The Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems Section

To be considered by Canadian and American medical schools, you need to achieve a competitive MCAT score in each of its four sections. Study smart. Begin by understanding the test itself, and what you’ll be asked in each section.

The MCAT has four major section. Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems is one of the three science-based sections.

Topics

The topics covered in this section include general chemistry, physics, organic chemistry, biology and biochemistry.

Questions and question styles

This section has 59 questions in total. There will be 10 passages followed by 4-6 questions each (for a total of 44 passage based questions), and 15 stand-alone questions.

Time

You’ll have 95 minutes to complete this section.

Time per question

You have, on average, 96.6 seconds per question.

What skills it tests for

This section tests the following:

• Scientific reasoning
• Critical thinking
• Science knowledge
• Data interpretation
• Calculations

What this section tests, specifically

This section asks you to combine your knowledge of concepts in the chemical and physical sciences with your scientific inquiry, reasoning, and research and statistical skills to solve problems. Additionally, the context in which these topics are tested is important – this section will test your ability to apply an understanding of these general principles to the functions of the human body and other living systems. In short, the passages and questions will be skewed more toward biological contexts and applications. Understanding the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of tissues, organs, and organ systems is obviously important to the study of medicine.

How to prepare

You need to know your science, so it’s important to review the material. This should only be your starting points, however. Make sure that you practice reading, thinking, and answering MCAT-style questions, and quickly.

Start your review very early; this isn’t a test of recall, so you want the information to have settled in your long-term memory.

The best way to prepare for this section is by reviewing test-taking strategies, and by practicing answering questions of the same type. To do this well, consult the experts. Prep101 can help. Go to Prep101.com to find out more about intensive preparation sessions.