IMAT 2024: Complete Test Breakdown and Analysis

The IMAT 2024 test is officially behind us, and as always, we’re here to break it down for you.

Now, let’s get to the main highlights! This year’s IMAT was actually easier compared to previous years, which means we’re expecting higher scores across the board. Interestingly, there was one question that was completely wrong —a key piece of data was missing!

And here’s a surprise: Italian students didn’t perform as well as expected.

Why? Many of them had been preparing for the Italian medicine test, which uses a specific question bank, and didn’t properly adapt their study approach for the IMAT. This left them at a disadvantage compared to those who focused solely on the IMAT structure.

Stay tuned for our full analysis, where you’ll find our insights and plenty of useful details to help you fully grasp how the IMAT 2024 unfolded.

Difficulty of the Logic questions

Regarding the logic section, the IMAT 2024 questions seem increasingly similar to the non-Cambridge questions of the Italian Medicine test. Consequently, the difficulty of the logic section has decreased compared to previous years, though some new types of exercises have been introduced.

Thus, the logic section can be considered of medium to easy difficulty.

Difficulty of the Biology questions

Now, let’s analyze the biology section.

Overall, the 23 biology questions were fairly easy The topics with the most questions were cell organization, the Central Dogma of Biology (DNA transcription and translation) , biomolecules, and bioenergetics.

This year’s IMAT test lacked important topics like anatomy, physiology, and the cell cycle.

Moreover, there were no reasoning questions or exercises on genetics or bioenergetics. The questions were almost exclusively factual.

Difficulty of the Chemistry questions

Overall, the chemistry section was of medium to easy difficulty.

There were few factual questions in this case, with most exercises requiring the direct or almost direct application of key chemistry formulas.

There was no dominant topic, but the entire syllabus was well-represented. Exercises on “acids and bases” and “pH and neutralizations” reappeared this year after being absent last year.

However, one significant omission was balancing equations.

Difficulty of the Maths and Physics questions

Overall, the math and physics sections were balanced both in terms of difficulty and topics covered, except for the strong emphasis on electrostatics in the physics section.

Therefore, the overall difficulty of this section was medium , with mostly practical and application-based questions.

Now Let’s take a closer look at the test subjects 🤓

Analysis of Reading Comprehension and Acquired Knowledge

The two general culture questions were about history and English literature, and they seemed medium to easy difficulty.

The old Critical Thinking section, which used to include long and complex texts that heavily challenged students, has been replaced by a single reading comprehension question, which was fairly quick to solve.

However, there was also a grammar question (easy to solve) about recognizing the passive form of a verb.

The overall difficulty of this section is medium to easy.

Analysis of Logical Reasoning and Problem-Solving

Regarding Logical Reasoning, this section now resembles the Mathematical Logic section from the Italian Medicine test, with questions covering percentages and fractions, probability, and geometric logic.

Finally, there was a question on Necessary and Sufficient Conditions, which had never appeared before in IMAT tests.

These questions were of medium to easy difficulty.

Analysis of Biology

Starting from the chapter distribution in the Biology section, the most prominent chapter in the 2024 Medicine test was Cell Organization, with 8 questions of easy difficulty.

Following that, the following most represented chapters were DNA transcription and translation (6 questions), and biomolecules, genetics, and bioenergetics (3 questions). As mentioned earlier, chapters on anatomy and physiology, the cell cycle, evolution, taxonomy, biotechnology, histology, and immunology (already removed by decree) were absent.

Regarding the complexity of the questions, the average difficulty was easy. There were no reasoning questions, Cambridge-style questions, or challenging question types like family trees and images (which were common in previous years).

Topics considered more complex (e.g., medico-factual questions) and genetics exercises involving Punnett squares or bioenergetics calculations were also absent.

Given these premises, we can say that the biology section was a haven for those who studied without any traps or particular difficulties. The 23 questions could have been tackled confidently, saving useful time on the more complex sections.

Analysis of Chemistry

There were two factual questions: one concerning the unit of pressure measurement and another on the definition of acids and bases, both of easy difficulty.

Unlike last year, where inorganic chemistry questions were central, this year there was only one, which was also of easy difficulty.

There were only two stoichiometry questions. One was quite complex, as it required performing calculations to exclude each option, making it time-consuming. The second required writing the combustion reaction and identifying the limiting reagent, with several calculations involved. Overall, both were of medium difficulty.

Two questions on aqueous solutions were also included. These were fairly simple and required only minor variations from direct formula application.

The most significant portion of the section dealt with acids and bases, including theoretical questions based on the definitions of acids and bases and one question on neutralization. The latter was one of the more complex questions in the section but was very similar to a question on last year’s test.

There were also two easy organic chemistry questions, although one required drawing all the molecules from the options.

Some might have puzzled about the application of Dalton’s law and a redox reaction. However, these questions were not particularly difficult, just less predictable.

Overall, the chemistry section was not particularly complex, as the questions were aligned with the syllabus. A solid foundation was necessary, but advanced knowledge was not required except for a few questions.

Some exercises were more time-consuming, but this was due to longer calculations rather than difficulty.

Analysis of Math and Physics

The 13 math and physics questions were equally divided, with 7 math questions and 6 physics questions. This is a more balanced situation compared to last year, where there were 8 math questions and 5 physics questions.

Regarding math, the proposed exercises spanned almost all significant topics of the syllabus.

They were mainly practical: 5 out of 7 required calculations to obtain the correct answer, while the remaining two could be solved with purely theoretical reasoning. The overall difficulty appears to be medium-easy, as the problems did not require advanced skills or knowledge and could be solved quickly, except for the inequality with absolute value, which was undoubtedly more laborious.

In physics, there was an imbalance in the topics: half of the questions were related to electrostatics and electrodynamics (following the trend of the July medicine test), while the remaining three questions covered dynamics, thermodynamics, and kinematics.

The exercises were of medium difficulty, slightly more challenging than the math questions, due to the more specific knowledge required (e.g., a problem on harmonic motion). As with the previous section, the primary solution method was formula application, except for two questions that required reasoned responses.

It’s worth noting the presence of an ambiguous question (no. 55) that we believe had missing data.

Overall, the difficulty was medium-easy. The knowledge and skills required for both subjects were well within the syllabus, with only a few exceptions, and all correct options could be found using studied theory without needing to rely on deduction. Compared to last year, this section was much more manageable.

What happens now

Now, all that remains is to wait!

Here’s a small timeline to keep in mind until the release of the national ranking:

• Release of anonymous scores: September 26th

• You can view your score in your personalized area starting: October 3rd

• Release of the national ranking with names: October 10th

You can also find all the other key IMAT dates here👇

Un post condiviso da IMAT Med School Testbusters (@imat.medschool)

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if you’re eager for an in-depth look, we’ve organized a special event that’s even more comprehensive—check it out here !

You can also take the IMAT 2024 with commented corrections in Italian and English on our simulator 👇