Award-Winning MCAT Tutors

We finished up acids/bases. Before moving on to buffers, we reviewed approximating pH without a calculator. After this we covered what buffers are supposed to do, what conjugate acids/bases are, and how they act in buffers. Then we covered the Henderson-Hasselbach equation and how it works to determine pH of buffer systems. The latter part of the session was spent reviewing thermodynamics. Since he's familiar with the terminology, I went over concepts equations, and the differences between thermodynamics and kinetics.

The student and I went over the 4 practice passages that he worked on for homework. We also worked through an additional two practice passages together, in which we spent a lot of time teasing out the important points of the passage. The student and I are trying to find the best strategy for him to use while approaching the verbal passages. We were initially trying to read the passage in 5 minutes, with another 5 minutes for the 7 questions, but he wasn't having enough time for the questions. I assigned the student 5 homework passages with instructions to spend 5 minutes reading, but 7 minutes answering the questions. Although this is a little slower than ideal, I believe we need to work on comprehension first, and then focus on speed.

We covered electrochemistry, finishing off the chemistry content review. We also looked at aldol condensations and some questions from organic, and then went through two chemistry passages focusing on acid base chemistry.

The student and I spent this session reviewing the biological sciences and verbal questions that she completed. I'm pleased with her progress in the biological sciences. We reviewed some of the basic skills and tricks for succeeding in the verbal section, and I'll continue to monitor her progress. For our next session on Sunday, the student will be completing two full practice tests (one on Thursday and one on Saturday). I look forward to seeing how both of those go!

We answered and reviewed passages from select practice tests including Test # 9. Topics included physics (waveforms, heat transfer, earthquake lights, particle acceleration) and biology (microbiology/virology, hantaviruses, and pulmonary disease).

Today we worked on Immune System and Endocrine System. The student started out not knowing much about the immune system but walked away with a good idea of it. He knew his hormones really well. I think being able to "teach" them to me (their functions, gland, etc.) was helpful for him in solidifying what he knew. I also gave him a print-out calendar so he can map out (visually) the days up till his exam. I think this is a really good strategy for organization. I feel that the student is becoming much more confident in Biological Sciences, what he says is his weakest. Sessions along with his Physiology class that he is taking now both contribute to this.