QUESTIONS
IMAT 2017 ANSWERS
1. D
Start by multiplying all the colours that are taken by 6. So when the tin has been passed around 6 times, 24 red chocolates have been take, 12 yellow, 18 green and 6 blue, meaning 60 in total. Instantly we can rule out A, B and E. Now we just have to consider C and D.
If we consider that D is the correct answer, it will mean 36 chocolates are left in the box, where 18 are blue. Add this to the 6 that have already been taken makes 24 blue chocolates at the start. Remember we had an equal amount of all chocolates at the start so 24 of each meaning 96. This corresponds with answer D. With 18 blue remaining we would have 6 green and 12 yellow, which would make up the other 18 chocolates left in the box, therefore the answer must be D.
2. E
This question requires you to picture the frame from different angles in your head. Looking at the frame from the top will give B, from the bottom will give C, from the left will give D and from the right will give you A. This rules out all options but E, so we know this must be the answer.
3. B
A manager will only read between 8am and 5.15pm. If she sends the email at 3pm London time then the only people reading it at the time she sent will be the managers in Prague, Stockholm and Nicosia (as these are all either 1 or 2 hours ahead of London time). Now find the manager that will receive the email closest to this time but who will just have gone home. This is Moscow, Riyadh and Nairobi who will receive it at 6pm, but wont read it until 8am (14 hours later) the next day. The answer is thus 14 hours
4. E
Workout the cost of the cost per unit for each option. You do this by taking the price divided by how many units get sent at that price
1: 0.55 per unit
2: 0.35 per unit
3. 0.32 per unit (note, you just need to roughly work this value out)
4. 0.33 per unit
5. 0.32 per unit
6. 0.55 per unit
You can see here that options 1 and 2 are way more expensive per unit, so we don’t want to purchase anything in the quantities 1 and 6. Purchasing in 3, 4 or 5 however are the cheapest, so lets see if we can purchase something in these quantities to get to 7.
If we purchase 2 and a 5 item package would cost £2.30.
A 4 and a 3 package however will cost £2.25, which is the cheapest combination we can get.
5. A
The square is on the right of the door in the corner, so the answer cannot be B, C or D. The big rectangle is on the same side as the square, meaning A is correct.
6. A
It might help to draw some squares to identify a pattern. Start with the first row, the first square in the first row will take 4 matches, then we need another 3 matches to make another square connecting to that one. This continues up until the 10th square. Meaning the first row costs 31 matches. Don’t waste time drawing all the squares, do as shown below…

Now draw another row underneath. You will see the first square costs 3 matches, and every square after costs 2. This means a total of 21 matches for the second row

You have now worked out the pattern, the first row requires 31 matches, and every row after requires 21. You can draw more rows if you want to be sure that you have identified the pattern, but remember we need to be efficient with timing.
We have 10 rows so 31 + 9(21) = 220 matches.
7. E
Look at the lesson on drawing conclusions to see how to answer this question.
If you read the last sentence, you can see that the focus point of the passage is to say that e-cigarettes are clearly not a safe alternative to smoking. This is the conclusion the writer is building up to so this can be drawn as a conclusion.
8. A
The passage is saying that palm oil is causing environmental problems. It finishes however saying that other alternative vegetable oils maybe even worse. Thus the conclusion we can draw here is that replacing palm oil with other vegetable oils won’t solve the environmental issue. This matches with option A.
9. A
The graphs show distance over time, meaning the slope represents speed. David spends 1 hour + 20 minutes + 1 hour + 20 minutes + 30 minutes to get to Carston. This means he arrives there at 14.10 and has to wait 50 minute before going to Ardale. The speed will be slower for an hour, and then stopped for 20 minutes, then sped up for an hour then stopped for 20 minutes, then sped up for 30 minutes then stopped for 50 minutes and cycling home in 50 minutes. This only matches with A
10. E
Look at the lesson on reasoning errors to solve this question
The issue with this reasoning is that the author is jumping to conclusions. They assume that because one person had a bad experience with these comparing websites that comparing websites are not useful. The answer is thus E
11. E
Watch the lesson on Assessing the Impact of Additional Evidence
Start by finding the conclusion, which is the last sentence. Now look at which option if true would provide the strongest evidence against the conclusion. Obviously if it is true that nets have a destructive impact on many endangered species then the conclusion does not hold, so E is the answer.
