MCAT CARS case studies
MCAT CARS · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) section is one of the four sections of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), the exam the AAMC administers for people preparing to apply to medical school. CARS is a multiple-choice, passage-based section that tests reading comprehension and reasoning rather than science content: you read dense humanities and social-science passages and answer questions about what the text says, what it implies, and what follows from it. The MCAT CARS case studies are 5 cases and about 2,435 words.
1The Green Lab Guide's Superlative Claim
The campus sustainability office issues a 'Green Lab Guide' stating: 'Laboratories consume up to ten times more energy per square foot than office spaces. Therefore, shutting down fume hoods when not in use is the single most effective action a lab can take to reduce its energy footprint.' Later, the guide notes that fume hoods account for about 40% of a laboratory's energy use and that 'many hoods are left open overnight, wasting conditioned air.' A graduate student in chemistry reads the guide and asks whether the recommendation follows from the evidence.
486 words, about 2 min2The Statue Letter and the Counter-Letter
To the editor: The statue of Elias Ward in the town square should be removed. Ward's sculptures are aesthetically accomplished, but the man himself was a prominent advocate of forced sterilization.
485 words, about 2 min3Osei's Framework and the Vaccination Requirement
Philosopher Mara Osei argues: 'In a pandemic, restrictions on movement are justified only when three conditions hold: the restriction is necessary to prevent significant harm, it is proportionate to that harm, and less restrictive alternatives have been shown to fail. Necessity alone is insufficient; a measure that works but imposes excessive burdens fails the proportionality test.
498 words, about 2 min4Two Accounts of the 1912 Textile Strike
The following are two accounts of the 1912 Lawrence, Massachusetts, textile strike. A company report states: 'The strike was instigated by outside agitators from the Industrial Workers of the World.
488 words, about 2 min5Planned Obsolescence and the Slow Phone
An essay defines planned obsolescence as 'a strategy in which a manufacturer deliberately designs a product to have a limited useful life, so that consumers must buy replacements sooner than they otherwise would.' The essay gives the example of a 1950s light bulb cartel that agreed to shorten bulb lifespan from 2,500 to 1,000 hours. A student reads that a smartphone maker's software updates slow older phones and argues: 'This is planned obsolescence.
478 words, about 2 min