<p>Right now I'm in AP Bio and I don't understand anything at all.
I thought AP Bio would be a challenging course but something I could manage.
Boy, I was wrong.
I have a C in the class now, and I do not understand the material.
I would try to ask my class mates but they kinda don't help since I get that "I'm better than you" vibe from them.
And my teacher..... well she won't help much. She would probably say, " Well maybe you should study more."
Do I have the wrong studying techniques or is it because I'm stupid?
Probably the latter. </p>
<p>I took the class last year. What helped me was crash course and Bozeman science on YouTube. I would also buy a AP book to go with the class. I bought one last year and it helped to study for the tests since it covered what you need to know instead of looking over everything in the textbook. It also goes over all the labs which was helpful for writing lab reports. Are you using Campbell’s? If you are than see if you teacher has the pre made power points to study off of. Also just ask your teacher for help. If you don’t ask for help she might assume you aren’t trying or don’t care. Asking for help doesn’t make you look stupid, it shows initiative and that you are willing to work hard for your grade. You probably aren’t the only one in your class with problems because it is a very challenging class. Last year I had to ask for help too. </p>
<p>You should post this in the AP general or the AP Science forum for a quicker response in regards to this matter.
If possible, you should ask your teacher for advice, and try to talk with some of your peers. Some of the labs you will do will be in groups/partners so this will help with that in your near future.
AP Bio is indeed a very overwhelming course, especially in the first month, where the teacher goes at a astronomically fast and shallow pace to gauge the class’s coping ability. The pace will be the same throughout the year for most classes however. The pace you’re going at now is the pace you’ll be in for the rest of the semester.
I suggest using your weekend time if possible to catch up to the class/study things you don’t understand/read ahead so you won’t be as confused.
Remember that the important part of the course is not the class, but the May 11 AP exam of which the purpose of the class is to prep for. Do NOT skip subjects/leave behind things you don’t understand just because your class isn’t going over them because you will likely face the obscure material on the May exam. Focus on understanding, however, rather than rote memorization.</p>
<p>This is from another thread I just answered on resources you could use if you feel the class teaching is inadequate.</p>
<hr>
<p>AP Bio is a very content-heavy course. Here on CC, you can frequently find people who previously scored 5s the '13 and '14 but the percentage from all participants who score a 5 is very low. If you want to get a 5, you will need to formulate a schedule for studying and taking advantage of the fact that you have nearly 2 semesters to prepare.
Score Distribution for AP Exams (check the 2013 and 2014 for Bio)
<a href=“2014 AP Exam Score Distributions”>2014 AP Exam Score Distributions;
<p>NOTE: The suggestions listed below were written with the use of Campbell Biology as the reader’s class main textbook in mind. You may need to adjust/ignore some lines to suit your different textbook. (i suggest searching Course Notes.com or Google in general for specific companions to your textbook)</p>
<p>****<em>Study Books
*Top Tier</em>
Barron’s 4th-Very thorough. If you can fully understand all the concepts in this book, you will be more than ready for the exam. Thus with this, only cursary references from Campbell (diagrams in newer Campbells is fantastically helpful) are needed if you don’t like the textbook. (It’s best to use Campbell along with this, however)
Cliffnotes 4th-Very technical tone. Best lab explanations. Not as much review material compared to the overkill Barron’s.
<em>Lower Tier</em>
Kaplan 2014-2015 - It’s technically newer than the top tiers, but update is very little per edition. Review is okay, but Top Tier is better. Practice Exams are alright, but not too challenging.
5 Steps to a 5 2014-2015 - It has a interesting 1-2 semester long study schedule if you like having schedule planners. The review is not very in depth but thus has a less overwhelming feel compared to the Top Tiers and is written in a more ‘casual’ tone. The practice exams are outdated in format and not suited for the new more conceptual oriented AP exam. This is the best book outside of top tier, however.
Princeton Review 2014-2015 - A overall bad review book. The practice exams are too easy, unlike the Top Tier in which some questions are harder than that of the Exam’s. Seems that most people choose this for the Princeton ‘name’.
(Their AP Physics is far better, however, and arguably one of the best in that subject)</p>
<p>*****Online Resources
+In case anyone needs it, here is a free online overview of every chapter of Campbell textbook (7th ed)
<a href=“http://course-notes.org/Biology/Outlines”>http://course-notes.org/Biology/Outlines</a>
+Another free overview of textbook explaining the outlines and objectives of each chapter. (7th ed)
<a href=“http://www.biologyjunction.com/ap_biology_chapter_objectives”>http://www.biologyjunction.com/ap_biology_chapter_objectives</a> & outlines.htm
+A online set of lectures notes for Biology teacher Mrs. Chou’s class in powerpoint format w/ visual aid. (Caution: from 2012-2013 school year)
<a href=“https://sites.google.com/a/svvsd.org/chou/home/apbio/mrs-chou-s-ap-biology-lecture-notes”>https://sites.google.com/a/svvsd.org/chou/home/apbio/mrs-chou-s-ap-biology-lecture-notes</a>
+Here is a YouTube channel dedicated to AP Biology by Biology teacher Paul Anderson
<a href=“Bozeman Science - YouTube”>https://m.youtube.com/user/bozemanbiology</a>
+For self-study groups and students prepping ahead for the exam, here are some tips for the FRQ.
