The night before the ESAT

Check your ID, appointment and route, do ten minutes of recall for your own modules, then stop. No new mock tonight. Tomorrow, a small familiar warm-up and an early arrival.

Download the PDFBy Shrey, Cambridge studentUpdated 6 Oct 2026

Tonight's checklist

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1Tonight
- Photo ID: original, in your exact booking nameUnexpired under the ID policy. Expired passport, no signature or an exemption? Read the ID advice.
- Pearson confirmation saved, or printed
- Route planned to arrive 30 minutes early
- Two alarms set
- Permitted comfort aids and approved arrangements packedPearson's listed comfort aids are inspected at the centre without advance approval. Other additional items need approval beforehand.
- A normal meal and a normal bedtime
2Then
- Ten to fifteen minutes of recall for your own modulesStar at most three shaky items and look only at those.
- StopA full mock tonight leaves no time to fix what it finds.

Recall for your modules

Open Mathematics 1 and only the modules you sit. Say each line from memory before you read it. For a check that marks you, use the formula recall check.

Mathematics 1

$x$ $=\frac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^2-4ac}}{2a}$ ; the discriminant $b^2-4ac$ sets the number of roots.
For a positive scale factor $k$ , lengths multiply by $k$ , areas by $k^2$ and volumes by $k^3$ . Percentage change: multiply by $1\pm r/100$ .
Exact $\sin$ and $\cos$ at $0^\circ,30^\circ,45^\circ,60^\circ,90^\circ$ ; $\tan$ up to $60^\circ$ .
Probability: multiply along a branch, add branches. Without replacement, the next denominator drops.

Mathematics 2

$S_n$ $=\frac n2[2a+(n-1)d]$ ; $S_\infty$ $=\frac a{1-r}$ only when $|r|$ $<1$ .
$s$ $=R\theta$ , sector area $\frac12R^2\theta$ in radians; $c^2$ $=a^2+b^2-2ab\cos C$ .
$\log(xy)$ $=\log x+\log y$ , $\log(x^k)$ $=k\log x$ , for positive $x$ and $y$ , with the same valid logarithm base.
$\frac d{dx}x^n$ $=nx^{n-1}$ ; $\int x^n\,dx$ $=\frac{x^{n+1}}{n+1}+C$ for $n$ $\ne-1$ .

Physics

$R$ $=V/I,\ P$ $=IV$ $=I^2R$ ; $V_s/V_p$ $=n_s/n_p$ and ideal $V_pI_p$ $=V_sI_s$ .
$v^2-u^2$ $=2as,\ F$ $=ma,\ p$ $=mv,\ E_k$ $=\frac12mv^2,\ E_p$ $=mgh$ .
$E$ $=mc\Delta T,\ \rho$ $=m/V,\ p$ $=h\rho g,\ v$ $=f\lambda$ . Half-life means repeated halving.

Chemistry

$n$ $=m/M_r$ with mass $m$ in grams (molar mass in $\mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}$ is numerically $M_r$ ); at rtp $V$ $=24n\,\mathrm{dm^3}$ ; $c$ $=n/V$ with $V$ in $\mathrm{dm^3}$ .
$\Delta H$ $\approx\sum E_{\mathrm{broken}}$ ${}-\sum E_{\mathrm{formed}}$ ; one pH unit is a factor of 10 in $[\mathrm H^+]$ .
Balance first, then compare moles with the equation's ratio to find the limiting reactant.

Biology

Explain, from memory, why an enzyme-controlled rate rises with substrate concentration and then levels off.
Trace one chain: what happens to water movement when a cell sits in a more concentrated solution, and why.
Genetics: write the alleles and the gametes before any Punnett square; independent events multiply.
Any graph: name the axes, the units and the groups being compared before reading a value.

Seriously unwell before the test?

Tell UAT-UK before you sit, using the form on your dashboard; you may be eligible for special consideration. Illness you knew about before the test is not normally accepted as a reason afterwards.

Tomorrow

Warm up small: three or four questions you have solved before, no timer.
Eat and drink before you go in. Water stays outside the room unless approved.
Use the toilet before check-in. Raise your hand if you need a break. The clock keeps running unless you have approved pause-the-clock breaks.
Check the pen, then run your pacing plan: first pass, flags, sweep.

The full rules, ID exceptions and what to do if something goes wrong are in the test-day checklist.

Optional: one worked example

Only if you want to see recall turn into a mark. Skip it if you are done.

Worked example An ideal transformer feeding a resistor

An ideal transformer has 2400 turns on a $240\,\mathrm V$ primary coil and 120 turns on its secondary coil. The secondary is connected across a $12\,\Omega$ resistor. Find the primary current.

\frac{V_s}{240}=\frac{120}{2400}=\frac1{20}\Longrightarrow V_s=12\,\mathrm V.

I_s=\frac{V_s}{R}=\frac{12}{12}=1\,\mathrm A.

240I_p=12\times1\Longrightarrow\boxed{I_p=0.05\,\mathrm A}.

Correct: fewer secondary turns means lower voltage and higher current on that side.

Trap: flipping the ratio gives $4800\,\mathrm V$ .

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