Formulas aside, exactly does one need to memorize?

[clothcut]

Concepts aside, of course. I ask because I've heard that people make flashcards of hormones and their effects. Anything really specific I should just have committed to memory, excluding Physics formulas?

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[AktionPOTENTIAL]

Of all the facets of intellegence that one can employ on the MCAT, memory probably provides the lowest yield. Most of what should be committed to memory naturally accompanies profound understanding of the concepts, adequate practice and frequent encounters. I can't tell the last time I memorized anything for the exam.

 

[clothcut]

Of all the facets of intellegence that one can employ on the MCAT, memory probably provides the lowest yield. Most of what should be committed to memory naturally accompanies profound understanding of the concepts, adequate practice and frequent encounters. I can't tell the last time I memorized anything for the exam.

well-said... thanks

 

[Mehd School]

Of all the facets of intellegence that one can employ on the MCAT, memory probably provides the lowest yield. Most of what should be committed to memory naturally accompanies profound understanding of the concepts, adequate practice and frequent encounters. I can't tell the last time I memorized anything for the exam.

While I mostly agree with you, you're out of your mind if you think there are zero things one needs to have memorized for the MCAT without having profound understanding or a background in.

Off of the top of my head:
-Faraday's Constant (There have been a couple AAMC discretes where you need to know this value)
-Speed of Light
-Density of Water (units)
-Conversion from atm to Pascals
-General anatomy of certain organs (eye, kidney, GI, excretory)
-EMF of a hydrogen electrode in electrochemistry

etc.

 

[slz1900]

Name reactions from organic that are listed on the content outline.
Steps in the cell cycle.
Basic properties of different groups in the periodic table.

You should check out the aamc content outlines and have a general idea of everything listed. And I can confirm that not needing to memorize ANYTHING is bunk. There are discretes in physics and bio that definitely ask you for stuff that you could have only learned by committing it to memory.

 

[Shams al Deen]

All that VSEPR theory stuff. There's a conceptual component to it, but also a lot of memorization.

Knowing certain distinctive traits of specific amino acids. Yes, that's fair game, trust me.

 

[BillrothI]

While I mostly agree with you, you're out of your mind if you think there are zero things one needs to have memorized for the MCAT without having profound understanding or a background in.

Off of the top of my head:
-Faraday's Constant (There have been a couple AAMC discretes where you need to know this value)
-Speed of Light
-Density of Water (units)
-Conversion from atm to Pascals
-General anatomy of certain organs (eye, kidney, GI, excretory)
-EMF of a hydrogen electrode in electrochemistry

etc.

Are you certain about that? We were told by Kaplan that you do need to memorize a substantial number of formulas, but that all constants and most conversion factors would be provided.

- Bill R.

 

[AktionPOTENTIAL]

While I mostly agree with you, you're out of your mind if you think there are zero things one needs to have memorized for the MCAT without having profound understanding or a background in.

Off of the top of my head:
-Faraday's Constant (There have been a couple AAMC discretes where you need to know this value)
-Speed of Light
-Density of Water (units)
-Conversion from atm to Pascals
-General anatomy of certain organs (eye, kidney, GI, excretory)
-EMF of a hydrogen electrode in electrochemistry

etc.

Yow Mehd, the things you listed are all things I know, know how to manipulate and know when to use, but it's not because I memorized them, it's because I encounter them frequently and I understand them very well. Understanding trumps memory any day.

Remember, I also said "most of what should be committed to memory....." indicating there are some things which should be committed to memory.

 

[Mehd School]

Are you certain about that? We were told by Kaplan that you do need to memorize a substantial number of formulas, but that all constants and most conversion factors would be provided.

- Bill R.

Yes, I am certain. Aamc material currently exists where those values are outside knowledge required to perform the calculation correctly. I agree with your instructor though, the vast, vast majority of constants will be provided.

 

[BillrothI]

Yes, I am certain. Aamc material currently exists where those values are outside knowledge required to perform the calculation correctly. I agree with your instructor though, the vast, vast majority of constants will be provided.

Thanks very much for the heads-up. I guess I had better get on it!

- Bill R.

 

[Mehd School]

Thanks very much for the heads-up. I guess I had better get on it!

- Bill R.

Like I said earlier, values that must be memorized are few and far between. I have been keeping track of them though, and will probably post a list. It's small.

 

[johnnyscans]

Like I said earlier, values that must be memorized are few and far between. I have been keeping track of them though, and will probably post a list. It's small.

Would love that list. I'm fairly confident with my ability to recall hormones/physiology/anatomy, but specific constants could prove ugly.

 

[pre med 2014]

Of all the facets of intellegence that one can employ on the MCAT, memory probably provides the lowest yield. Most of what should be committed to memory naturally accompanies profound understanding of the concepts, adequate practice and frequent encounters. I can't tell the last time I memorized anything for the exam.

But you are assuming that making flash cards cannot aid in understanding the concepts.

Periodic trends, sn1/sn2, e1/e2 are all conceptual but if you make out the notecards you can commit to memory the concepts behind it easier.

 

[Ohyeah]

I personally found Kaplan's quicksheet helpful for last-minute review in the days (and minutes) before the MCAT. It's pretty comprehensive but I don't remember if it has everything. It came with the course I believe, although I personally didn't stick with the course itself.

Anyway here's a previous thread on the matter:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=825983