UCAT — University Clinical Aptitude Test (UK medicine)
Take the UCAT Verbal Reasoning, Set 1: 20 multiple-choice questions (30 minutes) with instant scoring and a full answer review. Covers 20 UCAT Verbal…
What this test covers
The first 5 questions of this test, with the correct answer and explanation.
Q1. Read the passage: The beginnings of anaesthesia Before the mid-nineteenth century, surgery was performed on patients who were fully awake, and speed was considered a surgeon's most important skill. On 16 October 1846, the dentist William Morton gave a public demonstration of ether anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during which a tumour was removed from a patient's neck. News of the demonstration spread rapidly to Europe. The following year, the Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson began using chloroform, which acted faster than ether and was less irritating to breathe. Some people at first objected to relieving pain during childbirth, but such objections weakened after Queen Victoria was given chloroform during the birth of her son Leopold in 1853. Chloroform was later found to carry a greater risk of sudden death than ether, and both have since been replaced by safer agents. Morton's 1846 demonstration took place in Scotland.
Answer: B. False
Explanation: It took place at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Q2. Read the passage: The beginnings of anaesthesia Before the mid-nineteenth century, surgery was performed on patients who were fully awake, and speed was considered a surgeon's most important skill. On 16 October 1846, the dentist William Morton gave a public demonstration of ether anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during which a tumour was removed from a patient's neck. News of the demonstration spread rapidly to Europe. The following year, the Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson began using chloroform, which acted faster than ether and was less irritating to breathe. Some people at first objected to relieving pain during childbirth, but such objections weakened after Queen Victoria was given chloroform during the birth of her son Leopold in 1853. Chloroform was later found to carry a greater risk of sudden death than ether, and both have since been replaced by safer agents. Chloroform acted faster than ether.
Answer: A. True
Explanation: The passage states that chloroform acted faster than ether.
Q3. Read the passage: The beginnings of anaesthesia Before the mid-nineteenth century, surgery was performed on patients who were fully awake, and speed was considered a surgeon's most important skill. On 16 October 1846, the dentist William Morton gave a public demonstration of ether anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during which a tumour was removed from a patient's neck. News of the demonstration spread rapidly to Europe. The following year, the Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson began using chloroform, which acted faster than ether and was less irritating to breathe. Some people at first objected to relieving pain during childbirth, but such objections weakened after Queen Victoria was given chloroform during the birth of her son Leopold in 1853. Chloroform was later found to carry a greater risk of sudden death than ether, and both have since been replaced by safer agents. Queen Victoria was the first woman to receive chloroform during childbirth.
Answer: C. Can't tell
Explanation: The passage says she received it in 1853, but not whether she was the first.
Q4. Read the passage: The beginnings of anaesthesia Before the mid-nineteenth century, surgery was performed on patients who were fully awake, and speed was considered a surgeon's most important skill. On 16 October 1846, the dentist William Morton gave a public demonstration of ether anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during which a tumour was removed from a patient's neck. News of the demonstration spread rapidly to Europe. The following year, the Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson began using chloroform, which acted faster than ether and was less irritating to breathe. Some people at first objected to relieving pain during childbirth, but such objections weakened after Queen Victoria was given chloroform during the birth of her son Leopold in 1853. Chloroform was later found to carry a greater risk of sudden death than ether, and both have since been replaced by safer agents. Ether was found to carry a greater risk of sudden death than chloroform.
Answer: B. False
Explanation: It was chloroform that carried the greater risk.
Q5. Read the passage: The beginnings of anaesthesia Before the mid-nineteenth century, surgery was performed on patients who were fully awake, and speed was considered a surgeon's most important skill. On 16 October 1846, the dentist William Morton gave a public demonstration of ether anaesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, during which a tumour was removed from a patient's neck. News of the demonstration spread rapidly to Europe. The following year, the Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson began using chloroform, which acted faster than ether and was less irritating to breathe. Some people at first objected to relieving pain during childbirth, but such objections weakened after Queen Victoria was given chloroform during the birth of her son Leopold in 1853. Chloroform was later found to carry a greater risk of sudden death than ether, and both have since been replaced by safer agents. Before anaesthesia, surgeons valued speed highly.
Answer: A. True
Explanation: The passage says speed was considered a surgeon's most important skill.
