Download the free 18-page MCAT lab techniques PDF and learn electrophoresis, chromatography, PCR, blotting, spectroscopy, ELISA, and more.
MCAT Lab Techniques: Free IWantAHighMCATScore PDF Download and Complete Study Guide
Laboratory techniques are one of those MCAT topics that can feel surprisingly difficult because knowing the name of a technique is rarely enough. You may understand that SDS-PAGE is a type of electrophoresis or that a Western blot has something to do with proteins, but an MCAT passage can go much further by asking what the researchers are actually measuring, why a particular technique was chosen, how changing an experimental condition would affect the results, or what you can conclude from the bands on a gel.
The free IWantAHighMCATScore MCAT Lab Techniques PDF is a helpful resource for organizing many of these techniques in one place. The document is approximately 18 pages long and covers electrophoresis, several forms of chromatography, blotting, PCR, DNA sequencing, spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, ELISA, immunoprecipitation, distillation, and several additional experimental methods.
You can download the PDF currently hosted through AspiringMD here:
Download the IWantAHighMCATScore MCAT Lab Techniques PDF
I would use this PDF as a study and reference resource rather than an official list of everything that can appear on the MCAT. The AAMC publishes its own official content outline, and that should remain your authoritative source for what the exam expects you to understand. The AAMC explicitly includes separation and purification methods such as extraction, distillation, gas and liquid chromatography, HPLC, paper and thin-layer chromatography, electrophoresis, size-exclusion chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, and affinity chromatography. It also separately includes PCR, gel electrophoresis, Southern blotting, DNA sequencing, spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry.
You can access the official AAMC content outline here:
AAMC What’s on the MCAT Exam? Content Outline
My Experience With MCAT Lab Techniques and How I Would Study Them
During my own MCAT preparation, I relied heavily on Anki, with MileDown serving as the deck I used most and JackSparrow providing some additional detail when I wanted it. That experience taught me that memorizing a short association can be extremely helpful, but only when I also understand what the underlying concept actually means.
I would approach laboratory techniques the same way. I would not try to memorize eighteen pages of definitions word for word, and I would not create one enormous Anki card asking me to explain every type of chromatography at once. I would first understand what a technique measures or separates and then create short retrieval prompts that force me to distinguish similar techniques from one another.
For example, knowing that Western = protein, Southern = DNA, Northern = RNA is useful. I included the SNoW DRoP mnemonic in my MCAT mnemonic guide for exactly that reason. However, an MCAT passage may give you an experiment involving protein expression and expect you to recognize why a Western blot was useful, what a darker band suggests, what the loading control is doing, or why another method would not answer the same question.
That is the level I would study toward.
My complete MCAT mnemonics guide is here:
My MileDown guide is here:
Why Lab Techniques Matter for the MCAT
Experimental reasoning is not an obscure side topic on the exam. The AAMC specifically identifies Reasoning About the Design and Execution of Research as one of its Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skills. Students may need to understand experimental methods, variables, controls, measurements, and how changing a procedure affects what researchers can conclude.
The AAMC even provides an official example involving SDS gel electrophoresis. The question requires students to understand what SDS does to proteins and why this allows the proteins to be separated primarily by molecular weight.
I think that example gives you a very good picture of how you should study lab techniques. The AAMC is not only interested in whether you know what the letters SDS-PAGE stand for. You need to understand what happens to the molecule, which property becomes important for separation, and how that changes the experimental result.
The Five Questions I Would Ask About Every MCAT Lab Technique
When you learn a new technique, I would try to answer five questions in your own words: What is the technique used for? What molecule or property is being measured? What causes the separation or detection? What would the result look like? What could you reasonably conclude from that result?
Those questions make techniques much easier to compare because they turn a list of twenty unfamiliar names into a set of experimental tools with different purposes.
For electrophoresis, you are thinking about movement through a matrix under an electric field. For affinity chromatography, you are thinking about a specific binding interaction. For size-exclusion chromatography, you are thinking about molecular size. For PCR, you are thinking about amplification of a particular DNA sequence. For spectroscopy, you are thinking about how matter interacts with electromagnetic radiation.
Once you understand those distinctions, passages become much easier to reason through.
