Science is so broad that there are a variety of sub-disciplines. The MAT also tests sciences like astronomy and ecology, and although these kinds of analogies are more rare, it’s still a good idea to memorize the following lists. The good news is that you don’t have to know that many terms and figures.
General science terms that appear on the MAT test
Brush up on your general science knowledge by studying these terms and their definitions.
Acid rain: Precipitation with a low pH that’s harmful to life and infrastructure
Amber: Fossilized tree resin
Andromeda galaxy: Galaxy closest to the Milky Way
Asteroid: Small body that orbits the sun
Astronomy: Study of celestial objects (stars, planets, galaxies, and so on)
Comet: Small icy body that shows a coma and tail when close to the sun
Constellation: Pattern of stars in the sky
Distillation: Way of separating the parts of a liquid mixture
Energy: Ability to do work
Galaxy: System of at least 10 million stars held together by gravity
Gravitation: Gravity; bodies attract each other based on their masses
Greenhouse effect: Heat is absorbed by atmospheric gases and redirected back to Earth
Half-life: Time for a quantity to reach half of its starting value
Heliocentric: Model in which the planets revolve around the sun
Igneous rock: Rock formed from cooled lava
Light-year: Unit of length; distance light travels in a year; about 6 trillion miles
Lunar eclipse: The moon covered by Earth’s shadow
Metamorphic rock: An igneous or sedimentary rock exposed to heat and pressure
Meteor: Visible path of a meteoroid in the atmosphere
Meteorite: Meteoroid that survives impact on the surface
Meteoroid: Small body in the solar system; smaller than asteroid
Milky Way: Our home galaxy
Orbit: Curved path of an object around another object
Plate tectonics: Theory that describes the motions of Earth’s crust
Pulsar: A rotating, magnetized neutron star
Quasar: Very bright nucleus of a distant galaxy
Satellite: A natural or artificial object that orbits another object
Sedimentary rock: Rock formed by deposits in bodies of water
Seismometer: Instrument that measures the motion of the ground
Solar eclipse: The moon passing in front of the sun
Solar system: The sun and all objects (planets, comets, and so on) that orbit it
Sunspot: Dark, relatively cool areas on the sun’s surface
Thermodynamics: Study of heat on other forms of energy
Important figures in the field of science
The following lists important people in the field of science you should get to know before taking the MAT.
Bell, Alexander Graham: American inventor of the telephone
Copernicus, Nicolaus: Polish astronomer who was the first to propose the heliocentric model
Diesel, Rudolf: German inventor of the diesel engine
Edison, Thomas: American inventor of the light bulb
Franklin, Benjamin: American inventor of bifocal glasses
Kepler, Johannes: German astronomer known for planetary motion laws
Marconi, Guglielmo: Italian inventor of the radio
Morse, Samuel: American coinventor of the telegraph and Morse code
Pascal, Blaise: French inventor of mechanical calculator
Ptolemy: Greek-Roman astronomer who wrote the Almagest