Memorize MCAT Chemistry: 147 Flashcards for Gen Chem and Organic Chem

MCAT chemistry is not one subject but two exams stitched together: general chemistry, where almost every card is an equation or a constant you must recall instantly, and organic chemistry, where the cards are mechanisms, functional groups and stereochemistry vocabulary. The MCAT Chemistry deck on Flip It (deck code BR8933, 147 cards) covers both in one pass, from the definition of atomic number to the four quantum numbers. Here is how to work through it without stalling in the middle.

Eight cards, straight from the deck

The syllabus packed into 147 cards

• Atomic structure and bonding: atomic number, mass number, isotopes, electronegativity, ionization energy, electron affinity, the octet rule, covalent and ionic bonds, hydrogen bonding, London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, bond energy, lattice energy, formal charge.
• Orbitals and geometry: the aufbau principle, Hund's rule, the Pauli exclusion principle, the four quantum numbers, sp/sp²/sp³ hybridization, VSEPR theory, sigma and pi bonds, bond order, and the shapes of CH₄, H₂O, NH₃, CO₂ and BF₃.
• Acids, bases and equilibrium: pH = −log[H⁺], buffers, Ka, pKa, Kb, Kw, Ksp, the common ion effect, Le Chatelier's principle, Kc versus Kp, titration, equivalence point versus endpoint, indicators, Brønsted-Lowry and Lewis definitions, conjugate pairs.
• Thermo, kinetics and gases: enthalpy, entropy, ΔG < 0 for spontaneity, the first and second laws, Hess's law, specific heat, activation energy, catalysts, rate laws and reaction orders, PV = nRT, Boyle, Charles, Avogadro, Dalton's partial pressures.
• Solutions and electrochemistry: molarity, molality, normality, M₁V₁ = M₂V₂, Raoult's law, osmosis and π = MRT, oxidizing and reducing agents, oxidation numbers, the Nernst equation, galvanic cells, electrolysis, anode versus cathode, Faraday's constant.
• Organic chemistry: alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl and amino groups, esters, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, amides, benzene and resonance, SN1/SN2/E1/E2, anti-Markovnikov addition, chirality, enantiomers, diastereomers, optical activity, constitutional and conformational isomers, cis/trans.
• Stoichiometry: limiting reactant, theoretical versus actual yield, percent yield.

Two tactics for these specific cards

Sort the equation cards into their own pile. Roughly twenty cards here are formulas — Henderson-Hasselbalch, Nernst, ΔG = ΔH − TΔS, PV = nRT, π = MRT, M₁V₁ = M₂V₂, Ka × Kb = Kw. Without a calculator on test day, recall must be automatic, so drill that subset daily and the definition cards only every few days.

Answer the mechanism cards with a drawing, not a sentence. For SN1, SN2, E1 and E2, say the answer aloud, then sketch the carbocation or the backside attack before flipping. Cards you can only recite are the ones that collapse on a passage question.

Before starting the content, run through the exam's own rules and scoring: MCAT Test Format, Scoring and History. Then log in at flip-it.app and open deck BR8933.