Main Sequence     Overview Cycle     Interdisciplinary Discussions     Verbal Reasoning     Essay

Module 1 - Fundamental Topics of Mechanics

Before we concern ourselves with specific questions of MCAT preparation, perhaps we should explore the general question of how one person's experience and knowledge can help another person. Our opinion is that instructions and advice will be helpful to you if they can guide you to your own discoveries. Please try to listen to instructions and use them without falling into traps of self-doubt or complacency. We tried to make the course to promote your natural learning processes and not interfere with them.

This is a revolutionary review course in undergraduate science that will make you capable of amazing feats of scientific reasoning. So let's get started!

The Tasks and Goals

Organizational sequencing and goal orientation are straight-forward in this course. Each module you will find a multitude of tasks and learning goals in a number of categories. We think that each module's work should take about twenty hours for premedical students to complete. You don't have to do all the tasks, but you must have comfortably achieved the learning goals before moving on.

Module 1 - Overview

Main Sequence - Kinematics, Newton's Laws, Work Energy & Power, and Momentum & Impulse. These are the foundation subjects of mechanics.

Epicycle - Take a tour of Physics as a whole. Review the structure of Physics and the main ideas throughout the discipline.

Interdisciplinary Discussions - Integrate Kinematics, Dynamics, and Work & Energy concepts. Use Mechanics to contextualize a preview of Gravitation and Electrostatics.

Essay and Verbal Reasoning - Take a Verbal Reasoning practice section. Analyze your strengths and weaknesses in for the different types of verbal reasoning questions. Write your first essay.

Module 1 - Main Sequence        { 12 - 15 hours }

During the first few modules of the course the main sequence focus is on classical mechanics. Mechanics provides us the tools to describe the motion and interactions of material bodies. Classical mechanics is an appropriate place to begin since the understanding of mechanical systems will be a foundation for our understanding of much which will come later. During this first module, we will cover the four most fundamental sections of mechanics:

Kinematics on the MCAT

For the MCAT, Kinematics is an important topic, both in itself and as a primary underpinning of Physics. Kinematics is one of the main areas from which the MCAT writers draw 'plug and chug' problems for the exam. Although there are only a few quantitative problems on a typical MCAT, one or two of them are frequently kinematics problems. In addition to practicing quantitative problems, you should encourage yourself in kinematics to imagine the model mechanical system, simple bodies moving in free space. Practice visualizing motion while conceptualizing displacement, velocity, and acceleration. Concentrate on building a mental space for mechanics as an imaginative skill, a capability that will help you throughout physics.

Learning Goals for Kinematics

Suggested Assignments to Achieve your Kinematics Goals

Newton's Laws on the MCAT

In teaching my course over the years, I have often been asked by students the relative importance of different topics for the MCAT. Although an opinion in terms of the explicit distribution of questions can be fairly straightforward, my answers would tend to go into somewhat greater depth because there is often more to the answer than simply 'what will be on the test'. With regard to the topics of fundamental mechanics, while the basic concepts and classic model problems do directly appear with good frequency on the MCAT, the concepts appear, even more so, indirectly as underpinnings of almost everything else in science.

With regard to Newton's Laws, for the MCAT itself, there is the fundamental core you need to come to know intuitively. You need to habitually associate net force with acceleration, for example, or be able to unpack the inclined plane or distinguish kinetic and static friction. But don't leave it at that. Take time and step back. In learning mechanics you are building a foundation for understanding all science.

Learning Goals for Newton's Laws

Suggested Assignments

Work, Energy & Power on the MCAT

Beyond straightforward Mechanics problems, energy concepts are tested in various contexts throughout the physical sciences section of the test. The MCAT writers are fond of following unusual phenomena or difficult seeming contexts in a passage with at least one or two fairly basic questions about energy. The concepts of Work, Power & Energy, of course, underpin the entire body of the physical and biological sciences. As this MCAT course progresses, whether the topic is electric circuits or membrane transport, you should continuously work on building the habit of always asking 'What's going on with energy?'

