How difficult are AP Biology, AP Government, and AP Calc AB?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>I'm just wondering because I'm taking these courses next year when I'm a senior. I'm pretty good at math and averaged a 94 in the prerequisite Honors Trig/Precalc so I think I have a pretty good foundation for Calc. But I am worried about AP Gov and AP Bio because these two I don't have as much experience. I've heard some people say that AP Gov is the easiest AP class and all you really have to do is read the text and take notes to succeed in the course. For AP Bio, people say that it's just a lot of memorization and again you just have to read the text. Science has never been my strongest subject as I'm much better at math or English. Is this class going to be really difficult for me? My only experience in bio is a college prep freshman course so I'm pretty worried. Does AP Bio require a lot of prior knowledge to succeed?</p>

<p>If you can offer any insight into any of these AP courses, I would really appreciate it.</p>

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<p>I thought those classes were fairly easy if you just read the textbooks. For the exam just use previously administered tests to score well. </p>

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<p>I think you will do just fine. I agree with Ghana 1996, make sure to do several practice test before you take the AP exams. </p>

<p>My D took AP Bio last year and she got a 5 on the AP test, and also an A+ for the course. She took the AP Calc AB test last May, and she said she will probably get a 5 on that as well, (she also has an A + for the year). AP Calc is one of those classes that finish the course work way before the AP exam date, so you get to spend a lot of time reviewing for the AP test. In comparison to AP Bio, where she had to self study a couple of chapters before taking the AP test. </p>

<p>I also heard that AP Gov is the easiest AP class, but my D has not taken it yet, so I can’t tell you first hand how hard (or easy) the class is. I will say that if these are the first 3 AP class that your taking, it might feel overwhelming at first, but you will get the hang of it. My D took AP Bio in 10th grade (aced that), 4 AP classes junior year (She got all A’s and probably all 5’s on the AP test, maybe a 4 in US History), and she is registered to take 6 AP classes her senior year. </p>

<p>Don’t worry, you will get used to the rigor, and you will get much better at managing your time. Good luck! </p>

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<p>YMMV for all of them, a lot depends on how your instructor teaches the class. Calc AB is probably the most stable between schools, but AP Gov can be easy or hard and so can AP Bio - with AP scores running all over the map.</p>

<p><a href=“2013 AP Exam Score Distributions”>2013 AP Exam Score Distributions;

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<p>^ agree. Depends on the high school and the teacher. At ours, Gov is one of the hardest, Bio one of the easiest. I’m speaking of the CLASS, not necessarily the AP exam. Our Gov teacher requires a lot of papers and projects, and most kids do get a 4-5 on the exam even if they get a B or less in the class. Bio is the opposite, easier class, not as prepared for the exam.</p>

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<p>I too am going to be a senior at a college prep.</p>

<p>I took AP Gov and AP Bio this year along with AP Human Geography as a self study, which was easier than AP Gov.</p>

<p>Gov, I think that having an interest is important. If your teacher doesn’t talk about current events/stuff not in your text, try to know a little about current events. At my school, the class was read the book, take and fail an impossible test (the man literally tested us on charts in the book), listen to him talk about current events, marxist views, and hatred for Republicans, and have us answer questions to regain points on our tests. Overall, I liked the class even though I got an 82 (a C on the 7-pt. scale) and the class average was a 78. I got a 4 on the test, but that was because I studied the night before for another AP the same day and got BIO-lated earlier.</p>

<p>The test itself is fairly decent. Lots of court cases (Citizens United, Brown, Plessy, Marburry), vocab, the Constitution. The multiple choice is easy. The essays are moderate. If you do okay, you get a 4, you do really good you get a 5. My teacher has been teaching the class for 10+ years and no one has ended up on his wall of shame (those who fail get their picture on the back wall of his class) from AP Gov.</p>

<p>For prior knowledge, I have a deep interest in the subject and have taken AP US History. I think you don’t need any priors. Just read, take notes, and know what’s going on.</p>

<p>Bio, Though I got a 5, it is a harder test. At my school, it is incredibly hard because we write essays a lot and spend the entire class doing labs. We also had mandatory lecture once a week before school where we actually learned. If you have a similar set up at your school or your teacher is subpar, I would look to youtube for help. Bozeman Science does an amazing job at explaining each individual topic. It isn’t pure memorization. They changed the exam to include some math (chi-squared, Hardy-Weinberg, Water Potential, etc.), and the questions are based more on application rather than vocabulary.</p>

<p>In regards to prior knowledge, I had taken Honors Biology as a freshmen in place of Biology to satisfy my school’s graduation requirement. My AP class was mixed between regular and honors kids. I felt that the honors kids did better than the regular kids because they didn’t have to learn as much material. There were a few seniors who took Anatomy, but they didn’t do any better than anyone else. </p>

<p>I think you should be okay with the 3 APs. AP Exam week(s) might be rough, but you’ll survive. I’m doing 5 this year (Calc AB, Physics I, Computer Science AB, Statistics, and Spanish Language). </p>

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<p>AP Gov at my school was pretty hard, but the class prepared us well for the exam (I think 8 of 10 people I know took the exam got 5s)</p>

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<p>no one has ended up on his wall of shame (those who fail get their picture on the back wall of his class) from AP Gov</p>

<p>Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s a joke. </p>

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<p>Nothing in your precalc class will help you in calc ab to be completely honest. AB should be very easy since it’s usually structured to be a lower leveled calc class compared to BC</p>