NMAT Practice Set Comprehensive Vocabulary Flashcards

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering all terms, concepts, and subjects tested in Part 1 and Part 2 of the NMAT practice set.

Alveoli

Tiny air sacs in the lungs where gas exchange occurs, functioning as the primary structural unit of the respiratory system.

Ventricles

Muscular muscular chambers of the heart that pump blood into the circulatory system, analogous in structural importance to alveoli in the respiratory system.

Stalactite

An icicle-shaped mineral deposit hanging from the ceiling of a cave, growing downward towards the ground.

Stalagmite

A mound- or cone-shaped mineral deposit rising from the floor of a cave due to drip water, growing upward from the feet level.

Goal

An intended result or outcome that guides and prompts action.

Policy

A high-level overall plan or course of action that guides decision-making and requires implementation.

Scalpel

A small, extremely sharp bladed instrument used in surgery and dissection to cut tissue.

Forceps

A handheld, hinged instrument used by surgeons and medical professionals to grasp, hold, or manipulate tissues and objects.

Sedative

A medical agent or drug administered to soothe, calm, or alleviate pain and anxiety.

Antiseptic

A chemical substance applied to living tissue or wounds to inhibit micro-organisms and prevent infection.

Viscous

Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid, as exhibited by ketchup relative to runny vinegar.

Enthusiastic

Having or showing intense and eager enjoyment, interest, or approval, expressing a lower intensity of feeling compared to passionate.

Passionate

Showing or caused by intense feelings or strong enthusiasm, representing an elevated degree of being enthusiastic.

Plentiful

Existing in great quantities; abundant.

Ample

Enough or more than enough; plentiful or abundant in degree.

Sclera

The tough, fibrous white outer layer that covers and protects the eyeball.

Cranium

The bone structure of the skull that encloses and protects the brain.

Valid

In logic, describing an argument whose premises logically guarantee its conclusion.

Fact

A statement or piece of information that is verifiably true.

Salve

A therapeutic ointment applied to soothe, heal, or comfort a wound or affliction.

Drupe

A fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stony pit containing the seed, such as a peach or plum.

Pome

A fruit consisting of a fleshy enlarged receptacle and a central core containing seeds, such as an apple or pear.

Bulb

A modified underground stem possessing a short stem enclosed by fleshy leaves, categorized structurally under vegetables.

Concise

Giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words; the direct antonym of verbose.

Verbose

Using or expressed in more words than are needed; wordy or redundant.

Revere

To feel deep respect or admiration for something or someone, representing an intensified form of respect.

Humiliate

To make someone feel ashamed, foolish, or degraded, representing an intensified form of shame.

Kilogram

The standard SI base unit of measurement for weight and mass.

Liter

A metric unit of capacity used to measure liquid volume.

Language of Privilege

A concept describing how proficiency in a dominant language (such as English) confers social status, mobility, and career connections.

Split-Level Identity

A psychological state described by Fr. Bulatao where an individual operates simultaneously in two contrasting cultural/linguistic spheres, such as using English in formal spheres and Filipino in informal ones.

Bayanihan

A unique Filipino cultural concept depicting communal unity, cooperation, and effort toward a shared task.

Kilig

A untranslatable Filipino emotion referring to the feeling of romantic excitement, butterflies in the stomach, or giddiness.

Diskarte

A Filipino concept referring to resourcefulness, strategy, and street-smart problem-solving.

Ozone Shield

A thin, life-preserving stratospheric layer composed of $O_3$ gas that absorbs the majority of the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays.

Stratosphere

The atmospheric layer extending approximately 10 to 30 miles above Earth's surface where the protective ozone layer resides.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Highly stable, non-reactive synthetic industrial gases formerly used in refrigerants, aerosols, and foam plastics that decompose in the upper atmosphere to destroy ozone.

F. Sherwood Rowland and Mario J. Molina

Farsighted researchers at the University of California at Irvine who predicted in 1974 that CFCs could destroy stratospheric ozone.

Inert Gas

A gas that shows extremely low chemical reactivity and does not readily react with other substances in nature.

Prairie Schooner

A canvas-covered wagon used by 19th-century American pioneers to travel across the Western prairies.

Homestead Claim

A tract of public land granted to a settler under homestead laws for farming and dwelling.

Prosocial Cues

Subtle behavioral or verbal signals (such as pauses or filler words) emitted to give an conversational partner a polite exit strategy when anticipating a refusal.

Autonomy

The capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision, often defended by exercising the ability to say 'no'.

Figure Series

An inductive reasoning test section consisting of sequential visual diagrams that change systematically according to a underlying geometric pattern.

Figure Grouping

An inductive reasoning problem type where test-takers identify the single visual diagram that lacks a unifying structural characteristic shared by the other four.

Number Series

A sequence of numbers generated by a mathematical rule such as arithmetic progression, geometric ratio, or alternating differences.

Letter Series

A sequence of alphabetic characters that progresses based on position intervals or repeating structural patterns.

Radical Simplification

The process of reducing algebraic or numeric roots to their simplest radical form using product and quotient rules.

Equilateral Triangle

A regular polygon with three congruent sides and three congruent internal angles of $60^\text{o}$.

Area of an Equilateral Triangle

The total two-dimensional surface enclosed by an equilateral triangle, calculated by the formula $A = \frac{\frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}} s^2$.

Cylinder Volume

The three-dimensional space enclosed by a circular cylinder, calculated as $V = \pi r^2 h$.

Simple Interest Formula

The mathematical formula $I = Prt$, where $I$ is interest earned, $P$ is principal, $r$ is interest rate, and $t$ is time.

Probability

The numerical likelihood of a specific event occurring, expressed as the ratio of favorable outcomes to total possible outcomes.

