Format
The exam used to be an eight-hour computer-based test taken in a single-day, composed of seven 48-question sections with a total of 336 multiple-choice questions. Beginning May 15, 2010, the exam reduced the number of questions from 48 to 46 per section, for a total of 322 questions. One hour is the time provided for each section, allotting an average of a minute and fifteen seconds to answer each question. Between test sections, the test taker is allotted a cumulative 45 minutes (during the test day) for personal breaks. (There is a 15 minute tutorial at the beginning of the exam, which the test-taker can choose to skip and have that time added to break time.) If the taker finishes any section before the allotted one hour time limit, the unused time is added to the break time total. The test is administered at any of several Prometric computer testing sites.
Read more about this topic: USMLE Step 1