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AP Biology Exam
Overview
REMINDER: Sites that may help you out
 You Tube:
– Crash Course Biology
– Bozeman Science
 Khan Academy Biology
– https:/www.khanacademy.org/science/bio
logy
 GetAFive
– https://www.getafive.com/aptests/biology
 Wolfram Alpha
– www.wolframalpha.com
BOOKS – Go to Barnes & Noble and study
while there . . . Don’t have to buy
– Preparing for the Biology AP Exam (2014 School Edition)
• Pearson Education Test Prep Series
– Cracking the AP Biology Exam 2017 Edition
• Princeton Review
– Baron’s AP Biology 5th Edition
– 5 Steps to a 5 AP Biology 2017 (more of a study strategy, not
a review of the actual material)
AP Biology College Board Website
 The College Board website gives a LOT of
information about the AP Biology exam
 Some important features
– AP Biology Lab Resource Center (gives teacher editions of
lab manual for a fuller explanation)
– About the AP Biology Exam (has several examples of past AP
essay questions)
– Course Content – Related Articles (some supplemental
information that applies to biological concepts)
 http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/pu
blic/courses/teachers_corner/2117.html
Teacher Resources: AP Central
The Curriculum Framework Supports and
Furthers Conceptual Knowledge
4 Big Ideas
Enduring Understandings
Science Practices:
Science Inquiry & Reasoning
Essential Knowledge
Learning Objectives
AP Biology Curriculum Is Framed
Around Four Big Ideas
BIG IDEA
BIG IDEA
BIG IDEA
BIG IDEA
1
The process of evolution drives the diversity
and unity of life.
2
Biological systems utilize energy and molecular
building blocks to grow, reproduce, and maintain
homeostasis.
3
4
Living systems retrieve, transmit, and respond to
information essential to life processes.
Biological systems interact, and these interactions
possess complex properties.
Tying the Big Ideas to the AP Exam
 Whenever you are reviewing in your study
groups, think about how the content you are
studying applies to the Big Ideas
– This will give a better understanding of
the types of questions that will be asked
on the AP exam
Illustrative Examples and Exclusion
Statements
 Illustrative Examples are suggested
contexts for instructional purposes.
The specific examples will not be
assessed on the AP Biology exam.
What is required is an understanding
of the contexts/concepts that
are illustrated
 In other words, you should not spend
a lot of time memorizing every
miniscule fact . . . Learn the processes
and how they apply to the big ideas
Illustrative Examples and Exclusion Statements
1.C.1
SPECIATION
Speciation and extinction have occurred throughout the
Earth’s history.
A. Speciation rates can vary, especially when adaptive radiation
occurs when new habitats become available.
B. Species extinction rates are rapid at times of ecological stress
Students should be able to demonstrate
understanding of the above concept by
using an Illustrative example such as:
They do NOT need to
know the names and
dates of these extinctions
 Five major extinctions
 Human impact on ecosystems and
species extinction rates
Learning Objective
(Pairing of Content + Science Practice)
In Other Words . . .
 For the AP exam it is more important to
understand the causality of many concepts,
NOT just memorizing the events themselves
– If you know how to apply the concept, you
do not need to memorize a lot of stuff
AP Biology Exam Design
Section Information:
Item Types & Weight
Multiple Choice + Grid-ins
(50% of exam weight)
Question Types and Distribution
63 multiple choice
6 grid-in questions
(Type: mathematical
manipulation/calculation. Students will
write and bubble in numerated answer)
Timing
90m
Ten Minutes Required Reading Time in Advance of the Free Response Section
Free Response
(50% of exam weight)
2 long free response questions, 1 of
which connects to the lab experience
6 short free response questions
80 minutes + 10minute reading
period
EXAMPLE
Example of a Multiple Choice Question Integrating
Concept, Content and Science Practice
Two flasks with identical medium containing nutrients and glucose are
inoculated with yeast cells that are capable of both anaerobic and
aerobic respiration. Culture 1 is then sealed to prevent fresh air from
reaching the culture; culture 2 is loosely capped to permit air to reach
the culture. Both flasks are periodically shaken.
Which of the following best predicts which culture will contain
more yeast cells after one week, and most accurately justifies
that prediction?
A. Culture 1, because fresh air is toxic to yeast cells and will inhibit
their growth
B. Culture 1, because fermentation is a more efficient metabolic
process than cellular respiration
C. Culture 2, because fresh air provides essential nitrogen nutrients to
the culture
D. Culture 2, because oxidative cellular respiration is a
more efficient metabolic process than fermentation
Answer
 D. Culture 2, because oxidative cellular
respiration is a more efficient metabolic
process than fermentation
 You did not need to know any specifics
about yeast, but you did need to know the
basics of cellular respiration
MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMPLE
Example of a Multiple Choice Question
Integrating Concept, Content and
Science Practice
Animal
Feathers
Fur/Mammary
Glands
Jaws
Lungs
Claws Nails
Lizard
X
X
X
Mouse
X
X
X
X
Chimp
X
X
X
X
Perch
X
Pigeon
X
X
X
Salamander
X
X
X
Hagfish
X
MULTIPLE CHOICE EXAMPLE
And Here Is the Exam Question…
Assume that the cladogram shows the correct
ancestral relationships between the organisms
listed. Which of the following describes an error in
the data table?
