Explanation of the Work
The WikiPremed MCAT Program is a free comprehensive course in the undergraduate level general sciences.


Learning Center
Syllabus
Question Server
Physics Diagnostics


Home
Guest Book
Forum
Resource Links
Contact Us
Teacher Disc

Log In
Cart Contents
Checkout

Shipping & Returns
Privacy
All Sciences Physics Chemistry Organic Biology

Module 1

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

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

Knowledge Mapping - Get the fundamental concepts of mechanics talking together. Preview gravitational and electrostatic systems from the point of view of mechanics.

Essay & 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.

Main Progression

Assignments


Browse the Kinematics Images and read the Kinematics Glossary to prime yourself mentally for kinematics. Each glossary entry links to the corresponding WikiPedia article. Ensure familiarity with the basic Kinematics vocabulary with the Crossword Puzzle covering the basic terms for the topic. Here is the Solution
Carefully study the Kinematics Chapter. Reinforce with the conceptual discussions in ExamKrackers Physics, pp 1-16.
Perform the Kinematics Practice Items, and for supplemental practice, questions 1-24 in ExamKrackers Physics, pp 1-16. Here is the Answer Key for the problem set.
Achieve final mastery with the Concept and Question Kinematics cards of the Learning System for Physics.
Review the Web Resources for Kinematics at the topic level in the learning center. Click "Next Topic" to scroll through the topic level. The HyperPhysics links in this chapter are highly recommended, as are the PY105 notes.

Activate      

Goals


Be able to define displacement, velocity, and acceleration in clear, conversational language.
Reproduce the four equations of kinematics from memory and achieve facility in solving straightforward quantitative problems.
Be able to explain the difference between vector and scalar quantities and perform basic vector operations.
Describe how an object may accelerate yet still have a constant speed.
Be capable of fluently applying the concepts of uniform circular motion and projectile motion for problem solving.

Activate      



Assignments


Take five or ten minutes to browse the Newton's Laws Images and read the Newton's Laws Glossary to get a feel for the field of reference for the topic and the basic vocabulary. After studying the glossary, test yourself on the basic terms with the Crossword Puzzle for Newton's Laws. Here is the Solution
Study the Newton's Laws Chapter. Reinforce with the conceptual discussions in ExamKrackers Physics, pp 17-38 (All of Lecture 2 and the 1st section of Lecture 3).
Perform the Newton's Laws Practice Items, and for supplemental practice, questions 25-56 in ExamKrackers Physics, pp 17-38. Here is the Answer Key for the problem set.
Nail down mastery with the Concept and Question cards for Newton's Laws from the Learning System for Physics. You should be able to comfortably work through the question cards.
Finish your Main Progression work on Newton's Laws with a review tour of the Newton's Laws external resources in the Learning Center. This time the link will send you to the Chapter Level in the Learning Center, so click through the topics to scroll through the topic specific web resources. The Web Resources are at the Topic Level, not the Chapter Level in the Learning Center. HyperPhysics is highly recommended, as are the PY105 notes. The Monterey multimedia presentations are excellent, especially if physics has not been a strength in the past.

Activate      

Goals


Gain the ability to clearly recall and express Newton's Laws of Motion in plain English.
Pay special attention to Newton's Second Law, understanding the basic relationship between force interactions and changes in an object's state of motion.
Move beyond the traditional 'contact forces' of mechanics to include an understanding of the classical fundamental forces and their relationship to Newton's Laws. Compare and contrast the gravitational force and the electrostatic force.
Be able to distinguish mass and weight.
Become comfortable solving problems involving kinetic and static friction.
Understand how to construct free body diagrams, especially for classic model problems such as the inclined plane, the elevator, and objects suspended from multiple cables.

Activate      



Assignments


Browse the Work & Energy Images and read the Work & Energy Glossary to get a feel for the topic and its basic vocabulary. Make sure you are ready to discuss the concepts by performing the Crossword Puzzle over the basic Work, Power & Energy terms. Here is the Solution
Study the Work & Energy PDF Chapter. Reinforce with the conceptual discussions in ExamKrackers Physics, pp 45-51 and pp 60-62.
Perform the Work & Energy Practice Items Here is the Answer Key. For supplemental practice problems 65-72 (pp 45-51) and 81-88 (pp 60-62) in ExamKrackers Physics.
Ensure mastery with the Concept and Question cards for Work & Energy from the Learning System for Physics. You should be able to comfortably work through the question cards.
Finish your Main Progression work on Work, Energy & Power with a review tour of the Work, Energy, and Power resources in the Learning Center. Go topic by topic.