Gel Electrophoresis
Gel electrophoresis separates molecules as they migrate through a gel under the influence of an electric field. The exact behavior depends on the molecule and the conditions of the experiment, which is why I would not memorize the phrase “electrophoresis separates by size” without understanding the context.
For DNA, the negatively charged phosphate backbone causes fragments to migrate toward the positive electrode, and smaller fragments generally move more easily through the gel matrix than larger fragments. The AAMC specifically includes gel electrophoresis within recombinant DNA and biotechnology and separately includes electrophoresis under protein-separation techniques.
If you see several DNA bands on a gel, ask yourself what created fragments of different lengths and what the relative band positions are telling you. The important skill is interpreting the experiment rather than simply remembering that gels exist.
Native PAGE vs. SDS-PAGE
Native PAGE and SDS-PAGE look similar on a vocabulary list, but they answer different questions because proteins are treated differently.
In native PAGE, proteins maintain much more of their native structure and charge characteristics, so migration can reflect a combination of size, shape, and charge. In SDS-PAGE, SDS denatures proteins and coats them with negative charge, greatly reducing the importance of their original shape and charge so that separation primarily reflects molecular weight.
The AAMC’s own scientific-reasoning example specifically tests this principle. It explains that SDS binds exposed hydrophobic portions of denatured proteins and asks students to recognize that the resulting electrophoretic separation is based primarily on molecular weight.
This is exactly the kind of distinction I would put into Anki because it is easy to reverse but conceptually simple once you understand it.
What Does Reducing SDS-PAGE Change?
Reducing SDS-PAGE adds a reducing agent that disrupts disulfide bonds between cysteine residues. That matters when different polypeptide chains are connected by disulfide bonds because reducing those bonds can allow the individual chains to migrate independently.
I would therefore think about a reducing gel as another experimental question rather than another term to memorize. If a protein produces one band under nonreducing conditions and multiple smaller bands when reducing conditions are introduced, that tells you something about how the protein’s subunits are connected.
The AAMC’s protein content explicitly includes sulfur linkages involving cysteine and cystine as well as electrophoretic protein separation, so understanding how those concepts interact is more valuable than keeping them in two separate chapters of your notes.
Isoelectric Focusing
Isoelectric focusing separates proteins according to their isoelectric point, or pI, using a pH gradient. A protein moves until it reaches the portion of the gradient where the pH equals its pI and its net charge is approximately zero.
I would connect this technique directly with amino-acid chemistry rather than memorizing it as an isolated lab method. If a protein contains more acidic or basic residues, changes to those residues can alter the protein’s overall charge behavior and therefore affect its isoelectric point.
The AAMC explicitly includes isoelectric point and electrophoresis within its protein content, which is another example of why amino acids remain so important throughout MCAT Biology and Biochemistry.
If amino acids are still a weak area, I have a free quiz and review guide here:
MCAT Amino Acids Quiz and Study Guide
Western, Southern, and Northern Blotting
The easiest first distinction is Western = protein, Southern = DNA, Northern = RNA. The SNoW DRoP mnemonic can help get that relationship into memory, but I would then make sure you understand why the different techniques answer different experimental questions.
The AAMC explicitly lists Southern blotting alongside gel electrophoresis within its recombinant DNA and biotechnology content. It also expects students to understand DNA hybridization and analysis of gene expression.
Western blotting is commonly used to detect a particular protein using antibodies. If a passage compares protein expression between treated and untreated cells, a Western blot may allow researchers to compare the amount of the target protein relative to an appropriate control.
Northern blotting instead targets RNA, making it useful when the experimental question concerns RNA abundance rather than protein abundance.
The important MCAT distinction is what biological level you are measuring. A gene can be transcribed differently without producing an identical change in final protein abundance, so RNA and protein measurements do not always answer the same question.
PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction
PCR is used to amplify a specific DNA sequence, allowing a relatively small amount of starting DNA to become enough material for further analysis. The AAMC explicitly lists polymerase chain reaction within recombinant DNA and biotechnology.
I would know the conceptual cycle rather than only memorizing the letters PCR. DNA is denatured so the strands separate, primers anneal to complementary target sequences, and DNA polymerase extends the new strands. Repeating that process produces exponential amplification of the target region under ideal conditions.
