MCATPre-MedTest Prep

MCAT High-Yield Essentials— MintDeck

150 high-yield cards spanning all four scored MCAT science areas. Each card uses a clean front/back format — a concept, equation, or prompt on the front and a concise, recall-ready answer on the back — across biochemistry, biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and psychology/sociology. Built for quick first passes and last-mile review, not as a substitute for full content study.

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Topics covered

Biochemistry

Amino acids, protein structure, enzyme kinetics, glycolysis, the citric acid cycle & metabolism

28 cards

Biology

Cells, the central dogma, genetics, the action potential, organ systems & immunology

26 cards

General Chemistry

Periodic trends, gases, thermodynamics, acid–base, equilibrium, kinetics & electrochemistry

24 cards

Organic Chemistry

Stereochemistry, SN1/SN2/E1/E2, carbonyls, spectroscopy, aromaticity & separations

22 cards

Physics

Kinematics, energy, fluids, circuits, waves, optics & modern physics equations

24 cards

Psychology & Sociology

Conditioning, development, memory, neurotransmitters, social theory & key sociology terms

26 cards

Card format

Front

Concept, equation, or prompt

e.g. Michaelis–Menten: Km meaning

Back

Concise, recall-ready answer with the key detail

Preview the cards

Showing 20 of 150

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#1Front

The 9 essential amino acids

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#1Back

Phenylalanine, Valine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Isoleucine, Methionine, Histidine, Leucine, Lysine. Mnemonic: 'PVT TIM HaLL'. Must come from the diet.

#2Front

Which amino acids are nonpolar (hydrophobic)?

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#2Back

Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Proline, Phenylalanine, Methionine, Tryptophan. They cluster in protein interiors.

#3Front

Which amino acids are acidic? Basic?

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#3Back

Acidic (negative at physiologic pH): Aspartate, Glutamate. Basic (positive): Lysine, Arginine, Histidine.

#4Front

Which amino acid is achiral, and which is a secondary amine?

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#4Back

Glycine is achiral (R-group = H). Proline is a secondary amine (its side chain loops back to the backbone nitrogen), creating kinks/turns.

#5Front

Isoelectric point (pI)

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#5Back

The pH at which a molecule carries no net charge. For an amino acid with no ionizable side chain, pI = average of the two relevant pKa values.

#6Front

Levels of protein structure

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#6Back

Primary (sequence), Secondary (alpha-helix/beta-sheet from H-bonds in backbone), Tertiary (3-D fold from side-chain interactions), Quaternary (multiple subunits).

#7Front

What stabilizes tertiary structure?

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#7Back

Hydrophobic interactions (main driver), hydrogen bonds, ionic/salt bridges, and disulfide bonds (covalent, between cysteine residues).

#8Front

Enzyme effect on a reaction

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#8Back

Enzymes lower activation energy and speed up the rate. They do NOT change ΔG, Keq, or the equilibrium position.

#9Front

Michaelis–Menten: Km meaning

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#9Back

Km = substrate concentration at half Vmax. Low Km = high affinity for substrate. Km is independent of enzyme concentration.

#10Front

Competitive vs noncompetitive inhibition (Km, Vmax)

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#10Back

Competitive: Km increases, Vmax unchanged (overcome with more substrate). Noncompetitive: Km unchanged, Vmax decreases.

#11Front

Cofactors vs coenzymes

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#11Back

Cofactor = nonprotein helper for an enzyme. Inorganic cofactors are metal ions; organic cofactors are coenzymes (often vitamin-derived, e.g., NAD+ from niacin).

#12Front

Glycolysis: net products per glucose

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#12Back

Net 2 ATP, 2 NADH, and 2 pyruvate. Occurs in the cytoplasm; does not require oxygen.

#13Front

Rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis

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#13Back

Phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1). Inhibited by ATP and citrate; activated by AMP and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate.

#14Front

Citric acid (Krebs) cycle yield per acetyl-CoA

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#14Back

3 NADH, 1 FADH2, 1 GTP (or ATP), and 2 CO2. Occurs in the mitochondrial matrix.

#15Front

Electron transport chain: final electron acceptor

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#15Back

Oxygen (forms water). Drives oxidative phosphorylation; the proton gradient powers ATP synthase.

#16Front

Approximate ATP yield from one glucose (aerobic)

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#16Back

About 30–32 ATP total via glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation.

#17Front

What does insulin do?

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#17Back

Released when blood glucose is high; promotes glucose uptake, glycogen synthesis, and fat storage. Lowers blood glucose.

#18Front

What does glucagon do?

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#18Back

Released when blood glucose is low; stimulates glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in the liver. Raises blood glucose.

#19Front

Saturated vs unsaturated fatty acids

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#19Back

Saturated: no C=C double bonds, pack tightly, solid at room temp. Unsaturated: one or more double bonds (often cis), kinked, lower melting point.

#20Front

Michaelis–Menten vs cooperative (sigmoidal) kinetics

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#20Back

M–M enzymes give a hyperbolic curve. Cooperative enzymes (e.g., hemoglobin O2 binding) give a sigmoidal curve due to subunit cooperativity.

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Who is this deck for?

· Pre-med students preparing for the MCAT
· Students starting content review who want a high-yield first pass
· Test-takers doing last-mile recall practice before exam day
· Anyone supplementing a prep course (Kaplan, Princeton Review, UWorld) with spaced repetition

Study smarter with MintDeck

MintDeck’s FSRS spaced repetition surfaces each amino acid, pathway, equation, and psych/soc term right before you’d forget it — so the high-yield facts are locked in across months of MCAT prep.

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This deck is provided for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for a full MCAT content review or official AAMC preparation materials. MCAT® is a registered trademark of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which does not endorse this product.