2 PCAT Questions

[laura_mideon]

I am going to take the PCAT for the first (and hopefully only) time in October. I'm just looking on the PCAT site and it says:

"You may not take calculators (including watch calculators), books, papers, notes, cell phones, cameras, recording devices, or any reference materials into the testing room."

No Calculators? Is that true? I will probably bomb the math section then do they provide calculators or something? I was just looking to see if we're allowed graphing calculators and that's all i found.

The other question is about the level of difficulty of the Chem questions, I'm going to be taking the PCAT the first time while I'm only half way thru my first year chem. Is that bad?

Oh well, I can always re take it in April.

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[PMart]

Helllo,
It is true no calculators of any sort are allowed , but the math is really not all that difficult I would not worry. To brush up on the math section I bought a book with PCat practice problems.

If I remember correctly the chemistry was basically chem 1 and 2 and i think there were a couple organic chem questions (they probably wanted to see how people did on them) but it really was basic chemistry. I was finished with both chem 1 and 2 and half way through orgo 1 when i took it. I am not too sure I would have done all that well with only completeing half of chem 1, but then again that is me. I am an older student and it has been like 15 years since i took chem in high school so you never know, you may do great if you have a good chem background.

I hope this helps and good luck
PMart

 

[sweetcalie08]

I personally would not take the PCAT w/o having some ChemII experience. I was in the middle of OChemI when I took the PCAT, so ChemII was still fresh in my mind...I noticed quite a few concepts from ChemII on my exam. It's probably better to wait than to be sorry. Why do you want to take the PCAT so early?

 

[dgroulx]

I wouldn't advise taking the PCAT until you have completed both Chem I and Chem II. The math portion does not require a calculator. It's not that complex.

 

[imperial frog]

Completing Chem II isn't a necessity if you brush up a little on acid/base reactions and pKa info. And no the math isn't difficult, it's just time-consuming. I would recommend running through every practice test you can come across and try to cut your time down.

 

[bananaface]

If you look at the study guide the company putting on the PCAT offeres, your worries about needing a calculator on the math portion of the exam should be put to rest.

I remember there being quite a bit of material on the exam that I picked up in organic chemistry. What kinds of scores have people gotten when taking the PCAT before taking organic chemistry?

I lean towards the conclusion that if you haven't finished the 1st year of general chemistry, then to be competitive you will need to have taken more chemistry before taking the PCAT. If you are partway through organic you might be ok. Looking at the practice problems for this area should give you an idea of where you stand.

 

[vafcarrot]

Practice speed math... a lot of people run out of time in the math section.

 

[UT-Frank]

Yup, NO CALCULATORS. Just practice your simple math skills, you'll be fine.

And regarding chem, I would definitely take and understand CHEM 2 before taking the PCAT. Majority of the chem section is over CHEM 2 and some organic.

Hope this helps.

 

[28657]

The math isn't hard enough to require a calculator. The only way to do well on the math portion is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. I haven't heard of too many people who were able to finish the math section with time to spare.

Also, when I took the PCAT I remember only 2 or 3 ochem questions. All you really need to know is the functional groups. One of my chem questions was something like, "Which structure is an alcohol?" It doesn't get much easier than that.

 

[sweetcalie08]

Also, when I took the PCAT I remember only 2 or 3 ochem questions. All you really need to know is the functional groups. One of my chem questions was something like, "Which structure is an alcohol?" It doesn't get much easier than that.

Wow, I wish my ochem-ish questions would've been that easy! I do know that mine weren't that terribly difficult, but I don't remember any simple questions like that one either!

 

[bananaface]

If you are a math person, you can finish really quickly. Alot of it is super easy recognition stuff like "15/20 = a) 2/3, b) 3/4, or c) 5/8." If you are good at the basics, and "ballparking" stuff in your head, you can realistically finish in less than half the allotted time.

When I took the exam 3 years ago, you were graded on how many questions you got right. if that is still the same, then you should answer all the questions before you turn in the exam, even if it means filling in "c" for the last 10 questions.

 

[28657]

Wow, I wish my ochem-ish questions would've been that easy! I do know that mine weren't that terribly difficult, but I don't remember any simple questions like that one either!

Maybe I just remember the easy one and the hard ones have been pushed aside in my mind.

 

[vafcarrot]

When I took the exam 3 years ago, you were graded on how many questions you got right. if that is still the same, then you should answer all the questions before you turn in the exam, even if it means filling in "c" for the last 10 questions.

Or the last 30....

 

[dgroulx]

I took the PCAT in October and had 6 weeks of Ochem I under my belt. There weren't any questions that hadn't been covered in that limited amount of Ochem. I think it might have gone as far as substitution reactions, so you'd have to recognize a leaving group.

 

[dgroulx]

Or the last 30....

Me, too! Seriously, I think I had about 20 questions left to randomly bubble in the last minute. That was my lowest score (an 84), so I'm assuming that most people don't finish the math.

 

[bananaface]

I bet you added 5 percentile points on to your score by being aware enough of the rules to guess. I know people who didn't realize that benefited you.

 

[laura_mideon]

Wow, well I think I will still try it in October and then retake it in April if need be. Does it hurt your chances to take the pcat more than once? I hope not. The only reason I want to take it so early is to give me a chance to take it twice since it's so important.

Bananaface - when you say "When I took the exam 3 years ago, you were graded on how many questions you got right" what do you mean....sorry if I sound weird but how else would they grade you? Do you mean they might also remove marks by how many you get wrong? Ohhh that would suck!!!

 

[vafcarrot]

When you take the SAT, they count OFF if you mark an answer wrong. So it's better to just leave answers blank than try to guess if you don't know the right answer.

With the PCAT, they don't count off so it's better to fill in something even if you don't know the answer. You may actually get it right.

 

[laura_mideon]

Wow, I live in Canada so I never had to take SAT's, that sucks though!
I've never heard of that.

 

[bananaface]

vafcarrot answered the question for me

They don't take off a whole point for guessing on the SAT though. It's like 1/4 or 1/3 pt. It has been so long that I hardly remember taking it.

 

[laura_mideon]

I guess that's smart in a way though, but I really, really hope they don't mark it like that now.

 

[imperial frog]

Me, too! Seriously, I think I had about 20 questions left to randomly bubble in the last minute. That was my lowest score (an 84), so I'm assuming that most people don't finish the math.

I had about 15-20 that I bubbled in too and it also was my lowest score (85). It was the one section that I didn't study too much for because I knew I could do the problems, just wasn't counting on the time going by so fast.

 

[bananaface]

It was 60 math questions in 30 minutes for everyone else, right? How long did it take the other people who finished the section to get it done?