Khan Academy Fourier Transform

[betterfuture]

This is my first attempt at doing Khan Academy Passages so just wanted to know if anyone who has done them encountered the Fourier Passage and clue me in on what the flipping heck this passage was talking about? I mean how did you tackle the passage/questions.

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[aldol16]

I'm not sure what passage that is. Could you post a picture? Is it FT-IR?

 

[betterfuture]

There were figures too but it took up too much on Paint so just left it out

 

[aldol16]

Oh, yeah, I don't think you'll encounter that sort of math on the MCAT. The MCAT is more interested in larger concepts and understanding. KA C/P passages are notoriously difficult and I didn't use them for C/P. Their B/BC and P/S tend to be pretty good though and I did all of them.

That said, if you're interested in what FT is, it's simply mathematics that transforms signals from the time domain into the frequency domain. It's what makes FT-IR spectroscopy possible.

 

[betterfuture]

As in IR-Spec in Organic Chem? Okay so a convoluted passage about Electrical Conductivity of the Heart, EKG, Period, Waves, IR-Spec, Current, Voltage is all jumbled into this mess. So something like this WON'T be on the MCAT?

 

[aldol16]

Most likely not involving the math. The concepts, yeah. Like Ohm's law. But not Fourier Transform level math. And yeah, FT is used to resolve IR spectra - you can decompose a signal in the time domain into its frequencies.

 

[betterfuture]

If I may ask, what did you use to practice for the Chem/Phys section? Besides the AAMC material. I want to use those for when I get closer to writing the actual exam.

 

[aldol16]

Besides AAMC? Just Kaplan FLs 1-3. I also have a strong background in chemistry so there's that...

 

[NextStepTutor_2]

As in IR-Spec in Organic Chem? Okay so a convoluted passage about Electrical Conductivity of the Heart, EKG, Period, Waves, IR-Spec, Current, Voltage is all jumbled into this mess. So something like this WON'T be on the MCAT?

This is definitely NOT something you would see on the MCAT. The KA passages often delve into science well beyond the scope of the MCAT. Most of these passages were written by scientists or specialists, not MCAT experts. Anything to do with Fourier calculus and that kind of math (something I saw a lot as an engineer undergrad and am glad I never have to see again) are well outside the realm of the exam. Someone probably delved too deep into the science underlying medical science technology (this math applies to MRI, circuits as well) and just didn't remember to keep it framed within the confines of the MCAT.

Long story short, ignore it.

Hope this helps, good luck!