures i almost memorized LOL. It can be good practice too. When i listen to it for the gazilionth time i try to answear their questions or think of what they will say next. The cheezy jokes help you to remeber things too.
But then everyone is different so what works for may not work for you but i am just giving my 2 cents.

and for chemistry the 1001's?

 

[dr.kicia]

and for chemistry the 1001's?

look above LOL

 

[marinak]

hey, exam krackers experts
I'm a lil confused about all the books...i just ordered the complete mcat examkracker study package, but i also see that there are individual "1001 q's" for every subject. do these automatically come in the package or are they bought separately? if so, what IS included in the package? and would you recommend buying the other books?
ie. i'm using examkrackers as a supplement to a kaplan course...

 

[christian15213]

Here is something quick I wrote to the Dr. that I shadowed regarding the experience and / homework he gave me to complete in case I wish to ever shadow him again in the future... check in out and feel free to critique.. i put it in this thread because I know that for the lecture # 7 this short little right up will make it even easier to understand that heart at first. The drug information isn't probably important.

The medications uses yesterday were as follows,

Lidocaine 2% is a local anesthetic agent that affects the neuronal membrane of the tissue it interacts with by inhibiting the ionic fluxes that initiate and conduct impulses.

Verapamil (HCL) is a calcium ion influx inhibitor. Meaning, this drug affects the calcium ion that moves across the cell membrane. First, Verapamil dilates the main coronary arteries and prevents spasm of the coronary artery. This increases myocardial oxygen delivery in patients. As well, A clinical application for this especially in surgery is probably due to the inhibition of calcium ions to move about cell membranes causing an elongated refractory period of the AV node and thus slows AV conduction.

Nitroglycerine (vasodilators) relaxes and dilates peripheral arteries and veins. Dilations of veins promotes peripheral pooling of blood and decreases venous return to the heart. This in coordination reduces left ventricular end diastolic pressure and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure also known as preload. As well, dilatation of coronary arteries also occurs.

Protamine can be an anticoagulant when given alone. As well it is strongly basic. However in the presence of heparin which is very acidic a salt is formed and the anticoagulant activity of both drugs is lost. Neutralization of heparin occurs with 5 minutes after intravenous administration. As a side note the initial Heparin that was used in the first phase was due to the ongoing surgery and necessity of having the patient not coagulate and cause blood clots while being operated on. The Protamine is sort of the turning off switch for when the surgery is being finished and patient needs to again have the ability to coagulate and thus begin the healing process.


As well, the human heart has four chambers. The two upper Atriums and two lower ventricles. The left atrium starts the systemic circulation with leads to a strong push of blood from the left ventricle to the aorta. The aorta branches off to three main parts all leading through the workings of the body. The first artery to branch off is the Brachiocephalic artery, this artery turns immediately into the right subclavian artery and the right common carotid artery. Then the next artery is the left common carotid artery and it is followed by the third artery which is the left subclavian artery. Of course all arteries lead to the pushing of blood away from the heart and veins lead to the return of blood to the heart. the major return repository leading back to the heart is the inferior vena cavae and the superior vena cavae. Two things should be noted about the return of blood to the heart. One there is little to no pressure that is involved in veins and two the oxygen level is completely depleted by the fact the blood has just returned from a grand tour of the body exchanging gases along the way. So as the blood returns to the vena cavae it is deposited into the right ventricle and pushed into the pulmonary system, first the right and left pulmonary arteries which have little or no oxygen, so that it can go into the lungs and collect more oxygen thus returning to the heart again via the pulmonary veins entering into the left atrium and then collecting in the left ventricle. This is known as the pulmonary system.

 

[freelove]

Great news that I want to share, and the only person here is my non-premed roommate who wouldn't really care or understand.

I just took my 2nd Kaplan full-length... I got a 27!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I know there are mad SDNers getting a frickin' 28 @ the first pop, but I definitely got a 23 on my Kaplan diagnostic and a 21 on my first full-length. I was kinda... scratch that... extremely disappointed with my first full-length score so I studied hard for about 3 weeks, and saw a 6 point increase.

It was a lil' umm... uneven...
BIO 8
PHY 8
VER 11

but I am still ECSTATIC!!!

Umm... I am on Lecture 3 on Bio, Lecture 4 on Chemistry, Lecture 3 on Physics, and Lecture 1 on Verbal and Orgo.

Bout to do a lil' jiggy dance and then jiggy on to sleep.

 

[mvenus929]

hey, exam krackers experts
I'm a lil confused about all the books...i just ordered the complete mcat examkracker study package, but i also see that there are individual "1001 q's" for every subject. do these automatically come in the package or are they bought separately? if so, what IS included in the package? and would you recommend buying the other books?
ie. i'm using examkrackers as a supplement to a kaplan course...

No, the 1001 q's and the 101 passages books do not come with the complete study package. You will have to buy them separately. The instruction books for each Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Verbal, and O Chem, plus a full length come with the complete study package.

I'm personally going to buy the 1001 for Physics and Chemistry, since those are my weak points, and get the 101 Verbal.

