The Language

[Synapsis]

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Most of my mistakes tend to come from not necessarily understanding what the question is testing on. Here's an example from TPRH SW passage 11 Q4:

Which of the following is (are) true regarding eukaryotic protein synthesis?

I. The mRNA is spliced before translation.

Now I saw this and said no, it's the pre-mRNA that is spliced before translation and the mRNA is the product of that splicing and a couple other modifications. So the mRNA actually does not undergo further splicing and this answer would be wrong. Their answer just said that yes, the mRNA is spliced before translation. These mistakes bother me the most because I don't know how to fix them (or that they can be fixed). I know the MCAT is a well-written test, but I'm a little worried that I'll run into something like this. Suggestions?

 

[monkeyvokes]

I agree that could a problem, you've learned more depth than the MCAT requires. Maybe practice with more MCAT study materials to get a feel for how to answer questions?

 

[jmbusclas]

What were the other answer choices?

The MCAT (and most all other standardized tests) are built on the concept of the BEST answer. We need the rest of the answer choices to evaluate.

 

[eudovcic]

I think if they only said mRNA then you think about mRNA in general which, in eukaryotes, does get spliced before translation. Now if they specifically stated the primary transcript or mature mRNA then I would think of them seperately and say the primary transcript is spliced before translation while the mature mRNA undergoes no further processing once it leaves the nucleus.