<p>I'm currently taking AP Bio at my school and MY TEACHER IS HORRIBLE. We're so behind compared to the other schools (We just finished evolution...) and the AP test is just a few weeks away. So I'm asking those who have scored a 5 on the AP Bio exam... How did you do it? And please don't tell me I'm screwed because I KNOW THAT!
I've heard that by cramming all the info (detail by detail) in the Cliffnotes/Barron's, anyone can receive a 5. Is this true?
I have spring break this week so I'm willing to dedicate all my hours to do whatever I can to study for the exam. I am also willing to read the Campbell textbook (if I really have to) to study everything. What I was originally planning to do was to memorize Cliff/Barron and then reading certain chapters in the book as a supplement for the concepts that I don't get.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you. We’ve just started plants. We have not touched animal structure, gas exchange, the nervous system, etc. I have the Barron’s and the Cliffs book. The textbook gives you way more than you want to know, Barron’s gives you more detail than you need to know, and Cliffs gives you just the right amount. I look through the topics that are covered in Barron’s that I have not reached in the book and read them in the text books. I skip over ALL unimportant passages like recent experiments, evolutionary history, and things that go into too much molecular detail. I just read the text, just to get a general idea. Next I read the Barron’s chapter and I study that as if it were my primary text. When I get done with Barron’s, Cliffs is my review guide. I should know most everything in Cliffs by the time I get to it. Anything in Cliffs that doesn’t look familiar, I memorize. Hopefully by skimming my most detailed source and memorizing my least detailed source, I’ll know all important concepts by heart and I’ll have a general idea of any stray key details that may show up on the test.</p>
<p>(Warning: The Barron’s book does have a few minor errors in it.)</p>
<p>^wow that must take a lotta time. I’m doing something similar to you but much easier. I’m using cliffs as my most detailed guide and just reading over that, but using PR to actually study from. PR has the least detail and is easiest to read, I think knowing most of the info in pr should be good enof.</p>
<p>derek260 what do you mean Barron’s has some minor errors?
That’s not good haha, I’m using that to study for my AP and SAT Subject test.
Where are these errors?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Yeah, what I’m doing is not necessary unless you want to absolutely guarantee you get a 5. I love biology, I want to major in it, and I will be the first person that my teacher has to get over a 3, so it’s not too much a burden. </p>
<p>I’m not all the way through Barron’s, but it has a few labeling issues. The table on page 125 should say “Respiration of 1 Glucose Molecule” and not “1 ATP Molecule”. </p>
<p>Page 201 describes both ‘missense mutations’ and ‘nonsense mutations’ as being when a point mutation or a frameshift changes a codon within a gene to a stop codon. That only describes nonsense mutations correctly. Missense mutations occur when a point mutation or frameshift causes the wrong amino acid to be added to a polypeptide chain.</p>
<p>^ Wow that’s in-depth.</p>
<p>I’m just making flashcards for each section in Cliffs and memorizing them. The long cycles and stuff I’m typing up in a doc and memorizing. Taking the Cliff’s tests, tests in my text book, and when I feel I’m ‘well-studied’ I’ll start taking a few released AP Biology Exams.</p>
<p>I’m working through the textbook. I’m planning on grinding through the entire Animal Form/Function and the Plant Section, since a good chunk of the test will be based on that. </p>
<p>I’m also using Cliffs concurrently with Campbell’s, but I’ll probably put more focus in Cliffs later on. </p>
<p>If it makes you feel any better OP, we’re not even up to the evolution, we’re still on DNA.</p>
<p>Is the textbook an overload of information (not including the sample experiments, anecdotes, etc.)?
I don’t want to study only the prep books if there will be concepts not covered in there on the AP test…</p>
<p>No the AP review books have all u need for a 5, the textbook gives a ton of info, a lot of which is not necessary to score a 5 on AP bio.</p>
<p>I’m using my textbook more as a reference tool. If there’s something that I really need clarification on, I’ll read a passage or two about it in the overly detailed book. Reading the entire book doesn’t really help you memorize or study, unless you have a photographic memory. Cliff’s is way more condensed, and I guess that goes for Barron’s as well (I haven’t tried it), and it allows for retention of all topics. I think that for the AP Exam you don’t need to know intricate details. Plus, cliff’s goes over all the labs, which will also show up on the exam.</p>
<p>I think it’s the ideal prep book.</p>
<p>Lol… I’m still having difficulty to switching over to Cliffs just because I’m one of the those people that keeps thinking what if the test-makers throw something totally absurd and unexpected on it (worst scenario -on a FRQ). But plus, I like to learn any concept in full depth and really understand it - but the clock is ticking so I’m gonna have to switch my mentality here a bit and pick up the pace. </p>
<p>This week - I’m planning on covering the Osmoregulation/Immune System chapters, then I’ll quickly go over some basic classification/taxonomy chapters (probably 3-4) in Campbells. For evolution - we will be covering in class like the week before.</p>
<p>Just another question - how do you people make time for studying for AP test(s)? Last week was an absolute Dante’s Inferno for me because I kept getting so much busy work, homework, test after test, pointless essays (I had 6), projects, etc.? I’ve never been that stressed out.</p>
<p>^As soon as I come home (usually at 4 because of afterschool stuff) I spend about 2-4 hours doing AP/SAT/ACT prep, and end at around 7 or 8. For my classes I usually have 4-6 hours of homework. I end up going to bed on a good night at 1130, but it can be as bad as 2 some nights.</p>
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<li>Right now I’m in my spring break so I’ve gotten all of my “note-taking” done so all I have to do is read and memorize from here on forward, which makes the process A LOT easier.</li>
</ul>
<p>I just look at it as one month of insane studying and hopefuly scoring a 4+ on my exams.</p>
<p>I haven’t even touched Lang or Stat yet, which worries me:/</p>
<p>hey i’m sorry to hear that but i think you’ll be ok. you seem like you’re really trying. I took the test last year and got a 5. I’ve heard that they switch focus between plants and animals every year and i felt that last year, there were more questions on plants. But I could be wrong. When you’re studying for the test, don’t try to memorize every single little detail. Just get the basics down and know the steps of the important cycles like Calvin, Krebs, plant generations, and DNA replication, etc. As for animals, just know what each body system does. It’s the same as the systems for humans, so it shouldn’t be too hard to remember the more important ones. I hope this helps. Good luck!</p>
<p>If you memorizing every detail of like glycolysis, Krebs, and the Calvin cycle I’m very sure that is unnecessary. I think mostly what you need to know is where they take place within the organelle, and what the products are, and maybe an important enzyme like rubisco or a coenzyme like acetyl coenzyme A</p>
<p>^ I agree with the above poster. According to my AP Biology teacher, the exam questions are moving away from nitty-gritty specificity and are moving towards general concepts, ideas, and trends. I’m not sure how the exam used to be or when exactly this change was implemented, but I do know that the new version of the exam is different than the past exams.</p>