Make sure you also understand why primers matter. They define the region being amplified, which means changing primer sequences can fundamentally change what DNA product is produced.
PCR vs. DNA Sequencing
PCR and DNA sequencing are related technologies, but they answer different questions. PCR is primarily useful for making many copies of a target DNA sequence, while sequencing determines the nucleotide order within DNA.
The AAMC explicitly includes both PCR and DNA sequencing in its biotechnology content.
If a passage asks how researchers could obtain enough DNA for another procedure, think about amplification. If it asks how they could determine whether a mutation changed one nucleotide to another, sequencing becomes much more directly relevant.
Learning techniques through the question they answer makes them much easier to remember.
Sanger DNA Sequencing
The IWantAHighMCATScore PDF includes Sanger dideoxynucleotide sequencing. Conceptually, the important idea is that modified nucleotides can terminate DNA chain elongation, producing DNA fragments whose lengths reveal the sequence.
You do not need to turn this into a graduate-level molecular biology course. I would understand what the method tells you, why terminated fragments of different lengths are created, and how fragment information can ultimately reveal nucleotide order.
The AAMC specifically names DNA sequencing within its biotechnology content, so this is a technique I would take seriously rather than dismissing as obscure trivia.
Chromatography: The Main Idea
Chromatography is easier once you stop memorizing every subtype as an unrelated technique. The common idea is that molecules spend different amounts of time interacting with a stationary phase and a mobile phase, causing them to move through the system differently.
The AAMC explicitly lists chromatography as part of its separation and purification content and includes gas-liquid chromatography, HPLC, paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, and affinity chromatography.
For every chromatography question, I would ask what property is causing one compound to interact differently from another. Depending on the method, the answer may involve size, charge, binding specificity, volatility, or intermolecular interactions.
Gas Chromatography and an Important Correction to the PDF
This is one area where I would specifically add an accuracy note to your article.
A later MCAT community member identified an error in the IWantAHighMCATScore PDF’s discussion of gas chromatography and posted a corrected version. The concern was that the original page overemphasized polarity and did not adequately account for boiling point and volatility.
I would therefore not memorize “gas chromatography separates by polarity” as a universal rule. Gas chromatography involves a gaseous mobile phase, and retention depends importantly on volatility as well as how the compound interacts with the stationary phase. A lower-boiling, more volatile compound can travel through the system differently from a higher-boiling compound even when a simplistic polarity rule would suggest otherwise.
The AAMC explicitly includes gas-liquid chromatography in its official separation and purification content, so this is worth understanding correctly.
The community correction discussion is here:
Community Correction to the IWantAHighMCATScore Lab Techniques PDF
I actually think acknowledging this correction makes the resource more trustworthy. Community-created study documents can be incredibly helpful, but they should not be treated as infallible simply because they have circulated for years.
HPLC
High-performance liquid chromatography, commonly abbreviated HPLC, is another technique the AAMC explicitly names within its separation and purification content.
For MCAT purposes, I would focus on the idea that compounds in a liquid mobile phase move through a column and experience different interactions with the stationary phase. Those differing interactions produce different retention times and allow the components of a mixture to be separated.
If the passage tells you specific properties of the column or stationary phase, use that information rather than relying on a memorized generic rule.
Size-Exclusion Chromatography
Size-exclusion chromatography separates molecules according to size. The counterintuitive part is that larger molecules generally elute first, while smaller molecules can enter pores in the beads and therefore take a longer route through the column.
That reversal is worth putting into Anki because students commonly assume smaller molecules should always move through separation systems faster. The mechanism matters more than the generic word “size.”
The AAMC explicitly lists size-exclusion chromatography for separating and purifying peptides and proteins.
Ion-Exchange Chromatography
Ion-exchange chromatography separates molecules based on charge interactions with the stationary phase. The important idea is that molecules with stronger electrostatic attraction to the column remain associated longer, while weaker interactions allow earlier elution.
I would study this alongside amino-acid charge, pH, and pI because those concepts can influence protein charge and therefore chromatographic behavior.
The AAMC explicitly includes ion-exchange chromatography in the protein separation and purification portion of its official outline.
