Facts About the AP Biology Exam

Structure of Test 3 Hours long Divided into two sections Section I --100 multiple choice questions Section II--4 Essay questions

Section I 100 multiple choice questions 45 seconds per question 80 minutes to answer 100 questions 3 parts Regular multiple choice questions Matching questions Questions dealing with experiments or data

Section II 4 Essay questions 10 minute reading period 90 minutes to answer all 4 essays 22 minutes per essay

Section I--- 58 multiple choice questions Example: If a segment of DNA reads 5’-ATG-CCA-GCT-3’, the mRNA strand that results will be (A) 3’-TAC-GGT-CGA-5’ (B) 3’-UAC-AGT-CAA-5’ (C) 3’-TAA-GCU-CGA-5’ (D) 3’-UAC-GCU-CGA-5’

Section I-- Experiments or data Given a diagram and multiple choice questions about diagram Common sense/ logical deduction more useful than strict science

Section II 4 free response essays Divided into parts--vary in difficulty Questions Area 1: Molecules and cells Area 2: Heredity and Evolution Area 3: Organisms and populations

Sample Free Response Enzymes are biological catalysts A. Relate the chemical structure of an enzyme to its catalytic activity and specificity B. Design an experiment that investigates the influence of temperature, substrate concentration, or pH on the activity of an enzyme C. Describe what information concerning enzyme structure could be inferred from the experiment you have designed

Scoring Maximum points Section I-100 pts 60% of grade Maximum points Section II- 40 pts 10 pts per essay question 40% of grade Raw scores translated into composite scores---then to AP number grade 1-5

Example (Raw score for section I)=(Number answered correctly)-(Number wrong÷4) Convert raw score to composite score (Composite score of section I=0.75x(Raw score for Section I) (Raw score for section II)=(Points for essay 1)+(Points for essay 2)+(Points for essay 3)+(Points for essay 4) (Composite score for section II)=1.5 x(Raw score for section II)

ETS Grading System AP Grade Comment Composite score 82-135 5 Extremely well qualified 63-81 4 Well Qualified 47-62 3 Qualified 29-46 2 Possibly Qualified 0-28 1 No recommendation

Strategy 1: Pace Yourself! Take your time--do not need to answer every question--mistakes accounted for Go for questions you know skip the ones you don’t To get score Section I Section II 1 25 2 to 3 essays 2 40 3 essays 3 60 3 to 4 essays 4 85 4 essays 5 100

Strategy 2: Three-Pass System Perfect score- do not have to answer every question Skip most difficult questions Easiest questions first Medium questions second pass Hard question last pass WATCH THE BUBBLES!

Strategy 3: Process of Elimination (POE) The structure that act as the sites of gas exchange in a woody stem are the Lungs Gills Lenticels Ganglia Lentil beans

Strategy 4: Aggressive Guessing 4 wrong answers = Loss of 1 point Eliminate 2 answer choices--guess

Strategy 5: Word Associations Know your science vocabulary Help you to narrow down choices

Strategy 6: Mnemonics King Phillip of German came over for great spagetti Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

Strategy 7: EXCEPT questions 10 percent -Except/Not/Least Wrong--Least correct Cross of the ones that apply to question

Strategy 8: ETS Essay ETS readers looking for hot button terms= points Read each question 2x 10 minute period- brainstorm write down key terms Outline essay using key terms If asks for 2 examples--give just 2 examples Use diagrams but must label correctly

Signal Words Description- detailed verbal picture”just the facts”--not opinions Discussion-conversation among ideas Explain-take something complicated and make it more clear--simpler terms Compare- answer that is focused on similarities between 2 things Contrast- answer emphasizing differences