Learning Goals for Work, Energy & Power

Suggested Assignments

Momentum & Impulse on the MCAT

Momentum & Impulse is a favorite on the exam for straightforward, traditional physics problems. Furthermore, the Law of Conservation of Momentum is frequently used as a basis for questions of a conceptual nature (Conservation principles naturally lend themselves to conceptually oriented multiple choice questions). The majority of MCATs contain a passage in which students must demonstrate the ability to fluently apply concepts from Dynamics and Work & Energy. Dynamics includes the concepts of both Newton's Laws and Momentum & Impulse. If you get stuck on a problem you have been conceptualizing in terms of force acting through a distance (work), it may help to step back and think in terms of force acting through a time (impulse). In other words, it is helpful to practice framing mechanical problems in terms of both Dynamics and Work & Energy as a matter of habit.

Learning Goals for Momentum & Impulse

Suggested Assignments

Module 1 - Overview Cycles        { 3 - 5 hours }

An Overview Cycle is a complete cycle through a scientific discipline at a fast pace. Reading the Table of Contents of your textbook is an Overview Cycle. Contemplating the Wisebridge Concept Map or skimming your Main Sequence Book are both Overview Cycles. We will even call it an Overview Cycle when we say, 'Physics is Mechanics, Waves, Thermodynamics, Electricity & Magnetism, Light & Optics, and Modern Physics'. Overview Cycles encourage integration, interrelationship and recall and keep you from getting lost in the weeds. Because you have a mental map of the sciences as a whole, so you can always orient yourself.

In the beginning of the course, Overview Cycles are especially important for the following reasons:

Importance of Overview Cycles in the Beginning of the Course

• The Overview Cycles of the first month prepare you for effective Main Sequence work throughout the course. After having refreshed with Overview Cycles, when you reach a subject in the Main Sequence, you already have familiarity. You are prepared to achieve genuine understanding. Because your mind will already have opened the gate, you will ready to enter the city.
  
  
• Your Overview Cycle work lays essential groundwork for the Interdisciplinary Discussions. In the Interdisciplinary Discussions, we will be shining the light of the different topics on each other. Our field of reference will include the entire basic physical and biological sciences. Our Overview Cycle work is crucial this first month to success with the Interdisciplinary Discussions.
  
  
• Although our careful Main Sequence treatment of the subject matter will require the entire twenty modules of the learning program, we will cover the material many times over the period of the course with faster Overview Cycles. Thus we will make it possible to begin to hold ourselves responsible for the knowledge and to schedule meaningful practice tests by the end of the second month of the course.
  
  
• The regular practice of stepping back to tend to the overall structure of your knowledge base, called Overview Cycles in this course, will not only improve your capability for self-assessment but also improve your confidence. Imagine the scientific knowledge as a wilderness you are exploring. The sooner you have achieved a good, structured, overall familiarity, the sooner the wilderness will stop stretching over the horizon. You will be able to walk around the areas that need study. You will see what you need to know. At some point in the first month or two of this program, you will make this transition, which will be experienced as a sense of relief.
  
  

The greatest part of your Overview Cycle work this module is to get through the Physics conceptual discussions in your Overview Cycle Book. When I say 'get through them', that is what I mean. Read a section at a comfortable pace. Assess its organization. Glance over it again. Think about the where the topic fits in the overall structure of Physics. Finally, go through a mental checklist of the three or four main concepts. Then move on. By the end of this course, you will know your Overview Cycle book backwards and forwards, so don't put a ton of pressure on yourself in this Overview Cycle and get bogged down. Get through it.

Overview Cycle - Learning Goals

Suggested Assignments

MECHANICS Kinematics Newton's Laws Work, Energy, and Power Momentum and Impulse Rotation Harmonic Motion Elastic Properties of Solids Fluid Mechanics WAVES Waves GRAVITATION Gravitation THERMODYNAMICS Temperature and Heat Flow The Ideal Gas and Kinetic Theory The First Law of Thermodynamics The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Heat Engines ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM Electricity DC Current Magnetism Electomagnetic Induction AC Current LIGHT & OPTICS The Properties of Light Geometric Optics Wave Optics MODERN PHYSICS & NUCLEAR PHYSICS Modern Physics Nuclear Physics

Module 1 - Interdisciplinary Discussions        { 1 - 3 hours }

The Purposes of the Exploration Environment

The Interdisciplinary Discussions represent the deepest navigational level in the Exploration Environment. Almost any time you see a scientific topic on this site, such as Newton's Laws or The Chemical Bond, it is a link to the Exploration Environment. To quickly review, the Exploration Environment serves a set of purposes in this learning program:

• To present the content level external resource links, over 2500 links to expert teaching on the web selected for MCAT relevance. Studying the external resources is a choice you have each module for part of your Main Sequence work.
  
