Welcome to…..
THE DAT
What is the DAT?
 The DAT is the comprehensive test used as a measure
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of aptitude for entrance into Dental School. *Big factor
in admissions/interviews
DAT = Dental Admissions Test
Cumulative Score of 6 sections for a total of 30 points
Scores 0-30
You get three scores:
-Academic Average (average of all sections but PAT)
-Total Science (average of the three science sections)
-PAT (scored individually, not factored into the
averages)
National Averages
 Academic Average ~18-19
 The average of students applying is 17. The average of
students accepted is a 19-20.
 To be successful on the DAT, plan to have a BARE
MINIMUM of 17 on each section but shoot for a 20 in
each section to be safe.
What does the DAT consist of?
 Biological Science (90 min, 100 MC)
-Biology
-General Chemistry
-Organic Chemistry
 PAT  Perceptual Ability Test (60 min, 90 MC)
 Reading (60 min, 50 MC)/3 passages ~16-17 questions
each
 QR  Quantitative Reasoning (45 min, 40 MC)
Dental Admission Test
Actual Layout
 Optional Tutorial
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15 minutes
Survey of Natural Sciences 90 minutes
Perceptual Ability Test
60 minutes
Optional Break 15 minutes
Reading Comprehension Test
60 minutes
Quantitative Reasoning Test
45 minutes
Optional Post Test Survey
15 minutes
When should I take the DAT?
The timing of the DAT is very
important:
OPTIMAL TIME: Summer after you
Sophomore year
Danger Area: If you have not
completely by the end of the
summer after your Junior year
Here’s the kicker…
 The DAT is completely COMPUTER-BASED.
So… this means if you are like me and like to read and
annotate while you read on the paper, you can’t. If you
like to mark off answers, you can’t.
How can I possible overcome this obstacle?
Take practice tests. Practice, practice, practice. Scare
yourself.
Biology
 The key to understand with the Biology section is to
understand you will NEVER know everything about
biology. The biology section is all comprehensive. You
could read 30 textbooks and still not know every question.
 Best resource: Barron’s AP Biology Book
 This resource has tests to quiz you after each section and
spells everything out in very plain and simplistic language.
 Flashcards:
-http://www.funnelbrain.com/sid-5128-ap-biology-examreview.html
-http://quizlet.com/11300546/dat-bio-6-flash-cards/
Topics included in Biology:
 Evolution
 Genetics
 Ecology
 Plants
 The Cell
 biochemistry
 cell respiration
 Photosynthesis
 cell division
• Heredity
• the molecular basis of
inheritance
• Classification
• animal physiology
• the human immune
system
• animal reproduction
and development
• animal behavior
At the end of glycolytic pathway,
what is your next production of
ATP?
 32 ATP
 5 ATP
 2 ATP
 12 ATP
 No ATP is produced during ATP
Which organelle has digestive
enzymes to break down waste and
cellular debris?
 (a) Golgi apparatus
 (b) Smooth ER
 (c) Nucleus
 (d) mitochondria
 (e) lysosome
What is the main component that
fuels the Kreb cycle?
 Succinyl CoA
 Acetyl CoA
 Cholinesterase
 A-ketogluterase
 malate
What term represents two or more
populations of different species?
 Ecosystem
 Community
 Biosphere
 Differential Speciation
 Habitat
_____ provide(s) the major force for
the movement of water and solutes
from roots to leaves.
 Translocation
 Bulk flow
 Transpiration
 Root pressure
 Solute pressure
Reading (60 min, 50 MC)
 Reading is primarily about your ability to read
scientific articles quickly, efficiently and be able to
recall information readily
 Most popular and effective method of attack:
-THE ROADMAP
You may be thinking…what the heck is a ROADMAP?!
ROADMAP
 A roadmap is a way to catalog information for quick
recall. It is a way to annotate a paragraph.
 Begin by counting the number of paragraphs in an
excerpt, and then write down key words or phrases by
that paragraphs number as you read, to go back later.
Another challenge (Kaplan won’t
prepare you for this one)
 The DAT likes to ask you two part questions in one so
sometimes you end up getting double questions. For
example, if you read a passage they may pull two ideas out
of it and write them out like so.
 (1) The enamel of your teeth is the hardest surface of the
human body (and, or, but) can be eroded by heat, (2) once
gone, it is gone forever.
The way the DAT would ask the two questions would be:
A) Statement (1) is true but statement (2) is false
B) Statement (1) is false but statement (2) is true
C) Both statements are true
OR it may be a qualifying
statement such as:
 Fiber optic wires are much faster than radio waves
because of the insulation.
(A) The statement is true but the reasoning is false
(B) The statement is false but the reasoning is true
(C) Etc.
VERY POPULAR!
30 Questions
Survey of the Natural Sciences~35 mins
Basics
 Resources that they give you:
 Periodic table
 That’s about it  no calculator
Topics Covered
From the ADA website’s official handbook:
 Stoichiometry and General Concepts - percent composition, empirical
formulae,
 balancing equations, moles and molecular formulas, molar mass, density, and
 calculations from balanced equations
 Gases - kinetic molecular theory of gases, Dalton's, Boyle's, Charles’s, and ideal
gas law
 Liquids and Solids - intermolecular forces, phase changes, vapor pressure,
structures,
 polarity, and properties
 Solutions - polarity, properties (colligative, non-colligative), forces, and
concentration
 calculations
 Acids and Bases - pH, strength, Brønsted-Lowry reactions, and calculations
Balance the chemical equation.
 SnO2 + H2 → Sn + H2O
What is the coefficicent of H2 ?
