Physics equations

[bentley]

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Hi everyone!

I'm reading throught the physics section of the Kaplan book, and there are just so many formulas there...
I really don't know what to focus on. I mean, on one hand, I feel like I should only concentrate on the most general ones. But as I'm reading, I feel guilty to leave out any formula that I encounter.

Any advice would be really appreciated!
I hope everyone is doing well, as there is less than a month to go.
Good luck to all of us. 😍

--Elena

 

[MaDe in Cali]

Kaplan does a good job summarizing everything you need to know. However, there is definitely a spectrum of things you HAVE TO know and things you can let go in one ear and out the other. Think back to your intro physics class. What was emphasized there? Did you have to memorize the equation for a physics test? If it was important for class and it's in the Kaplan book too, then it's most likely emhasized on the MCAT and you should memorize it.

An alternative to memorizing every little formula is to memorize a few and learn how to substitue and manipulate to get others. For example,

Memorize:
G = -nFE and G = -RTlnK

Extract:
E = (RT/nF)lnK

Or, get good at dimensional analysis. Attach units to EVERYTHING. You can derive the correct formula if you know what units it's supposed to have. For example,

If you know that Power is Joules/sec, then you can guess that one valid equation for Power is Energy/time.

Dimensional analysis also helps a lot in chemistry when you're doing stoich questions.

Another good idea is to just sit down with your teacher during office hours and go through page-by-page, "This is MUST know. This is should know. This is helpful to know. Forget about this at this point. Don't bother with this - it's silly and I'll bet you $100 that it won't appear on the test." 😀

 

[Will Hunting]

check out the MCAT question sub forum. The link is at the top of this MCAT forum. They have threads dedicated to each section. Shrike gave a list of good phyics formulas.