OAT Physics study plan
OAT Physics · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Biology & Physics
Map every Biology topic in the official OAT outline to a one-page personal summary sheet, flagging any topic you cannot explain aloud in 60 seconds.
Review cell biology and molecular genetics (DNA replication, transcription, translation, mutation types) and solve 30 untimed practice items on those subtopics.
Re-derive the kinematics equations from definitions and apply them to 20 projectile and free-fall problems without looking at solutions first.
Build a formula card for mechanics (kinematics, Newton's laws, work-energy, momentum) that you can recite from memory by week's end.
Your checkpoint
A dated Biology topic map plus a completed 20-item kinematics problem set scored and error-logged.
Biology & Physics
Work through metabolism, photosynthesis, and cellular respiration, drawing each pathway from memory and labeling net ATP and electron carriers.
Cover classical and molecular genetics (Mendelian ratios, linkage, Hardy-Weinberg) and solve 25 genetics calculation problems.
Study fluid statics and dynamics (pressure, buoyancy, continuity, Bernoulli) and solve 20 problems mixing those concepts.
Log every missed item from weeks 1-2 into a single error notebook organized by cause: content gap, misread, or calculation slip.
Your checkpoint
Hand-drawn respiration and photosynthesis pathway diagrams from memory plus a 45-item error notebook with causes tagged.
General Chemistry & Organic Chemistry
Review atomic structure, periodic trends, and electron configuration, then complete 30 practice items on those subtopics.
Master stoichiometry, limiting reagents, and solution concentration by solving 25 multi-step calculation problems.
Cover organic functional groups, nomenclature, and isomerism, building a reference table of 12 functional groups with structure, name suffix, and one reaction each.
Practice stereochemistry identification (R/S, E/Z) on 20 structures drawn by hand.
Your checkpoint
A functional-group reference table plus a 25-item stoichiometry set with full worked solutions written out.
General Chemistry & Organic Chemistry
Study chemical equilibrium, acid-base chemistry, and buffers, solving 25 pH and Ka/Kb problems including titration curves.
Cover thermodynamics and electrochemistry basics in general chemistry and solve 15 combined problems.
Review organic reaction mechanisms (substitution, elimination, addition) and predict products for 25 reactions with reasoning written for each.
Complete one timed 30-question mixed chemistry set under exam pacing and review every miss.
Your checkpoint
A timed 30-question chemistry set completed with a score recorded and every incorrect item rewritten with the correct reasoning.
Physics & Quantitative Reasoning
Cover electricity and magnetism (Coulomb's law, circuits, magnetic force) and solve 25 problems including resistor network simplification.
Study optics (reflection, refraction, lenses, mirrors) and solve 20 ray-diagram and thin-lens calculation problems.
Review quantitative reasoning topics: ratios, percentages, averages, and probability, solving 30 items with a calculator-free mindset where possible.
Practice translating word problems into equations quickly, timing yourself at 60 seconds per item.
Your checkpoint
A physics optics and circuits problem set with ray diagrams drawn by hand, plus a 30-item quantitative reasoning log with per-item timing.
Reading Comprehension & Quantitative Reasoning
Practice reading comprehension on 6 unfamiliar science and humanities passages, answering all items and recording time per passage.
Identify your three most frequent comprehension error types (main idea, inference, detail, tone) and drill 15 items targeting each.
Review data interpretation and algebra word problems in quantitative reasoning, solving 25 items with written setups.
Complete one timed quantitative reasoning section and analyze pacing, flagging any item that consumed over 90 seconds.
Your checkpoint
A passage-analysis log covering 6 passages with error types classified, plus one timed quantitative section with a pacing report.
Biology & General Chemistry & Organic Chemistry
Re-review the highest-yield biology, general chemistry, and organic chemistry topics identified from your error notebook.
Re-solve every item in the error notebook without notes and mark which ones remain shaky.
Complete two timed mixed science sets of 40 questions each, simulating exam conditions.
Rewrite your formula cards and functional-group table from memory to confirm retention.
Your checkpoint
Two timed 40-question science sets completed with scores compared to week 4 baseline, plus a rewritten-from-memory formula sheet.
Physics & Quantitative Reasoning & Reading Comprehension
Take two full-length timed practice exams under realistic conditions, including breaks and section timing.
Review every missed item from both exams and classify each error by domain and cause.
Drill the three weakest subtopics across all domains with 20 targeted items each.
Finalize a one-page exam-day reference sheet of formulas, constants, and test-taking pacing rules.
Your checkpoint
Two full-length practice exam score reports with a final weak-topic drill log and a completed one-page exam-day reference sheet.
Milestones
Week 4: Score at least 60 percent on the timed 30-question mixed chemistry set and confirm every item in the error notebook has a tagged cause.
Week 6: Average under 90 seconds per reading comprehension passage with at least 70 percent accuracy, and finish one timed quantitative section within the time limit.
Week 8: Achieve a higher full-length practice exam score than the week 4 baseline in at least four of the six domains, with no domain below 50 percent.