AP Biology

It is a hybrid digital exam with two 1-hour-30-minute sections, each worth 50% of the score. Section I has 60 multiple-choice questions, including discrete items and sets of 4–5 questions tied to a shared stimulus. Section II has 6 free-response questions: 2 long (9 points each) and 4 short (4 points each).

Each section runs 1 hour 30 minutes, so the exam takes about 3 hours of testing time. Section I (multiple choice) and Section II (free response) each count for 50% of the exam score. The format is described as stable and consistent from year to year.

The two long questions ask you to interpret and evaluate experimental results, one of them with graphing. The four short-answer questions assess scientific investigation, conceptual analysis, analysis of a model or visual representation, and data analysis. Answers are handwritten in paper booklets and returned for scoring.

Yes, calculators are permitted for this exam under the AP calculator policy. Reference materials, including the AP Biology equations and formulas sheet, are printed and mailed to schools and are also available in Bluebook in the test preview and on exam day.

Published ranges are widest and highest for Unit 7, Natural Selection (13%–20%), followed by Unit 3, Cellular Energetics, and Unit 6, Gene Expression and Regulation (12%–16% each). Unit 4 is 10%–15%, Unit 8 is 10%–15%, Unit 2 is 10%–13%, and Units 1 and 5 are 8%–11% each.

The College Board lists the equivalent as a two-semester college introductory biology course for biology majors, with recommended prerequisites of high school courses in biology and chemistry. Strong chemistry grounding helps with water, macromolecules, enzymes, and energetics.

The course emphasizes designing experiments and procedures to test a prediction or theory, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting data to draw conclusions, and developing and supporting a scientific claim with evidence. Expect questions built around experimental scenarios and data rather than isolated definitions.

Work through the eight units in course order, since later units (gene expression, natural selection, ecology) build on earlier chemistry and cell concepts. Pair each unit with practice on released free-response questions and scoring information, and use the equations sheet and lab manual to rehearse data analysis and graphing.

The announced administration is Monday, May 3, 2027, Session 2. Your AP coordinator tells you when and where the exam will be administered, so confirm logistics with your school rather than relying on the published date alone.

Typical losses come from describing data without interpreting it, skipping the graphing requirement in the long question with graphing, giving conclusions unsupported by evidence, and misapplying formulas. Practicing written justification and clear experimental reasoning addresses most of these.