ap bio frq questions 2022

Excel at Science

• Feb 16, 2021

AP Biology Past FRQs by Topic

Updated: Jan 31

**Updated on 1/31/24 to include the 2022-23 FRQ exams!**

If you are looking for past AP Biology free-response questions (FRQs) that are organized by topic, then you have come to the right place. In this post, we have linked every freely available past FRQ there is from College Board and organized it into the following major topics of AP Biology .

(Please note that we are not associated with College Board and are simply sharing the resources they have made available to students.)

Biochemistry

Metabolism & energetics.

Physiology (note that this topic will not be tested on the official AP Biology exam this year in 2021, although many questions about physiology could also cover concepts that will be tested)

Experiment design & data analysis

Need more AP-style practice problems?

Intensively doing and reviewing practice questions is proven to be much more effective than spending hours studying. Check out our AP Bio Practice Portal , which is an easy-to-use database of 300+ AP-style MCQ and FRQ practice questions. Students love the Practice Portal because it includes answers and explanations for every problem, tracks progress, and saves time from Googling practice problems.

Try the Practice Portal >

How to make the most of past frqs from college board.

As noted above, the diversity of organisms, plants, and physiology will not be on the 2021 AP Biology exam. However, the exam could include questions about topics or hypothetical situations that are related to those topics. One great example is cell communication, which is used in multiple systems inside our bodies. Let’s say an FRQ was to appear about the immune system and how the immune cells communicate. That would be fair game as long as the question focuses on the cell signaling part, not the details of the immune system. If the question requires some background knowledge about the immune system, it will be provided.

If you want to do a whole practice FRQ set just like the ones on the real exam (which we highly recommend), all the freely available past FRQs by year are available here on the College Board website. Tip: time yourself and take the practice FRQ set in an environment that mimics how you imagine your actual testing environment to be.

If you would like to focus on a particular topic, then the section coming up is for you. Some FRQs will show up under multiple topics because they truly do test students’ understanding of multiple different topics.

Tip : Whether you are doing individual free-response questions or doing a full problem set in one go, it is extremely important and effective to do test corrections! Don’t only consult the scoring guidelines and model responses when you have no clue how to answer a question. You should be checking them for all the FRQs you do. When you find a difference between your answer and the scoring guidelines, it is important that you pause and analyze why your response is incorrect. Take the time to understand your mistakes and see how your answer could have been better. This will help you boost your scores the most efficiently.

AP BIOLOGY FRQs BY TOPIC

Below are the linked FRQs organized by topic. The header for each topic will also lead you to the corresponding study guide that will help you review the unit in detail!

Basic and organic chemistry concepts do not come up often on the FRQs (but of course, it’s better to be prepared). The properties of water and macromolecules come up occasionally.

2017 #7 and 8

Includes cell structure and function, cell transport and the proteins involved.

2019 #3 and 8

2018 #2, 6, and 8

2006 #1, 3, and 4

2001 #1 and 4

(study guide coming soon!)

This unit includes enzymes, cellular respiration, and photosynthesis.

2023 #2 (cell respiration & photosynthesis)

2023 #4 (photosynthesis)

2022 #3 (enzymes)

2021 #3 (cell respiration)

2019 #3 (cell respiration)

2018 #2 (cell respiration)

2017 #7 (cell respiration)

2017 #5 (photosynthesis)

2015 #2 (cell respiration)

2013 #2 (photosynthesis) and 4 (cell respiration & photosynthesis)

2012 #2 (cell respiration) and 4 (cell respiration & photosynthesis)

2010 #2 (enzymes)

2007 #3 (photosynthesis)

2006 #4 (photosynthesis)

2005 #1 (cell respiration & photosynthesis)

2004 #3 (photosynthesis)

Cell cycle & cell signaling

This topic has shown up more frequently and in more difficult FRQs in recent years, especially cell communication. The trend will most likely continue so definitely prioritize reviewing and practicing this topic!