 

[christian15213]

No, the 1001 q's and the 101 passages books do not come with the complete study package. You will have to buy them separately. The instruction books for each Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Verbal, and O Chem, plus a full length come with the complete study package.

I'm personally going to buy the 1001 for Physics and Chemistry, since those are my weak points, and get the 101 Verbal.

but will the 1001 physics and chem really help week points? I just bought the NOVA to coincide with my EK lecture books and I don't know yet if I am going to get the chem and physics 1001.... do you think I should... I am really at debating odds with this.

 

[ParvatiP]

Great news that I want to share, and the only person here is my non-premed roommate who wouldn't really care or understand.

I just took my 2nd Kaplan full-length... I got a 27!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I know there are mad SDNers getting a frickin' 28 @ the first pop, but I definitely got a 23 on my Kaplan diagnostic and a 21 on my first full-length. I was kinda... scratch that... extremely disappointed with my first full-length score so I studied hard for about 3 weeks, and saw a 6 point increase.

It was a lil' umm... uneven...
BIO 8
PHY 8
VER 11

but I am still ECSTATIC!!!

Umm... I am on Lecture 3 on Bio, Lecture 4 on Chemistry, Lecture 3 on Physics, and Lecture 1 on Verbal and Orgo.

Bout to do a lil' jiggy dance and then jiggy on to sleep.

Good job PS and BS are the easiest sections to improve on too. With a little more studying, you should definitely be able to break into the 30s. I got a 24 on my kaplan diagnostic (took it in October) and a 25 on my 2nd full length (without any real studying), but on the 3rd I got a 31. I've been ranging from a 31-33 since then, but I really have to pick it up because I've been a little stagnant for a few weeks. Good luck with your studying!

 

[turquoise_water]

at Kaplan's Physical Science section ....

i got 8 ( PS) on diagnostic and 8 on first full length, it doesnt seem to change i went over the EK physics and Chem books, still seem to forget some stuff, and make stupid mistakes

less than 2 months left for the real deal, kinda scares me

Any Advice??

btw i have got 1001 series, need to start on that, but school work and research is keeping me busy that by the end of the day am too tired to study for MCAT .... i have to wait for weekend to catch up on studies

Also i heard Kaplan's Verbal is easy than real deal, is this true ??

Because i am consistently scoring 8 -9's on it

Thanks

 

[dr.kicia]

ggrrrrr...lecture 2 bio test was brutal.
i scored 7 on it

 

[christian15213]

ggrrrrr...lecture 2 bio test was brutal.
i scored 7 on it

Yea, it is brutal for many a reason... LOL, I think I got like a 5. In part you will learn that EK is famous in the Bio section at least for doing stuff like, You will learn this in chapter 8... or just being totally lacking about information they want you to have a better grip on.

Dr. Kicia... this is my plan... So listen up. I think the message here is clear. Genetics will be important and you better know your stuff front and back. I plan on getting the 1001 book for Bio and doing the genetics section ASAP so that I can improve in that area... As well, I am going to go back and actually do that lecture again and see if I can not improve my score. I will attack genetics like it attacked me... Feel my wu tang style... ahahhahaah... don't worry it was rough for a lot of people...

 

[dr.kicia]

Yea, it is brutal for many a reason... LOL, I think I got like a 5. In part you will learn that EK is famous in the Bio section at least for doing stuff like, You will learn this in chapter 8... or just being totally lacking about information they want you to have a better grip on.

Dr. Kicia... this is my plan... So listen up. I think the message here is clear. Genetics will be important and you better know your stuff front and back. I plan on getting the 1001 book for Bio and doing the genetics section ASAP so that I can improve in that area... As well, I am going to go back and actually do that lecture again and see if I can not improve my score. I will attack genetics like it attacked me... Feel my wu tang style... ahahhahaah... don't worry it was rough for a lot of people...

yeah it is just wierd because i felt like i understood the concepts. For God's sake i got all the in lecture discrete questions right. ALL of them! I was so happy i understood the material and then i go to passage and i miss so many q's!
What the heack???
I totally don't understand it.

 

[christian15213]

Ok, Chapter 8... much harder but I KILLLEDDDD IT>>>. LOL I got another 13 and if I would have thought a little more carefully I would have received a 14 easily.

Two things for questions I missed which I wish I hadn't based on some prior knowledge the book should have included... and one question that was tricky because of the reason i will share shortly

1. Know exactly what the liver, pancreas and kidney's do. This is something I get upset by which the EK books do. they don't thoroughly explain something but they sure do drill you on it. That is my clue is know what the liver, pancreas and kidney's do!!! don't want to spoil the question but IMO EK didn't go over it enough...

Lastly, diving means competitional diving and not scuba diving... errr LOL...

Good luck...

as well, I think that I am getting better at deducing wrong choices and thus the recent increase in my scores...