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Q6. Read the passage: The Great Stink In the summer of 1858, unusually hot weather caused the River Thames in London, which received much of the city's untreated sewage, to give off an overpowering smell. The episode became known as the Great Stink. At the time, many doctors believed that diseases such as cholera were spread by foul air, or "miasma". Four years earlier, however, the physician John Snow had traced an outbreak of cholera in Soho to a single public water pump on Broad Street, concluding that the disease was carried in contaminated water. The Great Stink pushed Parliament to approve a major sewer system designed by the engineer Joseph Bazalgette. His network carried sewage away from the city centre, and London suffered far fewer cholera outbreaks afterwards, although the system had been built largely to remove the smell. The Great Stink happened during an unusually hot summer.
Q7. Read the passage: The Great Stink In the summer of 1858, unusually hot weather caused the River Thames in London, which received much of the city's untreated sewage, to give off an overpowering smell. The episode became known as the Great Stink. At the time, many doctors believed that diseases such as cholera were spread by foul air, or "miasma". Four years earlier, however, the physician John Snow had traced an outbreak of cholera in Soho to a single public water pump on Broad Street, concluding that the disease was carried in contaminated water. The Great Stink pushed Parliament to approve a major sewer system designed by the engineer Joseph Bazalgette. His network carried sewage away from the city centre, and London suffered far fewer cholera outbreaks afterwards, although the system had been built largely to remove the smell. John Snow's work led directly to Parliament approving Bazalgette's sewers.
Q8. Read the passage: The Great Stink In the summer of 1858, unusually hot weather caused the River Thames in London, which received much of the city's untreated sewage, to give off an overpowering smell. The episode became known as the Great Stink. At the time, many doctors believed that diseases such as cholera were spread by foul air, or "miasma". Four years earlier, however, the physician John Snow had traced an outbreak of cholera in Soho to a single public water pump on Broad Street, concluding that the disease was carried in contaminated water. The Great Stink pushed Parliament to approve a major sewer system designed by the engineer Joseph Bazalgette. His network carried sewage away from the city centre, and London suffered far fewer cholera outbreaks afterwards, although the system had been built largely to remove the smell. Snow concluded that cholera was carried in contaminated water.
Q9. Read the passage: The Great Stink In the summer of 1858, unusually hot weather caused the River Thames in London, which received much of the city's untreated sewage, to give off an overpowering smell. The episode became known as the Great Stink. At the time, many doctors believed that diseases such as cholera were spread by foul air, or "miasma". Four years earlier, however, the physician John Snow had traced an outbreak of cholera in Soho to a single public water pump on Broad Street, concluding that the disease was carried in contaminated water. The Great Stink pushed Parliament to approve a major sewer system designed by the engineer Joseph Bazalgette. His network carried sewage away from the city centre, and London suffered far fewer cholera outbreaks afterwards, although the system had been built largely to remove the smell. Bazalgette's sewer system was built mainly to prevent cholera.
Q10. Read the passage: The Great Stink In the summer of 1858, unusually hot weather caused the River Thames in London, which received much of the city's untreated sewage, to give off an overpowering smell. The episode became known as the Great Stink. At the time, many doctors believed that diseases such as cholera were spread by foul air, or "miasma". Four years earlier, however, the physician John Snow had traced an outbreak of cholera in Soho to a single public water pump on Broad Street, concluding that the disease was carried in contaminated water. The Great Stink pushed Parliament to approve a major sewer system designed by the engineer Joseph Bazalgette. His network carried sewage away from the city centre, and London suffered far fewer cholera outbreaks afterwards, although the system had been built largely to remove the smell. Bazalgette was a physician.
Q11. Read the passage: Antibiotic resistance Antibiotics kill bacteria or stop them from multiplying, but they have no effect on viruses. When a population of bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, the few individuals that happen to carry genes allowing them to survive can multiply and pass those genes on. Over time, the antibiotic becomes less effective against that species. Resistance develops faster when antibiotics are used unnecessarily, such as for viral infections, or when patients stop a course early. Resistant bacteria can also share resistance genes with other species. Health authorities warn that, without new drugs and more careful use of existing ones, routine operations and minor infections could become dangerous again. Antibiotics are effective against viruses.
Q12. Read the passage: Antibiotic resistance Antibiotics kill bacteria or stop them from multiplying, but they have no effect on viruses. When a population of bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, the few individuals that happen to carry genes allowing them to survive can multiply and pass those genes on. Over time, the antibiotic becomes less effective against that species. Resistance develops faster when antibiotics are used unnecessarily, such as for viral infections, or when patients stop a course early. Resistant bacteria can also share resistance genes with other species. Health authorities warn that, without new drugs and more careful use of existing ones, routine operations and minor infections could become dangerous again. Stopping a course of antibiotics early can speed up the development of resistance.
