The Official August 7, 2014 MCAT Thread

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107 days out! Who all is signed up to obliterate the MCAT August 7th?

I know it's a bit early but I searched and could not find another August 7th, 2014 MCAT thread! I am hoping that we can keep each other motivated this summer while studying...

I am starting a slightly modified SN2ed schedule May 7th.... slightly modified due to my incredible weakness with physics. I am not taking physics 2 before the MCAT and therefore will be self-teaching it.

Looking forward to hearing from some of y'all!
 
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Btw, just out of curiosity, in the ideal gas law, I know that P and V are directly proportional to T and inversely proportional to each other, but what about n and T?
Are they also INVERSELY proportional to each other?

I was doing a problem related to deviations in the ideal gas law and I have never seen the relationship between n and T so i'm just curious;

For example, if Pressure and Volume are held constant and you increase the Temperature in a system that allows small numbers of gas molecules to escape, I am assuming that they would?
 
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drrao88 said:
Btw, just out of curiosity, in the ideal gas law, I know that P and V are directly proportional to T and inversely proportional to each other, but what about n and T?
Are they also INVERSELY proportional to each other?

I was doing a problem related to deviations in the ideal gas law and I have never seen the relationship between n and T so i'm just curious;

For example, if Pressure and Volume are held constant and you increase the Temperature in a system that allows small numbers of gas molecules to escape, I am assuming that they would?
Click to expand...

Think about the equation, PV=nRT, if T is increased and PV is held constant, what would have to happen to n? I'm not sure if that's universally true, but for the purposes of this example it is.
 
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drrao88 said:
Btw, just out of curiosity, in the ideal gas law, I know that P and V are directly proportional to T and inversely proportional to each other, but what about n and T?
Are they also INVERSELY proportional to each other?

I was doing a problem related to deviations in the ideal gas law and I have never seen the relationship between n and T so i'm just curious;

For example, if Pressure and Volume are held constant and you increase the Temperature in a system that allows small numbers of gas molecules to escape, I am assuming that they would?
Click to expand...

It wouldn't be asked, because changing the pressure, volume, or temperature of a closed system would never change the moles. Think about, like, a container full of oxygen gas. No matter what you change (P, V, T) in that container, the mols stay the same.

Obviously if you allow some molecules to escape, the amount of mols would decrease, because 1 mol = 6.02*10^23 molecules... any molecules you lose after that would be less than 1 mol!

... did that make any sense??? 😱
 
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jenniferrae said:
It wouldn't be asked, because changing the pressure, volume, or temperature of a closed system would never change the moles. Think about, like, a container full of oxygen gas. No matter what you change (P, V, T) in that container, the mols stay the same.

Obviously if you allow some molecules to escape, the amount of mols would decrease, because 1 mol = 6.02*10^23 molecules... any molecules you lose after that would be less than 1 mol!

... did that make any sense??? 😱
Click to expand...


Yup it does! here's a related practice question for anyone interested:

If an anesthetic mixture is inspired at the rate of 1000 mL/min, what mass of halothane (CHClBrCF3, MW = 197.4) is inspired in one minute if the partial pressure of halothane is 7.6 torr and the temperature is 21 oC?

A. 0.08 g
B. 0.80 g
C. 1.80 g
D. 3.36 g

Highlight for answer:A
 
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Wasted Energy said:
Why does it show an exponential curve? It seems to me from the formula that it should be linear.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought also, and I chose answer choice B, but any graph resembling the graph of 1/x (which the Xc relationship to frequency does) has an curved negative slope similar to that of an exponential graph.
 
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Wasted Energy said:
Why does it show an exponential curve? It seems to me from the formula that it should be linear.
Click to expand...

drrao88 said:
That's what I thought also, and I chose answer choice B, but any graph resembling the graph of 1/x (which the Xc relationship to frequency does) has an curved negative slope similar to that of an exponential graph.
Click to expand...