Affinity Chromatography
Affinity chromatography is based on specific binding interactions, which is what makes it different from many of the broader physical separation methods. A target molecule binds to a complementary molecule attached to the stationary phase while many unrelated molecules pass through.
I would think of this as the chromatography method to consider when the researcher can exploit a highly specific interaction.
The AAMC explicitly includes affinity chromatography among the methods used for separating and purifying peptides and proteins.
Thin-Layer Chromatography
Thin-layer chromatography, or TLC, is a simple separation technique in which compounds travel different distances across a stationary phase as a solvent moves upward.
I would know how to interpret Rf values and understand that a compound’s movement depends on its relative interactions with the stationary and mobile phases. The exact direction of the polarity relationship depends on the system being used, so I prefer understanding the underlying interactions rather than memorizing “polar travels less” without context.
The AAMC explicitly lists thin-layer chromatography and paper chromatography in its separation and purification content.
Distillation
Distillation separates components based primarily on differences in volatility and boiling behavior. The IWantAHighMCATScore document discusses simple, fractional, and vacuum distillation, while the AAMC explicitly lists distillation as a required separation and purification topic.
I would understand why the methods differ rather than memorizing three definitions. Simple distillation works best when components have sufficiently different boiling points, fractional distillation improves separation when boiling points are closer, and vacuum distillation lowers the pressure so that compounds can boil at lower temperatures.
The important experimental question is usually why a researcher chose one approach over another.
IR Spectroscopy
Infrared spectroscopy helps identify molecular functional groups by examining absorption associated with molecular vibrations. The AAMC explicitly includes the infrared region, intramolecular vibrations, characteristic group absorptions, and the fingerprint region in its official content.
I would learn the major characteristic absorptions you see repeatedly in MCAT Organic Chemistry rather than trying to memorize an entire professional spectroscopy table.
More importantly, practice combining IR information with other evidence. A passage may give you IR, NMR, and molecular information together and expect you to identify which structure is consistent with all of the data.
Proton NMR
The AAMC explicitly includes NMR spectroscopy, including equivalent protons and spin-spin splitting.
For proton NMR, I would focus on what the number of signals tells you about chemically distinct proton environments, what integration tells you about relative proton counts, what splitting can tell you about neighboring hydrogens, and how chemical shift reflects the electronic environment.
You do not need to approach every NMR spectrum like an advanced organic chemistry problem, but you should be able to extract enough structural information to distinguish reasonable answer choices.
Carbon-13 NMR
The IWantAHighMCATScore PDF also includes carbon-13 NMR. I would approach it more simply than proton NMR because the most useful MCAT-level idea is generally the number and environment of chemically distinct carbon atoms.
I would still prioritize the material explicitly emphasized by the AAMC. The current official outline specifically names NMR spectroscopy and highlights proton behavior and spin-spin splitting, so I would make proton NMR the stronger priority if your study time is limited.
UV-Visible Spectroscopy
The AAMC includes absorption in the visible and ultraviolet regions, complementary color, electronic transitions, and conjugated systems.
I would connect UV-Vis spectroscopy with conjugation instead of memorizing it as another instrument name. Increasing conjugation changes the electronic structure of molecules and therefore affects which wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation are absorbed.
Again, the MCAT tends to become easier when techniques are connected to the chemistry that makes them work.
Mass Spectrometry
Mass spectrometry is explicitly included in the AAMC outline. The AAMC describes it as an analytical method used to characterize atoms or molecules using fragmentation patterns and the mass-to-charge ratio, commonly written m/z, of gas-phase ions.
For the MCAT, I would know what an m/z spectrum represents and understand how molecular or fragment peaks can provide information about the molecule being analyzed.
The IWantAHighMCATScore PDF devotes a section to mass spectrometry, so this is one of the places where the community resource lines up well with explicitly listed AAMC content.
ELISA
The PDF includes ELISA, indirect ELISA, and sandwich ELISA. These antibody-based assays can be useful for detecting or quantifying particular targets, depending on how the experiment is designed.
For MCAT preparation, I would focus less on memorizing every reagent-addition step and more on recognizing what antibodies are binding and what a stronger signal would mean in the context of the experiment.
This is also an example of a technique that may appear inside a passage even if the exam provides enough procedural information for you to reason through part of it. Your job is to combine what the passage tells you with your underlying understanding of antibody specificity.