12. A
Look at the lesson on assumptions.
First find the conclusion, which is the last sentence. Now find what connects that conclusion to the facts given. The conclusion states that the team will be able to recover now that the coach has been removed, and the facts gave the reason for his removal (his extramarital affairs). This means the assumption must be that the captains affairs had a negative impact on the team.
If you want to be sure this is the correct answer you can reverse option A (this becomes “the captains actions have NOT weakened team moral). Has the conclusion been destroyed? Yes! It makes no sense if we reverse option A, so option A is the correct answer.
13. E
Start with the first 3 paragraphs. The puppy runs 3 times as far as Luke, so after Luke has walked 1km, the puppy must have run 3km.
This takes 12 minutes for the puppy to travel 3km, so lets convert that into kilometres per hour. 12 minutes is 0.2 hours, so 3km in 0.2 hours means a speed of 15km/h. The answer is E.
14. B
Watch the lesson on Assessing the Impact of Additional Evidence
The last sentence is the conclusion. The assumption is that students in forensics related courses will want to work in this field. If it is true however that they pursue work in other fields, then this will greatly weaken the conclusion. So, the answer is B
15. E
Here you need to work out how many calories each person burns. Just look at their weights and activities and you will be able to work out how much each burns
Harry burns 225: burns 155 calories walking fast and 100 calories walking slow
Holly burns 195: burns 170 calories running fast and 25 calories walking slow.
Jessie burns 230: burns 90 calories running fast and 140 calories running slow.
Josie burns 295: burns 175 calories walking fast and 120 calories walking slow.
Paul burns 190: burns 120 calories running slow and 70 calories walking fast.
Therefore, Josie burns the most and the answer is E.
16. C
Watch the lesson on assumption type questions.
Start with finding the conclusion, which is in this case the last sentence. The conclusion states that customers don’t need additional insurance and the reasoning is that victims of credit card fraud are protected anyway. Thus, the assumption is that the additional insurance covers against credit card fraud so the answer is C.
To be sure you can reverse the assumption in option C (which becomes “the insurance does NOT only protect against the costs of fraudulent credit card transactions”). This would destroy the conclusion if true, so it must be the answer.
17. D
Watch the lesson of principles to answer this type of question.
Here the principle can be summarised to “revenue collected from a certain group/thing should be spent on something related to that group/thing”. Option D also expresses this principle so it is correct.
18. D
Watch the lesson on conclusion type questions.
The main argument of the writer is that the government should provide free glasses to poor children with eyesight problems. This is the reason the writer wrote the passage and what they are trying to convince us of. The word “should” is also a conclusion indicator word. So the answer is D.
19. E
Watch the lesson on reasoning errors.
The conclusion is the last sentence which is that the restrictions are to blame for the health risks. However, this is jumping to conclusions, the writer is not considering the impact that would have occurred if the restrictions had not been in place. This matches answer E
20. C
First, we need to see whether it is quicker to go to Arundel or Chichester.
If going to Arundel first, he will get there at 9:32 and be ready to leave by 13:32, which means the first train he can get to Chichester will be at 14:02, with an arrival at 14:24.
The stay in Chichester will be until the first train after 18:24, which is at 18:37, which results in arriving at 20:20.
But if he goes to Chichester first, he will be able to depart to Arundel at 13:41. 4 hours in Arundel means he can catch the 18:13, arriving back in Victoria at 19:47.
The answer is therefore C.
21. E
Watch the lesson on economics to be prepared for this type of question.
Adam Smith is one of the most famous economists, and the invisible hand is one of his most famous postulates. So if you had learned basic things about Adam Smith you could have got this question
22. E
This is a history of science question. Knowing that Einstein was German (therefore likely to be related in some way to the Prussian Academy) and that he was active around the early 1900s would be enough to answer this question.
23. D
1. True: In S phase (before meiosis) the DNA doubles
2. False: Spindles form during prophase I
3. False: Crossing over occurs during prophase I
24. C
Peptide bonds will be found wherever proteins are found
1. True: Capsids are made from protein
2. True: Envelopes are made from lipid bilayers, and there are membrane proteins here
3. True: Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme, enzymes are proteins
25. A
Regarding oogenesis, the gametes become haploid after forming a secondary oocyte from a primary oocyte. This means all the others listed are diploid.
