Scope of Biology

[smilesandwaves]

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For those who have taken their DAT or know about the scope of the biology. I read somewhere that the questions are sourced from 2 textbooks. I don't know if this has changed since then, but if this is true, then this should mean that there are no COMPLETELY random questions on the DAT? So my question is: since there are many biology study materials available to us, (Cliffs, Destroyer, Feralis, Youtube), and some of these are geared specifically towards DAT prep, I assume that these materials should also be sourced from the same books as the DAT...Is this true? If it is, then if someone were to theoretically memorize all of these materials then the DAT biology section would not have any subject/topic/question that we have never heard of? (I understand that all of these prep materials are very condensed forms of the material, but I am referencing more terms of the scope or basis of the material that is covered, rather than all the small details)

 

[Ari Rezaei]

The ADA does list two biology textbooks as their reference for the biology section. They do mention that they are not limited to only these books, though.
(http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Education and Careers/Files/dat_reference_texts.pdf?la=en)

So if you do manage to memorize every line in those 2000 pages of a biology textbook, then I suppose yes, you wouldn't find anything you haven't seen before. However, I think there are more efficient ways of studying. Rather than coming at it from an angle of covering everything 100%, which is honestly impractical since you have 5 other sections to prepare for at the same time, spend your time learning the high yield stuff from the materials you mentioned. That will take you 90% of the way there.

IMO, no matter what you do and how much you study, you're going to get some weird questions in biology that are meant to separate the 25's from the 30's. The goal isn't to get 100% of the questions right, it is to get a good score and get into dental school. You want to be able to make an educated guess on the weird questions you get by eliminating things you know are wrong, and then making your best guess. The DAT isn't testing how well you know biology, it's testing how well you can answer biology questions on the DAT, so use test strategies and smart studying methods to your advantage to get a good score, and ultimately into dental school.

 

[DAT Destroyer]

For those who have taken their DAT or know about the scope of the biology. I read somewhere that the questions are sourced from 2 textbooks. I don't know if this has changed since then, but if this is true, then this should mean that there are no COMPLETELY random questions on the DAT? So my question is: since there are many biology study materials available to us, (Cliffs, Destroyer, Feralis, Youtube), and some of these are geared specifically towards DAT prep, I assume that these materials should also be sourced from the same books as the DAT...Is this true? If it is, then if someone were to theoretically memorize all of these materials then the DAT biology section would not have any subject/topic/question that we have never heard of? (I understand that all of these prep materials are very condensed forms of the material, but I am referencing more terms of the scope or basis of the material that is covered, rather than all the small details)

🙂Interesting theory but not sure anyone would be able to accomplish that and have time to study for the other sections of the DAT. The ADA uses those text books listed as reference books for the problems they create, just as Dr. Romano used the same books when creating the DAT Destroyer. It is agreed that biology is vast and often the section students dread the most. If you are able to get through cliffs and ALL the problems in the Biology section of the Destroyer(that means know all the information included in the solutions), and we assume you learned a thing or 2 in your Bio courses, you have a great chance for a high score.

Unfortunately there are so many versions of the DAT and not all are created equal, so the only way to avoid a retake is prepare for everything the ADA states they can cover on the DAT.

Hope this helps and you can always message me if you have any more questions.

Nancy

 

[FeralisExtremum]

For those who have taken their DAT or know about the scope of the biology. I read somewhere that the questions are sourced from 2 textbooks. I don't know if this has changed since then, but if this is true, then this should mean that there are no COMPLETELY random questions on the DAT? So my question is: since there are many biology study materials available to us, (Cliffs, Destroyer, Feralis, Youtube), and some of these are geared specifically towards DAT prep, I assume that these materials should also be sourced from the same books as the DAT...Is this true? If it is, then if someone were to theoretically memorize all of these materials then the DAT biology section would not have any subject/topic/question that we have never heard of? (I understand that all of these prep materials are very condensed forms of the material, but I am referencing more terms of the scope or basis of the material that is covered, rather than all the small details)

I used both textbooks as references when creating my notes. I would not recommend trying to memorize or even read the entirety of both these textbooks - way too much information and overkill for the DAT. As Ari said above, be efficient in your studying and focus on being able to answer the bio questions that could reasonably appear on the DAT, rather than trying to cram every fact from both these books.

 

[smilesandwaves]

Thanks for your input everyone! I definitely wasn't planning on attempting to read these textbooks haha. But it is good to know that there IS a limit to how "far-fetched" the questions on the DAT can get. Thankful for everyone's resources that have condensed all of the important material to make this section doable!

 

[DAT Destroyer]

Thanks for your input everyone! I definitely wasn't planning on attempting to read these textbooks haha. But it is good to know that there IS a limit to how "far-fetched" the questions on the DAT can get. Thankful for everyone's resources that have condensed all of the important material to make this section doable!

It's very doable, but not without some effort..

When are you taking the DAT?