FMRDA Medicine Admission cheat sheet

Cell theory: all living things are made of cells, the cell is the basic unit of life, and all cells arise from pre-existing cells by division.

Prokaryotes lack a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles; eukaryotes have a nucleus, mitochondria, and (in plants) chloroplasts and a cellulose wall.

Mitosis produces two genetically identical diploid daughter cells; meiosis produces four haploid gametes with crossing over in prophase I.

DNA base pairing: adenine pairs with thymine (two hydrogen bonds), guanine pairs with cytosine (three hydrogen bonds).

Enzymes are biological catalysts that lower activation energy; they are specific to substrate and denature at high temperature or extreme pH.

Photosynthesis: 6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy yields C6H12O6 + 6O2, occurring in chloroplast thylakoids (light reactions) and stroma (Calvin cycle).

Aerobic respiration yields about 36-38 ATP per glucose; anaerobic fermentation yields 2 ATP and produces lactate (animals) or ethanol and CO2 (yeast).

Blood groups follow ABO inheritance: IA and IB are codominant, i is recessive; Rh factor is inherited separately and is positive dominant.

Natural selection requires heritable variation, differential reproductive success, and environmental pressure acting on phenotypes over generations.

Mole concept: one mole contains 6.022 x 10^23 particles; moles = mass (g) / molar mass (g/mol); at STP one mole of ideal gas occupies 22.4 L.

Molarity = moles of solute / liters of solution; dilution obeys M1V1 = M2V2.

Ideal gas law: PV = nRT, with R = 8.314 J/(mol·K) or 0.0821 L·atm/(mol·K).

pH = -log[H+]; a pH below 7 is acidic, above 7 is basic; strong acid-base neutralization follows moles H+ = moles OH-.

Oxidation is loss of electrons (increase in oxidation number); reduction is gain of electrons; oxidizing agents are themselves reduced.

Le Chatelier's principle: adding reactant shifts equilibrium toward products; increasing pressure shifts toward the side with fewer gas moles; a catalyst changes rate but not position.

Periodic trends: atomic radius decreases across a period and increases down a group; electronegativity and ionization energy increase across a period.

Bond types: ionic bonds transfer electrons between metals and nonmetals; covalent bonds share electrons; metallic bonds involve delocalized electrons.

Empirical formula gives the simplest atom ratio; molecular formula is a whole-number multiple of it, found from molar mass.

Newton's second law: F = ma; weight is W = mg, with g approximately 9.8 m/s^2 near Earth's surface.

Kinematics: v = u + at, s = ut + (1/2)at^2, and v^2 = u^2 + 2as for constant acceleration.

Work = force x displacement x cos(theta); kinetic energy = (1/2)mv^2; gravitational potential energy = mgh; power = work / time.

Conservation of momentum: m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 + m2v2 for collisions in an isolated system.

Ohm's law: V = IR; power dissipated P = VI = I^2R = V^2/R; resistors in series add, in parallel reciprocals add.

Wave equation: v = f x lambda; for light in vacuum c = 3.0 x 10^8 m/s; refraction follows Snell's law n1 sin(theta1) = n2 sin(theta2).

Lens and mirror equation: 1/f = 1/v + 1/u, with magnification m = -v/u (sign conventions vary by textbook).

Pressure in fluids: P = F/A; hydrostatic pressure P = rho x g x h; buoyant force equals the weight of displaced fluid (Archimedes).

Thermodynamics: heat Q = mc(delta T); latent heat Q = mL; efficiency of a heat engine = useful work / heat input.

Quadratic formula: x = [-b +/- sqrt(b^2 - 4ac)] / (2a); the discriminant b^2 - 4ac determines two real, one repeated, or no real roots.

Logarithm rules: log(ab) = log a + log b; log(a/b) = log a - log b; log(a^n) = n log a; log base b of 1 equals 0.

Arithmetic sequence: nth term = a + (n-1)d; sum = n/2 [2a + (n-1)d]. Geometric sequence: nth term = ar^(n-1); sum = a(1-r^n)/(1-r).

Trigonometric identities: sin^2(x) + cos^2(x) = 1; sin(2x) = 2 sin x cos x; cosine rule c^2 = a^2 + b^2 - 2ab cos C.

Derivative rules: d/dx(x^n) = nx^(n-1); d/dx(sin x) = cos x; product rule (uv)' = u'v + uv'; chain rule d/dx f(g(x)) = f'(g(x))g'(x).

Integral of x^n is x^(n+1)/(n+1) + C for n not equal to -1; definite integral equals the area under the curve between limits.

Probability: P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A and B); P(A and B) = P(A)P(B) for independent events; combinations nCr = n! / [r!(n-r)!].

Circle: area = pi r^2, circumference = 2 pi r; equation (x-h)^2 + (y-k)^2 = r^2 with center (h,k).

Slope of a line = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1); parallel lines have equal slopes; perpendicular slopes multiply to -1.

Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb; compound subjects joined by 'and' take a plural verb unless they form a single idea.

Neither/nor and either/or agree with the nearer subject: 'Neither the students nor the teacher was present.'

Active voice: subject performs the action; passive voice: object becomes subject with a form of 'be' plus past participle.

Direct to indirect speech shifts tense back one step and adjusts pronouns and time words (now becomes then, today becomes that day).

Common confusions: affect (verb) vs effect (noun); its (possessive) vs it's (it is); their vs there vs they're; complement vs compliment.

Reading comprehension strategy: identify the main idea, distinguish stated facts from inferences, and use context clues for unfamiliar vocabulary.

Punctuation: a semicolon joins two independent clauses; a colon introduces a list or explanation; commas set off non-essential clauses.

Dangling modifiers occur when the introductory phrase does not logically describe the subject of the main clause.

Logical reasoning: in syllogisms, a valid conclusion must follow necessarily from the premises; 'all A are B' and 'all B are C' implies 'all A are C'.

Conditional statements: 'if P then Q' is equivalent to its contrapositive 'if not Q then not P'; the converse 'if Q then P' is not equivalent.

Number series and analogies test pattern recognition: check differences, ratios, alternating sequences, and letter-position shifts.

Blood relations and direction sense problems are solved by drawing a diagram and tracking relative positions or kinship links step by step.

Data interpretation: percentage change = (new - old)/old x 100; averages and ratios should be computed before comparing options.

Cause-effect and assumption questions require distinguishing a stated fact from an unstated premise the argument depends on.

Major world bodies: the United Nations was founded in 1945 with headquarters in New York; the WHO, UNESCO, and UNICEF are UN agencies.

Basic geography: the equator, prime meridian, and major oceans and continents; capital cities and currencies are frequently tested items.

Scientific and historical milestones: Newton's laws, Darwin's theory of evolution, the periodic table by Mendeleev, and the invention of the printing press.