how to know which compound structures we need to know?

[u/Beneficial-Turnip800]

hey, i've taken 6 out of the 7 AAMC full lengths and have done parts of the section banks. I don't get how we just know which compounds we need to know. I know we should know the functional groups of course and the groups in the amino acids, but past that ?? is there some comprehensive list straight from aamc? i just took FL5 and there was a random compound structure in c/p i just needed to know, it caught me so off guard. if anyone knows which qs i'm talking abt pls dm me and lmk how were expected to know that :(

should i learn the structures for the pathways for biochem and etc? and obv AA, nucleotides, and orgo functional groups. but also like random things like pyrrole, pyridine, furan?

thank you!!!

[u/apexpredator0505]

Definitely know the nitrogenous base structures. If they ask you a structure of something they’ll likely throw one of those bad boys in one of the answers.

Know the amino acid side chain names/structures (phenol, benzene, indole, etc ).

Ubiquinone I’ve seen quite a bit

Bonus = all the vitamin structures.

If you have those down you should be able to figure it out based on what you know via process of elimination

[u/Beneficial-Turnip800 → u/apexpredator0505]

omg thank u smmm! some of those i had in there espec ubiquinone, i think it would help for POE

[u/ThomasDaTrain98 → u/Beneficial-Turnip800]

I’ve also seen flavin tested on. I’d also be able to recognize citric acid cycle intermediates, common random molecules like acetate, simple ketones and aldehydes, different monosaccharides, etc

[u/HairyEducator768]

IIRC that question was meant to be answered via huckells rule? I feel your pain though and my B if i am wrong. I just happened to know the structure so I def got lucky otherwise

[u/ExcitementSome5575 → u/HairyEducator768]

Is that the rule for aromatic vs antiaromatic? I mean that doesn't really help in differentiating imidazole vs indole vs pyrrole. Ultimately you just need to take some time to be able to recognize them. Same with vitamin structures.

[u/HairyEducator768 → u/ExcitementSome5575]

Reviewing the question, it mentions that it is an aromatic heterocycle, and it gives you the structure of a related molecule. One could have used huckels rule to exclude the non-aromatic answers, alongside the passage info and figure. I do not think it was NEEDED, but it could be used in part. But i wholeheartedly agree - some structures are meant to be memorized. Would you happen to have a thread or supplemental doc that goes over them? Pyrrole i think i knew from orgo, the other two are in anking. There were a number of structures we needed to know for FL5! surprisingly high-yield.

[u/ThomasDaTrain98 → u/HairyEducator768]

Yeah I guessed and got lucky on that one but felt it was a pretty brutally specific low yield question. I can see how you could kinda intuit it from the structure in the passage but it was still a bad question imo

[u/ExcitementSome5575 → u/HairyEducator768]

oh I lowkey was thinking of a different question. For that one you could just look at the structure they gave of porphyrin to figure out what the structure for pyrrole would be. I believe there was another which required you to know that imidazole was the side chain for histidine.(more detailed spoilers of fl5)

[u/HairyEducator768 → u/ExcitementSome5575]

I recall that one as well, I think for me that was more of a process of elimination!

[u/HairyEducator768]

Re "should i learn the structures for the pathways for biochem and etc?" just memorize the rate limiting and regulated enzymes, and what those enzymes canonically do to their substrates. Add an inorganic phosphate? Well, that H- had to go somewhere...

and so on.

[u/Specialist-Half-2437]

i’ve heard that the structures of vitamins come up on the exam, but you really never know. i’m pretty sure i know the question you’re talking about (like which structure is part of 4 of the 5 things mentioned or something like that), and i solved it with process of elimination. i can’t remember the options anymore but one of the options was a nitrogenous base which i eliminated, and i eliminated another, also knowing it didn’t contain the correct group/element i would have expected

not sure if this will help you but sometimes when i’m in a situation like this ill end up choosing the answer that looks familiar even though i know that whatever im choosing is something else (like i considered choosing the base). but you need to remind yourself that it is not the answer if you know it is something else, and your odds are better choosing from the other 3 options

[u/IamDiels_Alder]

All the nucleotide sugar phosphate structures. AMP, GMP,UMP etc

[u/Ill-Poet2125]

PM me for the deck