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Step 1 form guide Easier
Step 1 NBME 1: what's on it and how hard it is
NBME 1 has 147 questions in our copy. The average question is 38 words long and 57% take two or more steps to answer. It leans most on brain and nerves, multisystem and blood and immune system.
- Difficulty (0–100)
- 39
- Average question
- 38 words
- Take 2+ steps
- 57%
- Have an image
- 7%
When to take it
Extra practice early on. It is an older form: shorter questions and more straight recall than today's exam, so don't read much into the score.
Students say it feels easier than the questions really are.
Our original practice examsSystems it tests most
Share of the questions in each system.
- Brain and nerves13%
- Multisystem12%
- Blood and immune system11%
- Heart and vessels10%
The full breakdown
Every system and subject, what the questions ask, and what changed from older forms.