NMAT (Philippines) cheat sheet

Analogy bridges to test first: synonym, antonym, part-to-whole, category-to-member, cause-to-effect, degree (warm is to hot as cool is to cold), and function (pen is to write as knife is to cut).

Signal words flip meaning: 'although', 'despite', 'yet', and 'however' signal contrast, so the blank takes a word opposite to the rest of the sentence; 'because', 'thus', and 'since' signal continuation.

Main idea = the claim the whole passage supports; a supporting detail answers who/what/when/where but not why the author wrote the passage.

Tone and attitude questions are answered by connotation, not denotation: choose among admiring, skeptical, neutral, critical, or nostalgic.

Subject-verb agreement ignores interrupting phrases: 'The box of old letters (was/were) heavy' takes 'was' because the subject is 'box'.

A modifier must sit next to what it describes; 'Walking to school, the rain soaked me' is faulty because the rain is not walking.

Comparative forms: use 'than' after a comparative (better than) and 'as ... as' for equality; never combine both ('more better').

Pronoun-antecedent agreement requires a singular pronoun for singular indefinite antecedents: 'Each of the girls brought her book.'

Number series: test consecutive differences first, then ratios, then second differences before assuming a complex rule.

Alternating series split into two interleaved sequences (positions 1, 3, 5 and positions 2, 4, 6) when differences look irregular.

Letter series: convert letters to positions A=1 through Z=26, then apply the same difference or ratio rule used for numbers.

Recursive series: a term equal to the sum, difference, or product of the two preceding terms (e.g., 2, 3, 5, 8, 13) signals a Fibonacci-type rule.

Figure series: check one transformation per step - rotation angle, reflection axis, number of sides, or shading alternation.

Odd-one-out items are solved by naming the shared attribute of all but one option (all prime, all polygons with equal sides, all verbs).

Matrix items: read across rows first, then confirm the same rule down columns; a rule that works in only one direction is usually wrong.

Analogical figures: state the change in words (e.g., 'shaded region moves clockwise one position') and apply it to the new base figure.

Percent change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100; a 20% increase then a 20% decrease leaves the original value at 96%, not 100%.

Average = sum ÷ number of items; if the average of n items is A, the total is nA.

Combined work rate: 1/t = 1/a + 1/b, where a and b are the individual times to finish the same job.

Distance = rate × time; for two objects moving toward each other, add speeds; moving in the same direction, subtract speeds.

Simple interest I = Prt; compound amount A = P(1 + r)^n, with r per period and n the number of periods.

Slope m = (y₂ − y₁) ÷ (x₂ − x₁); parallel lines share a slope, perpendicular slopes multiply to −1.

Probability of an event = favorable outcomes ÷ total equally likely outcomes; P(not E) = 1 − P(E).

Ratios as proportions: a/b = c/d solves by cross-multiplication ad = bc.

Area formulas: triangle ½bh, circle πr², trapezoid ½(b₁ + b₂)h, rectangle lw.

Confusable characters to distinguish: O vs 0, I vs l vs 1, b vs d, p vs q, m vs n, and 5 vs S.

A mirror image reverses left-right order of a string; a 180° rotation reverses both order and character orientation.

Target-counting items: scan row by row and tally only exact matches, since near-matches (one changed digit) are the usual distractor.

String comparison: align the two entries character by character from the first position; the first point of divergence locates the error.

Column and table checks: verify that the number of entries per row and the alignment of labels match, not just the values.

Sorting by category requires classifying every item before ranking; a single misfiled item invalidates the count.

Same/different judgments on symbol pairs are faster when the pair is scanned from the outside inward on long strings.

Time pressure dominates this section: accuracy on each item matters more than finishing every item.

Organelle roles: mitochondrion ATP production, ribosome protein synthesis, chloroplast photosynthesis, nucleus DNA storage, lysosome digestion.

DNA base pairing: adenine pairs with thymine, guanine pairs with cytosine; in RNA, uracil replaces thymine.

Photosynthesis equation: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂; aerobic respiration is the reverse energy-releasing process.

Mitosis order: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, producing two genetically identical diploid daughter cells.

Enzymes are substrate-specific proteins (lock-and-key or induced-fit) that are denatured by high heat or extreme pH.

Monohybrid cross Aa × Aa yields a 3:1 phenotype ratio and a 1:2:1 genotype ratio when A is completely dominant.

Blood typing: O is the universal donor of red cells, AB is the universal recipient, and Rh adds a second antigen.

Taxonomy order from broadest to narrowest: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.

Mole relations: n = mass ÷ molar mass; one mole contains 6.022 × 10²³ particles; at STP one mole of ideal gas occupies 22.4 L.

pH = −log[H₃O⁺]; pH below 7 is acidic, above 7 is basic, and a tenfold change in H⁺ concentration shifts pH by exactly 1 unit.

Neutralization: acid + base → salt + water; strong acid plus strong base gives a pH near 7 at the equivalence point.

Ideal gas law PV = nRT, with R = 0.0821 L·atm/(mol·K) and temperature always in kelvin.

Oxidation is loss of electrons and reduction is gain; in a redox reaction the oxidizing agent is itself reduced.

Periodic trends: electronegativity and ionization energy increase left to right across a period and decrease down a group; atomic radius does the reverse.

Ionic bonds form between metals and nonmetals via electron transfer; covalent bonds form between nonmetals via electron sharing.

Balancing equations conserves atoms of each element on both sides; coefficients may change but subscripts in formulas may not.

Kinematics: v = d/t for constant velocity, a = Δv/t, and v² = v₀² + 2ad for constant acceleration.

Newton's second law F = ma; Newton's third law states action and reaction forces are equal, opposite, and act on different bodies.

Work W = Fd cos θ and power P = W/t; kinetic energy ½mv², gravitational potential energy mgh.

Conservation of energy: mechanical energy stays constant when only gravity does work, so ½mv² is exchanged with mgh.

Ohm's law V = IR; electric power P = IV = I²R = V²/R.

Wave equation v = fλ; frequency is fixed by the source while wavelength changes when the medium changes.

Density ρ = m/V; an object floats when its density is less than the fluid's.

Near Earth, free-fall acceleration is about 9.8 m/s² downward and is independent of mass when air resistance is neglected.

Law of demand: price and quantity demanded move in opposite directions, other things equal; supply moves in the same direction as price.

Opportunity cost is the value of the next best alternative given up, not the total value of all alternatives.

GDP measures the market value of final goods and services produced within a country in a given period; intermediate goods are excluded to avoid double counting.

Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level, which reduces purchasing power; deflation is a sustained fall.

Primary sources are firsthand records (documents, artifacts, eyewitness accounts); secondary sources interpret or analyze primary material.

Separation of powers divides government into executive, legislative, and judicial branches; checks and balances let each branch limit the others.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution is the present fundamental law and establishes a presidential, bicameral system.

Cultural relativism judges behavior by a culture's own standards; ethnocentrism judges other cultures by one's own standards.

Latitude lines run east-west and measure distance north or south of the equator; longitude lines run north-south and measure east or west of the prime meridian.