I hope you got my PM. I will explain it again though since Wasted is wondering also. Xc=1/f so this show a more exponential decrease (f=1, Xc=1; f=2, Xc=1/2; f=3, Xc=1/3), Notice how the numbers are getting more rapidly smaller for Xc.

If this were a linear negative relationship, then it would be f = -Xc (then your would see f=1, Xc=-1; f=2, Xc=-2, etc.). The point is for every increase in f there is an equal decrease in Xc for the f=-Xc equation. This is why the answer is not B, but C.
 
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drrao88 said:
Yup it does! here's a related practice question for anyone interested:

If an anesthetic mixture is inspired at the rate of 1000 mL/min, what mass of halothane (CHClBrCF3, MW = 197.4) is inspired in one minute if the partial pressure of halothane is 7.6 torr and the temperature is 21 oC?

A. 0.08 g
B. 0.80 g
C. 1.80 g
D. 3.36 g

Highlight for answer:A
Click to expand...

Yea I had to do some heavy duty approximation on the math with this one. I used 8.314 for R is that right?
 
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Has anyone done the questions in the official guide to the MCAT??

I got a 9 in each section???
 
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drrao88 said:
That's what I thought also, and I chose answer choice B, but any graph resembling the graph of 1/x (which the Xc relationship to frequency does) has an curved negative slope similar to that of an exponential graph.
Click to expand...

Oh good god, I'm a little embarrassed honestly. I'm three math courses past calc III, and these are probably the kinds of questions I miss the most often.:smack:
 
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drrao88 said:
Anxiety is definitely settling in, but what I do to lower it now is 15 pushups between Sections.

..Yea, I'm gonna be THAT guy at the testing center.
Click to expand...

Haha, I'm planning on doing the same. That and lots of yogic breathing. This is starting to feel like a sporting event 😀

I just finished solidifying my Physical Sciences weaknesses. Time to do 10 hours of organic practice!
 
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Wow, I didn't have anxiety until reading though sdn this morning! I think this is my last time reading posts until after the test. Good luck everyone!
 
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goft20 said:
Has anyone done the questions in the official guide to the MCAT??

I got a 9 in each section???
Click to expand...


Haha yea they were very conceptual, especially the Physics questions. holy ****. Gen Chem wasn't too bad though, I'm doing Bio and Orgo today though
 
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Is there a search button on the actual exam in VR section? Also, I have a prior edition(2'nd) of Official guide instead of the 3'rd. I don't think it would have changed that much......right?
 
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sps27 said:
Is there a search button on the actual exam in VR section? Also, I have a prior edition(2'nd) of Official guide instead of the 3'rd. I don't think it would have changed that much......right?
Click to expand...
There is no search function on the actual test. So don't rely on it on a practice test.
 
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I just now reviewed the official guide to the mcat in the mail... should I just do a few questions from each section tomorrow as a final review?
 
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nvas said:
I just now reviewed the official guide to the mcat in the mail... should I just do a few questions from each section tomorrow as a final review?
Click to expand...


I would just do all the questions except Verbal. There are only about 50 total for all of PS, and 41 for just Bio.
 
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sps27 said:
Is there a search button on the actual exam in VR section? Also, I have a prior edition(2'nd) of Official guide instead of the 3'rd. I don't think it would have changed that much......right?
Click to expand...
I have the first edition of the Official guide. I read that the guide has hardly changed at all. You're okay with the second. Just use the questions for good practice.
 
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goft20 said:
Yeah I went three for five on the first one too and the next one lol.
Click to expand...

How did you calculate your scaled score for the sections? I just finished Bio, some of it was tricky like the Obesity/insulin passage but overall not TOO bad. This is definitely way more representative of the BS section of the exam than the AAMC's
 
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drrao88 said:
How did you calculate your scaled score for the sections? I just finished Bio, some of it was tricky like the Obesity/insulin passage but overall not TOO bad. This is definitely way more representative of the BS section of the exam than the AAMC's
Click to expand...

I just calculated the percent and multiplied by 52 and used aamc 10 scale.
 
