AP

Biology

  • Biology + Chemistry must be taken prior to enrollment

    Can be taken by Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors

  • coming soon

  • coming soon

  • Section I: Multiple Choice

    60 Questions | 1 hour 30 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score

    Individual questions

    Sets of questions with 4–5 questions per set

    Section II: Free Response

    6 Questions | 1 hour 30 Minutes | 50% of Exam Score

    There are 2 long questions and 4 short questions. Long questions are worth 8–10 points each; short questions are worth 4 points each.

    The long questions ask students to:

    Interpret and evaluate experimental results

    Interpret and evaluate experimental results with graphing

    The short-answer questions assess students’ understanding of the following:

    Scientific investigation

    Conceptual analysis

    Analysis of a model or visual representation

    Data analysis

  • AP Biology

    5: 16.0%

    4: 23.0%

    3: 29.0%

    2: 22.0%

    1: 10.0%

More Info

  • “Some advice I can give you to be successful is to study and read the bio book before tests. It can be very helpful. Another piece of advice is not to stress, because it can have a negative effect. Just talk to Mrs. Hurley. Always make sure you do the HW, the missed points add up, and always do extra credit even if you have an A+.”

  • “So my advice to start is be prepared to adjust for the work load to begin. In order to really enjoy this class perseverance is required. 1st semester was quite rough for me personally but I stuck with the class and had an amazing second semester. My advice is be prepared to preserve because I really do believe that it was worth it considering how much fun I had in this class throughout the year.”

  • “Considering it’s a college level course, AP Biology is definitely challenging. Although with dedication and a lot of hard work, success is possible! I would recommend putting in time outside of class a couple of days per week to really sit down and absorb the material.”

  • “At first I did not like biology, but I grew to love the subject because of this class.”

  • “I actually really enjoy Bio and loved this class! . . . I took AP Bio because I plan on being nurse! So, Biology is kind of the next step and I understood a lot because of how Mrs. Hurley taught it.”

Hurley’s Top 10 Reasons to take AP Biology:

1. pGLO lab- let’s make E. Coli Glow!

2. Fantastic discussions! Lecture generates questions which make the class interactive and allows us to go deeper into concepts.

3. Improving lives through knowledge. Hurley LOVES research and understanding how to improve life.

4. Build a foundation of skills that you can apply to any collegiate course.

5. Aha! Moments. Seeing the lightbulb turn on when making connections between concepts.

6. Bubble lab. Who doesn’t want to play with bubbles?

7. Being able to explain WHY/HOW the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell and why you should never put that as an exam answer.

8. Pushing beyond the basics you learn in regular biology.

9. Galapagos islands, axolotls, anoles, and wolves… our world is so cool!

10. We get to study our world and all its wonders. What could be more interesting than that?

Complexity of Material Covered

On average, students gave a AP Biology a complexity score of 3.73 out of 5, which places the course in the higher complexity tier. Being a course taken by sophomores, juniors, and seniors, there is an expected larger range/variability in the data set.

We recommend planning a balanced schedule consisting of all three tiers of complexity: mild, moderate, and high to have a healthy school-life balance and avoid burnout.

All data was collected anonymously by Clovis West students who previously completed the course. Numbers represents the percentage of students who selected that reponse

Workload of AP Biology

On average, students gave AP Biology a workload score of 4.15 hours per week. This places AP Biology in the heavy workload tier.

We recommend planning a balanced schedule consisting of all three tiers of workload: mild, moderate, and heavy to have a healthy school-life balance and avoid burnout.

All data was collected anonymously from Clovis West students who previously completed the course. Amount of time students spend studying or doing homework per week. Numbers represent percentage of students who selected that response