Immunoprecipitation
Immunoprecipitation uses an antibody to isolate a specific target from a mixture. The IWantAHighMCATScore PDF includes it alongside other protein-analysis methods.
I would particularly understand the basic experimental logic. If researchers want to isolate one protein and then determine whether another molecule is physically associated with it, an antibody-based pull-down approach can help answer that kind of question.
The terminology matters less than knowing what information the experiment can and cannot support.
X-Ray Crystallography
The PDF includes X-ray crystallography, while the AAMC’s official light and electromagnetic-radiation content explicitly includes X-ray diffraction.
For the MCAT, I would understand that diffraction patterns can provide structural information rather than trying to master the mathematics of solving a crystal structure. This is a good example of where understanding the purpose of the technique is likely more valuable than memorizing excessive procedural detail.
cDNA Libraries
The IWantAHighMCATScore document includes cDNA libraries, and the AAMC explicitly lists DNA libraries and generation of cDNA in its recombinant DNA and biotechnology content.
A useful distinction is that cDNA is generated from processed RNA, which means it reflects expressed transcripts rather than containing the complete intron-containing genomic sequence.
This relationship becomes easier when you connect it to transcription, RNA processing, and reverse transcription rather than treating “cDNA library” as another isolated lab term.
Restriction Enzymes and RFLP
The PDF includes restriction fragment length polymorphism, while the AAMC explicitly lists restriction enzymes within recombinant DNA and biotechnology.
The basic principle is that sequence differences can alter restriction sites, producing fragments of different lengths after digestion. Those fragment patterns can then be compared.
I would connect RFLP to gel electrophoresis because the fragments become much easier to understand when you think about how differences in DNA length would appear after separation.
Salting Out and Dialysis
The PDF also includes salting out and dialysis. I would understand these as protein purification or separation concepts but would place them below the techniques the AAMC explicitly names if I were prioritizing limited study time.
Dialysis relies on a semipermeable membrane that allows small molecules to move while retaining larger molecules, while salting out changes protein solubility through high salt concentrations.
These can certainly help you interpret experimental setups, but I would master electrophoresis, chromatography, PCR, biotechnology, and the major spectroscopy methods first.
Reducing Sugar Tests
The document includes Tollens’, Benedict’s, and Fehling’s tests. These are classic chemical tests associated with reducing compounds and can reinforce concepts you encounter in carbohydrate chemistry.
I would not spend disproportionate amounts of study time memorizing the color changes of every historical reagent unless your practice materials repeatedly demonstrate that the distinction matters. The broader chemistry of oxidation and reduction is much more important.
This is another reason I like pairing the PDF with the AAMC outline. The PDF gives you a broad library, while the official outline helps you decide where your strongest priorities should be.
Is Everything in This 18-Page PDF Required by the AAMC?
I would not claim that it is.
The official AAMC outline explicitly names many of the major techniques covered by the document, including extraction, distillation, several forms of chromatography, electrophoresis, PCR, Southern blotting, DNA sequencing, mass spectrometry, and major spectroscopy concepts.
The PDF goes beyond those explicitly named items by including several additional techniques. That does not mean the extra material is useless because the MCAT can provide unfamiliar experimental procedures and ask you to reason from them. It does mean I would be careful about calling all eighteen pages equally “high yield.”
My recommendation is to master the techniques directly represented in the AAMC outline first and then use the rest of the PDF to strengthen your broader experimental literacy.
The Most Important Distinction: What Does the Technique Actually Measure?
If you remember only one study strategy from this page, I would make it this one. When you see a technique, immediately ask what biological or chemical information this technique gives me.
Western blot asks about protein. Southern blot asks about DNA. PCR amplifies DNA. Sequencing reveals nucleotide order. Size exclusion asks about size. Ion exchange exploits charge. Affinity chromatography exploits specific binding. Mass spectrometry gives information involving mass-to-charge ratios and fragmentation.
Once those associations become automatic, you have a foundation for reasoning through unfamiliar experimental passages.
How I Would Put MCAT Lab Techniques Into Anki
Because Anki was an important part of my own MCAT studying, I would definitely use it for lab techniques, but I would keep the cards short.