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Last official score update:

AAMC 3: 11/10/12 33

AAMC 7: 12/10/13 35

AAMC 8: 11/11/11 33

AAMC Verbal SA: 78% 10

AAMC 9: 11/9/11 31

AAMC Physics SA: 71% 8

AAMC 10: 14/10/11 35

AAMC Official Guide BS: 72% 9

AAMC 11: 10/11/13 34

AAMC General Chemistry SA: 88% 11

AAMC Official Guide PS: 71% 8

AAMC Official Guide VR: 77% 9


AAMC Test Average: 33.5

AAMC official guide score: 8/9/9 26

AAMC SA: 10/10/9 29

Expectations for the real deal: 30-33

Good luck everyone. Nothing will be the same after this test. No pressure.
 
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I'm wondering if someone can explain the correct answer to this question for me:

Of postpubescent human male and female reproductive organs, in which, if either do the germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes?

A. In male reproductive organs only
B. In female reproductive organs only
C. In both male and female reproductive organs
D. In neither male nor female reproductive organs.

Highlight for answer: A

If you got it right, please explain your reasoning. This meiosis/gametogenesis crap always gets me tripped up.


I
 
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Only males continue to produce new gametes...females are destined to produce a limited amount of gametes that are determined before birth. Their germ cells stop dividing before birth. The process of oogenesis starts at puberty for girls which produces ovums (again women can only produced a set amount of eggs in their lifetime and stop producing somewhere around 40). However, males can continue to produce sperm through spermatogenesis and have germ cells that divide indefinitely.
 
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drrao88 said:
I'm wondering if someone can explain the correct answer to this question for me:

Of postpubescent human male and female reproductive organs, in which, if either do the germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes?

A. In male reproductive organs only
B. In female reproductive organs only
C. In both male and female reproductive organs
D. In neither male nor female reproductive organs.

Highlight for answer: A

If you got it right, please explain your reasoning. This meiosis/gametogenesis crap always gets me tripped up.


I
Click to expand...

I'll explain if this is actually right 😛
 
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drrao88 said:
I'm wondering if someone can explain the correct answer to this question for me:

Of postpubescent human male and female reproductive organs, in which, if either do the germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes?

A. In male reproductive organs only
B. In female reproductive organs only
C. In both male and female reproductive organs
D. In neither male nor female reproductive organs.

Highlight for answer: A

If you got it right, please explain your reasoning. This meiosis/gametogenesis crap always gets me tripped up.


I
Click to expand...
it's defo A
keyword is regularly
answer involving females are wrong b/c that's why people are like "oh u gotta get married and have kids b/c ur biological clock is ticking b/c theres a set amount of oogonia that females are born w/ and that's it

spermatogonia regularly mitose
thats why really old men can still have children b/c they still have viable sperm
 
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ayocaptain628 said:
it's defo A
keyword is regularly
answer involving females are wrong b/c that's why people are like "oh u gotta get married and have kids b/c ur biological clock is ticking b/c theres a set amount of oogonia that females are born w/ and that's it

spermatogonia regularly mitose
thats why really old men can still have children b/c they still have viable sperm
Click to expand...

I like your though process. Lol
 
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goft20 said:
Has anyone done the questions in the official guide to the MCAT??

I got a 9 in each section???
Click to expand...

I got a 9 on verbal and 8 on physics. Everything else was 10+. The sad thing is is that most of my percentages have not even improved from my SA percentages (which I took 6-8 weeks ago).
 
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drrao88 said:
I'm wondering if someone can explain the correct answer to this question for me:

Of postpubescent human male and female reproductive organs, in which, if either do the germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes?

A. In male reproductive organs only
B. In female reproductive organs only
C. In both male and female reproductive organs
D. In neither male nor female reproductive organs.

Highlight for answer: A

If you got it right, please explain your reasoning. This meiosis/gametogenesis crap always gets me tripped up.