26. A
1. False: Inhibitors don’t always bind to the active site (they can also bind to allosteric sites)
2. False: Inhibitors don’t destroy the enzyme
3. False: Inhibitors are not responsible for any increase in activation energy
4. True: Inhibitors inhibit enzymes, so the rate of the enzyme catalysed reaction is reduced
27. E
Anticodons are found on tRNA not rRNA. Prokaryotic DNA is double stranded. RNA does not have thymine, it has uracil. mRNA is not made up of a single nucleotide. DNA bases can form hydrogen bonds with the bases from RNA during transcription, and RNA contains uracil. E is correct
28. E
1. True: During inspiration internal pressure is lower so oxygen can flow in
2. True: During systole ventricles contract, so pressure must be greater in the ventricles
3. False: During systole ventricle contract and blood flows through the aorta and atria are relaxed, so pressure must be lower in the atria.
29. D
1. True: Pituitary produces ADH which increases water retention, so less ADH will increase the amount of urine
2. True: Pituitary produces FSH and LH, important for reproduction
3. True: Same reason as for 2.
30. D
1. True: Cell walls are made from cellulose
2. True: Cell membranes contain glycoproteins
3. True: Nucleolus contains RNA (among other things), RNA contains a ribose backbone
4. True: Mitochondrion contain DNA (among other things), DNA contain deoxyribose backbones.
31. A
The question asks about NET movement
1. False: There is no NET movement of Q from X to Y as Y has greater concentration of Q
2. True: There can be net movement of Q from X to Y if Q is transported actively
3. True: R can move in and out of the cells, as molecules are constantly moving even if there is no change in net concentration
32. D
The cerebrum is the main area of the brain that is involved with memory
33. E
The animal cell is a eukaryote, the bacteria a prokaryote
Student 1: is correct, eukaryotes have a nucleus with DNA, and prokaryotes have 70s ribosomes in the cytosol
Student 2: is incorrect, animal cells do not have cell walls. Prokaryotes don’t have mitochondria
Student 3: is incorrect, bacteria do not have a nucleus. 70s ribosomes are however present in animal cell mitochondria
Student 4: is correct, circular DNA is found in mitochondria and mitochondria are found in animal cells. Bacteria also have plasmids
34. E
1. False: There are 3 hydrogen bonds between C and G and 2 hydrogen bonds between A and T. Remember, DNA is double stranded so you can imagine a complementary strand on top of the one written. There will be a bond between each letter of the two complementary strands. Thus we will have 31 available hydrogen bonds.
2. False: Count how many spaces are between the letters and you will see there are 11, so 11 phosphodiester bonds
3. True: This is DNA, so draw the letters that match the DNA on top to get the mRNA, then match the mRNA with tRNA and you will see 3 uracil (see below)

35. D
This is an autosomal recessive condition, as neither parent has the condition but have an affected child. The probability of having a child without the condition is therefore ¾. The chance of then having a boy is half of ¾, which is 3/8.
36. D
1. False: ATP is produced in glycolysis but not in pyruvate decarboxylation
2. False: Carbon dioxide is produced in pyruvate decarboxylation but not in glycolysis
3. True: NADH is produced in both
37. D
All proteins have primary, secondary and tertiary structure. Only proteins with more than one peptide chain have quaternary structure, and haemoglobin has 4 chains .
38. A
Both active transport and facilitated diffusion are required to establish the necessary ion concentrations for a membrane potential. Neurons are cells that with mitochondria so they have respiration.
39. A
Water is split by light, and carbon dioxide is used to form a 6 carbon compound with an acceptor molecule, the compound later splits into two. A is thus correct
40. A
Genes can be transferred between all the living things listed so 1,2 and 3 are correct
41. C
B, C and D are the correct separation techniques, but B is not heterogenous and D is not homogenous. C is thus correct
42. E
Oxygen has the electron configuration 1s22s22p4 but the ion will have 2 more electrons, thus the configuration must be 1s22s22p6.
43. A
Oxidising agents are the agents that gain electrons (since they oxidise something else).
The chlorine molecule in option A has an oxidation number of zero. The chlorine in the KCl however has an oxidation number of -1 meaning chlorine gained an electron. Chlorine is thus the oxidising agent here.
