Biochemistry

[PeanutButter1]

Hello, just wanted some clarification about the Khan Academy biochemistry. I understand that EK doesn't really cover biochem sufficiently, but that Khan does. Is all the biochem we need to know for the new MCAT covered in the "Biomolecules" section of Khan, or is there more in any of the other sections like "Cells" or "Organ Systems"? I thought it was likely just the Biomolecules section (esp. metabolism of carb, fat, protein), but if anyone can confirm that would be great! 

Thanks

[gottawannit]

That's pretty much what I did - read EK, supplemented biochem and psych/soc with Khan. Khan's sych/soc was by far the best thing I did across my entire MCAT studying - I was regularly finishing the section with 20-30 minutes to spare and never had problems. Biochem on the other hand....well you've seen people's discussions of biochem on the new mcat - it's friggin hard. I thought EK spent way too much time discussing the intricacies of fats vs. carbs vs. proteins and not nearly enough time on amino acids, which was key. If I were to do it all over again i would find a different source for biochem as I really struggled in that section on during my exam, and previously chem/physics was by far my best section. Though, to be fair, my exam date (sept 12) has been criticized for having a weird amount of physics (it did, it was awful) and a ton of ochem, so take that with a grain of salt.

[PeanutButter1]

That's pretty much what I did - read EK, supplemented biochem and psych/soc with Khan. Khan's sych/soc was by far the best thing I did across my entire MCAT studying - I was regularly finishing the section with 20-30 minutes to spare and never had problems. Biochem on the other hand....well you've seen people's discussions of biochem on the new mcat - it's friggin hard. I thought EK spent way too much time discussing the intricacies of fats vs. carbs vs. proteins and not nearly enough time on amino acids, which was key. If I were to do it all over again i would find a different source for biochem as I really struggled in that section on during my exam, and previously chem/physics was by far my best section. Though, to be fair, my exam date (sept 12) has been criticized for having a weird amount of physics (it did, it was awful) and a ton of ochem, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

Cool thanks for the help! I agree EK focuses a lot of fats, carbs, and not very much on amino acids. And even for fats and carbs it does not at all go into enzymes that catalyze the steps of beta oxidation and glycolysis. 

 

But just to clarify, does the "Biomolecules" section cover all of the biochem needed for the MCAT? Or is it a good idea to look at other sections like Cells and Organ Systems? 

 

Thanks again for your help!

[freewheeler]

I used Kaplan for biochem to supplement EK. I maybe used 1-3 khan videos for biochem. I found the biochem course I took in the academic year immediately prior to the summer I took the mcat to be helpful. If you want to have the "course experience" you can youtube Kevin ahern biochemistry course IIRC--seen it recommended on another mcat thread. Kaplan is probably all you need for biochem and even then has some extra info, EK is a lot more readable but very scant.

 

Lookup the massive pdf that the aamc has which lists all of the possible topics on the mcat for each section.

[gottawannit]

I didn't use Khan's "organ systems" or "cells", but on my actual MCAT I honestly probably only had 2-3 questions on physiology. It was bullshit, considering that accounts for like half of the study material

[vbear]

I found this video to be helpful with memorizing properties and structures of the amino acids, It might seem basic but I found it extremely useful when i was faced with a seemingly complicated Biochem question.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m130s94pMjE