AP Biology
Changes for 2020
As you already know, AP Biology is a great
course to take and exam to sit for, especially
if you’re a budding scientist or future
health professional — or, if you’re just
obsessed with Punnett squares.
The AP bio exam clocks in at a solid three
hours.
That might seem a tad excessive when you learn
that an appendectomy can be performed in around
an hour.
So it’s a three-appy situation, if you will.
And if you’re a future doctor, it’s a
nice warm-up for the 7-and-a-half-hour marathon
that is the MCAT.
Kudos to you for getting a head start!
As of May 2020, the AP Biology exam is changing.
We’ve released a brand-new fully updated
edition of our Cracking the AP Biology Exam
guidebook to help you master this latest exam.
Here’s what is most important to know about
the overhauled exam.
It's still going to be split into multiple-choice
and free-response sections, but the pacing
and content have changed.
And I’m here bearing good news: These changes
are actually better for you!
On the multiple-choice side, the test is dropping
from 69 questions to a much more manageable
60 questions.
Thankfully, you’ll still have an hour and
thirty minutes to complete this section.
That means more time per question.
How much more?
A luxurious, roomy 12 extra seconds for each
question.
That doesn’t sound like a lot when I frame
it that way, but the extra time really can
make a difference.
(Speaking of time management, now would be
a good moment to remind you that there’s
no penalty for guessing!
So leave nothing blank!)
Now, you’ll still be asked to answer discrete
questions (meaning, one-offs) as well as questions
in sets — usually with four or five per
set.
But the updated exam will no longer have grid-in
questions.
Folks, if I had confetti, I’d be throwing
it up in the air right now.
And to all you math gurus out there: Worry
not, you’ll still have questions that assess
mathematical calculations!
But they'll be multiple-choice now, so it'll
be easier to check and confirm your answers
— no more being off by a single digit!
Thankfully, you'll still have an hour and
thirty minutes to complete this section, and
it'll still be worth 50% of your exam score.
Let’s move on to free-response!
Not to be outdone by its multiple-choice counterpart,
this section is also changing for 2020.
Previously, the free-response contained eight
questions — two long ones with (one of which
was lab or data-based) and six short-answer
questions, each requiring a response or argument
roughly the length of a paragraph.
Now you’ll only have to answer a total of
six free-response questions.
That is a 25% reduction!
There will still be two long questions, both
of which will ask you to interpret and evaluate
the results of an experiment.
And be prepared — one of these questions
will require graphing.
You’ll then have four short-answer questions.
These will be focused on scientific investigation,
conceptual analysis, analysis of model or
visual representation, and analysis of data.
Once again, you’ll have an hour and thirty
minutes to complete this entire section.
And, as you might have guessed, the free response
questions will make up the other 50% of your
total score.
And if you’re worried about doing quick
arithmetic, don’t be!
You will be allowed to use a calculator on
the exam.
You can bring a four-function (complete with
square root), scientific, or graphing calculator.
Folks, pick up a copy of one of our brand-new
AP Bio books to get all the latest content
review, along with a number of practice tests.
Our fully updated PREMIUM edition has 5 full-length
practice tests, and our standard edition features
2.
Whatever you choose, you will have plenty
of opportunities to practice, folks!
Thanks so much for watching!
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