APFIVE AP Biology Exam Info
Download PDFThe AP Biology Exam will test your understanding of the biological concepts covered in the course units, as well as your ability to utilize the scientific method and analyze data.
This is a hybrid digital exam. You’ll complete multiple-choice questions and view free-response questions in the Bluebook testing app. You’ll handwrite your free-response answers in paper exam booklets.
Calculators are permitted for this exam. See AP Exams Calculator Policy for the list of calculators approved for this course.
Reference materials, such as equations sheets and reference tables, are available for this course. Go to Reference Information for Specific AP Exams to find reference materials for AP Biology and exam day details.
AP Biology Exam
This is the regularly scheduled date for the AP Biology Exam.
Exam Components
Section I: Multiple Choice
The multiple-choice section includes discrete questions that refer to the same information, diagram, or data presentation.
Questions will test your ability to:
- Explain biological concepts, processes, and models
- Analyze diagrams, flow charts, and other visual representations
- Use the scientific method
- Perform mathematical calculations to analyze data
- Support scientific claims with evidence
Section II: Free Response
The free-response section includes two long questions and four short questions.
Questions will test your ability to:
- Interpret and evaluate results from an experiment
- Graph and analyze data
- Understand the principles and procedures of lab investigations
- Predict the causes or effects of a change in a biological system
- Analyze a visual representation of a biological phenomenon
Skills You'll Learn
Designing experiments and procedures to test a prediction or theory
Collecting and analyzing data
Interpreting data to draw conclusions
Developing and supporting a scientific claim with evidence
Units
Unit 1: Chemistry of Life
You’ll learn about water’s role as the basis of life and the functions of macromolecules like carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
Topics may include:
- Structure of water hydrogen bonding
- Elements of life
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Nucleic acids
- Proteins
On The Exam
8%–11% of exam score
Unit 2: Cell Structure and Function
You’ll study the makeup of cells and the structure and function of organelles and cellular components on the subcellular and cellular levels.
Topics may include:
- Cellular structure and functions
- Cell size
- Cellular interactions with its environment
- Plasma membrane and membrane transport
- Cell regulatory mechanisms (like osmosis and selective permeability)
- Cellular compartmentalization
On The Exam
10%–13% of exam score
Unit 3: Cellular Energetics
You’ll learn the concept of energy capture and usage, how cells interact with their environment, and how fundamental biological processes such as photosynthesis and cellular respiration work.
Topics may include:
- The structure and function of enzymes
- Cellular energy
- The processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration
On The Exam
12%–16% of exam score
Unit 4: Cell Communication and Cell Cycle
You’ll learn how cells use energy and information transmission to communicate and replicate.
Topics may include:
- Cell communication
- Signal transduction pathways
- Feedback
- Cell cycle and regulation
On The Exam
10%–15% of exam score
Unit 5: Heredity
You’ll learn how traits are passed down from one generation to the next.
Topics may include:
- Meiosis and genetic diversity
- Mendelian genetics
- Non-mendelian Inheritance
- Environmental effects on phenotype
On The Exam
8%-11% of exam score
Unit 6: Gene Expression and Regulation
You’ll study structures of DNA and RNA, how hereditary information passes from parent to offspring and how those traits are expressed.
Topics may include:
- DNA and RNA structure
- DNA replication
- Transcription and RNA processing
- Translation
- Regulation of gene expression
- Gene expression and cell specialization
- Mutations
- Biotechnology
On The Exam
12%-16% of exam score
Unit 7: Natural Selection
You’ll learn about Darwin’s theory of natural selection, and the evidence for and against mechanisms of evolutionary change.
Topics may include:
- Natural and aritificial selection
- Population genetics
- Evidence of evolution and common ancestry
- Phylogeny
- Speciation and variations in populations
- Origin of life on Earth
On The Exam
13%-20% of exam score
Unit 8: Ecology
You’ll explore biological concepts at a broader organism level and analyze how populations interact within communities and ecosystems.
Topics may include:
- Responses to the environment
- Energy flow through ecosystems
- Population ecology and population density
- Community ecology
- Biodiversity
- Disruptions in ecosystems
On The Exam
10%-15% of exam score