MCAT practice test exam Questions with
Complete Solutions (Latest 2025/2026).
A stroke patient comprehends speech but cannot move her mouth to form words. Which of the
following brain areas is likely affected?
■Broca's area
■Wernicke's Area
■Arcuate fasciculus
■Superior temporal gyrus - CORRECT ANSWERS Broca's area (Broca's area governs the motor
function of language. A stroke that affects Broca's area will leave receptive language intact, but word
formation will be affected. A stroke affecting Wernicke's area, choice (B), will make it so the individual is
unable to comprehend speech. A stroke affecting the arcuate fasciculus, choice (C), will result in an
inability to repeat words heard but spontaneous language production is intact. The superior temporal
gyrus, choice (D), is where Wernicke's area is located.)
Each individual in a group of teenagers is asked to estimate the height of a tree. One individual
estimates the height to be 25 feet, but after discussing with the group is convinced that the height is
likely closer to 40 feet. Which type of conformity is seen here?
■Obedience
■Identification
■Internalization
■Compliance - CORRECT ANSWERS Internalization (Internalization refers to the type of
conformity in which an individual changes her outward opinion to match the group and also personally
agrees with those ideas.)
Which of the following neurotransmitters is associated with both schizophrenia and Parkinson's
disease?
■GABA
,■Serotonin
■Dopamine
■Enkephalins - CORRECT ANSWERS Dopamine (Schizophrenia is associated with high levels of
dopamine, or high sensitivity to dopamine. Parkinson's disease is associated with destruction of the
dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia.)
Primary groups differ from secondary groups in that:
■A) primary groups are shorter-lived than secondary groups.
■B) primary groups are larger than secondary groups.
■C) primary groups are formed of stronger bonds than secondary groups.
■D) primary groups are assigned while secondary groups are chosen. - CORRECT ANSWERS C
(Primary groups have direct and close bonds between members, providing warm, personal, and intimate
relationships to its members. Secondary groups, in contrast, form superficial bonds and tend to last for a
shorter period of time.)
A student is volunteering in a hospital with a stroke center. When asked what he believes is the
prevalence of stroke among those greater than 65 years old, the student states that it is probably about
40% even though data analysis indicates that it is significantly lower. What accounts for this error?
■Deductive reasoning
■Representativeness heuristic
■Base rate fallacy
■Confirmation bias - CORRECT ANSWERS Base rate fallacy (The base rate fallacy occurs when
prototypical or stereotypical factors are used for analysis rather than actual data. Because the student is
volunteering in a hospital with a stroke center, he sees more patients who have experienced a stroke
than would be expected in a hospital without a stroke center. Thus, this experience changes his
perception and results in base rate fallacy. Deductive reasoning, choice (A), refers to drawing
conclusions by integrating different pieces of evidence. The representativeness heuristic, choice (B),
involves categorization and classification based on how well an individual example fits its category.
Confirmation bias, choice (D), occurs when a person only seeks information that reinforces his or her
opinions.)
, Why are triacylglycerols used in the human body for energy storage?
■A) They are highly hydrated, and therefore can store lots of energy.
■B) They always have short fatty acid chains, for easy access by metabolic enzymes.
■C) The carbon atoms of the fatty acid chains are highly reduced, and therefore yield more energy upon
oxidation.
■D) Polysaccharides, which would actually be a better energy storage form, would dissolve in the body. -
CORRECT ANSWERS C (Triacylglycerols are highly hydrophobic and therefore not highly
hydrated (which would add extra weight from the water of hydration, taking away from the energy
density of these molecules), eliminating choice (A). The fatty acid chains produce twice as much energy
as polysaccharides during oxidation because they are highly reduced. The fatty acid chains vary in length
and saturation.)
Prolonged vitamin B12 deficiency can be associated with subacute combined degeneration of the spinal
cord. Patients with this disease have difficulty walking because they lose the ability to feel where their
feet are in space. This represents a loss of:
■vestibular sense.
■kinesthetic sense.
■parallel processing.
■feature detection. - CORRECT ANSWERS Kinesthetic sense (Kinesthetic sense, or
proprioception, refers to the ability to tell where body parts are in three-dimensional space. The sensors
for proprioception are found predominantly in the muscles and joints. Loss of vestibular sense, choice
(A), would also cause difficulty walking, but this would be due to a sense of dizziness or vertigo, not an
inability to feel one's feet.)
Which of the following is/are function(s) of NADPH in the cell?
►I. Antimicrobial resistance via bacterial destruction by bleach within lysosomes.
►II. Involvement in the production of the precursors to steroid hormones.
