Biology E/M
SAT Subject Test in Biology E/M Practice
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Next Tests:
3/13
, 5/1
Test Basics
| Points | Minutes | Questions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200-800 | 60 | 80 |
60 of the 80 questions are common to both Biology E and M, followed by 20 specialized questions for each section |
Topics on the Test
| Material | Skills (for both E and M) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | M | |||
| ≈15% | ≈27% | Cellular and Molecular Biology Cell structure and organization, mitosis, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, enzymes, biosynthesis, biological chemistry |
≈30% | Knowledge of Fundamental Concepts Remembering specific facts; demonstrating straightforward knowledge of information and familiarity with terminology |
| ≈23% | ≈13% | Ecology Energy flow, nutrient cycles, populations, communities, ecosystems, biomes, conservation biology, biodiversity, effects of human intervention |
≈35% | Application Understanding concepts and reformulating information into other equivalent forms; applying knowledge to unfamiliar and/or practical situations; solving problems using mathematical relationships |
| ≈15% | ≈20% | Genetics Meiosis, Mendelian genetics, inheritance patterns, molecular genetics, population genetics |
≈35% | Interpretation Inferring and deducing from qualitative and quantitative data and integrating information to form conclusions; recognizing unstated assumptions |
| ≈25% | ≈25% | Organismal Biology Structure, function, and development or organisms (with emphasis on plants and animals), animal behavior |
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| ≈22% | ≈15% | Evolution and Diversity Origin of life, evidence of evolution, patterns of evolution, natural selection, speciation, classification and diversity of organisms |
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- Ability to recall and understand the major concepts of biology and to apply the principles learned to solve specific problems in biology
- Understanding of simple algebraic concepts, including ratios and direct and inverse proportions, and the ability to apply such concepts to solving word problems
- Ability to organize and interpret results obtained by observation and experimentation and to draw conclusions or make inferences from experimental data, including data presented in graphic and/or tabular form
- Familiarity with the metric system of units
Due to the differences in high school biology courses, you may find that some questions are on unfamiliar topics.
- One-year college preparatory course in biology (either a general survey course, or one with emphasis in ecology or molecular biology)
- One-year course in algebra (or one year of an integrated math sequence)
- Experience in the laboratory
Remember, calculators are not allowed.