Activate      

Goals


Understand the definition of mechanical work and comprehend the relationship between the direction of the force and displacement vectors in determining the work performed.
Master basic quantitative problem solving involving potential and kinetic energy. Be able to verbalize the relationships.
Be able to imaginitively visualize changes in potential energy in such systems as an object near the earth's surface, a mass-spring, and basic electrostatic systems.
Understand what is meant by 'binding energy'.
Explain the difference between conservative and non-conservative forces.
Understand the principles underlying force multiplication with simple machines such as levers and pulleys.
Master basic problem solving using the concept of power within different contexts.

Activate      



Assignments


Browse the Momentum & Impulse Images and read the Momentum Glossary to get a feel for the topic and its basic vocabulary. Make sure you are familiar Momentum vocabulary with this Crossword Puzzle from the topic. When you are ready, click here for the Solution.
Study the Momentum & Impulse PDF Chapter. Reinforce with the conceptual discussions in ExamKrackers Physics, pp 53-57.
Perform the problems in the Momentum & Impulse Practice Items. Here is the Answer Key. Supplement with problems 73-80 on pp. 58-59 in ExamKrackers Physics.
Take a review tour of the Momentum & Impulse resources in the Learning Center.
Ensure mastery with the Concept and Question cards for Momentum & Impulse from the Learning System for Physics. See if you can comfortably work through the question cards.

Activate      

Goals


Be able to define momentum in a conceptual, intuitive way, i.e. not only as 'product of mass and velocity' but as an impetus.
Apply the Impulse-Momentum Theorem both as a tool for quantitative problem-solving and as a conceptual framework. Be able to explain what it means to say 'force is the rate of change of momentum'.
Be capable of applying Conservation of Momentum to understand change within a variety of mechanical systems.
Be comfortable distinguishing elastic, inelastic, and perfectly inelastic collisions and solve basic quantitative problems involving these types of collisions.

Activate      



 

Review & Preview

Assignments


Read and test yourself on the Level 1 questions for Physics in your Question Book from the ManDala Premedical Learning System. Browse through the image gallery in the right column through multiple cycles. Work to get a bird's eye view of Physics. Mechanics, Waves, Thermodynamics, Electricity & Magnetism, Light & Optics, Modern Physics, Nuclear Physics. Set your pace to take no more than 2 hours.
Follow this LINK to a memory drill for outlining Physics. Work until you can supply the missing topic ten times in a row. Aim to reproduce the outline in full on a blank sheet of paper.

Activate      

Goals


Gain the ability to Outline Physics at the main topic level. Be able to reproduce the outline from memory.
Be able to clearly picture the model phenomena described within each main topic of Physics and describe at least one or two main concepts from each topic.

Activate      



 

Knowledge Mapping

Assignments


Start HERE and click 'Next Discussion' to carefully study the Coaching Discussions associated with the chapters of Kinematics, Newton's Laws, Momentum & Impulse, and Work, Power & Energy. As you read an Interdisciplinary Discussion, pause to think about the conceptual bridges between the topics associated with it, listed on the left. Visit the Chapter outlines of each topic in the Learning Center to help visualize the subject matter. How are the different scientific ideas related to the discussion?
Use the architectural relationships in the Concept Map from the ManDala Premedical Learning System to help you picture the relationships of the scientific ideas and structure your knowledge base. The figures will help you structure and deepen your knowledge base with the methods of Concept Mapping and Memory Palace.

Activate      

Goals


Be capable of describing how the fundamental topics of Mechanics fit together.
Be prepared to discuss basic mechanics within a constant force environment, whether the force is gravitational or electrostatic. What is the constant force system for each type of force?
Apply the ideas of mechanical work and potential energy to begin developing the concept of binding energy for simple gravitational and electrostatic systems.

Activate      



 

Verbal Reasoning

Assignments


Read the WikiPremed treatment of Verbal Reasoning on the MCAT.
Read Lecture 1 in ExamKrackers Verbal Reasoning and take the 1st In-Class Exam.
Go through the test you completed. Label every question by type in the margin: Main Idea, Author's Tone, Thematic Extension, Specific Inference, or Facts & Information. Which types seem to be giving the most problems? In the ones you missed, how do your chosen answers differ from the correct answers?

Activate      

Goals


Begin learning how to recognize verbal reasoning questions by type: Main Idea, Author's Tone, Thematic Extension, Specific Inference and Facts & Information
Verbal Reasoning Tip of the Week
Difficult Verbal Reasoning questions often settle down to two answers. The best answer seems hard to choose from t he two. To get unstuck, don't look for the BEST answer. Try choosing the LEAST WORST.

