We’re in molecular genetics atm, almost finished.
Can anyone give me a description on how the multiple choice and free response will be on 2015 exam. Ik people say its application based but can you explain to me further? Concerned that I would not be preparing appropriately…
@awkplatypus: All questions on the exam (beginning from 2012-onward) won’t include pure knowledge anymore. Sure, you have to have a background about everything, but they won’t for instance ask you, for instance, the position of chromosomes during metaphase.
Here’s an example of pre-2012 question:
Which of the following best describes allosteric inhibition of an enzyme?
(A) The inhibitor binds to the mRNA to prevent translation of the enzyme.
(B) The inhibitor binds to the enzyme substrate.
© The inhibitor binds to the enzyme but not at its active site.
(D) The inhibitor binds to the enzyme at its active site.
(E) The inhibitor binds to the gene that encodes for the enzyme.
Clearly, if you don’t know how allosteric inhibitors work, you’re going to get the question wrong. Current questions are now quite simple; you can eliminate 2 obvious wrong answer choices and use logic to determine the correct answer.
But, regardless, you need to have background information because the free-response is extremely difficult.
Here’s an example of a current question (post-2012;one that will look like a question that might come in May):
The mechanism of action of many common medications involves interfering with the normal pathways that cells use to respond to hormone signals. Which of the following best describes a drug interaction that directly interferes with a signal transduction pathway?
(A) A medication causes the cell to absorb more of a particular mineral, eventually poisoning the cell.
(B) A medication enters the target cell and inhibits an enzyme that normally synthesizes a second messenger.
© A medication enters the target cell’s nucleus and acts as a mutagen.
(D) A medication interrupts the transcription of ribosomal RNA genes.
Using logic, the correct answer here is B. You simply need to know what the word inhibit means. The other 3 choices simply don’t make sense anyways.
In regards to the free response, now is where your knowledge of Biology will be crucial. Many times you will be asked to design an experiment for instance, or predict what might happen in one. Old FRQ’s dealt with, again, pure knowledge.
I remember seeing a question from a while back that required you to know organelle functions; don’t know them? You get the question wrong, and end up losing points. That is not the case today, but you now must be able to succinctly describe your answer and fully answer the question (the more knowledge=more detail in your essay). Compare past FRQs to ones from 2014 for example, and you’ll see what I mean. 
Good luck!
i see what you mean, thank you so much! I have access to different prep books like kaplan princeton barrons- which do you recommend the most?
@awkplatypus No problem
I would say the one I recommend the most would most likely be CliffsNotes. Kaplan is horrendous (many typos and does not describe in detail the info). Princeton Review is also terrible, haha. Barron’s comes in second.
Barron’s and CliffsNotes have practice tests at the end of the book as well as review questions at the end of each chapter that will help with remembering the info. Barrons uses the same images as the Campbell textbook (which textbook do you use, btw?) and makes the info easier to understand.
So really just CliffsNotes and Barrons are the only useful ones.
Yeah I was thinking Barrons also, newest edition came out earlier this year. I’ll take a look at CliffsNotes too. We use Campbells in school. Honestly its a load of information but really how much of it would be on the test? Thats a concern- haha we dont have to know that much in detail right???
@awkplatypus Quite honestly, the book goes into, like, 140% more detail than you really need. For example that plant biology crap is not needed at all lol
Like I said, the specifics will help on the FRQs. What I’ve noticed is that the exam is heavy on population ecology, evolution related to biology as a whole, and nervous + muscular systems, as well as genetics. Those are the heavy stuff. But yeah, not content regurgitation as it used to be.
Okay so it’s a little past half way through the year and I don’t feel like my teacher has prepared me at all for the exam. We have done no FRQs and I think like one lab so I’m sort of worrying. Right now I’m learning about osmoregulation, where is everyone else in their course? And also for those who have already taken the exam, what would you say are the top three most important areas to study? (so I can focus on those when studying or learn them if my teacher hasn’t taught them yet). Thank you!!!
@mgcsoccer97: I’m in the exact same situation as you. Our teacher refuses to teach us, lol and she’s too lazy to grade FRQs if we do them.
Right now, we’re on Biotechnology (Chapter 20). We’re going EXTREMELY slow, and our teacher is going on maternity leave in, like, 3 weeks.
What I’m planning to do, since my class clearly won’t finish the book in time for the exam, is to read and learn the info from the rest of the book on my own. I’m also using CliffsNotes and Barron’s in conjunction with my textbook (Campbell 9th Edition). Your class looks like its going to finish in time (assuming you go in order of the chapters).
Also, from what I’ve seen on practice tests and past FRQs, the three most common questions deal with:
-Nervous System (Anatomy & Physiology: topics like the Neuromuscular junction, the reflex arc, synapses, membrane potential, polarization, etc. A FRQ last year was on the reflex arc.)
-Muscular System (Anatomy & Physiology)
-Evolution as a whole
-Population Ecology
-Genetics
@FutureDoctor2028 Wow, that’s extremely helpful,thank you! I’ll have to start doing some practice FRQ’s! In my class we haven’t even done one real FRQ. And I think I must be skipping around ALOT because we haven’t learned anything about Biotechnology yet. I’m not even sure where we are really because my teacher doesn’t even like follow the chapters, he teaches by the four big ideas and at the moment I believe I’m still in Big Idea #2 and there is like 70 days till the exam! I probably will have to do the same and practically learn all of Big Idea #4 by myself because I don’t think my teacher is going to get there. Right now I have the 5 steps to a 5 AP Biology study book but do you think the Barron’s one is helpful?
@mgsoccer97: Yeah, I suggest you get Barron’s as well. Barron’s has tips and pictures that correlate with the Campbell book, and it also contains a practice test at the end.
I guess self-studying is the best thing to do at this point for the both of us 
@FutureDoctor2028 Yeah I’ll probably buy it, the more study books the better! Lol I’m gonna just studying for hours hoping that it will pay off when I take the exam in May.
when you say you studied it for a week…does that mean you initially had really no prior knowledge of AP Bio? Or you had taken the class…so this was more of a refresher for you?
Hi guys!
2 months before the test! How is everyone preparing for this scary exam??? X_X
Because my AP Bio teacher is a lazy one, I decided to self-study. I started with Campbell until I realized that it went way too much in depth and I am now just studying with Barron’s 5th and supplementing with Campbell if anything is unclear. Hopefully, this can get me a good exam score! What do you guys think?
I’m in a similar situation as you. My teacher is not covering all the material by the AP exam, so we have a lot to do on our own. I’m reviewing both the Barron’s textbook, as well as the Biology in Focus textbook, which I believe is by Campbell. Good luck!
^^ same I think that biology in focus will do for 5 since APs are not that in depth…
Anybody know if we need to know embryonic development for the AP Bio test? I’ve heard conflicting things…
@imlikeabird2 No we don’t. However, we do need to know how apoptosis works (which is crucial in embryonic development. This is from the official AP Bio course description:
But…
What is the best study plan from now to the day of the test?
Like how much to study, how to break it up, what to focus on, etc.