College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Biological Sciences

Topics Covered on the DAT

1. Survey of the Natural Sciences
   1. Biology — origin of life; cell metabolism (including photosynthesis); enzymology; thermodynamics; organelle structure and function; biological organization and relationship of major taxa (Monera, angiosperms, arthropods, chordates, etc.) using the five-kingdom system; structure and function of vertebrate systems (integumentary, skeletal, muscular, circulatory, immunological, digestive, respiratory, urinary, nervous, endocrine, and reproductive); fertilization, descriptive embryology, and developmental mechanics; Mendelian inheritance, chromosomal genetics, meiosis, molecular and human genetics; natural selection, population genetics, speciation, population and community ecology, animal behavior (including social behavior).
   2. General Chemistry — stoichiometry, (percent of composition, empirical formulas from percent of composition, balancing equations, weight/weight, weight/volume, density problems); gases (kinetic molecular theory of gases, Graham's, Dalton's, Boyle's, Charles, and ideal gas laws); liquids and solids; solutions (colligative properties, concentration calculations); acids and bases; chemical equilibrium (molecular, acid/base, precipitation and equilibria calculations); thermodynamics and thermochemistry (laws of thermodynamics, Hess' law, spontaneity prediction); chemical kinetics (rate laws, activation energy, half life); oxidation-reduction reactions (balancing equations, determination of oxidation numbers, electro-chemical concepts and calculations); atomic and molecular structure (electron configuration, orbital types, Lewis-Dot diagrams, atomic theories, molecular geometry, bond types, quantum mechanics); periodic properties (including categories of non-metals, transition metals, and non-transition metals); Nuclear Reactions.
   3. Organic Chemistry — bonding (atomic orbitals, molecular orbitals, hybridization, Lewis structures, bond angles, bond lengths); mechanisms (energetics, structure and stability of intermediates: SN1, SN2, elimination, addition, free radical and substitution mechanisms); chemical and physical properties of molecules (stability, solubility, polarity, inter- and intra-molecular forces: separation techniques); organic analysis (introductory infrared and 1H NMR spectroscopy, simply chemical tests); stereochemistry (conformational analysis, optical activity, chirality, chiral centers, places of symmetry, enantiomers, diasteriomers, meso compounds); nomenclature (IUPAC rules identification of functional groups in molecules); reaction of the major functional groups (prediction of reaction products and important mechanistic generalities); acid-base chemistry (resonance effects, inductive effects, prediction of products and equilibria); aromatic (concept of aromaticity, electrophilic aromatic substitution); synthesis (identification of the product of, or the reagents used in, a simple sequence of reactions).
2. Perceptual Ability: Angle discrimination, form development, cubes, orthographic projections, apertures, and paper-folding.
3. Reading Comprehension: Ability to read, organize, analyze, and remember new information in dental and basic sciences. Ability to comprehend thoroughly when studying scientific information. Reading materials are typical of materials encountered in the first year of dental school and require no prior knowledge of the topic other than a basic undergraduate preparation in science. The Reading Comprehension Test contains three reading passages.
4. Quantitative Reasoning: Algebraic equations, fractions, conversions (ounces, pounds, inches, feet), percentages, exponential notation, probability and statistics, geometry, trigonometry, and applied mathematics problems.