***AP Biology Thread 2015-2016***

@curiousscience, sorry if I was vague, I used Barron’s E/M for the Sat II. The Sat II is more detailed than AP Biology (in terms of exam). I was wondering whether you were using the AP Biology book or the Sat II book.

@darkcrescendo

I found this online, it was part of a AP Bio Summer Assignment/Welcome sheet (it’s from a teacher so it should be legitimate):

The AP Biology curriculum has recently been revised yet again. This Fall 2015 includes some
new learning objectives and more clear expectations in other learning objections.

The entire course focuses on the four “Big Ideas” below:

Big idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.

Big idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.

Big idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit and respond to information essential to life processes.

Big idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties

You may view the entire College Board AP Biology syllabus here: http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-biology-course-and-exam-description.pdf

One of the main changes in the AP Biology curriculum is in the laboratory component. AP Biology students are expected to design many of their own experiments instead of the traditional “cook-book” type labs. This is more of an inquiry based approach to science.

Another change in the course is a focus on statistics and a strong math component. There is now a math section on the AP Biology exam. I encourage you to check out the formula sheet.

~Otherwise I was unable to find official information on the revisions

@HaableVaurimn Thank You for informing me, as I was going to be like how is that possible or “bruh”: Anyways, does that mean I have to get a separate prep book. (I didn’t order anything aside from Campbell’s Biology 9th Edition). Should I still get Cliff’s AP Bio?

@darkcrescendo Cliff’s hasn’t updated yet, the latest edition I see online is the 4th and I think it came out in 2013 or later, I wouldn’t get it. Looking at Amazon, a lot of other companies are putting out updated books in August, I would probably buy one of those.

I noticed the same thing. ^ For that reason I’m going to purchase Barron’s for bio. I’ve seen it recommended quite a bit around here.

@JamieH the thing is that can my SAT II Barron’s book from last year substitute for AP Bio for the time being. Like, it’s very similar to Barron’s AP (latest edition)

I’m planning to use my Barron’s sat subject 2 to prep for the AP test too.

I am getting confused with all these “updated/revised AP Bio tests”. Will there be a new test different from 2015 in 2016? I thought the update in 2013 would last for quite some time before another change… Also, what new study guides for 2016 are being released out there? I thought Cliffnotes 4th Edition was good enough (information-wise).

@curiousscience Same here. Here’s a link, I’ve found: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2117.html I was recommended by some people to get the Pearson’s Prep Book, which is apparently an accurate preppy type of thing.

@darkcrescendo Use Barron’s for AP Bio Prep book. What book are you using for SAT Subject test, and are you taking E or M?

@curiousscience I’m using my Barron’s and Princeton Review for prepping and most likely going to retake Molecular. How about you?

@darkcrescendo I don’t have a prep book for SAT Bio Molecular yet. Is your Barron’s book the one specifically for SAT Subject Biology or just the one for AP? Also, since you already took the Bio Molecular exam before, is it basically like half of the AP curriculum since it doesn’t have the ecology/environmental part?

@curiousscience Here’s a link for my book, if you were wondering: http://www.amazon.com/Barrons-Subject-Test-Biology-Edition/dp/1438002130
I’m not really sure how the SAT Subject Tests are compared to the AP curriculum, all I know that the SAT Subject Tests are really detail-oriented and ask you what is this, charts, etc, etc… One thing you need to know is the Punnet Squares (which fall under Genetics). The test, the one I took in June, was really different from Princeton Review but was similar to Barron’s. The only thing that made me nervous were some of the charts that I wasn’t exposed to and my brain was going haywire at that time. Another thing you that I’ll recommend are the vocabulary. The exam always asks you for definitions. Oooh, one more thing. STUDY PLANTS EVEN THOUGH IF YOU ARE TAKING MOLECULAR OR ECOLOGY. Especially the monocots, dicots, the cycle of gametophytes and sporophytes.

I’m a sophomore this year and am taking honors biology. I am planning to self-study the rest of the information and take the exam in May. I already got the Campbell’s Biology book and the 4th edition Cliffsnotes. Was the Cliffsnotes a bad buy since updated review books are coming out this month? Should I buy another one? Other than that, I’m pretty excited for learning all this. Call me a nerd! :))

^ Barron’s is a really good buy. I checked and that edition of cliff notes is from 2013, so it might not reflect the revised ap bio test that accurately.

@sllmarll thanks! RIP my wallet! I guess ill buy Barrons too then.

@silmaril Why doesn’t the Cliffnotes 4th Edition reflect the revised AP Bio test? I thought that it was published in response to the latest revision in 2013… Are you just saying that another updated book will be coming out soon with practice tests actually similar to the real deal?

@curiousscience I was thinking that since 2013 was the first year of the revised AP Bio test, the review books from then might not be that accurate. I was going off my experiences with the revised AP Chem test (I took that one the first year it changed), and I remember that both PR and Barron’s were not updated that well that first year.

Where did you find the released test exams? I’ve seen the FRQs but none of the multiple choice parts.

@silmaril OK thanks for the clarification! I was getting confused, thinking that there was another revision to the test after the 2013 one. I think the information is still the same, just the approach by the test is different. I might go ahead and buy future study guides if their practice tests are updated to reflect the real one.