Getting through the MCAT with no calculator

[Gdelucien]

Hey guys so im studying for the MCAT, but I just found out that we can't use a calculator and honestly I'm lost on how im supposed to answer, for example, physics-related questions with no calculator. Does anyone have any tips on how they got around that

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[beattheprocess]

Round. The math isn’t that hard honestly.

The answers will nearly always be something like
a. 200
b. 700
c. 20
d. 70

 

[Engrailed]

Hey guys so im studying for the MCAT, but I just found out that we can't use a calculator and honestly I'm lost on how im supposed to answer, for example, physics-related questions with no calculator. Does anyone have any tips on how they got around that

Rounding and scientific notation will be your bff

 

[Aloe paleo]

hey ! i thought this at first too, but the math is actually quite easy! you'll be surprised! i found, at least on my mcat test, that there were barely any calculation questions. a lot of it is understanding concepts

 

[premed20172017]

The math on the actual MCAT/AAMC FLs is easier than third party FLs. I agree with @Engrailed - between rounding and sci not, you'll be totally fine. If you find yourself getting caught up in the math, take a step back and re-evaluate the problem from another angle.

 

[ciestar]

The Berkley Review books had a good guide on the math stuff that i found useful

 

[Gdelucien]

hey ! i thought this at first too, but the math is actually quite easy! you'll be surprised! i found, at least on my MCAT test, that there were barely any calculation questions. a lot of it is understanding concepts

Oh wow! so there generally aren't questions where we have to do crazy exponential equations, because I was just sitting here trying to figure out how to multiply and divide all these exponential numbers in my head lol.

 

[tidyberry]

Oh wow! so there generally aren't questions where we have to do crazy exponential equations, because I was just sitting here trying to figure out how to multiply and divide all these exponential numbers in my head lol.

As long as you know the formula, you'll easily be able to figure out the right answer because the other three won't be even close.

 

[Gdelucien]

great thanks!

 

[deleted936470]

Just guess, but don't guess 'C', they're onto that now... I'd recommend 'B' or 'D' for the time being.

 

[Gdelucien]

Just guess, but don't guess 'C', they're onto that now... I'd recommend 'B' or 'D' for the time being.

Lollll thanks for the heads up

 

[Blueprint MCAT Tutor]

My biggest advice for any problems that involve any numbers is to use scientific notation. It will make it a lot easier to multiply and divide because the whole numbers will be small. Get into the habit of converting every single number in a math-related problem into scientific notation and once you get used to the basic rules or how to use it, you'll see it's a lot easier to handle even very large numbers! I hope that helps and please reach out if you have any other questions!

 

[PlsLetMeIn21]

Don't stress, the questions are written with "no calculator" in mind. The math is not that bad.

 

[mvsrocks]

You don't need to do everything in your head! They provide you with a noteboard/marker, which I used for math.

https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/f5/45/f545f79b-b545-4a5a-af41-9c9549f829a6/mcat_noteboard_final.pdf

 

[Lawpy]

Hey guys so im studying for the MCAT, but I just found out that we can't use a calculator and honestly I'm lost on how im supposed to answer, for example, physics-related questions with no calculator. Does anyone have any tips on how they got around that

SDN has some math articles that could be helpful

King Henry What?? | MCAT Tips and Tricks • Student Doctor Network
Quickly Calculate Logarithms Without a Calculator | MCAT Tips and Tricks
Using Approximation To Tackle Complex Calculations | MCAT Tips & Tricks
Unit Conversions In Eight Easy Steps | MCAT Tips and Tricks • SDN
The One About Trigonometry | MCAT Tips and Tricks • SDN