AP Biology Exam Review

AP Biology Exam Preparation

General Strategies

  • Consistent Effort: If you've conscientiously completed homework and labs, focusing on truly learning the material, you're in a good position.
  • Address Uncertainty: If feeling unsure or confused, it's time to get organized and create a plan.

Review Books

  • Selection: If review books are helpful, choose one that emphasizes the 13 AP Biology investigations.
  • Focus: The exam emphasizes application and scientific practice, aligning with these labs, rather than rote content memorization.

Study Approach

  • Beyond Memorization: Avoid merely memorizing terms and definitions. This isn't enough for success on the AP Biology exam.
  • Application is Key: Focus on applying knowledge, recognizing concepts in various biological scenarios and experimental designs.
  • Connections: Make connections between different terms, concepts, and topics.

Organization and Resources

  • Methodical Review: Organize information to make sense of it. Use provided organizing packets.
Prep and Review Packet
  • Flashcards: Contains concept/definition flashcards that may be useful, but don't over-focus on these.
  • College Board Objectives: Includes objectives and essential points of knowledge from the College Board.
  • Checklist: Use the checklist for each major topic to assess understanding and identify areas needing review.
  • Content Order: Note that the unit order covered in class may differ from the College Board's framework (Units 7 & 8, Evolution and Ecology, were covered early).
  • Resource Use: Understand relationships of big ideas, enduring understandings, and objectives for each topic. Check off objectives as you master them, and review essential knowledge points.
Essential Points of Knowledge Handout
  • Note-Taking: Use this handout to take notes on examples, descriptions, and related information for each topic.
Topic Review Questions
  • Connection Practice: Work through the 88 pages of topic review questions and problems for practice making connections.
  • Problem Sets: Focus on problems from page 76 to 88.
  • Answer Checks: Compare your answers with provided answer keys. If discrepancies exist, determine the reason and ask for clarification if needed.
AP Classroom
  • Online Resources: Utilize AP Classroom for progress checks, review sessions, and other online resources.

Investigative Labs

  • Importance: Know the 13 investigative labs thoroughly; open response questions often derive from them.
  • Review Focus: Review procedures as representations of science practices, the content applied, and the outcomes.
Specific Labs and Concepts
  • Artificial Selection: The simulation involved trichomes.
    • Previous AP exams included questions presenting simulated data for calculations and interpretations, including graphing.
    • Required creating a graph.
    • Required using standard error of the mean to calculate 95% confidence intervals (two times the standard error of the mean) and representing them as error bars.
    • 95% confidence interval=2×standard error of the mean95\% \text{ confidence interval} = 2 \times \text{standard error of the mean}
    • Required justifying significant differences between groups based on confidence level overlap (or lack thereof).
    • Experimental design aspects were also included.
  • Mathematical Modeling (Hardy-Weinberg): Uses Excel to model allele frequencies.
  • Bioinformatics: Uses genome sequences to develop phylogenetic relationships, similar to the bear lab taxonomy exercise using the BLAST program (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool).
  • Diffusion and Osmosis: Concepts of molarity, hypotonicity, hypertonicity, isotonicity, water potential, osmotic/solute potential, and osmotic pressure are relevant.
  • Photosynthesis: The floating disk technique (introduced in the pre-lab) and the use of a calorimeter with DPIP solution are important.
  • Cellular Respiration: Factors affecting the rate of cellular respiration are key. Understand allosteric feedback (e.g., phosphofructokinase).
  • Mitosis and Meiosis: Modeling mitosis and meiosis, comparing them, investigating mutations (HeLa cells), Sordaria lab for crossing over and calculating crossover rate for chromosomal mapping are important.
  • Bacterial Transformation: Understand prokaryotic genomes, plasmids, recombinant DNA, and bioengineering potential.
  • Restriction Enzyme Lab: Focus on gel electrophoresis, how restriction enzymes (endonucleases) work, complementary base pairing, and applications in forensics. Understand how to interpret gels and determine fragment sizes using standard curves.
  • Energy Dynamics: Concepts of input and output in ecosystems, the 10% rule, measurement of dry weight of plants, and caloric input calculation (kilocalories or calories per gram) are important.
  • Transpiration: Understand factors (wind, temperature, humidity) affecting transpiration rate and structural adaptations of plants (leaf surface area, stomata distribution/number). Know adhesion, cohesion and hydrogen bonding.
  • Behavior Lab: Used crickets and millipedes; involves Chi-square analysis. Remember, if there are three points of gathering, expected values would be 1/3, 1/3, and 1/3 of the population. If there are two end points the expected values would be 1/2 and 1/2.
  • Enzyme Lab: Focus on factors influencing enzyme reaction rates (temperature, pH, enzyme concentration) using peroxidase or catalase to break down hydrogen peroxide, but don't confuse this with enzyme regulation (allosteric feedback, competitive inhibition).

Key Takeaways

  • Essential Knowledge & Enduring Understandings + Lab Practices & Skills = Objectives
  • Integration: It involves connecting essential points of knowledge, enduring understandings, and lab practices to achieve the learning objectives.
  • Ask Questions: Clarify any doubts or questions.