AP® Environmental Science Study Plan & Tips
Studying for AP® exams can be extremely stressful without a proper game plan. The following AP Environmental Science study plan provides guidance on how to prepare for the APES exam, starting from the first day of school until the exam date.
How to Study for the AP Environmental Science Exam
Being successful on the APES exam is much easier when you set up a strong foundation early on. At the beginning of the school year, prepare an efficient organizational system that will make it easier to find content when reviewing for tests throughout the year. Build a strategy to organize notes, labs, assessments, and study materials to keep up with them throughout the school year. Using color-coded tabs or labels can help save time, maximizing study efficiency.
It’s important to ensure you have access to basic resources to start your APES exam prep. The following is a list of resources you should bookmark in your browser and use as study materials.
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AP Environmental Science Course and Exam Description (CED)
The CED provides information on the AP exam format, topics you’ll be tested on by unit, and sample AP exam questions. Use this resource as a study plan to help make flashcards and review content before unit tests or the AP exam. You can also refer to the College Board®’s AP ES CED, which includes sample questions.
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AP Classroom has daily videos that connect to the topics in AP course CEDs. This resource is best used throughout each unit as a source of notes prior to reviewing for unit tests.
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Free Response Questions (FRQs)
The College Board provides past FRQs with scoring guidelines, student answer samples, and data on score distributions by year. Using this resource throughout the year will help you understand how to apply CED content to AP exam scenarios.
Read the following sections in this AP Environmental Science study plan to learn best practices for the APES exam. Stay exam-ready from the first day of school until your test date!
How to prepare for the AP Environmental Science exam
One of the best ways to prepare for the APES exam is to actively engage with what you learn in class throughout the year. Although a basic understanding of the concepts learned in this course is an important starting point, applying these concepts to different real-world scenarios is necessary to do well on the AP exam. The following AP Environmental Science exam tips are ways to use concepts in class to better prepare for the AP exam.
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Understand the “how” or “why” behind the content
Memorizing basic information is not enough to do well on the AP exam. Ask questions in class when taking notes, such as “How does changing one part of a process alter the rest of the process?” or “Why does this change alter the rest of the process?”
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Make connections between what you are currently learning and your previous knowledge
One of the big ideas in AP Environmental Science is that everything is interconnected. Making connections between different topics helps you prepare for the AP exam’s FRQs by training your brain to apply previous knowledge to a new scenario.
For example, when learning about increased urbanization rates, connections can be made between how urbanization will impact the hydrologic cycle, the effects of urbanization on local climate, and the impact of urbanization on primary productivity.
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Learn case studies and stay current on environmental news
Case studies are past examples of concepts learned in class, such as the effects of water diversion on the Florida Everglades, that can sometimes be on the AP exam. Although you won’t need to know current events for the AP exam, current events, and case studies are great ways to help make connections. Draw from the content you learn in class to find correlations that you can use as specific examples on FRQs.
How to pass the AP Environmental Science exam
You need to receive a score of 3, 4, or 5 to pass the APES exam. Most schools will accept a 3 or higher for course credit and placement, although some will only accept a 4 or a 5. In 2023, almost 54% of students who took the APES exam received a passing score. You need to perform well on both the exam’s multiple-choice (MCQ) and free-response (FRQ) sections to achieve a passing score.
In addition to staying organized and actively engaged in class, passing the AP exam will require practicing many AP-style questions. While reviewing AP-style questions all year is important, you should start increasing the amount of time spent practicing these questions in the second semester. Make time each week to practice MCQs and FRQs.
After practicing MCQs, identify topics and science practices from the CED that you need more focus on and make a plan to review these before taking additional practice questions. After preparing for FRQs, use the scoring guidelines to identify your score out of 10. Typically, earning a 5 or more out of 10 points will be above average, ensuring you get a passing score on the APES exam.
How can you improve your AP Environmental Science exam score?
The best indicators for how you will perform on the AP exam are the scores you receive on assessments that use AP-style questions. Here are some AP Environmental Science exam tips and techniques to help you study better for these assessments and the AP exam.
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Prepare your study materials as you are learning the content in class
After learning a new topic in class, spend time making flashcards while the information is fresh in your mind and filling any gaps in understanding by watching AP daily videos and reviewing the CED.
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Teach others
Teaching others about a topic you have learned requires a deeper understanding, which is necessary for a higher AP exam score. Get a study group together where you take turns teaching exam concepts or ask a friend or parent to listen to your explanation of a key topic.
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Learn from past assessments
After each quiz or test in class, take notes on missed questions that include any misconceptions to build test-taking skills that can help narrow down the answer choices for future assessments.
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Focus study time on difficult concepts
While it is important to review all material that will be on an assessment, make sure to spend most of your study time reviewing concepts that are more difficult for you.
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Practice the way you will be tested
When practicing AP-style questions, such as those on UWorld, make sure to remove any distractions. Put away notes or any information that can help you, use an approved calculator for the APES exam, and set a timer1 for the same testing window you’ll have on the actual test day. Plan to spend approximately 1 minute per MCQ and 23 minutes per FRQ.
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Be comfortable performing calculations
Mathematical routines make up 6-9% of MCQs and 20% of FRQs. The APES exam does not have an equation or formula sheet, so you’ll need to memorize all equations. Look at the APES formula sheet to see which equations you should know for the APES exam.
How to get a 5 on AP Environmental Science Exam
To receive a 5 on the APES exam, students need to have high scores on both the multiple-choice and free-response sections. Of the students who took the APES exam in 20232, only 8.3% received a 5. The main difference between students who receive a 5 versus a 4 on the AP exam is that they can make stronger connections between concepts and perform better on the FRQs. Here are some AP Environmental Science exam tips on the best study practices to help you achieve a 5 on the APES exam.
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Set aside plenty of time outside of class to review each week
Use this time to rewrite notes, go through flashcards, draw diagrams to make connections between concepts, watch lecture videos, teach others, and practice AP-style questions.
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Develop a strong knowledge of the content
Make sure that each topic in the CED is well understood. As you study units 5–9, connect with the background information from units 1–4 to understand the bigger ideas you need to grasp for the exam.
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Understand the scoring guidelines for FRQs
Students who understand the task verbs outlined in the CED and scoring guidelines for the FRQs perform better on the AP exam. Learn how to write answers based on the task verbs. When scoring your answers for the “describe” or “explain” task verbs, look through the scoring on student samples to see how much information you need to write to receive credit.
Often, the scoring guidelines do not provide all the information needed to receive credit for task verbs that require further connections. It is also helpful to have a study partner or your teacher regrade your FRQ to see if they agree with the score you gave yourself. Also, do not give points for answers not found in the scoring guidelines. If you feel that your answer could be correct, you should ask your teacher why it was not in the scoring guidelines. Most often, the language of the prompt can cause an incorrect answer. So, be careful while drafting your FRQ answers.
What units are most difficult to learn or require focus due to complexity?
While each unit will have content within it that is difficult to learn, the units that will require more focus due to the complexity of the content include:
- Unit 4: Earth Systems and Resources
- Unit 7: Atmospheric Pollution
- Unit 8: Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution
- Unit 9: Global Change
How to review for the AP Environmental Science exam
When reviewing for the APES exam, give yourself plenty of time and avoid cramming. Plan on starting to review at least a month before the APES exam. While everyone reviews differently, you should include at least two practice exams in your AP Environmental Science study plan. It’s best to take one practice exam at the beginning of your preparation to determine the content you should focus on most and take the second practice test a week before the exam to determine any last-minute review you may need.
How to self-study for the AP Environmental Science exam
If you are taking the AP Environmental Science exam but do not plan on taking an APES class, it is important to give yourself at least 3 months to learn the information and work through practice questions. Along with taking notes from the CED and lecture videos, it is essential to find resources that provide quality AP-style questions to prepare you for the AP exam. The past FRQs on the College Board website are great resources to learn how to write FRQs. It will also be extremely beneficial to purchase review books or online test-prep materials that provide lessons over content and AP style-questions.
UWorld is an example of an online test prep resource with quality AP-style MCQs that you can use throughout the learning process. The explanation for each question includes an image to help visualize the question, a mini-lesson of the content found in the CED, and the wrong answer explanations. UWorld’s learning platform also includes a digital notebook and the ability to make flashcards that facilitate learning in the beginning and reviewing closer to the exam date.
Now, let’s move on to learning how to create a good study plan that suits your test-prep requirements. The next section of this AP Environmental Science includes study tips and examples of 2-week, 1-month, or 3-month AP Environmental Science study plans.
AP Environmental Science Exam Tips
As it gets closer to the AP test date, you will need to put together an AP Environmental Science study plan to review information from the whole year. For any study plan to be successful, it needs to be flexible enough to fit the restrictions of your schedule.
How to plan an AP Environmental Science study schedule?
Below are some examples of how to set up a 9-unit AP Environmental Science study plan with 3 months, 1 month, and 2 weeks to prepare before the APES exam.
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3-month study plan
This plan is ideal for students who have busy schedules or need more time to review content and watch videos. Plan on reviewing 1 unit from the CED per week for about 3-6 hours per week. Use the last 3 weeks to practice FRQs and take full-length practice exams.
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1-month study plan
This plan is useful for students who have more time in their schedules to study. With only 1 month to prepare for the APES exam, you should review 3 units from the CED per week and take 1 timed FRQ each week. During the last week, plan to take full-length practice exams.
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2-week study plan
This plan is not ideal for most students, but it can work for students who have been actively engaged in learning throughout the course, have done well on assessments, and only need minimal content review. Plan on spending these 2 weeks practicing FRQs and taking full-length practice exams. After each practice exam, review the content for any questions you might’ve missed.
How much time do you need to dedicate to the AP Environmental Science exam to score a 3, 4, or 5?
While the amount of time needed to study throughout the year varies from person to person, you should plan on dedicating plenty of time to practicing MCQs, FRQs, and timed, full-length practice exams closer to the AP exam. Outside of class work, you should prepare with review and practice questions at least one month before the AP exam. Below are the timing and ways to approach each AP exam section.
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How to Approach AP Environmental Science MCQ
You will have 90 minutes to complete 80 MCQs on the first section of the APES exam. This allows for a little over a minute per question. When answering multiple-choice questions, make sure to work on each science practice outlined in the CED. The APES exam has 7 science practices, which include concept explanation, visual representation, text analysis, scientific experiments, data analysis, mathematical routines, and environmental solutions.
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How to Approach AP Environmental Science FRQ
You will have 70 minutes to take 3 FRQs on the second section of the APES exam. This allows for about 23 minutes per FRQ. The first FRQ3 is a scientific experiment question, the second FRQ is an environmental solutions-based question, and the third FRQ is an environmental solutions-based question using mathematical routines.
AP Environmental Science Review/Study Materials
Some resources to help make your exam prep more successful:
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Video Lectures
There are many video lectures that you can find to help you learn the content, such as the AP daily videos on AP Classroom.
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Free-Response Question Samples
You can find previously tested FRQs on the College Board website. This is a great resource to learn how to write and score FRQs for the section of the AP exam.
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AP Classroom
AP Classroom is a great resource that provides lecture videos covering content in the CED, and it includes a question bank with AP questions.
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UWorld AP Exam Prep
UWorld is a great study tool that provides a digital question bank with over 300 APES MCQs to practice. Each question gives thorough explanations that include a mini-lesson linked to the topics from the CED, an informative visual reinforcing the content, and an explanation for each wrong answer choice. AP Environmental Science practice tests can help fill any gaps in understanding and narrow your content focus on weak areas to review before the AP exam.
References
1(2024). AP Environmental Science Exam Tips. AP Students. AP Central Retrieved February 12, 2024, from https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-environmental-science/exam-tips.
2(2023). 2023 Score Distributions: Sciences. AP Score Distributions. AP Central Retrieved February 12, 2024 from https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/about-ap-scores/score-distributions.
3(2024). Exam Format. AP Environmental Science. AP Central Retrieved February 12, 2024 from https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-environmental-science/exam.