<a href=“ClearBiology.com is for sale | HugeDomains”>HugeDomains.com;
<p>*****Practice Exams
CollegeBoard Official AP Exam FRQ (2013 & 2014) w/ Scoring guideline for each question
<a href=“AP Biology Exam – AP Students | College Board”>Get the Most Out of AP – AP Students | College Board;
<p>I believe AP Bio is one of the hardest to get a 5 on.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken the class, but I do know that it is very content-heavy. Chemistry is fairly content heavy but has much more math, as with Physics. Biology is a unique science, at the high school level it does not require nearly as much math as the other sciences. This being said you learn it differently from other sciences. What science classes have you taken before?</p>
<p>What are your study habits like?
What exactly are you not doing well on , what is included in your grade? Labs, classwork, homework, tests, etc. If it’s the tests, try to pinpoint what TYPE of problems you are getting wrong. Free response, multiple choice, etc. Again, I have not taken AP Bio so I don’t exactly the kinds of things you’d be tested on.</p>
<p>Have you tried finding a tutor? In regards to your classmates, are you sure you are getting that condescending vibe? If you can, try to get over it, if the student is actually helping you.</p>
<p>You are not stupid. The majority of high school kids don’t even take an AP class, let alone a hard AP science course. Getting a C in AP Bio would be a great achievement for the majority of high school kids.</p>
<p>It is my lowest grade. I have a B- in the class and it angers me that It will probably stay a B. I got a little angered that our first and only FRQ was just for practice, because I feel like I did really well on it. Our quiz grades are padded but we have not had a test yet so I am really worried about that, but honestly, you might just have to talk to your teacher. My teacher does a really good job of at least giving us good notes to take, even if we do not get it when he explains concepts at first (first period). Go to all available tutoring sessions and make it known that you look to improve and understand better. If your teacher sees you trying and still failing to understand, he or she will most likely attempt to help you a little more. The difference between them seeing you as a hard worker who just needs a little help and a mediocre student who produces mediocre work might just be 2-3 hours of your time every week.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. </p>
<p>@sleath56 Yes, I have the Campbell version. And thank you for the links even though one of them does not work.</p>
<p>@Ctesiphon Well, this year, I transferred to a new school. In my previous high school, I felt the classes were pretty easy.
It’s the tests. Once in awhile the labs. Mostly it’s the tests. </p>
<p>@Bulldog97 Yeah, I’m trying to participate more in class and ask questions.
My teachers states that majority of her students got 5’s or on the AP Bio exam.
The lowest score in her class was a 4. </p>
<p>Lol thats a lot of pressure, @Caston. Sounds like your teacher has a bit of an ego and pretty high expectations! I’m struggling along with you. </p>
<p>Bozeman Science, like @Username97 said, has been helping me out already. I haven’t really gotten into that studying habit yet. Just keep working! (P.S. It’s okay not to understand something…a 73% on my last AP Bio test was the 3rd best grade out of 38 kids)</p>
<p>@BPearlman97 Lol yeah. Nice to know I’m not alone.</p>
<p>Bozeman is a useful source. I have somewhat meh studying habits since in my previous school wasn’t as challenging. </p>
<p>How big is the class size? The lowest score being a four seems a little preposterous unless class sizes are >15. Motivation maybe?</p>
<p>@Bulldog97
Around 15 people. </p>
<p>@Caston don’t worry about meeting your TEACHERS expectations. Strive to meet YOUR OWN expectations. </p>
<p>Bozeman Science is life. Mr. Anderson makes great overviews of the chapters, labs, and etc. What really stands out to me is that each year a few weeks before the test, he asks viewers to email him questions, and he compiles them all into one big-ass video. That’s dedication. Honestly, the weekend before the exam last year I was freaking out. Best advice I ever got was to set Youtube on 1.5 times speed and go through the entire AP Biology playlist. There’s 12 hours of video, so that turns out to about 8 if you don’t skip the topics you understand.
<a href=“AP Biology Video Essentials - YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFCE4D99C4124A27A</a></p>
<p>Only reason I would suggest CrashCourse is if you wanted a quick overview of a topic before learning it in class. It might help if you’re legitimately having trouble understanding what’s going on, and from there you could take it further using other resources. Don’t depend on it though! You probably could in Honors, but since Hank Green doesn’t follow the AP curriculum, you’d be missing a lot.
<a href=“Biology (2012) - YouTube”>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3EED4C1D684D3ADF</a></p>
<p>And even if you have a good textbook, I always find AP review books to be helpful. I personally know that the 5 Steps to a 5 and CliffsNotes books for Biology were good (only reason I had both was because I ended up losing my first one -sob-). I highly suggest getting one with practice questions at the end of each section, and complete practice AP tests! Assess yourself and your understanding. Not only did a review book help me actually pass the test (I got a three .-.), it helped me in class as well since it was a good way to study. </p>
<p>Okay, I know I can’t really preach studying since I got a three, but bro I passed. </p>
<p>I am in the exact same situation you’re in except with AP Macroeconomics</p>