The IMAT syllabus, section by section

Understand abstract, uncommon, or specialized vocabulary in real-world contexts.

Identify phenomena of textual cohesion and coherence.

Extract and infer specific information from the text.

Ascertain the ability to orient oneself in the space and time represented, or to place in space and time significant historical-cultural phenomena.

Knowledge of the main national and international institutions.

Understanding of phenomena relating to the legal, economic, and citizenship fields.

Evaluate arguments, draw conclusions, identify assumptions, and detect reasoning errors.

Solve numerical problems using basic arithmetic and data interpretation.

Analyze and evaluate arguments presented in written form.

The chemistry of living things: The biological importance of weak interactions. Organic molecules present in organisms and their respective functions. The role of enzymes.

The cell as the basis of life: Cell theory. Cell dimensions. The prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell, animal, and plant. Viruses.

The cell membrane: Structure and functions; transport across the membrane.

Cellular structures: Their specific functions.

Cell cycle and cell reproduction: Mitosis and meiosis, chromosome complement, and chromosomal maps.

Reproduction and heredity: Life cycles. Sexual and asexual reproduction.

Mendelian genetics: Mendel's laws and their applications.

Classical genetics: Chromosomal theory of inheritance, models of inheritance.

Molecular genetics: Structure and duplication of DNA, the genetic code, protein synthesis. The DNA of prokaryotes. The structure of the eukaryotic chromosome. Genes and regulation of gene expression.

Human genetics: Mono- and multifactorial character transmission; hereditary diseases (autosomal and X-linked).

Biotechnology: Recombinant DNA technology and its applications.

Inheritance and environment: Mutations. Natural and artificial selection. Evolutionary theories. The genetic basis of evolution.

Anatomy and Physiology of animals and humans: Animal tissues. Anatomy and physiology of human systems and their interactions. Homeostasis.

Bioenergetics: The energy currency of cells: ATP. Oxidation-reduction reactions in living things. Photosynthesis. Glycolysis. Aerobic respiration. Fermentation.

The constitution of matter: States of aggregation of matter; heterogeneous and homogeneous systems; compounds and elements.

Ideal gas laws.

The structure of the atom: Elementary particles; atomic number and mass number, isotopes, electronic structure of the atoms of the various elements.

The periodic table of the elements: Groups and periods; transition elements. Periodic properties of the elements: atomic radius, ionization potential, electron affinity, metallic character. Relationships between electronic structure, position in the periodic system, and properties of the elements.

The chemical bond: Ionic bond, covalent bond, and metallic bond. Bond energy. Polarity of bonds. Electronegativity. Intermolecular bonds.

Fundamentals of inorganic chemistry: Nomenclature and main properties of inorganic compounds: oxides, hydroxides, acids, salts.

Chemical reactions and stoichiometry: Atomic and molecular mass, Avogadro's number, concept of mole and its application, elementary stoichiometric calculations, balancing simple reactions, the different types of chemical reactions.

Solutions: Solvent properties of water, solubility, the main ways of expressing the concentration of solutions.

Equilibria in aqueous solution.

Elements of chemical kinetics and catalysis.

Oxidation and reduction: Oxidation number, concept of oxidant and reductant. Balancing simple reactions.

Acids and bases: The concept of acid and base. Acidity, neutrality, and basicity of aqueous solutions. The pH. Hydrolysis. Buffer solutions.

Fundamentals of organic chemistry: Bonds between carbon atoms, rough and structural formulas, concept of isomerism. Aliphatic, alicyclic, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Functional groups: alcohols, ethers, amines, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amides. Elements of nomenclature.

Numerical sets and algebra: Natural, integer, rational, real numbers. Sorting and comparison; order of magnitude and scientific notation. Operations and their properties. Proportions and percentages. Powers with integer and rational exponent, and their properties. Radicals and their properties. Logarithms (base 10 and base e) and their properties. Elements of combinatorics. Algebraic expressions, polynomials. Special products, the nth power of a binomial, factorization of polynomials. Algebraic fractions. First- and second-degree algebraic equations and inequalities. Systems of equations.

Functions: Fundamental notions of functions and their graphical representations (domain, codomain, sign study, continuity, maxima and minima, increase and decrease, etc.). Elementary functions: whole and fractional algebraic, exponential, logarithmic, trigonometric. Trigonometric equations and inequalities.

Geometry: Polygons and their properties. Circumference and circle. Length, area, and volume measurements. Isometries, similarities, and equivalences in the plane. Geometric loci. Angle measurement in degrees and radians. Sine, cosine, and tangent of an angle, and their notable values. Trigonometric formulas. Solving triangles. The Cartesian coordinate system in the plane. Distance between two points and the midpoint of a segment. Equation of a line. Conditions for parallelism and perpendicularity. Distance of a point from a line. Equation of the circle, parabola, hyperbola, ellipse, and their representation in the Cartesian plane. Pythagorean theorem. Euclid's theorems (first and second).

Probability and statistics: Frequency distributions and their graphical representations. Concept of random experiments and events. Probability and frequency.

Physical quantities and their measurement: Fundamental and derived physical quantities. Systems of units of measurement: International System and CGS and Technical (or practical) systems. Dimensions of physical quantities. Understanding of the order of magnitude of variables. Measurement errors.

Kinematics: Description of motion. Velocity and angular velocity, acceleration, and centripetal acceleration. Uniform rectilinear motion, uniformly accelerated motion, uniform circular motion, harmonic motion.

Dynamics: The concept of force as an interaction between bodies. Forces as applied vectors. The law of inertia. Mass and the second law of dynamics. Impulse and momentum. Principle of conservation of momentum. Moment of a force and angular momentum. Work and kinetic energy. Conservative forces and potential energy. Principle of conservation of mechanical energy. Power.

Fluid mechanics: Density and compressibility of fluids. Gases and liquids. Hydrostatics: pressure and the principles of Pascal, Stevinus, and Archimedes. Liquid dynamics: one-dimensional motion, flow and rate of flow, continuity equation. Ideal fluids and Bernoulli's equation. Viscous forces in real fluids.

Thermodynamics: Equilibrium, concept of temperature, thermometers. Concept of heat and calorimetry. Modes of heat propagation. Heat capacity and specific heat. Changes of state and latent heats. Ideal gas laws. First and second laws of thermodynamics.

Electricity and electromagnetism: Electric charges. Forces between charges and Coulomb's law. Electric field and potential, equipotential surfaces. Dielectric constant, capacitance, capacitors. Electrostatic energy. Series and parallel of capacitors. Generators. Electric voltage. Electric current. Resistivity, resistance, resistors. Ohm's law. Series and parallel of resistors. Kirchhoff's principles. Work, Power, Joule effect. Direct and alternating current. Period and frequency. Magnetic field of an electric current. Forces on electric currents in magnetic fields. Electromagnetic induction.