Fibonacci Sequence

A mathematical series of numbers in which each term is the sum of the two preceding terms, as seen in $\{1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233\}$.

Mean Score

The average value of a data set, calculated by dividing the sum of all observed values by the total number of items.

Combined Work Rate

The collective rate at which multiple agents complete a job, expressed mathematically by summing individual unit-time fractional rates.

Bar Graph

A graphical representation of data using rectangular bars with heights or lengths proportional to the values they represent.

Pie Chart

A circular statistical graphic divided into numerical slices to illustrate proportional composition.

Line Graph

A visual display that shows continuous data points connected by line segments to track trends over continuous intervals.

Time Series Graph

A graph displaying data points plotted in chronological order along a horizontal time axis.

Hidden Figure

A perceptual acuity task requiring identification of an exact geometric simple sub-shape embedded within a complex visual background.

Mirror Image

A spatial perception transformation where a figure is reflected across a vertical axis, reversing left and right orientations.

Identical Information Matching

A perceptual speed and accuracy task involving character-by-character verification of strings, bibliographical citations, and formulas.

Bordetella pertussis

A pathogenic bacterium that secretes adenylate cyclase toxins, enabling AC-II to enter host cells and undermine cellular processes.

Prilosec

A brand name proton-pump inhibitor (omeprazole) used in chronic anti-reflux treatment regimens.

Helicobacter

A genus of Gram-negative bacteria that colonize the stomach lining, clinically evaluated via gastric biopsy.

Carbonic Acid

A weak diprotic chemical compound formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, represented by $H_2CO_3$.

Phosphorous Acid

A diprotic inorganic compound represented by $H_3PO_3$, synthesized by reacting water with $P_4O_6$, $PCl_3$, $PBr_3$, or $PI_3$.

Pyruvic Acid

The 3-carbon organic end product of glycolysis that acts as an important energy precursor in aerobic respiration.

Intercalated Discs

Microscopic specialized cell junctions in cardiac muscle tissue containing desmosomes and gap junctions that allow direct electrical communication.

Desmosome

A cell structure specialized for cell-to-cell adhesion within intercalated discs of cardiac muscle that prevents separation during contraction.

Gap Junction

An intercellular passage formed by protein channels that allows direct exchange of ions and small molecules between adjacent cells.

Active Transport

The movement of ions or molecules across a cellular membrane against their concentration gradient, requiring cellular energy in the form of ATP.

Passive Transport

The movement of substances across cell membranes along concentration gradients without metabolic energy input.

Light-Dependent Reactions

The initial stage of photosynthesis occurring in thylakoid membranes that converts solar energy into ATP and NADPH.

Light-Independent Reactions (Calvin Cycle)

The photosynthetic process occurring in the stroma that utilizes ATP and NADPH to fix carbon dioxide into glucose.

Prokaryotic Cell

A unicellular organism lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, typically possessing circular DNA.

Eukaryotic Cell

A complex cell type possessing a distinct membrane-bound nucleus and linear double-helical membrane-enclosed DNA.

Mitosis

A nuclear division process in eukaryotic body cells that produces two identical diploid daughter cells.

Meiosis

A specialized cell division in germ cells comprising two nuclear divisions that yields four genetically distinct haploid gametes.

Catabolism

Metabolic pathways that break down complex molecules into simpler ones, releasing stored kinetic and thermal energy.

Anabolism

Metabolic pathways that synthesize complex cellular structures from simpler precursors, requiring energy input.

Chemiosmosis

The movement of hydrogen ions across a semipermeable membrane down an electrochemical gradient to generate the highest yield of ATP in cellular respiration.

Hemophilia B

An X-linked recessive genetic blood clotting disorder caused by deficiency of factor IX, historically known as Christmas disease.

Methemoglobinemia

A blood disorder caused by lack of diaphorase enzyme, leading to accumulation of blue-tinted hemoglobin and blue skin coloration.

Genetic Drift

Random fluctuations in allele frequencies within a population over time due to chance events, particularly prominent in small populations.

DNA Ligase

An enzyme that facilitates the joining of DNA strands together by catalyzing the formation of phosphodiester covalent bonds.

Conjugation

The direct transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells through temporary cell-to-cell contact mediated by an F plasmid.

F Plasmid

An episomal fertility factor plasmid that enables bacterial donors to construct a pilus and transfer DNA to recipient cells.

Pneumatophores

Specialized aerial roots produced by plants in flooded environments that facilitate gaseous exchange.

Secondary Succession

Ecological recolonization of a disturbed habitat where vegetation is cleared (e.g., by forest fire) but soil remains intact.

Trisomy 21

A genetic chromosome abnormality (Down Syndrome) characterized by three copies of chromosome 21, causing developmental delay and neurologic impairment.

Growth Hormone

A peptide hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates cellular growth, cell reproduction, and bone maturation.

Peptic Ulcer

A lesion in the mucosal lining of the stomach or duodenum resulting from erosion by acidic gastric digestive juices.

Antigen

Any foreign molecule or structural marker that binds to specific immune receptors and provokes an adaptive immune response.

Antibody

A protective Y-shaped protein produced by plasma B cells that specifically binds to a targeted foreign antigen.

Psoriasis

An autoimmune skin condition characterized by hyperproliferation of keratinocytes, resulting in raised, scaly, red skin plaques.

Vasodilation

The widening of blood vessels resulting from relaxation of smooth muscle cells, increasing superficial blood flow to dissipate body heat.

Neural Tube Defect

A severe congenital birth defect of the brain or spinal cord prevented by daily maternal supplementation of 400 micrograms of folic acid prior to conception.

Troponin-Tropomyosin Complex

A regulatory protein complex attached to actin filaments in muscle fibers that shifts position upon calcium binding to allow myosin attachment.