genetics on mcat

[kidgorgeous]

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HI,
what kinds of genetics problems appear on the MCAT? I know you are not allowed to post the exact problems, but I am more concerned about the general concepts tested. Does it include mendelian genetics, pedigrees? What else?
Thanks.

 

[Medikit]

On the mcat I took there was an inheritence pattern question based on a family tree. There was a ratio question and there was a question relating a genetic disease to an enzyme pathway.

 

[Kazema]

I think I had a pedigree question and a Harvy-Weinberg equation question on mine.

 

[MeowMix]

HI,
what kinds of genetics problems appear on the MCAT? I know you are not allowed to post the exact problems, but I am more concerned about the general concepts tested. Does it include mendelian genetics, pedigrees? What else?
Thanks.

It will depend a lot on which form you get. Mendelian genetics, pedigrees (dominant/recessive, autosomal/sex-linked), Hardy-Weinberg, etc. are the minimal concepts you should master, and you must be able to do them fast and accurately.

Very important to know that the MCAT is peculiar and sometimes uses "normal" to mean "dominant phenotype", i.e. the "normal" individual can be heterozygous or homozygous dominant.

Understanding how to figure out pathways (e.g. yeasts lacking enzymes to metabolize particular amino acids, which amino acid will accumulate) and other first-year genetics concepts (e.g. epistasis) may also be extremely helpful if you get a lot of molecular bio.

You can look at the AAMC topics list and be certain you are familiar with the listed genetics topics.

 

[txguy]

Had a passage on linked genes. I was only familiar with the passage because of my genetics class, took me by surprise!

Hey, it could have been an experimental passage, you never know.

-tx

 

[UCLAstudent]

I had a pedigree. I also had to calculate the probability of a child inheriting a disease given certain facts about the parents (very basic).

 

[vinoyp]

Know Medel, know pedigree analysis, and know all of the evolutionary/population genetics type stuff (Hardy Weinberg, assumptions that go behind it).

Then, of course, there are molecular genetics/biochemistry questions like stuff relating to meoisis, mitosis, DNA replication/transcription/translation.

--Vinoy

 

[abeybaby]

I swear my entire biological sciences portion of the test was genetics. I am sorry that I cannot help you with what to study because I have never taken genetics. I will be studying it though for the august mcat! Good luck!

 

[DemonDeacon]

Am I the only one who had a hard genetics passage? I swear it was about something that was too detailed for my GN 411 course

 

[willthatsall]

what about epistasis? is that out of bounds?

 

[UCLAstudent]

what about epistasis? is that out of bounds?

I think if it were to be included, it would be explained in a passage. It wasn't on my MCAT or in any of my practice material ... but I didn't study genetics very much for the MCAT, so who knows.

 

[Premedtomed]

I think if it were to be included, it would be explained in a passage. It wasn't on my MCAT or in any of my practice material ... but I didn't study genetics very much for the MCAT, so who knows.

Lucky you . I had horrible genetics passages. Like someone already mentioned I might take the damn thing again

 

[OnMyWayThere]

I swear my entire biological sciences portion of the test was genetics. I am sorry that I cannot help you with what to study because I have never taken genetics. I will be studying it though for the august mcat! Good luck!

Mine was all genetics too... that's why I'm not retaking. i'm scared it'll happen again.

 

[Medikit]

I think if it were to be included, it would be explained in a passage.

My feeling as well. The Biology section has more contained in the passage than any other section... that said I completely skipped the second half of the passage for the genetics section (it wasn't necessary for some reason).

 

[UCLAstudent]

Lucky you . I had horrible genetics passages. Like someone already mentioned I might take the damn thing again

Oh, so did I. I would say that I had 5-6 genetics passages (at the expense of o-chem). I was just saying that I didn't have any epistasis ... but I might as well have had it; I saw basically every other genetics topic on my MCAT. It sounds like this was the case for most people.

 

[jokesterMD]

An autopsy professor was giving an introductory lecture to a class of students. Standing over a corpse, he addressed the class. "There are two things you need to make a career in medical forensics. First, you must have no fear." Having said that, he shoved his finger up the corpse's anus and licked it. "Now you must do the same," he told the class.

After a couple of minutes of uneasy silence, the class did as instructed. "Second," the professor continued, "you must have an acute sense of observation. For instance, how many of you noticed that I put my middle finger up this man's anus, but licked my index finger?"

 

[adamj61]

So many of the passages are rooted in genetics, they combine it with immunology, or other specific topics.

 

[stinkycheese]

I swear my entire biological sciences portion of the test was genetics. I am sorry that I cannot help you with what to study because I have never taken genetics. I will be studying it though for the august mcat! Good luck!

It seemed that way on my test, too. It all genetics and neuroscience. The genetics included pedigrees, linkage, mendelian inheritance and hardy-weinberg equilibrium. There was also a trick question about cytoplasm from the mother's egg ad mitochrondrial deficiencies that was posed as a genetics problem, but therein was the trick: it wasn't passed on genetically.

Molecular genetics is also important: transcription, translatin, mitosis, meiosis, crossing-over, etc.

 

[MeowMix]

http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/topics.pdf

The genetics stuff is in the first few pages. There is quite a list!

 

[VFrank]

I had a really hard genetics-based bio section too. The question that really tripped me up was the one that listed, like, eight different traits and multiple first and second generation test crosses. I was like, WHA?!?! Did anyone else have that test? And also the question about how E. coli got DNA from bacteria of another genus in someone's gut? Blech!

 

[javandane]

And also the question about how E. coli got DNA from bacteria of another genus in someone's gut? Blech!

transformation . . . .

 

[VFrank]

transformation . . . .

Yeah, I got it.