For SDS-PAGE, I might have one card asking what SDS does to proteins and another asking what property primarily determines migration afterward. For size-exclusion chromatography, I would have a card asking whether large or small molecules elute first and why.
For blotting, I might have individual cards asking what Southern, Northern, and Western detect. Once those relationships became easy, I would add application cards asking which technique I would choose for a specific experimental question.
I would avoid cards that say, “Explain everything about chromatography,” because those are difficult to answer consistently and can become exhausting. That is one reason MileDown worked well for me personally and why I used less JackSparrow than I originally expected. I liked JackSparrow’s extra detail, but the longer prompts could make daily reviews much more strenuous.
Anki Cards Should Test Differences Between Similar Techniques
Some of the highest-value cards compare two techniques that students regularly confuse.
I might ask myself, “Native PAGE vs. SDS-PAGE: what determines separation?” or “Size exclusion vs. ion exchange: what property is being exploited?” Another card could ask “PCR vs. sequencing: what question does each answer?”
Those comparisons force you to build boundaries between concepts, which can be much more useful than memorizing two definitions independently.
Once you can answer the comparison immediately, the techniques become much easier to recognize inside a passage.
Use Practice Questions to Learn Experimental Reasoning
I would not wait until all eighteen pages are memorized before beginning practice questions. The AAMC itself emphasizes learning through practice, and its official Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skills framework makes clear that students need to reason through the design and execution of research.
When you encounter an experimental passage, identify the independent variable, dependent variable, control groups, technique being used, molecule being measured, and the conclusion the data actually support.
If you get the question wrong because you did not know what SDS does, that is a content gap and Anki may help.
If you knew SDS-PAGE perfectly but misunderstood the control group, making ten more electrophoresis cards will not solve the problem. You need to work on experimental reasoning.
How I Would Review Lab-Technique Questions After a Full-Length
After a full-length exam, I would classify every experimental mistake before deciding what to study.
If the problem was that I did not know what the technique measured, I would review the technique and make a concise card. If I confused two similar methods, I would create a comparison card.
If the problem was interpreting bands, graphs, controls, or experimental groups, I would review the reasoning rather than treating it as another memorization failure.
I created a free full-length review template specifically to make this kind of error analysis easier:
MCAT Full-Length Review Template
Over several exams, patterns become much easier to see. If you repeatedly struggle with electrophoresis and protein experiments, that deserves targeted review. If you miss one obscure technique once, you may only need a small correction.
How I Would Use the PDF if I Had Three to Six Months
With several months available, I would use this PDF gradually alongside Biology, Biochemistry, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry content review.
When I encountered proteins, I would review electrophoresis, Western blotting, affinity chromatography, and related techniques. When I studied molecular biology, I would review PCR, sequencing, Southern blotting, cDNA, and restriction enzymes.
During Organic Chemistry and General Chemistry review, I would spend more time with chromatography, distillation, NMR, IR, UV-Vis, and mass spectrometry.
This subject-based approach gives each technique context, which makes it much easier to remember than trying to memorize eighteen pages of methods in one weekend.
How I Would Use the PDF With One Month Left
If I had only one month before my MCAT, I would not try to treat every technique in the document equally.
I would make sure I was comfortable with electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, blotting, PCR, DNA sequencing, chromatography, distillation, IR, NMR, and mass spectrometry because these overlap strongly with the techniques and analytical methods explicitly represented in the official AAMC content outline.
I would then allow practice questions to determine which additional techniques deserved more attention.
That approach keeps the PDF useful without allowing an eighteen-page resource to turn into another giant checklist immediately before your exam.
How I Would Use the PDF During the Final Week
By the final week, I would want the major techniques to feel familiar enough that I could move through this document relatively quickly.
Instead of rereading every paragraph, I would cover the explanations and ask myself what each technique measures, what property produces separation, what the output looks like, and how I would interpret a change in the result.
Anything I could not explain would get a short targeted review.
I would still prioritize official AAMC practice and reviewing my own recurring mistakes over trying to perfectly memorize every detail in the PDF.
Is the IWantAHighMCATScore Lab Techniques PDF Accurate?
I think it is useful, but I would not treat it as infallible.