44. B
HCl is a strong acid so it will dissociate fully. 10mL is the same as 0.01L, and if concentration is 1 mol per litre then there will be 0.01 moles of HCl and thus 0.01 moles of H+ ions. pH = -log[H+], so the pH is 2.
45. D
Simply work out which has the most moles. You just need 2 formulas
- For the options given in grams: M=m/n
- For the options given in litres: remember that 1 mole of gas has a volume of 22.4L
A has 33.6/22.4 = 1.5 moles of gas.
B has 66/44 = 1.5 moles of gas.
C has 22.4/22.4 = 1 mole of gas.
D has 10/4 = 2.5 moles of gas (helium is a monoatomic noble gas)
E has 64/32 = 2 moles of gas (oxygen gas is diatomic)
46. E
F2 is the limiting reactant since 3 moles will react with 1 mole of Cl2 to produce 2 moles of ClF3.
150cm3 of F2 will react with 50cm3 of Cl2 to produce 100cm3 of ClF3. We will have 50cm3 of Cl2 left over so the final gaseous volume is 150cm3 (50 from Cl2 and 100 from ClF3).
47. C
Methylcyclopentane is a pentane with a methyl group attached, consisting of 6 carbon atoms and 12 hydrogen atoms. The only other molecule with the molecular formula C6H12 is hex-2-ene, so this must be the isomer as isomers have the same quantity of elements.
48. A
Sodium chloride will dissociate into sodium and chloride ions. In the aqueous solution we also have water molecules. We do not however have any free single atoms. So only 1 and 2 are correct meaning A is the correct answer
49. B
1. True: If we cool the mixture then less of the potassium nitrate will be dissolved
2. False: If less potassium nitrate is dissolved then concentration must be reduced
3. True: No mass is being created/destroyed or removed/added in
50. C
They say XCl is a polar molecule, so it must be a covalent bond we are talking about. Instantly we know X cannot be lithium or manganese since these metals would form ionic bonds with chlorine.
Fluorine is more electronegative than chlorine, so flourine would not have an oxidation state of +1, it would be the -1.
Carbon makes 4 bonds, so this makes no sense.
Iodine is less reactive than chlorine so it would have the +1 oxidation state.
51. C
The molecular geometry of SiH4 is tetrahedral. Tetrahedral molecules have 109.5 degree bond angles. There are also 4 bonding pairs (1 for each hydrogen) and thus zero lone pairs.
52. C
A: False: the number of electrons differ
B: False: the oxygen ion also has two more electrons than the oxygen atom
C: True
D: False: The oxygen atom has 10 neutrons and the silicon 16
E: False: the oxygen ion and sulphur atom are different elements so they can’t have the same number of protons.
53. A
The car ends up 4km further north and 3km further west than it started. Draw this out as seen below and then draw the remaining side to get a triangle. Pythagoras theorem then tells us that the hypotenuse of the triangle created is of distance 5km

54. E
P = I2R.
P = 100 x 5 = 500W
55. D
To find the mean, add x, x/3 and x + 6. This is equal to 7x/3 + 6.
We then divide this by 3 to get the mean. This is 7x/9 + 2
This can be rewritten as (7x + 18)/9
56. C
The gradient is the rise over the run. Between the first and second points, the line goes back 3 and up 9. This means the gradient of the line is 9/-3, or -3.
57. C
Here you need to know your log laws.
log107 + log102 can be rewritten to log10 (7×2) = log1014.
log10 (14/3) can be rewritten to log1014 – log103.
If we then express this in terms of x,y and z we get x + y– z
58. D
The upward force on the cube is equal to the amount of oil displaced. This is equal to gravity x density of the liquid x volume.
The volume of a cube is a3 where is the length of each side. We times this by tensity and gravity to get the upward force which is equal to σa3g
59. B
The gas receives the same amount of heat energy as it gives of to its surroundings. This means energy is being converted from heat energy to other forms of energy. This change known as isothermal
60. E
Take a letter as the first letter then see how many combinations you can get
We will use C as the first letter, and we can get CAABB, CABAB, CBBAA, CBABA, CABBA and CBAAB.
For each of these 6 combinations we could have the C in 5 places. There are thus 30 combinations possible