Q13. Read the passage: Antibiotic resistance Antibiotics kill bacteria or stop them from multiplying, but they have no effect on viruses. When a population of bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, the few individuals that happen to carry genes allowing them to survive can multiply and pass those genes on. Over time, the antibiotic becomes less effective against that species. Resistance develops faster when antibiotics are used unnecessarily, such as for viral infections, or when patients stop a course early. Resistant bacteria can also share resistance genes with other species. Health authorities warn that, without new drugs and more careful use of existing ones, routine operations and minor infections could become dangerous again. Resistance genes can be shared between different species of bacteria.
Q14. Read the passage: Antibiotic resistance Antibiotics kill bacteria or stop them from multiplying, but they have no effect on viruses. When a population of bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, the few individuals that happen to carry genes allowing them to survive can multiply and pass those genes on. Over time, the antibiotic becomes less effective against that species. Resistance develops faster when antibiotics are used unnecessarily, such as for viral infections, or when patients stop a course early. Resistant bacteria can also share resistance genes with other species. Health authorities warn that, without new drugs and more careful use of existing ones, routine operations and minor infections could become dangerous again. Most hospital infections today are caused by resistant bacteria.
Q15. Read the passage: Antibiotic resistance Antibiotics kill bacteria or stop them from multiplying, but they have no effect on viruses. When a population of bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, the few individuals that happen to carry genes allowing them to survive can multiply and pass those genes on. Over time, the antibiotic becomes less effective against that species. Resistance develops faster when antibiotics are used unnecessarily, such as for viral infections, or when patients stop a course early. Resistant bacteria can also share resistance genes with other species. Health authorities warn that, without new drugs and more careful use of existing ones, routine operations and minor infections could become dangerous again. Which statement best summarises the passage?
Q16. Read the passage: School start times Teenagers' body clocks shift during puberty, so that many naturally fall asleep and wake later than younger children or adults. In one district, the start of the school day was moved from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. In the following year, students reported an average of 34 more minutes of sleep per night, attendance at first-period classes rose, and the number of car accidents involving teenage drivers in the district fell. The district did not track academic grades. Critics of later start times point out that they can complicate bus schedules and after-school activities, and that some students may simply stay up later. After the change, students reported more sleep on average.
Q17. Read the passage: School start times Teenagers' body clocks shift during puberty, so that many naturally fall asleep and wake later than younger children or adults. In one district, the start of the school day was moved from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. In the following year, students reported an average of 34 more minutes of sleep per night, attendance at first-period classes rose, and the number of car accidents involving teenage drivers in the district fell. The district did not track academic grades. Critics of later start times point out that they can complicate bus schedules and after-school activities, and that some students may simply stay up later. The later start time improved students' grades.
Q18. Read the passage: School start times Teenagers' body clocks shift during puberty, so that many naturally fall asleep and wake later than younger children or adults. In one district, the start of the school day was moved from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. In the following year, students reported an average of 34 more minutes of sleep per night, attendance at first-period classes rose, and the number of car accidents involving teenage drivers in the district fell. The district did not track academic grades. Critics of later start times point out that they can complicate bus schedules and after-school activities, and that some students may simply stay up later. The school day originally started at 8:30 a.m.
Q19. Read the passage: School start times Teenagers' body clocks shift during puberty, so that many naturally fall asleep and wake later than younger children or adults. In one district, the start of the school day was moved from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. In the following year, students reported an average of 34 more minutes of sleep per night, attendance at first-period classes rose, and the number of car accidents involving teenage drivers in the district fell. The district did not track academic grades. Critics of later start times point out that they can complicate bus schedules and after-school activities, and that some students may simply stay up later. Car accidents involving teenage drivers in the district fell after the change.
Q20. Read the passage: School start times Teenagers' body clocks shift during puberty, so that many naturally fall asleep and wake later than younger children or adults. In one district, the start of the school day was moved from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. In the following year, students reported an average of 34 more minutes of sleep per night, attendance at first-period classes rose, and the number of car accidents involving teenage drivers in the district fell. The district did not track academic grades. Critics of later start times point out that they can complicate bus schedules and after-school activities, and that some students may simply stay up later. Which of the following is given as a criticism of later start times?