  
• To organize the knowledge.
  
  
• To present the The Wisebridge Concept Map, which aids memory, understanding, and navigation.
  Please note that it will be another year before we have all the individual concept maps finished that correspond to the Interdisciplinary Discussions.
  
  
• To help you navigate the interdisciplinary discussions corresponding to each module.

The Interdisciplinary Discussions

The Interdisciplinary Discussions are comprised of approximately 1000 short passages that are guides to the connections between scientific topics. Each discussion arises from some point in the Main Sequence and relates the topic at hand to other ideas in science. I wrote these discussions to create a way to communicate online what my students learned in my small-group course. As you progress through the Main Sequence each module, you will be spending an an hour or two reading the Interdisciplinary Discussions which arise from the topics of the week. By the second or third module, the will start to take off and you will see how they function in the course, how they develop and coalesce themes over weeks and months in the learning program. You will find Interdisciplinary Discussions with the following purposes:

• Developing a sustained discussion of the interconnections of science.
  
  
• To preview important concepts coming up in the course, and review important concepts already covered.
  
  
• To point out the strategies of the MCAT writers.
  
  
• To give you conceptual challenges that prepare you for difficult passages on the exam.
  
  
• To coach you through transitions of the learning program.
  
  

Interdisciplinary Discussion - Learning Goals

Suggested Assignments

Module 1 - Verbal Reasoning        { 2 - 3 hours }

The Limits of Secret Systems for Verbal Reasoning

Many students seem to think of verbal reasoning passages as a code generated by a puzzle master, and the test-prep companies perpetuate this idea. 'Proven systems' are an easy sell. Although we will definitely be taking a thorough, systematic approach to the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT over the course of the learning program, I hope you will place your greatest faith in strengthening your reading skill. There is one 'secret' that is easily worth two points on the exam: Each verbal reasoning passage was written by an actualy person. They were writing for an audience. If you can actually suppose for a moment that YOU are the intended audience, that the passage was written for you, it will be natural for you to give it your full attention without having to struggle. You would not believe how much of an advantage this will give you, to read confidently, carefully, and with interest. You will listen carefully, not just because the questions will be coming, but because that is your bond with the writer. As the intended audience, you are interested in what they are saying because your opinion is important. Find the voice in the writing and you will comprehend the main idea of the passage and the author's disposition toward their subject matter much more intuitively.

The Two-Fold Approach to Verbal Reasoning

The essential truth of the previous section does not abnegate the wisdom of a systematic approach to test-taking strategy for Verbal Reasoning. It is extremely helpful to study the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT as a form in its own right with its own rules. We should be concerned with these rules because, in actuality, there is another writer that matters beyond the author of the passage. This is the author of the questions, the MCAT writer.

In everyday life, when you read a novel or an editorial in the newspaper, your mind works on many levels to interpret the intentions of the author of what you are reading, the expressive dimensions of the writing, and the face value of the meaning. In the context of text-taking, we also want to explore the intentions of the MCAT writer. Unlike the author of passage, who, essentially, is trying to communicate, the author of the questions has a different agenda, to measure your abilities. Our program for preparing for the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT will have two primary kinds of activity, the first set of activities are designed to improve your reading skill and the second are designed to improve your test-taking skill.

Improve your Reading

Students who have always done extremely well in college can be surprised when they find out how difficult it is to earn a truly superior score on the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT. This is especially true for students who have devoted the majority of their undergraduate career to the study of science. It is difficult to climb to the superior ranges in MCAT Verbal Reasoning because you are competing against premedical students who actually have had a serious reading life these past few years. The humanities majors and political junkies in the population are going to be better readers, because they have been practicing. Spend four years tackling Joyce or Proust and the reading comprehension challenges of the MCAT will frankly seem trivial. Reading is exercise that makes you a stronger reader. Just as your muscles become stronger if you regularly work out with weights, your brain will increase its power for reading if you carry out a disciplined program over time. To help you become a better reader, an important part of this Learning Program will be to spend time at least every other module reading difficult and interesting works. Don't neglect your reading assignments! It will be hard to stick with this part of the program. There will always be hormones to learn or organic mechanisms to study, but trust me, it will pay off for you. You will become a stronger reader.

