UCAT

TUTORIAL
SITUATIONAL JUDGEMENT, ABSTRACT
REASONING & QUANTITATIVE REASONING

@KCLWP
POST ANONYMOUSLY
STRUCTURE OF THE TEST
TEST TIMINGS
 TODAY'S SESSION

SITUATIONAL ABSTRACT QUANTITATIVE

JUDGEMENT REASONING REASONING
SITUATIONAL
JUDGEMENT
 SITUATIONAL JUDGEMENT
• 26 minutes, 22 scenarios, 69 multiple choice questions

• You get the most marks per question for the correct answer,
however almost right answers attract some marks.

• You are given a series of scenarios with possible actions &

considerations and you are required to:
o rate the appropriateness or importance of four response options
o choose the most and least appropriate actions from 3 possible actions
 SITUATIONAL JUDGEMENT
• Think about what you should do not what you would do
• Judging actions and not intent
• Judge each question independently - all items could be
appropriate or important

• Key topics/principles
o Patient safety
o Professionalism & working with remits
o Confidentiality
o Integrity & honesty
o Teamwork & respect
 DEFINITIONS
• Very important = essential to consider, vital to take into account

• Important = important but not vital

• Of minor importance = something you don’t have to consider

• Not important at all = not actively considered

 DEFINITIONS
• Very appropriate = optimal approach

• Appropriate but not idea = useful but not the best approach

• Inappropriate but not awful = not a good approach but not

terrible

• Very inappropriate = should not be done, would make the

situation worse
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(P.48 1250 UKCAT Practice Questions)

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 TOP TIPS
• Read carefully.
⚬ Read both the scenario and response thoroughly before answering.
⚬ Make sure you know whose point of view you are answering from.

• Practice!

• Read - Good Medical Practice from the GMC

⚬ This is crucial reading for future medics and will inform you of all aspects of good
practice including communication skills, maintaining trust, patient safety and
teamwork.
 TOP TIPS
• https://www.ucat.ac.uk/ucat/practice-tests/
BIGGEST TIP FOR SUCCESS
QUANTITATIVE
REASONING
Orla Mantle
 Overview

Tests numerical problem solving skills

36 questions, 9 scenarios, each with 4 questions
Time for this section = 24 minutes
Time per question = 40 seconds
4 broad question types : algebra, statistics, number, geometry
 Purpose of QR

To test your ability to interpret data and work

out calculations under time constraints. It’s
relevant to medicine and dentistry as both
require proficiency in drug dosage
calculations and interpreting data from
clinical research
 Question styles

algebra, statistics, number, geometry

Not specific but is helpful to use - Areas

in some questions
- Averages, ranges - Percentage change - Perimeters
eg ‘calculate x% of y’ - Fractions, decimals - Volumes
- Ratios, conversions
- Speed, distance, time

Difficulty of the maths is up to GCSE level

Key Conversions
Don’t get tripped up by unit changes!
Key Formulae
% INCREASE = (new number - original number)/original number x100
% DECREASE= (original number - new number)/original number x100

PRICE INCREASE : if increase is 15% : number x 1.15

PRICE DECREASE : if decrease is 15% : number x 0.085

NET PRICE : if 15% VAT applied, number decreases by 15% : number/1.15

REVERSE PERCENTAGE : if 20% discount : 100/0.8
 Approaching questions

• Read the questions before the stem

• Some questions will take longer than others, flag and move on
• Pay attention to key words. It can be helpful to write down keywords
and numbers on your whiteboard so you don’t have to read the entire
stem again

When do I read all of the stem?