►III. Functional carriage of energy across organelle membranes for use within the mitochondria
Complete Solutions (Latest 2025/2026).
A stroke patient comprehends speech but cannot move her mouth to form words. Which of the
following brain areas is likely affected?
■Broca's area
■Wernicke's Area
■Arcuate fasciculus
■Superior temporal gyrus - CORRECT ANSWERS Broca's area (Broca's area governs the motor
function of language. A stroke that affects Broca's area will leave receptive language intact, but word
formation will be affected. A stroke affecting Wernicke's area, choice (B), will make it so the individual is
unable to comprehend speech. A stroke affecting the arcuate fasciculus, choice (C), will result in an
inability to repeat words heard but spontaneous language production is intact. The superior temporal
gyrus, choice (D), is where Wernicke's area is located.)
Each individual in a group of teenagers is asked to estimate the height of a tree. One individual
estimates the height to be 25 feet, but after discussing with the group is convinced that the height is
likely closer to 40 feet. Which type of conformity is seen here?
■Obedience
■Identification
■Internalization
■Compliance - CORRECT ANSWERS Internalization (Internalization refers to the type of
conformity in which an individual changes her outward opinion to match the group and also personally
agrees with those ideas.)
Which of the following neurotransmitters is associated with both schizophrenia and Parkinson's
disease?
■GABA
,■Serotonin
■Dopamine
■Enkephalins - CORRECT ANSWERS Dopamine (Schizophrenia is associated with high levels of
dopamine, or high sensitivity to dopamine. Parkinson's disease is associated with destruction of the
dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia.)
Primary groups differ from secondary groups in that:
■A) primary groups are shorter-lived than secondary groups.
■B) primary groups are larger than secondary groups.
■C) primary groups are formed of stronger bonds than secondary groups.
■D) primary groups are assigned while secondary groups are chosen. - CORRECT ANSWERS C
(Primary groups have direct and close bonds between members, providing warm, personal, and intimate
relationships to its members. Secondary groups, in contrast, form superficial bonds and tend to last for a
shorter period of time.)
A student is volunteering in a hospital with a stroke center. When asked what he believes is the
prevalence of stroke among those greater than 65 years old, the student states that it is probably about
40% even though data analysis indicates that it is significantly lower. What accounts for this error?
■Deductive reasoning
■Representativeness heuristic
■Base rate fallacy
■Confirmation bias - CORRECT ANSWERS Base rate fallacy (The base rate fallacy occurs when
prototypical or stereotypical factors are used for analysis rather than actual data. Because the student is
volunteering in a hospital with a stroke center, he sees more patients who have experienced a stroke
than would be expected in a hospital without a stroke center. Thus, this experience changes his
perception and results in base rate fallacy. Deductive reasoning, choice (A), refers to drawing
conclusions by integrating different pieces of evidence. The representativeness heuristic, choice (B),
involves categorization and classification based on how well an individual example fits its category.
Confirmation bias, choice (D), occurs when a person only seeks information that reinforces his or her
opinions.)
, Why are triacylglycerols used in the human body for energy storage?
■A) They are highly hydrated, and therefore can store lots of energy.
■B) They always have short fatty acid chains, for easy access by metabolic enzymes.
■C) The carbon atoms of the fatty acid chains are highly reduced, and therefore yield more energy upon
oxidation.
■D) Polysaccharides, which would actually be a better energy storage form, would dissolve in the body. -
CORRECT ANSWERS C (Triacylglycerols are highly hydrophobic and therefore not highly
hydrated (which would add extra weight from the water of hydration, taking away from the energy
density of these molecules), eliminating choice (A). The fatty acid chains produce twice as much energy
as polysaccharides during oxidation because they are highly reduced. The fatty acid chains vary in length
and saturation.)
Prolonged vitamin B12 deficiency can be associated with subacute combined degeneration of the spinal
cord. Patients with this disease have difficulty walking because they lose the ability to feel where their
feet are in space. This represents a loss of:
■vestibular sense.
■kinesthetic sense.
■parallel processing.
■feature detection. - CORRECT ANSWERS Kinesthetic sense (Kinesthetic sense, or
proprioception, refers to the ability to tell where body parts are in three-dimensional space. The sensors
for proprioception are found predominantly in the muscles and joints. Loss of vestibular sense, choice
(A), would also cause difficulty walking, but this would be due to a sense of dizziness or vertigo, not an
inability to feel one's feet.)
Which of the following is/are function(s) of NADPH in the cell?
►I. Antimicrobial resistance via bacterial destruction by bleach within lysosomes.
►II. Involvement in the production of the precursors to steroid hormones.
►III. Functional carriage of energy across organelle membranes for use within the mitochondria