A community member later identified an error in the gas chromatography discussion and produced a corrected copy, specifically explaining that the original treatment overemphasized polarity relative to boiling point and volatility.
You can read that discussion here:
Corrected IWantAHighMCATScore Lab Techniques Discussion
I think this is important to mention because the purpose of a study resource is to help you learn correct information. If a community document conflicts with the official AAMC content outline, a reliable textbook, or another authoritative science source, verify the concept instead of memorizing whichever version you encountered first.
Is This an Official AAMC PDF?
No. The IWantAHighMCATScore document is a community-created MCAT study resource rather than an official AAMC publication.
The official AAMC content outline is available here:
The AAMC outline should be your reference for the official scope of the exam, while the IWantAHighMCATScore PDF can serve as an organized study guide to many of the techniques you may encounter.
Is the PDF Enough to Learn MCAT Lab Techniques?
I would not use any condensed PDF as the only resource if the techniques are completely unfamiliar to you.
If you already understand the basic science, the document can be an excellent way to organize and refresh the material. If SDS-PAGE, PCR, chromatography, and spectroscopy are all new concepts, you may need more detailed explanations before the summaries become useful.
That is similar to how I approach condensed MCAT resources in general. I like them most after the foundation has already been built because they save time without sacrificing understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions About MCAT Lab Techniques
What lab techniques do I need to know for the MCAT?
The official AAMC outline explicitly includes separation and purification methods such as extraction, distillation, gas-liquid chromatography, HPLC, paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, electrophoresis, size-exclusion chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography, and affinity chromatography. It also includes PCR, gel electrophoresis, Southern blotting, DNA sequencing, NMR, IR and UV-related spectroscopy concepts, and mass spectrometry.
The IWantAHighMCATScore PDF additionally covers several other techniques that can strengthen your ability to understand experimental passages.
How many pages is the IWantAHighMCATScore lab techniques document?
The version circulating as MCAT Lab Techniques by IWantAHighMCATScore is approximately 18 pages long and ends with material on cDNA libraries. Your current AspiringMD page lists its contents through page 18.
You can download it here:
Is the IWantAHighMCATScore lab techniques PDF free?
Yes. The copy linked through AspiringMD is available as a free Google Drive resource, and the document has circulated for years through free MCAT resource collections.
I would keep your own downloaded copy for studying while using the current AAMC outline to verify official exam content.
Is SDS-PAGE high yield for the MCAT?
I would know it well. The AAMC itself uses denaturing SDS electrophoresis in an official Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skills example, where students need to understand why SDS causes proteins to separate primarily according to molecular weight.
That makes it a particularly good example of the difference between memorizing the name of a technique and understanding how the experiment works.
What does Western blot detect?
Western blotting is used for proteins. I remember the trio with SNoW DRoP: Southern for DNA, Northern for RNA, and Western for protein.
I would go beyond the mnemonic and understand how changes in band intensity can relate to the amount of a target protein under the conditions of an experiment.
What does Southern blot detect?
Southern blotting detects particular DNA sequences through nucleic-acid hybridization, and the AAMC explicitly lists Southern blotting in its recombinant DNA and biotechnology content.
The SNoW DRoP mnemonic is useful for distinguishing Southern DNA, Northern RNA, and Western protein.
What is the difference between SDS-PAGE and native PAGE?
SDS-PAGE denatures proteins and largely normalizes their charge-to-mass behavior so that separation is primarily based on molecular weight. Native PAGE preserves much more of the protein’s native structure and charge, so migration can depend on multiple properties.
I would understand the experimental consequence of those differences rather than memorizing only the names.
Which elutes first in size-exclusion chromatography?
Larger molecules generally elute before smaller molecules because the smaller molecules enter pores within the stationary-phase beads and therefore travel through a longer effective path.
The AAMC explicitly lists size-exclusion chromatography as a protein separation and purification method.
What does ion-exchange chromatography separate?
Ion-exchange chromatography exploits charge interactions between molecules and the stationary phase. The AAMC includes ion-exchange chromatography within its protein separation and purification content.
I would connect this technique with protein charge, amino-acid properties, pH, and isoelectric point rather than learning it as an isolated definition.
What does affinity chromatography separate?