• YES = when the data is simple
• NO = when the data is complex
 Keyboard shortcuts for the on-
screen calculator
Use the right-hand number
pad
The calculator works in the
order you input numbers,
not BODMAS!
 Tips

• Simulate time conditions in practice

• Use keyboard shortcuts for the calculator
• Rely on mental maths and use guestimation before the calculator, especially if the
question tells you to ‘approximate’
• Enter an answer for all questions
• Create a cheat sheet for four major topics
• Always check the units
Practice questions
 Answer

40% of 65 (left thumb) =

0.4x65=26
50% of 52 (alternating thumb) =
0.5x52=26
26+26=52, ANSWER = D

The question says “among all

the respondents, ONLY…….were
self taught typists” therefore
we must assume that these are
the only self taught typists.
Answer
Answer
 QR Resources

Improve your arithmetic, BBC Bitesize : https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z38pycw

Fast multiplication : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgw9Ik5ZGaY&feature=youtu.be
Calculating fractions :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4GO7w_1qBo&feature=youtu.be
Calculating percentages :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWHx0RsRNzI&feature=youtu.be
Square roots in 3 seconds :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUyLnjgGumg&feature=youtu.be
Square numbers quickly :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEuyDHMG0jY&feature=youtu.be
Thank you!
 ABSTRACT
REASONING
Eliana Oworu
 What is the Abstract Reasoning section of the
UCAT?

How is Abstract Reasoning relevant to

medicine/dentistry?

Key Information

Contents
Types of Questions – 4 Types

Practice Tips

Exam Tips
 What is the Abstract Reasoning (AR)
section of the UCAT?
In the words of the UCAT website itself...
“Abstract Reasoning assesses your ability to identify patterns
amongst abstract shapes where irrelevant and distracting
material may lead to incorrect conclusions. The test therefore
measures your ability to change track, critically evaluate and
generate hypotheses and requires you to query judgements as you
go along.”

In simpler terms I would describe it as a section involving patterns and shapes, in

which you need to identify relationships between them, to ultimately answer the
questions.
(To me it felt like an extension of the 11+ non-verbal reasoning exam - if anyone sat
that exam back in year 6!)
 How is Abstract Reasoning
relevant to medicine/dentistry?

Medical practioners need to

have discernment. They need
to be able to recognise what
information is the most
Doctors and dentists relevant and reliable.
need to be able to Doctors and Judgements made will help
them utlimately reach
analyse results of dentists are conclusions on diagnoses; for
tests and scans and example determining which
examine patients for scientists so if parts of the medical history
and test results are relevant to
symptoms. you are the diagnosis of a patient (and
for differential diagnosis).
involved in
research, you
Making good may need to
judgment is also identify
important in deciding
which scientific patterns in
sources (articles and results as well.
published research) to
trust and refer to as a
doctor and dentist.
 Key Information

Test Instruction
Shortest Duration: Time:
subtest of 13 minutes 1 minute
55 3rd Subtest
UCAT
questions of UCAT (UCATSEN (UCATSEN
(Time – 16 – 1 minute
wise) minutes 15 15
seconds) seconds)
 Types of Questions – Type 1

You are presented with 2 sets of shapes, one labelled ‘set A’ and one labelled ‘set B’. You will have
to decide which of the sets a new shape belongs to, or whether it belongs to neither.

How to approach: Establish whether

Decide what the new shape
Decide what shares either one
relationship all
relationship all the of these
the shapes in relationships or
shapes in set A have.
set B have. whether it shares
neither.
(Sometimes the pattern in set B will mirror the pattern in set A, or they will be linked in some
way)
When looking for the shared relationship between shapes, you could use these neumonics (but it’s
important to note that the questions aren’t exclusive to these features, these are just common
features you should look for first):
Shape, spacing
Shape Position
Colour Common and colour Orientation
Angle/Arrangment Position Number
Number Rotation Colour,
Symmetry (Could be shape symmetry or box symmetry (O)rientation common
and is often missed) Size, symmetry
 Harder to spot Type 1 Example Complex Type 1 Question:
patterns I noticed when
doing questions:

It’s important to consider relationship dependence between

objects. There are sets of shapes in which one feature will
depend on another feature being present. Some examples:
• Is the number of coloured shapes dependent on the
number of right angles?
• Ratio of shapes – E.g 2 black squares present for every
circle
• Number of shapes is odd if the middle shape is black.

