Topics Covered in the MCAT

(Extracted from the MCAT Student Manual. Permission obtained from AAMC.)

Physical Sciences Topics

Biological Sciences Topics

Concepts included in the MCAT section are considered basic; at the vast majority of undergraduate institutions they are taught at the introductory level. While passages may discuss advanced-level topics, the questions accompanying the passages will not require knowledge of these topics. Advanced coursework is not needed for the test.

You should know those equations and constants commonly used in introductory courses as well as those listed specifically in the content outline. Other necessary constants and conversion factors are provided with the test questions. In addition, a periodic table of the elements, including atomic numbers and atomic weights, is provided in the examination booklet.

Because the content outline focuses primarily on areas necessary to preparing for the study of medicine, it may differ in several important ways from the content of your introductory courses:

1. Some topics, which are important to the discipline as a whole and normally covered in undergraduate courses, have been omitted from the MCAT because they are not as relevant to the study of medicine as are the topics included.

2. The organization of the topics in the outline may differ from that of the topics presented in your courses.

3. Some of the topics included in the outline may not have been emphasized in your school's introductory undergraduate courses.