I
Click to expand...
I thought it was a trick question with the answer being neither since the question asks which undergoes MITOSIS...
 
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evooo8 said:
I thought it was a trick question with the answer being neither since the question asks which undergoes MITOSIS...
Click to expand...

No it's not a trick question. To go from spermatogonia -> primary spermatocyte, the gametes go through mitosis, whereas in females, this step is done only during development before birth.
 
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Just finished AAMC 11, what the **** was that Bio. Really surprised by my physics score, I thought I got a 9.

As a recap...

AAMC 3, 9-9-12=30
AAMC 4, 10-9-10=29
AAMC 5, 10-8-12=30
AAMC 7, 11-10-11=32
AAMC 8, 10-7-11=28
AAMC 9, 10-10-13=33
AAMC 10, 10-11-11= 32
AAMC 11, 11-10-10=31

I guess I would be okay with that score, just because its even. It'll be a nerve racking application cycle though. Bio is supposed to be my strongest section, so I don't know whether it was more difficult than usual or what.
 
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mus1cx said:
No it's not a trick question. To go from spermatogonia -> primary spermatocyte, the gametes go through mitosis, whereas in females, this step is done only during development before birth.
Click to expand...
If I remove the word 'regularly' from the question stem, will the ans be 'C' in that case?

Sorry I asked. I think that is correct The ans will be 'c' in that case. I think the primary oocyte does not undergo mitosis, only meiosis. But oogonia or the one in fetus will undergo mitosis to build their numbers. Please correct me if I am wrong.....
 
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clairephillips said:
I can barely believe I'm getting to say this. I just took AAMC 9 and scored a 12 on Physical Sciences. My jaw dropped open and I started leaping up and down. You guys know I've been struggling to hit a 10 and had only done it on AAMC 3 previously, so while that might not sound like a big deal to some of you guys, I'm positively elated. So, with that said, here are my AAMC scores so far, in the order I took them.

4: (7/9/11) 27
5: (8/12/11) 31
6: (9/12/9) 30
7: (9/10/11) 30
8: (8/10/11) 29
3: (10/12/10) 32
9: (12/10/11) 33

Sooo incredibly happy!
Click to expand...
I can add another good one! 10: 11/11/11 - Nothing wrong with that!

4: (7/9/11) 27
5: (8/12/11) 31
6: (9/12/9) 30
7: (9/10/11) 30
8: (8/10/11) 29
3: (10/12/10) 32
9: (12/10/11) 33
10: (11/11/11) 33
 
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sps27 said:
If I remove the word 'regularly' from the question stem, will the ans be 'C' in that case?

Sorry I asked. I think that is correct The ans will be 'c' in that case. I think the primary oocyte does not undergo mitosis, only meiosis. But oogonia or the one in fetus will undergo mitosis to build their numbers. Please correct me if I am wrong.....
Click to expand...

Yes if that's the case, then the answer would be C because oogonia -> primary oocyte only occurs in utero while spermatogonia -> primary spermatocyte occurs regularly.
 
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Midnight Schemes said:
Just finished AAMC 11, what the **** was that Bio. Really surprised by my physics score, I thought I got a 9.

As a recap...

AAMC 3, 9-9-12=30
AAMC 4, 10-9-10=29
AAMC 5, 10-8-12=30
AAMC 7, 11-10-11=32
AAMC 8, 10-7-11=28
AAMC 9, 10-10-13=33
AAMC 10, 10-11-11= 32
AAMC 11, 11-10-10=31

I guess I would be okay with that score, just because its even. It'll be a nerve racking application cycle though. Bio is supposed to be my strongest section, so I don't know whether it was more difficult than usual or what.
Click to expand...

It was definitely the most difficult bio section of the AAMC FLs.
 
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drrao88 said:
I'm wondering if someone can explain the correct answer to this question for me:

Of postpubescent human male and female reproductive organs, in which, if either do the germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes?

A. In male reproductive organs only
B. In female reproductive organs only
C. In both male and female reproductive organs
D. In neither male nor female reproductive organs.

