Studying physical sciences from scratch

[Uzr]

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I have some resources for physical sciences like mcat-review.org, a Princeton Review book, and some youtube vids but this isn't really helping me out. An examkrackers type book is great if you just need a review but not if you have to learn or re-learn the material.

It's been 3+ years since I did chemistry/physics and I haven't retained much info from either course. Just wondering what would be the best way to go about it and if there are any good online resources for doing so.

I'm thinking of just enrolling in a review course or something for physical sciences.

 

[Happy_Puppy5000]

For Physical Science definitely try the Berkeley Review books.

 

[slz1900]

I think that even BR would be tough since you are expected to have a decent background. I hadn't taken physics 2 when I started studying so I read through a textbook and did all the practice problems and it helped a ton once I started prepping. If you have time and your foundation is as weak as you say, get a textbook out of the library and work through it.

 

[brood910]

If you are really weak on it, MCAT review books wont help you much.
That's one of the reasons why we tell premeds to take prerequisites before studying for MCAT. TBR does a good job, but if you do not remember ANYTHING, then you better read textbook first..

 

[PreMedSS]

What's up bro. I was terrible at Physics. It's a wonder that I passed with B's. No exaggeration. I'm not one of those SDN members who complains about it when I have some proficiency at it. I had NO proficiency in mcat physics aside from momentum and energy conservation

I'm pretty alright at MCAT physics now though. I understand the equations and make educated guesses and it reflects on my passages. What I did was I read the MCAT TBR PHYSICS and it helped me learn things intuitively. When that was over, I used a more organized book, TPR and their passages to help me further.

All the formulas in TPR scared me, because I had no physics intuition, but once I had an intuition, I wasn't intimidated by it anymore and stuck it out to understand it.

So TBR then TPR chapter for chapter is my advice. It may sound stupid, but it worked for me so far

 

[AktionPOTENTIAL]

TBR! Hands down. If you don't believe us, they provide samples of their chapters and passages. See for yourself.

 

[Uzr]

Thanks for the advice, think I'll go with TBR for Physics. I have a Princeton Review book too for physics and found an ExamKrackers one online which doesn't have enough explanations in it. The Princeton Review one seems decent though the version I have is from 2005.

TBR is really detailed and I've read that it's more than you need but for physics it's probably a good idea. For Bio I think I'll stick with ExamKrackers/Princeton. For Organic Chemistry....I looked through the TBR Organic book but it was just too detailed and more than I needed so I think I'll just approach that by doing problems.

 

[MD Odyssey]

It's been 3+ years since I did chemistry/physics and I haven't retained much info from either course. Just wondering what would be the best way to go about it and if there are any good online resources for doing so.

Apologies up front if I sound a little brusk. I'm mostly finished with a nice bottle of minervois.

So, let me get this straight. You don't really know anything about physics or chemistry and you want to start preparing for the MCAT. Since your baseline is more or less zero in those subjects, a review book is not going to help you. Review books are for reviewing, not learning. It sounds like you need to learn the material again since, as you put it, you're starting from scratch. The same thing is true for a review course - review courses aren't going to take you from scratch and bring you up to speed. If you don't know the material, review courses are a waste of money and time.

From what it sounds like, you basically need to teach those two subjects to yourself. That sort of thing is doable, but it takes a lot of discipline. My advice would be to pick up a copy of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-College-Physics-11th/dp/0071754873

http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-College-Chemistry-Rosenberg/dp/0070537097

For self-teaching basic sciences, there is no substitute for Schaum's Outlines. I have no idea why more people on this forum are unaware of them. Scores of worked problems, examples, and solutions. Buy the books and work every problem in them and in six months you'll be where you need to be. Once you've done that, you're probably in a position to start reviewing for the MCAT.

Something else I should point out. If you don't remember any basic chemistry or physics, I'm curious as to why you seem to think you're prepared for organic. The BR organic chemistry books are pretty realistic for what you'll see on the MCAT. The sections on nitrogenous compounds and some of the NMR is probably a little bit more extreme than the real exam, but beyond that, it's pretty accurate. It sounds to me like you really need to go back and learn the material again.

Now, you probably won't listen to me. You'll most likely decide to use review materials, try to figure it out, and ultimately take the MCAT unprepared, wind up with a mediocre score, and be stuck trying to figure out what the hell to do with your life. There are some hard yards ahead of you and if you're willing to do the work, you can do well. But the easy road is paved with daggers.

 

[projectplat]

Apologies up front if I sound a little brusk. I'm mostly finished with a nice bottle of minervois.

So, let me get this straight. You don't really know anything about physics or chemistry and you want to start preparing for the MCAT. Since your baseline is more or less zero in those subjects, a review book is not going to help you. Review books are for reviewing, not learning. It sounds like you need to learn the material again since, as you put it, you're starting from scratch. The same thing is true for a review course - review courses aren't going to take you from scratch and bring you up to speed. If you don't know the material, review courses are a waste of money and time.

From what it sounds like, you basically need to teach those two subjects to yourself. That sort of thing is doable, but it takes a lot of discipline. My advice would be to pick up a copy of these:

Amazon product ASIN 0071754873
Amazon product ASIN 0070537097
For self-teaching basic sciences, there is no substitute for Schaum's Outlines. I have no idea why more people on this forum are unaware of them. Scores of worked problems, examples, and solutions. Buy the books and work every problem in them and in six months you'll be where you need to be. Once you've done that, you're probably in a position to start reviewing for the MCAT.

Something else I should point out. If you don't remember any basic chemistry or physics, I'm curious as to why you seem to think you're prepared for organic. The BR organic chemistry books are pretty realistic for what you'll see on the MCAT. The sections on nitrogenous compounds and some of the NMR is probably a little bit more extreme than the real exam, but beyond that, it's pretty accurate. It sounds to me like you really need to go back and learn the material again.

Now, you probably won't listen to me. You'll most likely decide to use review materials, try to figure it out, and ultimately take the MCAT unprepared, wind up with a mediocre score, and be stuck trying to figure out what the hell to do with your life. There are some hard yards ahead of you and if you're willing to do the work, you can do well. But the easy road is paved with daggers.

great post - i'm in a similar situation