UCAT cheat sheet

Format: 44 questions in 21 minutes, arranged as 11 passages of 4 questions each, giving roughly 29 seconds per question.

Three-option logic: True = the passage states or directly implies it; False = the passage contradicts it; Can't Tell = the passage is silent, even if real-world knowledge suggests an answer.

Only information stated in or logically implied by the passage counts; outside knowledge and personal opinion invalidate an otherwise plausible option.

Locate before reading: find a distinctive stem word (name, number, date, technical term) in the passage, read the surrounding sentence(s), then evaluate all four options.

A correct option must be fully supported; an option that is only partly supported, or that is true but does not answer the question asked, is wrong.

Extreme qualifiers such as only, all, never and always make a statement harder to support, so such options are usually False or Can't Tell.

Author-attitude questions are signalled by evaluative adjectives and adverbs, plus concession words such as although, admittedly and yet.

Percentages and absolute numbers are not interchangeable: a larger percentage in one group does not mean a larger count unless the base size is known.

Format: 29 questions in 31 minutes, about 64 seconds per question; an on-screen calculator and a whiteboard are available.

Syllogism validity test: a conclusion is correct only if it must be true in every possible arrangement of the sets; one counter-example drawing makes it invalid.

'All A are B' is not reversible, but its contrapositive 'No non-B is A' is valid; 'No A are B' converts to 'No B are A'.

'Some A are B' is symmetric (so 'Some B are A') but never implies 'Some A are not B' or 'No A are B'.

An assumption is an unstated premise the argument requires; negate it in your head and if the conclusion collapses, it was genuinely assumed.

Strengthen or weaken answers must affect the link between the given evidence and the conclusion; answers that only restate the evidence do nothing.

Probability: independent events multiply, mutually exclusive events add, and P(at least one) = 1 − P(none).

Two-set totals: total = A + B − both + neither, which rearranges to both = A + B + neither − total when the overlap is unknown.

Recognising information questions: test each numbered statement against the data independently, then select every statement that is supported.

Format: 36 questions in 24 minutes, roughly 40 seconds per question; an on-screen calculator is provided.

Percentage change = (new value − old value) ÷ old value × 100; a rise and an equal-percentage fall do not return to the starting value.

Successive percentage changes use multipliers: a 20% rise then a 15% fall is ×1.20 × 0.85 = ×1.02, not a 5% change.

Ratio a : b gives total parts a + b, so value per part = total ÷ (a + b) and share a = a × value per part.

Combined work rate: 1/t_total = 1/t₁ + 1/t₂, so the joint time is always less than either individual time.

Average = total ÷ count; when group sizes differ, combine the raw totals rather than averaging the two group averages.

Unit conversion before calculation: km/h ÷ 3.6 = m/s; currency chains convert by multiplying by the rate and reverse by dividing.

Formula set: triangle area = ½ × base × height; circle area = πr², circumference = 2πr; prism volume = cross-section × length.

Answers are widely spaced, so round inputs and estimate first; only compute precisely when two options are close.

Format: 69 questions in 26 minutes across about 20 scenarios, reported as a band from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest).

Part 1 asks you to rate each response option's appropriateness on a four-point scale: very appropriate, appropriate, inappropriate, very inappropriate.

Part 2 asks you to rate the importance of factors on a four-point scale: very important, important, not very important, not at all important.

Part 3 asks you to select the three most and three least appropriate responses from eight options; each correct selection scores credit.

Rating each option independently is required: options in one set are judged against the scenario, not against each other.

Priority order for conflict: immediate patient safety, then dignity and confidentiality, then professional protocol, then efficiency.

Confidentiality may be breached without consent where there is a serious risk of harm to the patient or others, or where the law requires disclosure.

Act only within the role named in the scenario (for example medical student), and escalate beyond that competence to an appropriate senior.

Duty of candour: acknowledge an error to the patient honestly, apologise, explain, and report it to a senior or the relevant team.