Highlight for answer: A

If you got it right, please explain your reasoning. This meiosis/gametogenesis crap always gets me tripped up.


I
Click to expand...

mus1cx said:
Yes if that's the case, then the answer would be C because oogonia -> primary oocyte only occurs in utero while spermatogonia -> primary spermatocyte occurs regularly.
Click to expand...

The question stem also states "postpubescent," so processes that occur only in utero don't count. It would still be A.
 
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mus1cx said:
You're right, sorry I didn't see the word "postpubescent"
Click to expand...
No worries. I kind of just wanted to make sure that my reasoning wasn't crazy - and I figured someone on this thread would call me out if it was. xD
 
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drrao88 said:
I'm wondering if someone can explain the correct answer to this question for me:

Of postpubescent human male and female reproductive organs, in which, if either do the germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes?

A. In male reproductive organs only
B. In female reproductive organs only
C. In both male and female reproductive organs
D. In neither male nor female reproductive organs.

Highlight for answer: A

If you got it right, please explain your reasoning. This meiosis/gametogenesis crap always gets me tripped up.


I
Click to expand...

EDIT::: see posts below

I'm 110% positive the answer is D.

In males, the process of spermatogonium -> sperm is meiosis NOT mitosis. This is evident by the fact that it starts with 46 chromosomes and becomes 23. If you have EK Bio 8th ed., refer to page 58 (or just google a diagram of spermatogenesis). A gamete can NEVER undergo mitosis to form another gamete. Some of you are referring to spermatogonium -> primary spermatocyte, which is just the replication of the chromosomes (aka interphase to prophase). The primary spermatocyte is just the Prophase I phase of the spermatogonium. Both are still diploid at this stage, but not because they underwent mitosis to get there...

In post-pubescent females, eggs are arrested as primary oocytes, but all of these eggs are STILL diploid. Just because a female is born with all her eggs doesn't mean that they are all gametes. Thus, they undergo a very similar process that occurs in males, but again it is meiosis NOT mitosis. Again, page 58 in EK Bio 8th ed. has a diagram that explains this extremely well!
Thus, the answer is neither (D), cheers!!! :corny:
 
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wanderyonder said:
I'm 110% positive the answer is D.

As many others have correctly pointed out, it clearly doesn't happen in females.

In males, the process of spermatogonium -> sperm is meiosis NOT mitosis. This is evident by the fact that it starts with 46 chromosomes and becomes 23. If you have EK Bio, refer to page 58 (or just google a diagram of spermatogenesis). A gamete can NEVER undergo mitosis to form another gamete. Some of you are referring to spermatogonium -> primary spermatocyte, which is just the replication of the chromosomes (aka interphase to prophase). The primary spermatocyte is just the Prophase I phase of the spermatogonium. Both are still diploid at this stage, but not because they underwent mitosis to get there...

Thus, the answer is neither (D), cheers!!! :corny:
Click to expand...

The answer is A not D.
Mitosis: Spermatogonia -> primary spermatocyte
Meiosis I: Primary spermatocyte -> secondary spermatocyte
Meiosis II: Secondary spermatocyte -> spermatid
Spermatid matures into spermatozoa.

The key part is "germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes"
 
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mus1cx said:
The answer is A not D.
Mitosis: Spermatogonia -> primary spermatocyte
Meiosis I: Primary spermatocyte -> secondary spermatocyte
Meiosis II: Secondary spermatocyte -> spermatid
Spermatid matures into spermatozoa.

The key part is "germ cells regularly undergo mitosis to produce daughter cells that go on to become gametes"
Click to expand...

Oh, my bad I misread it... that's some strange wording, but yes in that case I agree that it is A. However mitosis is spermatogonia forming more spermatogonia. The process of spermatogonia to primary spermatocyte is just interphase to prophase I. See image: http://www.grossmont.edu/mikefurlan...OutlineFigures/Gifs_JPEGS/Spermatogenesis.JPG
 
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