Activate      



 

Essay

Assignments


Arrange an undisturbed half hour for yourself to write an essay. In the new computer based MCAT format, the essay is composed on-screen rather than on paper, so use your word processing program to compose the essay. Click Here to download a PDF file containing your essay topic for module one. Don't advance to page 2 until you are ready to begin writing.
You may post your essay at the FORUM for feedback from us and from your fellow students. If you post an essay for feedback, be sure to give your opinion and advice on at least two essays posted by others.

Activate      

Goals


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 our specific MCAT Essay Method in Module 2 critically and take what you need from it.

Activate      













MECHANICS AND WAVES
link to syllabus
* * *Kinematics1
Newton's Laws
Work, Energy, and Power
Momentum and Impulse
Rotation2
Harmonic Motion
Elastic Properties of Solids
Fluid Mechanics
Waves
FUNDAMENTAL FORCES
Gravitation3
Electricity
THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER
Atomic Theory4
Periodic Properties
The Chemical Bond
Intermolecular Forces
Functional Groups in Organic Chemistry5
Stereochemistry
THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS IN PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SYSTEMS
Temperature and Heat Flow6
The Ideal Gas and Kinetic Theory
The First Law of Thermodynamics
Stoichiometry
Thermochemistry
The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Heat Engines7
Chemical Thermodynamics and the Equilibrium State
The States of Matter
The Physical Properties of Organic Compounds
Chemical Kinetics
SOLUTIONS AND AQUEOUS SYSTEMS
Water8
Solutions
Acids and Bases
Organic Acids and Bases
ORGANIC REACTION CHEMISTRY
Nucleophiles and Electrophiles9
Intramolecular Cationic Rearrangements
Reactions with Radical Intermediates
Conjugated π Systems and Aromaticity
Reactions of Alkanes
Reactions of Alkenes
Reactions of Alkynes
Reactions of Alkyl Halides
Reactions of Allylic and Benzylic Conjugation
Reactions of Aromatic Compounds
Reactions of Alcohols and Ethers
Reactions of Aldehydes and Ketones
Reactions of Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives
Reactions of Amines
Reactions of Organic Phosphorus Compounds
Reactions of Organic Sulfur Compounds
BIOMOLECULES10 break
Proteins11
Carbohydrates
Nucleic Acids
Lipids
THE CELL
Biological Membranes
The Prokaryotic Cell
The Eukaryotic Cell
BIOENERGETICS AND BIOSYNTHESIS
Coordination Chemistry12
Oxidation/Reduction
Oxidation/Reduction in Organic Chemistry
Electrochemistry
Bioenergetics and Cellular Respiration
Photosynthesis  
Biosynthesis of Macromolecules
Integration of Metabolism
GENETICS & REPRODUCTION
Gene Expression13
Cellular Reproduction
Mendelian Genetics
Recombination and Mutation
The Molecular Biology Laboratory
Human Genetics
DIVERSITY OF LIFE
Viruses14
Monera
Protista
Fungi
Plants  
Animals
Animal Development and Embryology
Mammalian Tissues and Histology15
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
The Nervous System
Sensory Systems
The Endocrine System
The Musculoskeletal System
The Cardiovascular System
Blood
The Respiratory System
The Lymphatic System and Immunity
The Urinary System
The Digestive System and Nutrition
The Reproductive System
POPULATION BIOLOGY
Populations16
Evolution
Ecology
ELECTROMAGNETISM, LIGHT, AND MODERN PHYSICS
Electricity17
DC Current
Magnetism
Electomagnetic Induction
AC Current
The Properties of Light
Geometric Optics
Wave Optics
Modern Physics18
Molecular Spectroscopy
Nuclear Physics
19 break
20 break
The WikiPremed MCAT Program is a free comprehensive course in the undergraduate level general sciences. Undergraduate level physics, chemistry, organic chemistry and biology are presented by this course as a unified whole within a spiraling curriculum.

Please read our policies on privacy and shipping & returns.  Contact Us.
MCAT is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges, which does not endorse the WikiPremed Course.


Creative Commons License
The work of WikiPremed is published under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 License. There are elements of work here, such as a subset of the images in the archive from WikiPedia, that originated as GNU General Public License works, so take care to follow the unique stipulations of that license in printed reproductions. You can use the resources here for commercial or non-commercial purposes, but please give attribution and a link to the production credits and edit history of the resource. For the works here which began as my individual work, please attribute "John Wetzel, an author at wikipremed.com". *