*******Official AP Biology Thread 2013-2014*******

<p>Hi guys!
I decided to make a thread for this class and I was wondering if anyone has any good recommendations for review books for this subject?
Thank you</p>

<p>I’m planning to wait for the new Barron’s or Cliffnotes AP Biology book. I don’t know when they’re coming out though.</p>

<p>Cliffnotes AP Biology book.</p>

<p>I think that Cliffnotes and Barron’s already have the new and revised review books out. I think they’re the 4th edition.</p>

<p>Yeah but they came out before the new AP test :D</p>

<p>Aww that sucks! I really wish I had the review books so I can start to prepare a bit this summer. Are you guys doing anything to study for the class?</p>

<p>I am entering my junior year and I finished AP Biology last year. (I’m currently waiting on my test score) I highly recommend the new Barron’s and Cliffnotes as I found them invaluable both throughout the course and for the AP test.</p>

<p>I’m definitely going to buy Barron’s for bio but has anyone used CrashCourse and recommends it?</p>

<p>How much chemistry do we need to know prior to taking AP Bio? I’m taking chemistry concurrent w/ AP Bio but I heard that you needed some knowledge of chemistry.</p>

<p>I feel bad for you guys having to take the redesigned AP test. I took it last year, and it was pretty tough. It seemed like the whole course was useless for the test, because the whole thing was about analyzing information that they give you, rather than actually knowing the information. Oh yeah, and it’s also a lot harder to get a 5. Before the test got redesigned. over 20% scored a 5, now only 5.4% did. So good luck next year! You’ll need it on the test!</p>

<p>And Zeppelin, you don’t need to know any chemistry. All I learned in the course was the basics (atomic mass, number of protons, etc.) and I didn’t even need that for the test.</p>

<p>I posted this on another post… but i guess this is a good place to get some attention
Hey guys,
I’m a rising senior, going to take AP Bio, obviously. I’m working on my summer assignment and I ran across a small problem. I have to conduct an experiment where I measure a plant’s temperature over the course of the day, but I don’t have the materials required. I need to get this data before I can move on. Does anyone know what I could use (I have a standard bathroom thermometer for being sick and standard thermometers)? Or does anyone have data of a similar experiment? thanks!</p>

<p>Satman, cool thanks. Did u take AP bio before or after the changed the course b/c i just learned there was an optional summer assignment and when i was looking at it goes into a little bit about van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding and stuff like that (or is that what u referred to as things not on the test)</p>

<p>As someone who took this class and survived fairly well, I feel that I’m qualified to give a few pieces of advice.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you teacher uses the Campbell tests, make sure you know your textbook like the back of your hand. The questions are extremely specific and require you to know minuscule details within the chapter. Read and reread the chapter.</p></li>
<li><p>You can get away with not taking notes, but do it anyway. It helps greatly.</p></li>
<li><p>DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. Start studying for tests as soon as possible, and start studying for the AP Exam at least 3 or 4 weeks out. </p></li>
<li><p>Take as many practice tests as possible. They help.</p></li>
<li><p>Personally, I recommend Barrons for review books, but that’s just me.</p></li>
<li><p>This sounds counterproductive, but for the AP Exam, you don’t need to memorize miniscule details. As long as you know the big ideas, you’ll be fine.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t stress yourself out. Maybe it’s just me, but the less stressed I became, the better I did in the class. It worked for me, maybe it’ll work for you.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>@zeppelin, I took it this past year, when it was redesigned, but nobody knew what the test was going to be like, so my teacher still taught it like she did in the past. A lot of information isn’t included on the AP test. You don’t need to know all of the labs in depth anymore, or plants, hormones, and all the little details about everything, but you do need to know your biology math more. Hardy Weinberg is stressed a lot more, and chi square is too (chi square/null hypothesis, could account for the low scores on the exam. It was one of the big free responses, and pretty much no one, unless they were in stats, knew how to do it) Good luck on the exam next year!, and hopefully you won’t have to do a chi square for a big percentage of your score.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if the Campbell tests are available to buy online anywhere? Or does anyone have any good study guides that follow the Campbell book?</p>

<p>I’ve been studying AP bio for next year (jr) to prepare for the class and I find it really easy but I guess it’s just because I took regualr bio freshman year :p</p>

<p>I’m taking the class this coming year, in addition to studying for USABO. I’m using Campbell 8th ed (for USABO) and Unity and Diversity of Life 11th ed (which I find not to be as clear as Campbell, but it’s required for the class). I know the AP exam has changed, but hopefully USABO will help a bit with the class.</p>

<p>Hi guys! I’m glad I found this thread. I’ll be a sophomore ('13-'14). And I’m using the 5 Steps to a 5 that was published several weeks ago.
@TennisGirl: Campbell has a study guide that corresponds with the textbook. I think it’s on Amazon.</p>

<p>Here’s a link to the study guide that goes along with the Campbell book. [Amazon.com:</a> Student Study Guide for Biology (9780321501561): Neil A. Campbell, Jane B. Reece, Martha R. Taylor: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Student-Study-Guide-Biology-Campbell/dp/032150156X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374092093&sr=8-3&keywords=ap+biology+campbell+study+guide]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Student-Study-Guide-Biology-Campbell/dp/032150156X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374092093&sr=8-3&keywords=ap+biology+campbell+study+guide)</p>

<p>Hey guys! I took the AP Bio test this past year and many people were upset with it. This is mostly because it didnt test a lot of in depth or difficult bio materials and topics. Honestly, this test would have been passable with an honors bio class. There wasn’t a single question on any body system and some of the questions were similar to the act science. I’m sure with the scoring distributions, collegeboard will work on changing some things for the exam this year. My biggest piece of advice that I can stress is to study periodically throughout the year everything that you have learned, otherwise you will be freaking out the night before with so much info to study. Also, as far as the Campbell’s textbook goes, it is a great book with many helpful diagrams. However, it does have plenty of unnecessary details. If you are really trying to pack this course in and just learn the essentials for the exam, I would recommend getting a review book in addition to a textbook. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!</p>