{"id":31051,"date":"2020-01-23T09:11:08","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T14:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=31051"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:40:10","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:40:10","slug":"whats-tested-on-pcat-quantitative-reasoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/whats-tested-on-pcat-quantitative-reasoning\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#039;s Tested on PCAT Quantitative Reasoning?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The PCAT Quantitative Reasoning section is designed to test the math skills that will be required in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/applying-to-pharmacy-school\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">pharmacy schoo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">l. The section contains 48 multiple-choice questions, though only <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/whats-a-good-pcat-score\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">40 will count toward your score<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The remaining 8 questions are experimental and do not affect your score. You will not be able to distinguish between scored and experimental questions, so you should treat every question as if it will be counted.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Approximately 50% of PCAT Quantitative Reasoning section will be word problems. You will have 50 minutes to complete the section (a little more than 1 minute per question), and a simple on-screen calculator will be provided.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n[<b> RELATED<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/pcat-timing-strategies\/\">PCAT Timing Strategies<\/a>\u00a0]<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The PCAT Quantitative Reasoning section tests the following math concepts:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Basic Math: 25%<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Algebra: 25%<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Probability and Statistics: 18%<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Precalculus: 18%<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Calculus: 14%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_heading  avia-builder-el-first  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >PCAT QUANTITATIVE REASONING: BASIC MATH<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though the test makers categorize a quarter of the PCAT Quantitative Reasoning section as testing \u201cBasic Math,\u201d it doesn\u2019t mean the math is all easy to calculate, especially under time constraints. Even if you once had a strong, working knowledge of number properties and how to manipulate fractions, decimals, ratios, logarithms, and means, you may find that your knowledge has deteriorated through disuse, especially if you haven\u2019t taken a math class in several years.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are some important concepts to know that are commonly tested on Basic Math:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><b>Real number:<\/b> <\/b>All numbers on the number line.<\/li>\n<li><b>Integers:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> All numbers with no fractional or decimal parts, including negative whole numbers and zero; multiples of 1.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Reciprocal:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The result of switching the numerator and denominator of a fraction. The reciprocal of 3\/5, for example, is 5\/3. The reciprocal of 2 is 1\/2 because 2 can be considered to be the fraction 2\/1. Multiplying any number by its reciprocal will result in 1.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Order of Operations:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Whenever you have a string of operations, be careful to perform them in the proper order: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction (PEMDAS). Multiplication and division should be performed together in order from left to right, and then addition and subtraction should be performed together in order from left to right.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Fractions:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You should know how to perform basic operations with fractions, including multiplying, dividing, adding, and subtracting.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other concepts tested include ratios, decimals, scientific notation, percents, averages, and logarithms.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >PCAT QUANTITATIVE REASONING: ALGEBRA AND WORD PROBLEMS<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">50% of PCAT Quantitative Reasoning questions will be in the form of word problems, and many of these word problems will require you to convert words into math via algebra. Break down the information into small pieces and take things one step at a time. Word problems can often be translated from left to right, but this is not always the case.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Say you see the sentence: \u201cThe number of stamps in George\u2019s stamp collection is twice the number that is 5 less than the number of stamps in Bill\u2019s stamp collection.\u201d Instead of trying to translate it into math all in one step, approach it piece by piece.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whenever possible, choose letters for the variables that make sense in the context of the problem. For example, start by calling the number of stamps in George\u2019s stamp collection <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">G<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and the number of stamps in Bill\u2019s stamp collection <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">B. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, think about the relationship between the two amounts: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">G<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is not compared to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">B<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> but to 5 less than <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">B<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">B<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211; 5). So <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">G<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is twice as large as (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">B <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8211; 5). To set them <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">equal<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to each other, multiply (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">B<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211; 5) by two. The equation is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">G =<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2(<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">B<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> &#8211; 5).<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The hardest part of word problems is the process of taking English sentences and extracting the math from them. The actual math in word problems tends to be the easiest part. The following translation table will help you start dealing with English-to-math translation:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>English<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Math<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">equals is, was, will be, has, costs, adds up to, the same as, as much as<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">=<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">times, of, multiplied by, product of, twice, double, by<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">x<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">divided by, per, out of, each, ratio<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00f7<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">plus, added to, and, sum, combined<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">+<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">minus, subtracted from, smaller than, less than, fewer, decreased by, difference between<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a number, how much, how many, what<\/span><\/td>\n<td><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">x, n, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >PCAT QUANTITATIVE REASONING: PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Questions involving probability and statistics tend to be some of the most dreaded by test takers. The equations can appear to be confusing, and the questions can be time-consuming. Nevertheless, these question types can be broken down into predictable formulations that appear time and again.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The PCAT Quantitative Reasoning section tests you on the following probability and statistics concepts:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Determining the probability of a given outcome, including multiple-event probability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mean, mode, range, and standard deviation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Combinations and permutations<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_promobox  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >PCAT QUANTITATIVE REASONING: PRECALCULUS AND CALCULUS<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Calculus and precalculus together constitute approximately one-third of the Quantitative Reasoning section on the PCAT, so be sure to spend sufficient time studying and practicing the material to feel confident on Test Day. Although you may remember completing lengthy calculations using obscure rules as part of your undergraduate coursework, the test makers do not require extensive knowledge of how to integrate the most difficult functions but rather only expect you to know the basics.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nFor precalculus, you will be expected to know:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How to graph equations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Complex numbers, including graphing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vectors<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Calculus topics tested include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Limits &amp; Continuity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Derivatives<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Integrals<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n[<b> Find out what else is tested on the PCAT: <\/b>]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/all-about-the-pcat\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All About the PCAT<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/pcat-writing-section\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">PCAT Writing Strategies<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/pcat-critical-reading\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What\u2019s Tested on PCAT Critical Reading<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/pcat-chemical-processes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What\u2019s Tested on PCAT Chemical Processes<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/pcat\/whats-tested-on-pcat-biological-processes\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What\u2019s Tested on PCAT Biological Processes<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-yes   avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_heading  avia-builder-el-last '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\n<strong>Why use Kaplan for the PCAT?<\/strong>\u00a0The most practice, the most instruction, updated study materials, prep on-the-go, and more!<\/p>\n<\/div><div  class='avia-button-wrap avia-button-right ' ><a href=''  class='avia-button  avia-color-theme-color   avia-icon_select-no avia-size-large avia-position-right '   ><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >Learn More<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The PCAT Quantitative Reasoning section is designed to test the math skills that will be required in pharmacy school. The section contains 48 multiple-choice questions, though only 40 will count toward your score. The remaining 8 questions are experimental and do not affect your score. You will not be able to distinguish between scored and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[12,77,78],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31051"}],"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=31051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33883,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31051\/revisions\/33883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}