Study the Test

By the time you walk into the MCAT, you should understand Verbal Reasoning passages and the questions which accompany them as literary forms in their own right. We will approach the art of question writing as if we ourselves were apprentices of the test-writing guild. What are the different types of questions and how is the selection of answer choices created. How is the 'best' answer created? How about the 'second best' answer? Let us discuss the types of questions on the Verbal Reasoning section of the MCAT.

The Five Kinds of Verbal Reasoning Questions

Although there are exceptions, almost all Verbal Reasoning questions fall into one of five categories:

Main Idea
These are general questions dealing with the cardinal issues of the passage. Main idea questions are designed to see if you grasped the central theme of the passage as a whole. Typical question prompts of main idea questions are the following:

The passage as a whole suggests that the author believes that . . .

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

The author's main purpose of the passage is to . . .

Author's Tone
This type of general question asks whether you understood the author's point of view on the subject of the passage. These questions are often the most subtle. Is the author being critical or supportive. Is their tone objectively neutral or biased and partisan? The differences among the answer choices in tone questions can sometimes be hard to tease out. Prompts for tone questions will be similar to the following:

The author's attitude toward his subject is one of . . .

Which of the following characterizes the author's likely intended audience?

The tone of the passage might best be described as . . .

Thematic Extension
These questions are in the same family with the Main Idea or Tone questions, which deal with the passage as a whole, but Thematic Extension questions ask you to take the author's argument or point of view and draw a conclusion about another subject or derive a broader proposition. These questions have prompts that look like the following:

How would the author of the passage respond to . . .

Which of following would the author probably recommend in a situation where . . .

It can be inferred from the passage that . . .

Specific Inference
These questions will identify a specific section of the passage and ask for an interpretation that goes a little deeper than the explicit reference, asking you to read 'between the lines'. These questions are often about judging the shade of meaning the author puts on a word within a specific context. Typical question prompts often including phrasing such as:

The author uses the term ____ in line ## to mean . . .

Lines ## - ## imply that the author . . .

The author brings up the example of ____ in order to . . .

Facts & Information
On one level these questions are a test for your retention of specific facts or concepts stated in the passage. However, on another level, they are a test of how well you synthesized and retained the organization and flow of the passage. This is because often the process of answering this kind of question involves returning to the passage to find the information. Typical prompts include phrasing such as:

The author states that . . .

According to the passage, who was the first person to ever . . .

Which of the following does the author claim . . .

The understanding of these five types will be a touchstone for our approach to the test. We will return to them again and again. Each type of question has its own 'tricks' and tendencies, and as the modules progress you will come to recognize them by second nature. By systematically approaching the analysis of your performance in terms of these five types, you will be able to analyze your strengths and fix your weaknesses more easily. This gives us the basis to improve your Verbal Reasoning test-taking skill in a methodical way. Once again, here they are:

Main Idea

Author's Tone

Thematic Extension

Specific Inference

Facts & Information

Verbal Reasoning Tip of the Week

On difficult questions, you often end up trying to decide between two answers. They seem hard to choose between. If you get stuck, try not to think about which one is the BEST answer. Try choosing the LEAST WORST.

Verbal Reasoning Assignments

Module 1 - Essay        { 1 hour }

In the MCAT Writing Section you will be required to write two essays on topics of general interest with thirty minutes allotted for each essay. Specific, prior knowledge is not required for the essays. Knowing a bit about history, politics, or literature may help, but it is more important to have command of ideas and language as well as skill in structuring written arguments.

Next module I will introduce a set of techniques for these essays I developed over the years with my students. Without overstating the case, these methods can guide you pretty easily to a 'good' essay. However, writing a 'great' essay takes practice and an appreciation of ideas. Don't skip ahead to learn these methods now. Take this first module to get a feel for the MCAT writing assignment. This will help you develop the flow of your writing and help you better understand the problem of the MCAT essay. This way you will be able to approach my own suggestions critically and take what you need from them.

How MCAT Essays are Scored

Each of your essays will be read by two trained readers. These are probably upper level graduate students in the humanities. The Essays are scored from 2 to 6 based on the criteria below. The graders' scores are combined and translated into an alphabetical score:

Essay Assignments