 

[ParvatiP]

at Kaplan's Physical Science section ....

i got 8 ( PS) on diagnostic and 8 on first full length, it doesnt seem to change i went over the EK physics and Chem books, still seem to forget some stuff, and make stupid mistakes

less than 2 months left for the real deal, kinda scares me

Any Advice??

btw i have got 1001 series, need to start on that, but school work and research is keeping me busy that by the end of the day am too tired to study for MCAT .... i have to wait for weekend to catch up on studies

Also i heard Kaplan's Verbal is easy than real deal, is this true ??

Because i am consistently scoring 8 -9's on it

Thanks

yeah, kaplan's physical sciences section is really hard! plus you have to do a lot of calculations, which take a lot of time (for me at least). i have taken a couple of aamc's already and the PS is a lot easier. however, their curve is a lot steeper, so i've usually been getting the same scaled scores. ie on AAMC i got 13 q's wrong, which translated to an 11. on a kaplan FL, i got 29 q's wrong and also got an 11. i have heard that kaplan verbal can be easier than AAMC. for me, it has been somewhat variable, so it may not be the same for you.
you've only taken 2 FL's though, so i wouldn't worry too much yet. it does take some time to get used to the types of questions asked, how you should approach them, etc. i would also take some aamc practice tests if i were you, just to get a better sense of what the real mcat will be like. good luck!

 

[christian15213]

hey party people... saying hello... and how is it going...

 

[dr.kicia]

i have done absolutely no MCAT with the 3 midterms i had this week there was no way.
But good news is i will get the whole weekend and half of next week so i plan on doing at least 2 bio lectures, a FL and maybe 1 phys and chem lecture.
I am leaving orgo for the last since i have only 3 lectures to go and currently taking the class.
Will update asap after something comes up.
How aboyt you christian?

 

[Beau Geste]

Has anyone else been raped by the Chem lectures? I thought I had a decent knowledge of thermochemistry and solutions until I started the Ek Gen Chem.

Holy cow.... I can already tell what I'm going to need to go over and over and over!

 

[CarolinaGirl]

Very Very little improvement....

So I took cbt 5 and I only got a 20. That is one point higher than 4. So I got a 10 on verbal and then 5's on ps and bs. I did do much better with the bio and chem stuff though. I was killed on the orgo part and the physics part. So I guess I need to begin studying those. There were so many wave forms, etc. I could not believe it. I was expecting more kinetics type stuff, lol.

As for the bio, I really have it narrowed down to just gaining a deeper understanding of genetics and micro. I have the basics but some of the passages and questions make me confused. I will have to do more EK.

Anyway I love how you can see what you get right and wrong depending on difficulty, subject, etc. I get all the easy stuff right, 75% of the med right and only 45% of the difficult.

So I am traveling the next two weeks so I hope I can study

 

[BoxtaDoc]

Also using Ek here...don't get that much time to study but i like the Ek books because they are colorful and make you want to keep reading, but some sections get overly complicated...kinda pisses me off. Sometimes I just skip whole sections. Physics is annoying and some of the gen chem stuff is way mroe complicated than it had to be.

I am also using audio osmosis, and feel that this is less complicated and it works pretty well when you use it in sync with reading the lectures....I just hate some of those corny jokes they use. They don't help at all.

 

[James Moriarty]

Hey guys, I've been using EK to study since the last week of December in all subject areas in addition to using the EK 1001s. I just took my first AAMC practice test (CBT 6) and scored a 13 PS, 11 V, 11 BS for a total of 35.

I've perused both TPR Cracking the MCAT CBT and the Kaplan Premier program, and have concluded EK elicits deep thought about the subject matter which is more beneficial for me than just reading either of the aforementioned books alone. Nevertheless, some times things are more clearly stated in the above books which helps set the stage for EK. Hope this helps someone .

 

[PCATtaker]

Snip

Wow! Great information. Thanks!!

 

[turquoise_water]

am officially HATING physics ....

The passages intimidate me and i get so nervous , freak out about running out of time, and my mind goes blank .... and i dont rem any physics

I guess and score around 7-8 and i have less tham 40 days left to take the test

anyone else who is HATING Physics

 

[CarolinaGirl]

am officially HATING physics ....

The passages intimidate me and i get so nervous , freak out about running out of time, and my mind goes blank .... and i dont rem any physics

I guess and score around 7-8 and i have less tham 40 days left to take the test

anyone else who is HATING Physics

mad:

That pretty much sums up feelings on the subject. The sad part is that I could really careless about the subject. I have no interest and don't really think it helps in treating patients. Unfortunately we need it to get into med school.

I have done really bad on it and just get bored trying to study it. I have also tried guessing. I am just hoping that I get more chem when I take the actually test and that my verbal and Bio will improve.

 

[TerraMedicX]

Well guys...I can officially give the Examkrackers set a big

Got my scores back from the January exam. I took notes on the outline from AAMC for a couple weeks before I got the EK books, but the majority of my studying was working through the EK stuff. I studied for about two months with the EK books and worked through all of them, although a lot faster obviously then they recommend.

Final result, 34R (11/11/12). Not the greatest score to be had, but I'm certainly not complaining!!!

I was so impressed by the EK material I actually sent it to my little sister who's taking the exam in April. Keep up the hard work everyone. The end is in sight and it is SOOO nice!!

Nate.