Affinity chromatography exploits a specific binding interaction between the target molecule and something attached to the stationary phase.
The AAMC explicitly lists affinity chromatography as a method for protein separation and purification.
Is gas chromatography based on polarity?
I would not memorize that as a universal rule. A community correction to the IWantAHighMCATScore PDF specifically noted that the original discussion overemphasized polarity and that boiling point and volatility are critically important in gas chromatography.
The interactions with the stationary phase still matter, so the safest approach is to reason from the particular setup rather than applying one simplistic rule to every GC problem.
Does the MCAT test PCR?
Yes. The AAMC explicitly includes polymerase chain reaction within recombinant DNA and biotechnology.
I would know the purpose of PCR, the role of primers, and the basic denaturation, annealing, and extension cycle.
Does the MCAT test DNA sequencing?
Yes. DNA sequencing is explicitly listed in the AAMC content outline.
The IWantAHighMCATScore PDF specifically discusses Sanger dideoxynucleotide sequencing.
Does the MCAT test NMR and IR?
Yes. The official AAMC outline includes infrared absorption concepts and NMR spectroscopy, including equivalent protons and spin-spin splitting.
I would focus on interpreting the major structural information those techniques provide rather than trying to memorize every possible spectrum.
Does the MCAT test mass spectrometry?
Yes. The AAMC explicitly includes mass spectrometry and describes the technique in terms of fragmentation patterns and mass-to-charge ratios of ions.
This is one of the techniques in the IWantAHighMCATScore PDF that clearly overlaps with the official AAMC outline.
Should I make Anki cards for MCAT lab techniques?
I would. Anki was a major part of my own MCAT preparation, and I think lab techniques work especially well with focused comparison cards.
I would make cards for distinctions such as Western versus Southern, native PAGE versus SDS-PAGE, PCR versus sequencing, and size-exclusion versus ion-exchange chromatography rather than creating one huge card for all experimental techniques.
Is memorizing this PDF enough?
No. The AAMC explicitly tests scientific inquiry and reasoning, including understanding experimental design and the function of laboratory techniques.
Use the PDF to build the knowledge foundation, then use practice questions to learn how those techniques appear inside actual experimental passages.
Final Thoughts: How I Would Study MCAT Lab Techniques
I think the IWantAHighMCATScore lab techniques PDF is still worth having because it collects a large number of experimental methods into one compact document. The current AspiringMD page barely explains any of them, though, and that undersells the resource because the most important part is not knowing that eighteen pages of techniques exist. The useful part is learning how to reason through them.
During my own MCAT preparation, I learned that I did best when active recall remained manageable enough that I could still spend substantial time applying information through practice. MileDown became my primary Anki deck for that reason, while I used some JackSparrow when I wanted more detail but found its longer cards more strenuous to maintain.
I would bring the same philosophy to lab techniques. I would not try to memorize every paragraph in this document simply because it is free. I would first master the methods the AAMC explicitly emphasizes, understand what each technique measures or separates, and make short Anki cards for the distinctions I repeatedly confuse.
Then I would use MCAT passages to make the knowledge practical. When an experiment uses SDS-PAGE, I would ask what changed about the proteins and what the bands can tell me. When researchers use affinity chromatography, I would ask what specific interaction they are exploiting. When they choose PCR, I would ask why they need amplification. When a passage gives spectroscopy data, I would ask what structural information each method provides.
That approach turns the PDF from a vocabulary list into an experimental reasoning guide.
I would also keep the accuracy issue in perspective. A community correction identified a problem with the original gas chromatography explanation, which is exactly why I think community resources should be paired with the official AAMC outline rather than treated as unquestionable authority.
Use the free PDF because it is convenient, use the AAMC outline because it is authoritative, and use practice questions because they tell you whether you can actually apply what you learned.
You can download the free PDF here:
IWantAHighMCATScore MCAT Lab Techniques PDF
You can read the community correction here:
Corrected IWantAHighMCATScore Lab Techniques Discussion
You can use the official AAMC content outline here:
AAMC MCAT Topic List and Content Outline
If you want the Anki deck I personally used most during my MCAT preparation, you can find it here:
The rest of my free MCAT PDFs, Anki decks, spreadsheets, practice resources, and study tools are here: