AP BIOLOGY , need help

SAT and ACT Tests & Test Preparation
#1

<p>i am doing independent study for AP Biology.
i do not know much about biology itself, since my junior's biology class sucked;;
i am just reading through Campbell 5th edition BIOLOGY (i am at CH7, but didnt memorize anything so i can not recall exactly what's what)
but.. after just reading a textbook for about 5-6 weeks,
it's somewhat lame to sit down for 1.5 hours(it's how long one period is in my HS) and just reading and reading.</p>

<p>is there any effective ways to get through materials related to AP biology?
(i heard Champbell is 'too' detailed and has so much more stuffs than needed in AP exam)</p>

<p>also what prep books would be good?
any comments and advise on how to selfstudy AP Biology would be helpful
thanks.</p>

<p>p.s ; my school does have Champbell 6th edition Biology. should i use 6th edition?? is it any better than 5th??</p>

<p>also, my HS biology teacher has "Standard Deviant" videos, if you know anything about it, is it good enough to learn stuffs for AP biology?? it seems dorky, but seems definitely better than just plain textbook. what do you think?</p>

#2

<p>most high schools use 4th edition, so i would stick with that</p>

#3

<p>get Cliff's AP review book. It follows Campbell's closely, and will identify for you what is most important in each Campbell's chapter. Then you can make a 2nd or 3rd pass through just Cliff's when you are ready to review.</p>

#4

<p>i independently studied ap bio as well. last year. as a sophomore. i ended up scoring a 5 on the test. Cliff's AP. thats all you need. the latest edition of the textbook, the 6th edition, is far better than any of the rest. HOWEVER. the campbell covers way too much more detail than you need. i'd recommend using it just as a dictionary..study the cliffs ap WELL. and you'll get that 5. the free response example in the cliffs is fantastic. trust me. thats all i did. and just for ure information. the ap MC section..was actually easier than the SAT2 bio that i took and got a 750 on.</p>

#5

<p>get CLIFFS AP BIO book....it's the ONLY prep book you'll need for the exam...</p>

#6

<p>do your guys mean .. do not use the textbook?
(FYI i have a weak background knowledge on biology itself)</p>

#7

<p>In my AP Bio class, we're using Campbell's 4th edition and I bought Cliffs for review. They are both very good books. In your position, I would skim campbell's for a base understanding in everything and then memorize Cliffs like the back of my hand (even though I don't really study the back of my hand...weird saying) to make sure you have all the basics down pat.</p>

#8

<p>the chapter summaries are worth reading in Campbell's. And the diagrams & illustration are much better in Campbells than in Cliff's. You could use Cliffs as your framework and flesh it out with Campbells.</p>

#9

<p>I think Campbell's has a green study guide that is much shorter than the book and it comes with questions after the chapter</p>

#10

<p>I do not advise using any edition other than the sixth (ie. most recent) if you're studying with Campbell's book.</p>

<p>A recent major revision in biology is the use of domains, which the fourth edition and fifth editions of Campbell's books may not cover.</p>

<p>I wouldn't advise using a prep book alone. Use that to complement your text.</p>

#11

<p>alright i will switch to 6th edition.
i think that green book is from peterson</p>

<p>one problem .. when i read the textbook, there is so many new biological and technical vocabs that i've never heard of, and a lot of structures, formulas, diagrams, and etc. to look up.
it's just hard to understand. ..</p>

<p>should i try to absorb that?? or just go through it even though i do not understand and later study with cliff's ???
what chapter are you guys on?? ( i am on ch7, just reading through)</p>

#12

<p>I liked the CD Rom that came with the Campbell's book (idk what edition). The video thingies were nice. Also, there are practice questions. The practice tests are ridiculously long and a little harder than the AP, but the Practice Quiz or whatever it is called, the 10 question one, is easy and good practice.</p>

#13

<p>I also use the CD-ROM for the sixth edition. The practice tests (ie. the long ones) are very beneficial.</p>

#14

<p>Much information exceeds well over the amount that you will need for the AP exam, though if you cover the book thoroughly, you should do fine. By the way, I used Campbell's 5th edition, with Cliff's.</p>

#15

<p>I'm taking AP bio now and think how much you should work depends on your goals. If you like biology, want to have a good understanding of the material, and get a 5 on the AP exam, it is best to read through most of a textbook like Campbell's (which is quite good in my opinion) and use a prep book like Cliff's or PR to review and test yourself. If you don't like biology and just want to get a good score on the AP test you could still get a 4 or 5 by memorizing cliff's. The second option is probably not too fun, and may be hard if you had a bad bio class last year. My class is using campbell's 6th edition but my bio teacher said there is very little difference beween 6th edition and 5th. We are on chapter 13 by the way.</p>