FMRDA Medicine Admission common mistakes
FMRDA Medicine Admission · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Spending disproportionate time on a single hard Biology question (e.g., a multi-step genetics pedigree) and leaving 8–10 easier recall questions unattempted at the end of the paper.
Biology questions look deceptively solvable, so candidates keep re-reading the stem instead of cutting losses; there is no practised rule for abandoning a question, and the paper has no negative marking for skipped items if attempted later.
What to do instead
Adopt a 90-second cut-off: if no clear path appears, mark the item and move on. In the last 10 minutes, return only to marked items and fill every blank, since an unattempted question scores the same as a wrong one but a guess can score. Practise this with timed 40-question biology sets.
Confusing the mechanism and outcome of mitosis versus meiosis, especially chromosome number in daughter cells and where crossing over occurs.
Both are taught as 'cell division' with similar diagrams; candidates memorise the phase names (prophase, metaphase) but not the functional distinction of ploidy and genetic variation, so they answer from the diagram rather than the concept.
What to do instead
Build a two-column table: starting cell, number of divisions, daughter cell ploidy, synapsis/crossing over (prophase I only), and purpose. Then answer 30 past-style questions where the stem describes a cell (e.g., 'a cell with 2n=24 undergoes division producing cells with 12 chromosomes') and identify the process.
Balancing chemical equations by adjusting subscripts in formulas instead of coefficients, producing a 'balanced' equation with changed substances.
Under time pressure the visual habit of tweaking numbers is faster than the systematic approach, and candidates do not check that each formula still represents the same compound.
What to do instead
Use a fixed order: balance metals, then non-metals, then hydrogen, then oxygen; balance polyatomic ions as units; only ever write coefficients. After balancing, count each element on both sides and confirm no subscript changed. Do 15 equations with a written element tally table.
Applying mole calculations without converting units to the consistent set (grams to moles via molar mass, cm³ to dm³ for concentration, and using Kelvin in gas laws).
Formulas are memorised as symbols (n = m/M, c = n/V) without attaching units, so a volume given in cm³ is substituted directly and the answer is off by a factor of 1000 or the gas-law answer is wrong because Celsius was used.
What to do instead
Write the unit next to every number before substituting, and convert first: cm³ ÷ 1000 = dm³; °C + 273 = K. Keep a one-line unit-conversion box at the top of rough work and check the final unit matches what the question asks for.
Substituting numbers into a physics formula without checking that all quantities are in SI units (e.g., using grams in F = ma, or km/h in kinematics).
Exam stems often give practical units (g, cm, km/h, minutes) to look realistic, and candidates pattern-match to the formula they recognise without a conversion step.
What to do instead
Before any calculation, list the given quantities with their SI conversions in a column. Memorise the common conversions (1 g = 10⁻³ kg, 1 cm = 10⁻² m, 1 km/h = 5/18 m/s). Do 10 mixed-unit numericals where the first mark is awarded for the conversion line.
Treating vectors as scalars - adding speeds or forces arithmetically instead of resolving components, and ignoring direction in momentum or displacement problems.
Most earlier practice is one-dimensional, so the habit of simple addition carries over; the stem's wording ('at 30° to the horizontal', 'opposite direction') is read but not acted on.
What to do instead
Draw a free-body or vector diagram for every mechanics question before calculating. Resolve into x and y components, sum each axis separately, then recombine. Practise 10 problems mixing perpendicular and opposite vectors until the diagram step is automatic.
Rushing the first 10 Mathematics questions because they look easy, producing sign errors and misread operators (e.g., solving x² − 5x + 6 = 0 as if it were x² + 5x + 6).
Early questions feel like a warm-up and are answered at speed; working memory holds the copied expression imperfectly, and there is no check step because the answer 'looks right'.
What to do instead
Copy each equation onto rough paper exactly as printed, then re-read it once before solving. Substitute your answer back into the original equation as a mandatory check. Track your error types for a week; most candidates find 60–70% of lost marks are sign or transcription errors, which a 5-second check catches.
Attempting trigonometry or calculus questions without sketching the function or triangle, leading to wrong quadrant signs or missed solutions in a given interval.
Candidates rely on formula recall alone; interval-restricted equations (e.g., sin θ = 0.5 for 0° ≤ θ ≤ 360°) have multiple solutions that only a sketch or unit-circle reference reveals.
What to do instead
For every trig equation, draw the unit circle or a quick sketch and list all solutions in the stated interval before selecting an option. For calculus, sketch the curve to confirm maxima/minima and sign of the derivative. Make the sketch a scored step in your practice.
Answering English comprehension questions from prior knowledge or personal opinion rather than from the passage, and choosing an option that is true in general but not stated in the text.
Under time pressure candidates skim the passage, then select the option that 'sounds right'; distractors are deliberately written as plausible general truths, so background knowledge actively misleads.
What to do instead
For each question, locate and underline the line in the passage that supports the answer; if no line supports it, eliminate the option. Treat 'true but not in the passage' as wrong. Practise with 5 passages where every answer must be justified by a quoted phrase.
Misreading the exact scope of the question in General Knowledge and Reasoning - answering 'which is NOT correct', 'all of the following except', or a 'most likely' inference as if it asked for the true statement.
Negative and superlative qualifiers are short words easily skipped during fast reading, and reasoning items often include a true statement that does not answer the specific question asked.
What to do instead
Circle or underline the qualifier (NOT, EXCEPT, MOST, LEAST, ONLY) before evaluating options, and restate the task in your own words in one line. For reasoning items, eliminate options that are true but irrelevant to the question asked. Drill 20 negative-stem questions until the circling habit is automatic.