Complex abstract shapes? Look for following patterns

• Intersections
• Touching sides
• Angles
If you see touching sides or intersections in any sets, consider
them first.
Watch out for distractors aswell!
Types of Questions – Type
2 a series of frames (boxes) with shapes/patterns in them before you and
You will have
will have to select the next frame to follow in this series.
How to approach:

Use the process of elimination to
lower your choice options if you can.
(It is likely that you’ll be able to rule
out some answers as not being the
next one in the frame)
Isolate individual
features (and compare
between frames) rather
then trying to deal with
everything at once.
Find out what the IMPORTANT
relationship is connecting all
the frames in the series?
What is the
pattern/progression of these
frames in the series?

You will generally see alot of similarities in the frames of each series, and then something that changes
with each successive frame in the series, which will be the key to finding what the next frame will be.
There is a limited number of possible relationships. Look for these most common ones:
• Movement
• Number of sides and angles
• Rotations
Remember: The aim is not to identify ALL the relationships, but to identify the correct answer. (You may
know what the answer is from identifying one relationship).
Types of Questions – Type 3
You will be given a statement concerning a group of shapes. You need
to determine which shape completes the statement.
Common things to look for:

Have the shapes taken on the colour of another shape?

Colours • Have the colours rotated?

• Are colours linked to another feature (e.g number of
sides, number of angles)

• Are arrows dictating a movement or an

increase or decrease in the number of
Arrows sides or angles?
• What are the arrows pointing to?

Rotations and translation -

Alternative • Have shapes changed orientation and position?
• Do objects with certain colours or certain shapes
Rotations move in the same way?
 Types of Questions – Type 4
You will be presented with two sets of shapes labelled ‘Set A’ and ‘Set B’. You will be asked to
select which of the four response options belongs to Set A or Set B.

This question type is essentially the same as type 1.

Just a slight difference... Stuck on the relationship

between sets?
Instead of being given 5 shapes and being asked Additional Tip:
which set they belong to (or neither), you are given If set A and B look similar,
4 shapes and asked which of them belongs to set A compare them, looking for the
differences to help you
or to Set B. determine the relationship
within the individual sets faster.

You can apply the same techniques as used in type

1 to answer type 4 questions.
 Abstract reasoning: Resources:
• Don’t rush to time I used free UCAT resources only:
yourself, first • UCAT website – underrated, one of the best
familiarise yourself
resource for info and practice questions
with the types of
questions, then • Medic Portal Website for tips and free practice
gradually introduce questions
timing. • 1250 UCAT Book (The book was given to me
from Medview, the equivalent of the Medic
• It will take a while Mind subscription you got) – Abstract
to get used to the Reasoning was harder in this book than the
Practice Tips
patterns, but the
more practice you
actual exam I found.
Practice A LOT, NOT spend alot!
do, the faster
you’ll get! But... if you did want to spend money:
Paid resources I’ve heard are good:
• When you start • Book: Kaplan- Score higher on the UCAT
timing yourself, be • Medify.co.uk
strict!
General UCAT:
• Make sure you’ve done some practice on a computer to get used to the
format.
• UCAT recommend 6 weeks of practice time for the exam, I’d recommend 8.
Exam
• No point spending a lot of time on
tips questions you are finding hard and
taking a long time on. You will be
compromising time you could be
spending on easier questions you could
do more of.

• Most people who take the UCAT do not

have time to complete the whole
abstract reasoning section simply
because of the sheer volume of
questions but lack of decent timing. – it
is likely that there will be at least 1 or 2
patterns which you will have to make
educated guesses on.

• Make educated guesses – Use process of

MOVE elimination, or if you have no clue
GUESS FLAG
ON whatsoever, or no time at all, just guess
anyway. The WORST thing you could do
is not choose any answer at all.
 Thank you for listening
and all the best with the
UCAT!

By
Eliana