{"id":33473,"date":"2020-08-13T06:52:18","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T11:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=33473"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:39:40","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:39:40","slug":"biology-gre-subject-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/biology-gre-subject-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Biology GRE Subject Test: What&#039;s Tested?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Biology GRE Subject Test contains approximately 180 multiple-choice questions on three major topics: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution. Some questions based on laboratory results, diagrams, or experimental results are grouped together at the end of the text.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The number of questions you answer correctly will be converted to a number on a 200-990 point scale as your overall score. In addition to your overall score, you will receive a subscore in each of the three major categories (cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution). Subscores are reported as a number on a 20-99 point scale.<\/span><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2    avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_toggle_container  avia-builder-el-first  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Content Tested on the Biology GRE Subject Test<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Questions on the Biology GRE Subject Test fall into one of the three categories mentioned above: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ets.org\/gre\/subject\/about\/content\/biology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ETS reports<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the breakdown of these three sections, as well as subtopics of each, as follows:\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading \" >\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-1\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-1\">Cellular and Molecular Biology (33-34%)<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-1\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cellular Structure and Function (16-17%)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Biological compounds<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Enzyme activity, receptor binding, and regulation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Major metabolic pathways and regulation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Membrane dynamics and cell surfaces<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Organelles: structure, function, synthesis, and targeting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cytoskeleton: motility and shape<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cell cycle: growth, division, and regulation (including signal transduction)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Microscopy, separation, and immunological methods<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Genetics and Molecular Biology (16-17%)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Genetic foundations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Genome maintenance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Genome sequence organization<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chromatin and chromosomes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gene expression and regulation: effects<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Immunobiology<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gene expression and regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recombinant DNA methodology<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bacteriophages, animal viruses, and plant viruses<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-2\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-2\">Organismal Biology (33-34%)<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-2\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Animal Structure, Function, and Organization (10%)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Integration and control mechanisms of nervous and endocrine systems<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Exchange of nutrients\/salt\/water, gas, and energy with environment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Internal transport and exchange<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Metabolic rates (temperature, body size, and activity)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Behavior (communication, orientation, learning, and instinct)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Support and movement systems<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Animal Reproduction and Development (6%)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reproductive Structures<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Developmental processes (e.g., induction, determination, differentiation, morphogenesis, and metamorphosis)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meiosis, gametogenesis, and fertilization<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Early development (e.g., polarity, cleavage, and gastrulation)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">External control mechanisms (e.g., photoperiod)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Plant Structure, Function, and Organization, with Emphasis on Flowering Plants (7%)<\/span><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Organs, tissue systems, and tissues<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Phloem transport and storage<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Water transport, including absorption and transpiration<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Plant energetics (e.g., respiration and photosynthesis)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mineral nutrition<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Plant Reproduction, Growth, and Development, with Emphasis on Flowering Plants (5%)<\/span><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meiosis and sporogenesis<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gametogenesis and fertilization<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Embryogeny and seed development<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meristems, growth, morphogenesis, and differentiation<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reproductive structures<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Control mechanisms (e.g., hormones, photoperiod, and tropisms)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Diversity of Life (6%)<\/span><\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Protista<\/li>\n<li>Archaea<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bacteria<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fungi<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Animalia with emphasis on major phyla<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Plantae with emphasis on major phyla<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-3\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-3\">Ecology and Evolution (33-34%)<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-3\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ecology (16-17%)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Environment\/organism interaction<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Population ecology<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Community ecology<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Behavioral ecology<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ecosystems<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Evolution (16-17%)<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Genetic variability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Macroevolutionary and microevolutionary processes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Evolutionary consequences<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">History of life<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<\/div><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2    avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_toggle_container  el_before_av_heading  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >How to Prepare for the Biology GRE Subject Test<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since the Biology GRE Subject Test is intended for students who have majored in or taken extensive coursework in biology, you should not need to learn this material from scratch. Instead, the notes, syllabi, and textbooks from your college-level biology courses should provide you with a review framework for the exam.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once you\u2019ve reviewed for the Biology GRE Subject Test, take a practice test, like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ets.org\/s\/gre\/pdf\/practice_book_biology.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the one available from ETS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. This will familiarize you with the style of questions and help ease your nerves for test day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2    avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_iconlist  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Test-Taking Tips for the Biology GRE Subject Test<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  class='avia-icon-list-container   avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading '><ul class='avia-icon-list avia-icon-list-left av-iconlist-big avia_animate_when_almost_visible avia-iconlist-animate'>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue84b' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Read all the directions carefully.<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p>Completing a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ets.org\/s\/gre\/pdf\/practice_book_biology.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">practice test<\/a>\u00a0or two ahead of time will make it so that you\u2019re already comfortable with the directions going into the exam.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue836' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Answer every question. <\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All questions are weighted equally, so don\u2019t spend too much time on difficult questions. This could prevent you from answering many more easier questions, and potentially cause you to leave questions unanswered at the end of the exam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<li><div  class='iconlist_icon  avia-font-entypo-fontello'><span class='iconlist-char ' aria-hidden='true' data-av_icon='\ue849' data-av_iconfont='entypo-fontello'><\/span><\/div><article class=\"article-icon-entry \"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='iconlist_content_wrap'><header class=\"entry-content-header\"><h4 class='av_iconlist_title iconlist_title   '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Use your test booklet and your answer sheet.<\/h4><\/header><div class='iconlist_content  '  itemprop=\"text\"  ><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Utilize your test booklet for note-taking and thought organization. Then, be sure to mark your answers clearly on your <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">answer sheet<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, not in your test booklet. Answers in your test booklet will not count toward your final score.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><footer class=\"entry-footer\"><\/footer><\/article><div class='iconlist-timeline'><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2    avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_iconlist  el_before_av_one_half  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Learn more about GRE subject tests: <\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div first  avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_one_half  \" ><ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/the-gre-subject-test-ultimate-guide\/\">The\u00a0GRE Subject Test Ultimate Guide<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/physics-gre-subject-test\/\">Physics GRE Subject Test<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/psychology-gre-subject-test\/\">Psychology GRE Subject Test<\/a><br \/><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"flex_column av_one_half  flex_column_div   avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_one_half  el_before_av_sidebar  \" ><ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/math-gre-subject-test\/\">Math GRE Subject Test<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/chemistry-gre-subject-test\/\">Chemistry GRE Subject Test<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gre\/literature-in-english-gre-subject-test\/\">Literature in English GRE Subject Test<\/a>\u00a0<br \/><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\"><div  class='avia-builder-widget-area clearfix  avia-builder-el-8  el_after_av_one_half  avia-builder-el-last '><div id=\"text-70\" class=\"widget clearfix widget_text\">\t\t\t<div class=\"textwidget\"><p><span data-sumome-listbuilder-embed-id=\"a78fe19e226d385662749ccaadcdccd7ecdcab651c77e3b874bfcb76a80605a7\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><div id=\"text-71\" class=\"widget clearfix widget_text\">\t\t\t<div class=\"textwidget\"><p><span data-sumome-listbuilder-embed-id=\"185e834399a9fdd414ded52f3f51a4735f464b8c612f006f44ffba835a649b4f\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Biology GRE Subject Test contains approximately 180 multiple-choice questions on three major topics: cellular and molecular biology, organismal biology, and ecology and evolution. Some questions based on laboratory results, diagrams, or experimental results are grouped together at the end of the text. The number of questions you answer correctly will be converted to a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[68],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33473"}],"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=33473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33709,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33473\/revisions\/33709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}