Do EK Physics and Chemistry help?

[Bdubz12]

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I'm working thru these books and the questions are just soo tricky. I really don't think this material is really helpful for the actual MCAT but I could be wrong. Having only questions and no passages really makes me think that EK got lazy w/ these two sections and just pumped out questions. Do you guys find these two books to be helpful?

 

[engineeredout]

Search, this has been posted many times.

I found them helpful.

 

[cornpops21]

I'm working thru these books and the questions are just soo tricky. I really don't think this material is really helpful for the actual MCAT but I could be wrong. Having only questions and no passages really makes me think that EK got lazy w/ these two sections and just pumped out questions. Do you guys find these two books to be helpful?

If you're referring to the 1001 books for physics and gen-chem, then I agree. I did not find them helpful, which is why I bought Berkeley Review books for the PS section.

 

[Celestine]

If you're talking about the regular EK review books, then yeah, you're right, those questions within the chapters are tricky. But I don't think that's a bad thing. Perhaps they're more difficult than the actual exam, and maybe some are even based on slightly esoteric knowledge that isn't completely necessary. But if you've done harder questions, having easier questions on the actual exam will probably ease your nerves alot during the test.

Whenever I used to take SAT II exams, I always used Barron's, which were, and are still considered the books to use if you really want to be overprepared for the test. The questions were trickier, some concepts slightly more detailed than needed. But on the three main SAT IIs I took, I got 800s, because as soon as I opened the test, I was immediately calm, with questions I could tackle easily, thanks to my overpreparation.

Sorry, that was super long, but basically, I think those questions are worthwhile, and at the very least, the 30-minute exams are definitely worth your time. 🙂

 

[requeim]

the EK books are designed for people who are comfortable with the material. this is not the case for many people as you may take your pre-reqs earlier in your college career.

for the EK phys and EK chem, i used them as secondary resources. for phys i used NOVA and for chem, i used TPR.

 

[Celestine]

That's a valid point. I just finished taking ochem, physics, and physiology this past year, and took gen chem and biology as AP courses in senior year, so everything is relatively fresh for me. But you're probably right, they aren't the best choice if you're trying to relearn things as well as review.