<p>I want to get tips from last year students on the new ap bio exam
1) How should I study? Which prep books?
2) What topics i should focus on? Any human body systems?
3) Should I study general or should I go in depth?</p>
<p>Just know how to interpret labs and do critical reading on the experiments because that’s what I had trouble with the most and its what the majority of the questions are like. I remember just a lot of experiment questions like on the fruit flies, genetics, bacteria, random stuff I had no idea about etc. You should know about some human body systems, I remember a question about reflexes and the nervous system, like in what order the brain passed the information to a certain muscle. But I think the most important body systems to know are nervous and muscular. Idk about prep books and it’s not a lot of memorization so don’t kill yourself over that, just be good at analyzing labs. Don’t dwell on the 1st two free response questions like I did because the ones at the end are pretty easy. </p>
<p>I went in thinking there were only 4 free response when there was 8(so I did the last 4 in 5 minutes)…and I still got a 4 so, you could probably do as well as I did or better xD </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Not a tip for studying, but a tip for test taking:</p>
<p>My AP Bio teacher says not to read the background information before all the MC’s because you won’t have time. Often the question at the end of the paragraph can be answered without the background information if you know your biology well.</p>
<p>Don’t study plants too much. Go in depth on studying of course. It’s an AP exam – they aren’t going to ask easy surface understanding questions. I also agree with the previous poster about reading up on experiments. Know the famous ones, their results, and what was learned from them.</p>
<p>Know the Chi square! Also be able to identify structures that are not labeled.</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>One more question. I bought the Barron 2014 review book. If I learn everything in that book am I good for the exam?</p>
<p>if you’ve taken the class, then yes it will serve as good supplementation and practice for the exam</p>
<p>Did the practice test reflect the real test? because the practice test was more analysis than actual biology </p>
<p>Know the math- everything. There’s grid in questions at the end that I think caught a lot of people by surprise. There’s a lot of reading involved, so I’d suggest to just skim on test day. That’s what I ended up doing to ensure I wouldn’t run out of time. The labs were HUGE on the new exam, so make sure you know those down pat, like other posters have said. Other than that, you’ll definitely want the newest Barron’s. That was the lifesaver for me. </p>
<p>How are you guys able to comment about a new test that is yet to take place in May 2014?</p>
<p>I heard from my AP Biology teacher that the Cliff Notes follows the test the most. I don’t know how true that is because I have yet to take the test, but I hope it helps.</p>
<p>@rosie19
I think they’re referring to the new test format, which was started last year.</p>
<p>Where do I get a practice exam other than the 2012-2013 one? anything greater than 2012 </p>
<p>My frustration after taking the practice multiple choice is that it is similar to the ACT Science section in that I feel you do not need much prior biology knowledge to do well on the test. So just know how to interpret data and experiments.</p>
<p>It pretty much is ACT Science. For some that’s good, others not so much. The essay’s do cover a lot more bio though.</p>