{"id":11609,"date":"2016-09-04T17:23:13","date_gmt":"2016-09-04T22:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grockit.com\/blog\/?p=11609"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:42:53","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:42:53","slug":"whats-tested-on-the-dat-general-chemistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/dat\/whats-tested-on-the-dat-general-chemistry\/","title":{"rendered":"What's Tested on the DAT: General Chemistry"},"content":{"rendered":"

The middle subtest of the DAT Survey of Natural Sciences<\/a> is General\u00a0Chemistry. Questions 41\u201370 require you to understand both the theoretical concepts and practical\u2014often mathematical\u2014applications of various inorganic chemistry concepts, including stoichiometry, kinetics, equilibria, thermochemistry, and states of matter. Since\u00a0you will not have access to a calculator during this section, you’ll also be tested on your ability to quickly and accurately complete calculations. However, since every question has exactly the same value on the DAT regardless of difficulty<\/a>, don’t let yourself get slowed down by the most difficult or lengthy calculations. Instead, make educated guesses and use the mark functionality to indicate that you should come back to them later. If you do run out of time on a section, it’s much better to have answered six 30-second questions correctly rather than one 3-minute question!
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General Chemistry Content on the DAT<\/h3>
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\nThe American Dental Association (ADA) has published a DAT User’s Manual on their Dental Admission Test (DAT) page<\/a> that establishes\u00a0what content can be tested on the DAT. The following outlines the exact content you will need to know for the\u00a0General Chemistry section, and the numbers in parentheses reflect\u00a0how many questions that primarily test that\u00a0subject are likely to be on any given DAT administration. Note that many questions require knowledge from more than one content area listed, and some questions also require knowledge from Biology<\/a>, General Chemistry, or other fields, so having a well-rounded background will still be helpful.
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Stoichiometry and General Concepts (3)<\/strong>
\n\u2022\u00a0Percent Composition
\n\u2022\u00a0Empirical Formulas
\n\u2022\u00a0Balancing Equations
\n\u2022\u00a0Moles and Molecular Formulas
\n\u2022\u00a0Molar Mass
\n\u2022\u00a0Density
\n\u2022\u00a0Calculations from Balanced Equations
\nGases\u00a0(2)<\/strong>
\n\u2022\u00a0Kinetic Molecular Theory of Gases
\n\u2022\u00a0Dalton’s Gas Law
\n\u2022\u00a0Boyle\u201fs Gas Law
\n\u2022\u00a0Charles\u201fs Gas Law
\n\u2022\u00a0Ideal Gas Law
\nLiquids and Solids\u00a0(3)<\/strong>
\n\u2022\u00a0Intermolecular Forces
\n\u2022\u00a0Phase Changes
\n\u2022\u00a0Vapor Pressure
\n\u2022\u00a0Structures
\n\u2022\u00a0Polarity
\n\u2022\u00a0Properties
\nSolutions\u00a0(3)<\/strong>
\n\u2022\u00a0Polarity
\n\u2022 Colligative Properties
\n\u2022\u00a0Non-colligative Properties
\n\u2022\u00a0Forces
\n\u2022\u00a0Concentration Calculations
\nAcids and Bases (3)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 pH
\n\u2022 Strength
\n\u2022 Br\u00f8nsted-Lowry Reactions
\n\u2022 Calculations
\nChemical Equilibria (2)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Molecular
\n\u2022 Acid\/Base
\n\u2022 Precipitation
\n\u2022 Calculations
\n\u2022 Le Chatelier’s Principle<\/p><\/div>
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Thermodynamics and\u00a0Thermochemistry (2)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Laws of Thermodynamics
\n\u2022 Hess’s Law
\n\u2022 Spontaneity
\n\u2022 Enthalpies and Entropies
\n\u2022 Heat Transfer
\nChemical Kinetics (2)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Rate Laws
\n\u2022 Activation Energy
\n\u2022 Half-life
\nOxidation-Reduction Reactions (2)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Balancing Equations
\n\u2022 Oxidation Numbers
\n\u2022 Electrochemical Calculations
\n\u2022 Electrochemical Concepts and Terminology
\nAtomic and Molecular Structure (3)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Electron Configuration
\n\u2022 Orbital Types
\n\u2022 Lewis-Dot Diagrams
\n\u2022 Atomic Theory
\n\u2022 Quantum Theory
\n\u2022 Molecular Geometry
\n\u2022 Bond Types
\n\u2022 Sub-atomic Particles
\nPeriodic Properties (2)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Representative Elements
\n\u2022 Transition Elements
\n\u2022 Periodic Trends
\n\u2022 Descriptive Chemistry
\nNuclear Reactions (1)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Balancing Equations
\n\u2022 Binding Energy
\n\u2022 Decay Processes
\n\u2022 Particles
\n\u2022 Terminology
\nLaboratory (2)<\/strong>
\n\u2022 Basic Techniques
\n\u2022 Equipment
\n\u2022 Error Analysis
\n\u2022 Safety
\n\u2022 Data Analysis<\/p><\/div>
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Studying General Chemistry for the DAT<\/h3>
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\nSince the DAT blends theoretical knowledge with practical application, understanding both is essential for Test Day success.\u00a0For the Survey of Natural Sciences, knowing the reason why intermolecular bonds form is just as important as being\u00a0able to calculate the energy required to break them. You may be tempted to study these two aspects\u00a0of chemistry separately, but the best test takers are able to integrate that knowledge to answer even\u00a0the most difficult chemistry questions. Therefore, when confronted with a new equation, don\u2019t\u00a0focus only on how to perform each mathematical step. Instead, also consider what each variable\u00a0truly represents, the proportionalities that are implied, and the reasons behind those relationships.\u00a0Having this conceptual understanding will not only help you answer questions but will also make\u00a0memorizing equations easier and may even allow you to determine a mathematical relationship on\u00a0Test Day if you can\u2019t recall the correct equation to use.
\nTo facilitate learning the material this way, it\u2019s important to intersperse learning content with\u00a0practicing questions. By utilizing a variety of\u00a0resources, you\u2019ll see the material from different perspectives and gain a deeper understanding. After you\u00a0finish studying a topic, take some time to reflect on how that knowledge\u00a0connects to what you’ve already learned. If you form a narrative describing how an atom is formed,\u00a0attaches to other atoms with intramolecular bonds to create a molecule, and connects with other\u00a0molecules via intermolecular forces to determine its phase of matter, then you\u2019ll be much more likely\u00a0to remember the material and apply it on Test Day. Once you’ve learned the material in the context of\u00a0General Chemistry alone, you\u2019ll be able to apply it to other test sections, allowing you to truly master\u00a0the DAT<\/a>.
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The middle subtest of the DAT Survey of Natural Sciences is General\u00a0Chemistry. Questions 41\u201370 require you to understand both the theoretical concepts and practical\u2014often mathematical\u2014applications of various inorganic chemistry concepts, including stoichiometry, kinetics, equilibria, thermochemistry, and states of matter. Since\u00a0you will not have access to a calculator during this section, you’ll also be tested on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11609"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11609"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11609\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36352,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11609\/revisions\/36352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}