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Test Prep MCAT Exam Questions
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- Exam: Medical College Admission Test: Verbal Reasoning, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Writing Sample
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Total Questions: 815
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Updated On: May 22, 2026
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Question 1
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At a recent meeting of the American Public Transit Association, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiledstringent new standards for pollution control. The transit authorities were particularly concerned about theimplementation of a proposed “Clean Air Act.” They believed the provisions of the Clean Air Act could severelyaffect basic services to their local communities. Many transit agencies were concerned that it would be difficultto comply with the pollution and emissions control standards while continuing to operate within realistic budgets.The aim of the Clean Air Act is to assure that by the year 2000, there will be a reduction of at least 10 milliontons of sulfur dioxide from 1980 levels. The bill also calls for a reduction in pollutants that contribute to thedepletion of ozone. Strict regulations of toxic air emissions would have to be established and enforced.Additionally, the Clean Air Act would establish specific acid-rain reduction quotas and enforce severe penaltiesfor transgressors of any of the new clean air regulations.There is little doubt that mass-transit suppliers will be considerably affected by this new legislation, just as thechemical and petroleum industries have already been affected by similar legislation. Transit authorities arechallenged to strike a difficult balance between complying with the government’s new standards and developingan official concern for the environment, while continuing to fulfill the transportation needs of the generalpopulation.Among the areas addressed by the Clean Air Act, the topic of mobile resources is of particular interest to masstransit authorities. Provisions contained in the Act under this title are aimed at encouraging the developmentand practical use of alternative fuel sources, like solar energy and methane fuel. The goal of this section of theAct is to eradicate toxic fuel emissions in order to provide cleaner air and a more favorable environment. TheAct even goes so far as to declare that in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Houston – where air quality isparticularly noxious and toxins exceed the limits of federal regulations – forms of mass transit should run on socalled “clean-burning fuels” by the year 2000. Such fuels include reformulated gasoline, propane, electricity,natural gas, ethanol, methanol, or any similar type of low-emission fuel. In addition, the Act proposes that, by1994, all new urban buses in cities with populations exceeding one million must operate solely on clean-burningfuels.The topics of alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles represent, by far, the most controversial issue in theClean Air Act. President Bush has called alternative fuels “bold and innovative” means to control pollution, butaccording to many transportation experts, the Act’s proposals on alternative fuel usage are unrealistic. Thetransit authorities recognize that concern for the environment and health hazards like pollution are globalissues. However, most transit officials concur that inventing and developing new ways to fuel mass transit willtake at least 50 years to realize. They point out that the Act does not mention the political and socialramifications of usurping the role of the petroleum industries. The Act does not mention if or how the thousandsof people employed by the oil industry will get retrained to produce and implement the use of “clean” fuel.No one disputes the fact that people need some form of transportation to get from place to place. Preservingthe environment should be a priority, yet we need to remember that even if toxic emissions are completelyeliminated sometime in the future, the challenge of moving mass numbers of people where they want to go willstill exist and must remain a priority. Transit authorities contend that unless the Clean Air Act alsoacknowledges this, and develops a way to encourage mass transit over personal transportation, the problemsof pollution might not be significantly altered. They suggest that there are many areas in this country that havelittle or no mass transit and that, if the Clean Air Act’s goal is to reduce pollution, perhaps the most practical andrealistic means to achieve that goal is to encourage the development and maintenance of mass transitsystems.The main goal of the “Mobile Resources” section of the Clean Air Act is to:Section: Verbal Reasoning
Answer: A
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Question 2
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What happens to brain waves as an organism falls asleep? Section: Physical Sciences
Answer: D
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What happens to brain waves as an organism falls asleep?
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Question 3
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The amount of lactic acid in muscles rises when they start lacking: Section: Biological Sciences
Answer: B
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The amount of lactic acid in muscles rises when they start lacking:
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Question 4
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For the last two decades many earth scientists have supported the notion that the Mediterranean was once ahuge, dry desert, lying 3,000 meters below sea level. This “death valley” was thought to have existed at the endof Miocene time, about 6 to 5.5 million years ago……From a geological point of view, the Mediterranean is a tectonically mobile land-enclosed depression – small(about 3,000,000 square kilometers) in comparison to the major world oceans…Immediately obvious on allcharts is the highly variable topography and relief of both the seafloor and adjacent borderland. The coastline ishighly irregular and continental shelves, though generally narrow, are well developed off the major river deltas(Nile, Rhone, Po, and Ebro). Moreover, the deep-sea basins and trenches have distinctive relief, with basinplains ranging in depth from less than 1,000 meters to more than 4,000…Observation that rocks dredgedoffshore are similar to those on land raised a fundamental concept – the key to understanding Mediterraneanhistory lies in the adjacent emerged land masses, and vice-versa……Early paleographic reconstructions showed that the once-open communication with the Atlantic deterioratedduring the upper Miocene. Water-mass exchange continued for a while in the Rif Strait, but then ceasedcompletely prior to the beginning of the Pliocene……High relief near what is now the Strait of Gibraltar served as a barrier to the exchange of waters with theAtlantic. Exposed to a hot and dry climate, water evaporated and the then-dry basin elicited comparison with agigantic Death Valley…Microfossil studies suggested that the depth of the Mediterranean basin at these timeshad been “deep.” Estimates suggested a dry seafloor as far as 2,000 meters below ocean level… As aresponse to suddenly lowered sea level, rivers feeding the Mediterranean and canyons on the now-dry seafloorbegan a geologically dramatic phase of erosion. Deep, Grand Canyon-like gorges of the Nile and Rhone rivers,presently buried on land, were apparently cut during a great drawdown of water – when the Mediterranean floorlay exposed 1,000 meters or more below its present level…The sudden flooding through a gigantic waterfall atGibraltar drowned the exposed basin floor. These falls would have been 1,000 times bigger than NiagaraFalls…This flooding event is recorded by the Miocene Pliocene boundary, a time when open marine faunalassemblages were suddenly reintroduced from the Atlantic……Geological theories usually fall at a glacial pace into a sea of controversy, and this one is no exception. Today– charging that proof for the theory is lacking – many scientists believe that the Med always contained saltwater,with only the depth of the seafloor and the water being in question… Some of the tenets on which the theorywas formulated are, if not defective, very seriously in question. To interpret their findings, a respectable numberof geologists studying the surrounding emerged borderland as well as subsea sections indicate that alternative,more comprehensive concepts must be envisioned……It is not realistic to envision the Mediterranean seafloor of about 5 million years ago as a desert at 3,000meters below present ocean level. Several years ago…the Mediterranean [was compared] to a complexpicture-puzzle that comprises numerous intricate pieces, many of which are already in place. A general imageis emerging, although gaps in some areas of the picture remain fuzzy and indistinct.All of the following are features of the “desert theory” EXCEPT:
Answer: A
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Question 5
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Which of the following will halve the magnitude of the electrostatic force of attraction between two chargedparticles?Section: Physical Sciences
Answer: C
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