A) 1
B) 3
C) 5
D)4
E) 2
What’s the Best Prep for Gen
Chem?
 The most popular study material seems to be:
 Chad’s chemistry videos (and quizzes!)
http://www.coursesaver.com/videos/DAT/
 Kaplan Blue Book’s section on Chemistry
 datQvault
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A lot of good practice test questions
http://www.datqvault.com/
Organic
Chemistry
A. Methyl
B. Primary
C. Secondary
D. Tertiary
Which test will be performed to detect
presence of a halogen?
A. Bromination Test
B. Aromatic Ring Test
C. Water Solubility Test
D. Hexane SolubilityTest
E. Beilstein Test
Which of the following has the strongest
dipole moment?
A. C-F
B. C-Cl
C. C-Br
D. C-I
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What is the product of the above reaction?
A. Cyclohexane
B. Trans 1,2 dimethyl cyclohexane
C. Cis 1,2 dimethyl cyclohexane
D. 2 and 3
E. None of the above
Select the compound that reacts most
slowly in an SN2 reaction?
A. CH3I
B. (CH3)2CHI
C. (CH3)3CI
D. Benzene-CH2-CH2-I
E. 1 and 4
What is the name of the following structure?
A. 2, 3, 4-dimethyhexane
B. 4-ethyl 2,3-dimethylpentane
C. 2,3,4 trimethylhexane
D. None of the above
Answers:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
A
E
B
C
C
C
40 questions
45 minutes
Topics tested:
-algebra
-word problems
-numerical calculations
-geometry
-trigonometry
-probability and statistics
-conversions
2. Given 0.05x = 1.25, find the value of x.
a. 0.25
b. 2.5
c. 25
d. 250
13.A chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for 1.5 cups of chocolate chips. If one
pound of chocolate chips contains 2.5 cups, how many complete batches of
cookies can you make from a 5-pound bag of chocolate chips?
a. 3
b. 8
c. 9
d. 12
15. An amusement park sells season passes for $49.95 on an early bird
special. One month after the season starts, the price increases by $10. Two
months after the season begins, the passes are sold at the full retail price of
$74.95. What is the discount, to the nearest tenth of a percent, of the early
bird special when compared to the full retail price?
a. 20.0%
b. 20.1%
c. 33.3%
d. 33.4%
Answers:
2) C
13) B
15) D
•60 minutes
•90 questions
•Subsections: Keyholes, Top-Front-End, Angle
Ranking, Hole Punching, Cube Counting, Pattern
Folding
10 minutes recommended
A 3-Dimensional
figure is given, you
must determine the
best keyhole for which
that 3-dimensional
object will fit
through.
•The object can pass through the
opening in any orientation.
•The object cannot be rotated once
it has started through the opening.
The external outline of the object is
the exact shape of the opening.
•The object and opening are drawn
to the same scale.
•There are no irregularities in any
hidden part of the object.
•There is only one correct answer.
•Draw projections
for back, bottom,
and right.
•Crushing the
object
Answers:
6) C
7) C
8) E
9) C
10) C
15 minutes recommended
You are given two
views of a threedimensional object
these views include the
front view, the top
view, and the end view.
You must imagine
what the third view is
for this object.
•Presented are top, fron, and end
views of various solid objects
(there will never be a hollow
object with something else
hidden)
•All views are presented without
perspective
•The top, front, and end views
are always presented in the same
position relative to a cross (grid).
•Edges of the object that cannot
be seen are represented by
DOTTED lines
•Look for changes in
angles
•Ask if you can see edges
from where you’re
standing
•Fold the quadrants
Answers:
6) D
7) C
8) A
5 minutes recommended
You must determine the
relative sizes of the
interior angles of the four
figures from
smallest to largest.
Four interior angles are given
and must be ranked in order
of increasing size.
-smallest and largest
angles
5 minutes recommended
A square sheet of paper is
folded, then hole(s) are
punched in that folded
sheet of paper. Mentally
unfold the paper and
determine were that
square paper has hole
punches from choices A-E.
•A flat, square piece of paper is
folded one or more times.
•Broken lines indicate the
original position of the paper,
and solid lines indicate the
position of the folded paper.
The folded paper remains
within the boundaries of the
original, flat sheet. The paper is
not turned or twisted.
•There are one, two, or three
folds per question.
-lines of symmetry
-number of folds
-layers of paper
Answers:
6) B
7) B
8) C
10 minutes
Each figure has been created by
cementing cubes together of the same
size. The cubes are then painted except
for the bottom face of all the cubes.
Determine the number of sides painted
for each cube.
•Each figure has constructed by
cementing together identical
cubes
•After being cemented, each figure
was painted on all sides EXCEPT
for the bottom (pretend it’s sitting
on a table)
•The only hidden cubes are the
ones necessary to support other
cubes in the figure
•Six types of cubes
•Tallying the cubes:
columns, entire figure
4) How many cubes have 2 sides painted?
5) How many cubes have 4 sides painted?
6) How many cubes have 3 sides painted?
Answers:
4) 6
5) 2
6) 6
15 minutes recommended
• A flat pattern is presented at left
•There is only one correct 3-D
figure for each question
•The flat pattern represents the
OUTSIDE of the figure (fold the
pattern into the page).
•Unique face of the pattern
•Unique shading
•Focus on Key Landmarks
Book Loan talk from first week
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•
•
Use the book-rental system
Take a DAT Practice test with Kaplan this weekend, Saturday at 10AM to see where you are
starting from
Follow the guide book from the ADA of how to get ready for the DAT and how to sign up:
http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/dat_examinee_guide.pdf