A. Perch have swim bladders, and therefore the table should indicate
the presence of lungs.
B. Salamanders should not show claws or nails in the data table.
C.
Pigeons produce a nutritious milk-like substance for their young,
and therefore the data table should indicate the presence of
mammary glands.
D. Hagfish are the animals least like chimps, but since they are fish, the
data table should indicate the presence of jaws.
Answer
 B. Salamanders should not show claws or
nails in the data table.
 Again, you do not need to know anything
about the organisms discussed. You just
need to know how to read the cladogram.
EXAMPLE
Grid-In Question Requiring
Calculator Use
The data below demonstrate the frequency
of tasters and non-tasters in an isolated
population at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
The allele for non-tasters is recessive
Tasters
Non-tasters
8235
4328
How many of the tasters in the population
are heterozygous for tasting?
Answer
 Use Hardy-Weinberg  Remember, they did not
ask for percentage. The
 q2 = 4328/12,563 =
asked for “how many
0.345
tasters are heterozygous”
 q = .587
 p = .413
 heterozygous = 2 pq
 2pq = 2(.587)(.413)
 2pq = 0.485
 12,563 x 0.485
 6091 are heterozygous
 You would bubble in 6091
EXAMPLE
Short Free Response Question
BIG IDEA
1
Currently, all living organisms are classified into one of
three domains: Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
In a sentence or two, provide two pieces of evidence
that justify a common origin for the three domains.
BIG IDEA
2
Oxygen can diffuse into cells by passing
between plasma membrane lipids.
In a sentence or two, explain why ions, such as Na+,
cannot pass between membrane lipids.
Answers
BIG IDEA
1
They do not want to hear all the characteristics about
the 3 Kingdoms. They are looking at evidence for
evolution.
• Common genetic code
• Utilize the same 20 amino acids for all organism
BIG IDEA
2
Again, do not focus on oxygen, they are only asking
about the ion permeability
• Ions are hydrophilic, while the membranes have a
hydrophobic interior
• Ions need an ion channel to be able to diffuse
• There must be some signal to open the ion
channel
EXAMPLE
Another Short Free Response Question…
BIG IDEA
3
The role of tRNA in the process of translation was
investigated by the addition of tRNA with attached
radioactive leucine to an in vitro translation system
that included mRNA and ribosomes. The results are
shown by the graph.
Describe in one or two sentences how this figure
justifies the claim that the role of tRNA is to carry
amino acids that are then transferred from the tRNA
to growing polypeptide chains.
Answer
 Remember . . . Focus on the question. Do not get
caught up in extraneous information.
– Leucine is an amino acid that is attached to the tRNA
– The job of translation is to ADD amino acids from the tRNA
to the growing protein chain.
– The figure shows the radioactive count decreasing on the
tRNA because the amino acids are being removed from the
tRNA and transferred elsewhere. The increased radioactive
count on the peptide chain indicates this is where the
amino acid is being added. Thus, the tRNA is transferring
the amino acid to the peptide chain.
EXAMPLE
Short Free Response Questions
BIG IDEA
4
The activity rate of an enzyme was measured at various
temperatures based on the amount of substrate, in
micromoles, produced per square meter of reaction
surface per second. The table below shows the data
collected.
In two or three sentences, indicate the nature of the
relationship between enzyme structure/function and
environment temperature that explains the data shown
in the table.
Answer
 Be careful that you fully answer the question.
– By looking at the chart, you can see that the enzyme has
the best activity at about 40 ̊C, but this doesn’t answer the
questions
– You must talk about the structure of proteins also
– Enzymes are proteins that facilitate various metabolic
reactions. In general, as you increase the temperature,
you increase the rates of reactions. Proteins have a
specific shape based on their amino acid sequence.
Various side chains give proteins their 3D shape. When
you alter the temperatures to a large extent, it is possible
to disrupt the side chain-interactions and cause the
protein to denature. The enzyme, at this point, would no
longer function.
Essay tips
 Highlight the question they are asking
 Make an outline that emphasizes points that answer
the above question
 Make sure you write LEGIBLY
– I have heard tales of handwriting so bad that the
graders were unable to give any points (print if
you have to)
 Do not deviate from answering the question with
extraneous information
 Keep an eye on your time
Grading the essay question
 I’m going to give you some essays to grade in the
near future.
 Based on what we’ve discussed, you are going to
grade each essay.
 Afterwards, we will discuss what the actual grade is
. . . and why