The first section of MCAT (Physical and Chemical) involves a lot of math calculations, but yet, calculators are not allowed. Therefore, the section requires not only the knowledge of chemistry, physics, biochemistry and biology, but also completing all of the calculations successfully to get to the correct answer. Here are a few tips to make math a little easier and faster during your calculations.
1. Round
Many numbers are very complicated and rounding oftentimes helps with making math easier. For example 1007*89. Since both number are not too far off, we can round them to 1000*90. Now its much easier to calculate!
2. Use Scientific Notation
Oftentimes, when dealing with very small and very large numbers, scientific notation is extremely helpful. Let's try an example: 2300000/0.00021. Let's put the numbers in scientific notation and get: 2.3*10^6/ (2.1*10^4)=1*10^(6-4) = 1*10^2
We hope you find these tips and tricks helpful in your MCAT preparation!
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