I hate it when the questions are ambiguous

[BABSstudent]

I was doing a practice MCAT from AAMC 7 and the question said, Embryonic mouse cells divide every 10 hrs.How many cells would be produced from an egg after three days?

Well, is it a fertilized egg or not? Just saying egg caused me to assume it is unfertilized so I said fewer than 50. I knew that if it was fertilized then it would produce more, but an unfertilized egg won't divide. If the question would have said how many cells would be produced from a zygote after three days, or a fertilized egg, or something, I would have got it right.



I really hope I don't get any questions like that on the real MCAT.

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[LaurenMarie]

Careful giving out aamc spoilers. Some of us haven't taken them yet

 

[BABSstudent]

I specifically included the phrase "I was doing a practice MCAT from AAMC 7" as the first part to give warning to those who have not taken it. If you chose to continue reading after that point and still want to complain, then go ahead. I just won't be listening. I also did not provide the answer choices.

 

[LaurenMarie]

I specifically included the phrase "I was doing a practice MCAT from AAMC 7" as the first part to give warning to those who have not taken it. If you chose to continue reading after that point and still want to complain, then go ahead. I just won't be listening. I also did not provide the answer choices.

Lol I wasn't complaining. I stopped reading, but other people might not assume you were giving out specific details. You could have been following with "I was doing a practice mcat and I felt that a majority of the questions were blah blah. Is this aamc reflective of the real exam?"

No need to get so defensive. I wasn't attacking you.

 

[BABSstudent]

You could have been following with "I was doing a practice mcat and I felt that a majority of the questions were blah blah. Is this aamc reflective of the real exam?"

I was doing a practice MCAT from AAMC 7 and the question said...

I think it is obvious that I am going to talk about a specific question.
And I am not defensive. I am mad that one question lowered a possible 13 to a 12. I don't want the same thing to happen on the real test.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

I was doing a practice MCAT from AAMC 7 and the question said, Embryonic mouse cells divide every 10 hrs.How many cells would be produced from an egg after three days?

Well, is it a fertilized egg or not? Just saying egg caused me to assume it is unfertilized so I said fewer than 50. I knew that if it was fertilized then it would produce more, but an unfertilized egg won't divide. If the question would have said how many cells would be produced from a zygote after three days, or a fertilized egg, or something, I would have got it right.



I really hope I don't get any questions like that on the real MCAT.

Was the answer 128 cells? After three day, 7 cell divisions must have occurred. 2^7 = 128. Perhaps you over analyzed the question, which led you to assume that no cell division took place.

 

[MDschoolorbust]

I was doing a practice MCAT from AAMC 7 and the question said, Embryonic mouse cells divide every 10 hrs.How many cells would be produced from an egg after three days?

Well, is it a fertilized egg or not? Just saying egg caused me to assume it is unfertilized so I said fewer than 50. I knew that if it was fertilized then it would produce more, but an unfertilized egg won't divide. If the question would have said how many cells would be produced from a zygote after three days, or a fertilized egg, or something, I would have got it right.



I really hope I don't get any questions like that on the real MCAT.

Definitely thought too hard. I scratched it out onto a piece of paper and found how many divisions occurred and then just did it. Sometimes the MCAT isn't trying to trick you.

 

[BABSstudent]

Yes, I came out with 128 cells. That would be 7 divisions.
I should just not change my answers on the actual test. I originally put it and then backtracked when I saw the egg part. I was like, a sperm wouldn't divide so why would an egg. The most an egg would do is 2 because it would produce a polar body.

 

[alexrgross]

I was doing a practice MCAT from AAMC 7 and the question said, Embryonic mouse cells divide every 10 hrs.How many cells would be produced from an egg after three days?

Well, is it a fertilized egg or not? Just saying egg caused me to assume it is unfertilized so I said fewer than 50. I knew that if it was fertilized then it would produce more, but an unfertilized egg won't divide. If the question would have said how many cells would be produced from a zygote after three days, or a fertilized egg, or something, I would have got it right.



I really hope I don't get any questions like that on the real MCAT.

This is one of those questions where you miss it, because to some degree, you will miss like this on the real MCAT. Being tricked a few times, you start to develop a sense as to where the MCAT tries to place this kind of question (ie acid base, cell division, electrochem, solutions, genetics). You are more aware now that you are upset about missing it!

 

[catzzz88]

you should love those ambiguous questions because the real test was FILLED with them. Like... more than any practice test EVER. It drove me CRAZY during the test.

I also have trouble with ambiguity and the real MCAT was a nightmare on this front.

good luck!
C

 

[Mehd School]

I love these types of questions, and to me it was obvious what the questions was asking. They're not going to waste your time too often on trick cognitive questions.

Also, freakin' spoiler alert in the TITLE, man.

 

[kasho11]

Spermatagonia and oogonia are considered the embryonic stem cells and undergo mitosis as well as meiosis.


But I agree, I felt there were several questions on my actual mcat that were extremely ambiguous and left me unsure of more questions than usual. Which is why I am so unsure of my exam, my scores could be anywhere within a 10 pt range.