AP Biology

What Students Learn

Students connect molecular and cellular processes with organisms and ecosystems, examining how living systems use energy and transmit information. Experimental inquiry emphasizes scientific questions and evaluation of methods, with data and evidence supporting biological explanations.

Course Units

The units and learning focuses below follow the official AP course framework.

Unit 1: Chemistry of life

Unit 2: Cells

Unit 3: Cellular energetics

Unit 4: Cell communication and cell cycle

Unit 5: Heredity

Unit 6: Gene expression and regulation

Unit 7: Natural selection

Unit 8: Ecology

AP Assessment

The AP exam includes 60 multiple-choice questions in 90 minutes, worth 50%, and six free-response questions in 90 minutes, worth 50%. Two long responses and four short responses assess interpretation of experimental results and graphing, alongside conceptual analysis and analysis of models or data. Scientific reasoning must be connected to specific evidence.

References (2026–2027): College Board course framework; assessment information