<p>I'm having alot of trouble in AP Bio.. I study for like 10 hours for each test and I can barely get in the 70s. I'd like to get in the 80s but its not happening. Our tests are from the campbell test bank. We have about 100 multiple choice questions to finish in 80 minutes. I usually don't answer them all because I'm very slow. Each test has roughly 5 chapters worth of material. I study for the test by doing multiple choice practice on mastering biology, and in the student study guide but nothing seems to improve. </p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas on how I can improvE? I also do notes while reading each chapter. I'm a very slow reader and I spend about 3 hours to do like 12 pages of reading. The night before each test I review my notes, do the multiple choice practice ( they are nothing like the actual campbell test questions which are much harder). and I read through definitions. I also understand all of the diagrams in each chapter as I've googled and ppl said that would help, but it doesn't. </p>
<p>This is my first science class where i'm doing bad. Ive done well in AP Chem (A) and I always just read each chapter and looked over problems.. I also had some trouble in APUSH.. In honors biology i did very well because most questions were knowledge comprehension and I seem to do good on those, but the campbell questions are much more difficult... Kids who got As in my AP Chem Class are getting As in my BIo class.. Kids that I have beaten repeatedly in AP Chem are getting higher scores than I am.. Why is this happening? Have I gotten dumber??</p>
<p>Also I've tried all speed reading programs none work... ive spent hundred of dollars they are all scams... but like i said.. i don't know if my reading speed is holding me back.. I've done well in AP chem and my reading then was slow too... although I'm good at math... </p>
<p>The AP bio questions are very conceptual and application and analysis type. What do you guys recommend I do to study for the ap bio tests??</p>
<p>There are some <em>amazing</em> AP Bio videos on YouTube. They help a lot.
Oh, and write this down somewhere, study more Enviro for your AP test. There was a heaver emphasis on last years test than in past years on subjects that are more prominent in AP Enviro.</p>
<p>Isn’t getting the Test bank the same as cheating? Kids are able to get 80s without looking at the test bank, and I would like to do the same. I’m more concerned with understanding the material and being able to do well on the tests because of that, not because I memorized the answer key and questions.</p>
<p>Well if you’re near or are the highest grade then you just have a really difficult AP Bio class and you can enjoy the 5 you’ll get later in the year.</p>
<p>Seconding what hobbithill said, I’m hardly the brightest person, but I just took really good notes and I don’t think I ever got below a 100 on those multiple choice quizzes…
Notes are extremely helpful once you get to the AP test too. Annnd if you have good notes you can sell them after the class is done. My notes funded my road trip, ahaha.
AP Bio is really all memorization. So this is just about you not going over the material as effectively as you should be. You might just have to take longer going over this stuff than you’re used to. Or try some new memorization tactics.</p>
<p>I can’t seem to get in the 80s that’s my problem. This last test I got a 66, and the highest grade was a 90 then 88 etc… I studied very hard for the test. I seem to do very poorly in classes with a lot of material. </p>
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<p>Before I take a test I could tell you about every term and I have an understanding of how it works but when taking the test it seems that the questions aren’t memorization tests anymore. They have a lot of conceptual application questions and graphs and figures that you need to interpret. Or the questions commonly explain a process and then tell you to make an inference of what happens if something in the process was altered. I have trouble with these. My note taking might be the problem. Since I read very slowly, the note taking process even further slows down my work speed so instead of taking good notes I spend more time understanding what I am reading. The site you provided seems very similar to what I already do. </p>
<p>And to the second part of your question I think i have test taking problems as well since I am not able to finish some of the 100 MC tests. I already spend ridiculous amounts of time preparing for a test so I don’t know if time is my issue, but maybe the technique I am using to prepare. I spend 12-13 hours studying for each test which has 4-5 chapters of material. I also spend roughly 6 hours doing notes per chapter. So before test I end up with a total of 6(5) = 30 hours + 13 hours = 43 hours of preparation for the test. I know that the other kids who are getting 90s aren’t putting even close to that many hours. </p>
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<p>My teacher occasionally gives out knowledge comprehension quizes which are from the same test bank but the questions are primarily involved with memorization. For these questions I get a 100%, but in our tests none of the questions are knowledge comprehension all of them are application, synthesis etc… I don’t think memorizing the material may be my problem. I just don’t know where I can get practice for those conceptual questions.</p>
<p>So it seems as if the general consensus is to take very meticulous notes. Do people have other ideas? Or is that what you recommend. If I took heavier notes the time to finish each chapter (avg 25 pages) would increase from my current 6 hours per chapter to maybe 10. And that is too freaking long, especially when I have other homework. </p>
<p>Also I am curious. How much time do you guys spend preparing for Bio Campbell tests? and what do you guys get on them? Like how many MCs do u have and how much time?</p>
<p>Heres the thing, you cant study for 5 chapter tests. You can only review. If your notes only cover facts (which is what the book gives you) youre done for.</p>
<p>Suggestion: Write down the notes but start including analytical questions and anwser? So what is the real difference between cell walls and membranes? How do they help the cell? etc </p>
<p>Then when you are done Synthesize each page of notes and summarize into one sentence. </p>
<p>I know how you feel. Try distributing the chapters apart and making sure you understand each one. Before tests you might feel like you know the short term info which is fine, but if you cant tie it together, uh-oh! I am trying this right now. We’ll see how it goes. </p>
<p>Don’t take my word for it : Google : cornell notes</p>
<p>thanks…ive used the cornell style notes before but i just have a hard time coming up with questions…Most of the questions that i create are totally unlike the ones i see on the test…
i also need a way to concentrate harder when studying and taking the test…otherwise im very slow…</p>