MCAT® Exam Overview

The Biological Sciences Section

The Biological & Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems section of the MCAT® is 95 minutes long and contains 59 multiple-choice questions. This section asks you to combine your knowledge of foundational biological and biochemical sciences concepts with your scientific inquiry, reasoning, and research and statistics skills to solve problems that demonstrate readiness for medical school.

Understanding the processes unique to living organisms, such as growing and reproducing, maintaining a constant internal environment, acquiring materials and energy, sensing and responding to environmental changes, and adapting, is important to the study of medicine.

You will be tested on your knowledge of how cells and organ systems within an organism act independently and in concert to accomplish these processes, as well as your ability to reason about these processes at various levels of biological organization within a living system. Cick for more MCAT Biology section details.

The CARS Section

The Critical Reading and Analysis (CARS) section of the MCAT® is 90 minutes long and contains 53 multiple-choice questions. This section includes passages from various disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, followed by questions that lead you through comprehending, analyzing, and reasoning about the material you have read.

Specific knowledge of these disciplines is not required for this section; all the information you need appears in the passages provided. The areas from which content is drawn are ethics and philosophy, cultural studies, and population health. Click for MCAT CARS section details.

The Behavioral Sciences Section

The Psychological, Social, & Biological Foundations of Behavior section of the MCAT® is 95-minute section containing 59 multiple-choice questions. This section tests your knowledge and use of the concepts in psychology, sociology, biology, research methods, and statistics that provide a solid foundation for learning in medical school about the behavioral and socio-cultural determinants of health and health outcomes.

Understanding the behavioral and socio-cultural determinants of health is important to the study of medicine.

You will be tested on your knowledge of how psychological, social, and biological factors influence perceptions and reactions to the world; behavior, and behavior change; what people think about themselves and others; the cultural and social differences that influence well-being; and the relationships between social stratification, access to resources, and well-being. Click for MCAT Behavioral Science section details.

The Physical Sciences Section

The Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems section of the MCAT® is a 95-minute section containing 59 multiple-choice questions. This section asks you to combine your knowledge of foundational chemical and physical sciences concepts with your scientific inquiry, reasoning, and research and statistics skills to solve problems that demonstrate readiness for medical school.

Understanding the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of tissues, organs, and organ systems is important to the study of medicine.

You will be tested on your knowledge of the basic chemical and physical principles that underlie the mechanisms operating in the human body and your ability to apply an understanding of these general principles to living systems. Click for more MCAT Physical Sciences section details.