Anyone else taking this course? What have you heard about the course? Textbooks? Summer assignment?
Quick message from a sophomore who took AP Enviro in 2016…
Don’t listen to what people tell you. APES is not a blowoff class. Yes, it is easier than other AP classes, but no AP class is a blowoff. If you do not study at all, you will get a ONE. Because so many people think it is “easy” it has the HIGHEST FAIL RATE of any AP exam. More than half of the people taking it fail it.
I feel that the best review book is Barron’s, solely for its information. The practice tests are not so great. PR was too easy. Barron’s was too hard…
I took released exams in my class but the 2016 exam was NOTHING like them. The actual exam was harder and the questions were longer, asking you to analyze sets of data and read long paragraphs. For the practice exams, I had 30 minutes remaining in the MC…on the real thing, I had 10.
Do not underestimate the MATH. Do not avoid it. The more you practice, the better you will do.
When you are studying for the exam, focus on ESSAYS. If you look at recent statistics from AP, the FRQs are what keep many students from passing. They require practice.
All in all, APES was a GREAT class. I loved every minute of it, especially the experiments. You learn all types of new information from every branch of science. APES has been the deciding factor for me in choosing my college major.
Good luck this year!
How much overlap is there between the APES cirriculum and AP Biology? I signed up to take both classes as a senior next year. Also, is knowledge in chemistry/physics required? I just took the chemistry/physics regents last week, I got an 82 on physics and a 74 on chemistry… not sure if these scores have any barring on how I will do in my AP’s, but if anyone has any advice I’m open to suggestions
I am taking AP Bio as a junior next year. As far as I know, the only overlap is the ecology and population science. Maybe a little toxicology
Even though the college board says that chemistry and biology are prerequisites for APES, I believe only biology is required. You do not need chemistry. The only thing that carries over from chemistry into APES is dimensional analysis. I never took chemistry and I got a high A in APES and I am feeling a 5 on the exam…
You will be fine
@nicknick567 thanks
Registered to take this class - not 100% certain I will actually get it in my schedule because it’s a little bit crazy 
The reputation for APES at my hs -
- Easy A - most people have 97% or higher in the class
- All information on tests is carried over from honors / AP bio
- Watch animal videos all day
With this in mind… What are some of the key ideas to be looking at?
Anyone taken this class on FLVS? I’m very interested in it and am wondering if it’s worth my while?
@1650mile don’t get too focused on the little details. Make sure to focus on how different topics connect and interact with eachother (this was big on the FRQs when I took it in 2015). Barron’s does a great job of covering the material (their exams are slightly harder then the actual test too, which is nice). Also make sure to know the laws/dates…there were a couple questions on the exam I took on them that made for easy points if you knew them well. Also bio magnification is always pretty big (or was for my exam). Good luck!
If you’ve got AP Bio under your belt you should be in pretty good shape for APES. I’d say practice as many questions as you can, since staying sharp in applying your knowledge throughout the year is important (and you might get rusty enjoying all of those animal videos.
Some sources: http://www.appracticeexams.com/ap-environmental-science
https://www.albert.io/ap-environmental-science/questions
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/213053.html
Take good notes and practice reading environmental materials out of
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
and other nature based magazines/publications can be really benefiicial. You can even challenge yourself with some published academic research.
Also received a primer ebook in my email today from a listserv I’m on: https://blog.albert.io/blog/11-must-know-ap-environmental-science-concepts/
@nicknick567 No lies- It does not have even close to the highest fail rate. (Physics is much worse) The only reason why it’s as high as it is, is because it’s generally a class more 9/10 graders take.
@ZealousScholar Excuse me, it has the second highest fail rate.
Look it up next time before saying it’s not “even close.”
http://blog.prepscholar.com/average-ap-scores-for-every-ap-exam
@nicknick567 Look into why it may be like that. It’s because it’s sort of an intro AP class for younger grades. There are much harder AP classes. No need to scare anyone.
@ZealousScholar I’m not trying to scare them 
I’m just telling them to take it seriously and not treat it like a joke. Even though it is regarded as the “easiest AP,” people fail it because they underestimate it. Im not trying to scare them, I’m just telling them to study.
@nicknick567 That is so true. Like I have an A in the class right now but I don’t do that well on the tests… she told us the passing rate wasn’t that high which surprised me at first.
I am a freshman who is probably going to take the AP Environmental Science exam, however, I am not enrolled in the course as they do not allow us to take it until we are a junior or senior. There are two reasons why I decided to self-study the course which are because I will not have room in my schedule to take this class when I am a junior or senior. There are tons of classes I want to take that I can not take when I am a junior or senior. This class would benefit me for my major heavily, another reason I want to self-study, or if I change my mind, take it in the future. I am currently using the 2017 Princeton Review edition prep review and the REA Crash Course. I’m sorry for asking this, but is there anything I should expect on the exam?
Have a good day and happy holidays!
I am enrolled in this course and will be taking the exam in May. My teacher does not actually “teach,” but rather goes through power points to hit the key ideas and gives us discussion questions related to the chapter that we are reading. Instead, we have to teach ourselves by reading through the textbook. I’m a little nervous, but I feel as if I may be adequately prepared for this exam. I plan on getting a Barron’s prep book, as I am also taking AP Psych and AP Calc AB 
Two AP exams on the same day, bummer!
Freaking out about the test! I’m self-studying from PR and Crash Course, and the FRQs are killin me.
So, any last words?
APES FRQ PREDICTIONS???!!??
furiously re-reading my PR right now…