2023 #1 (cell communication)

2022 #1 (cell communication)

2022 #2 (cell cycle, meiosis)

2021 #1 (cell communication)

2019 #4 (cell communication)

2018 #8 (cell communication)

2017 #8 (cell communication)

2016 # 7 (cell division)

2015 # 4 (cell division)

2015 #5 and 7 (cell communication)

2013 #8 (cell communication)

2011 #1B (cell division)

2010 #1 (cell communication)

2006 #1B (cell division)

2004 #1 (cell division)

Genetics, Gene Expression and Regulation

Genetics Pt 1 and Genetics Pt 2 Study Guides

This section includes the classic Mendelian genetics, with Punnett squares, crosses, and Mendel’s laws. It also includes DNA replication, protein synthesis, and gene expression regulation for both eukaryotes and prokaryotes.

2023 #6 (gene expression)

2022 #6 (protein synthesis, gene expression)

2021 #6 (gene expression)

2021 #2 (heredity + pedigrees)

2020 #1 parts a-b

2019 #1 and 3

2018 #1, 4, and 7

2016 #4 and 7

2023 #5 (Cladistics)

2022 #4 (speciation)

2020 #1 parts f-j

2015 #3 and 6

2014 #2 and 4

2015 #2 (nervous system)

2014 #2 (immune system) and 6 (musculoskeletal system) and 7

2017 #2, 4, and 7b

2016 #3 and 5

2014 #3 and 4

Experimental design & analysis

This is an additional section that isn’t focused on any particular topic or has significant data analysis involved. While most FRQs do pertain to a specific topic(s), some are simply there to test your knowledge of experimental design and understanding of statistical concepts such as performing Chi-Square tests and interpreting error bars on graphs. These types of questions have become more and more common on the AP exam, so it is important to feel comfortable and confident with them.

2023 #6 (data analysis)

2022 #3 (experiment design)

2020 #1 parts c-e

2016 #2 , 6 and 8

2014 #1 and 5

2013 #1 and 7

Hope these organized FRQs saved you some time so you can focus more on actually doing them and practicing! You can easily share this post with friends who may find it helpful as well.

How to Improve AP Biology FRQ Scores, Fast

Do a lot of FRQ practice problems and review the answers! Practice is key, especially for a subject as dense as AP Bio. Check out the AP Bio Practice Portal , which is our popular vault of 300+ AP-style MCQ and FRQ problem sets with answers and explanations for every question. Don't waste any more time Googling practice problems or answers - try it out now!

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AP® Biology

Unit 1 | chemistry of life, long free response, on fertile ground, unit 2 | cell structure and function, short answer free response, osmoregulation in fish, properties of the cell membrane, salty celery, structure vs. function in the fluid mosaic model, urine for a surprise, water potential, bacteria, and osmosis, compartmentalizing of eukaryotic cells, why it's separate, transpiration with changing environmental conditions, unit 3 | cellular energetics, determining pigment activity, mechanisms of cellular respiration, the effects of kelp on the $\text{ph}$ of disko bay, the evolution of energy, factors affecting the rate of enzyme function, intricacies of mitochondria and aerobic respiration, photosynthetic rate, common chemiosmolarity, energy in systems, factors affecting transpiration, the respiration of peas, unit 4 | cell communication and cell cycle, analyzing hormone signaling in cells, investigating the cell cycle, cell communication, pcb exposure as a selective pressure, from one to the next, unit 5 | heredity, familial hypercholesterolemia, huntington's disease, deer of a different color, pedigree: it's more than a dog food, genetic variation, ironing out the mechanics of genetic disorders, unit 6 | gene expression and regulation, analysis of data for chlamydomonas reinhardtii, bacterial restriction map analysis, polymerase chain reaction, everybody's shuffling, levels of control, pass it down, genetic engineering using bacteria, controlling hiv, methods of bacterial transformation, paternal dna identification, thermosensitivity and sex determination, a tale of two regulation types, there is more than denim in your genes, maternal care and acth level in rats, unit 7 | natural selection, evolution of the horse, mouse evolution, rounding up unwanted plants, common ground among cells, evolution of the arctic hare, allele frequencies and effects of mutation on hiv resistance | 1 of 2, allele frequencies and effects of mutation on hiv resistance | 2 of 2, explain evolution in a population of galapagos finches, exploring hardy-weinberg equilibrium, in defense of evolution, evolutionary comparisons using myoglobin dna sequencing, cat evolution and ancestry, unit 8 | ecology, crazy ants and ecosystem disruption, creeping of the kudzu, garlic mustard invasion, it's all connected, the new species in town, determining energy consumption based on metabolic lifestyle, 24 days of growth, fruit fly kinetics, symbiotic gut microbes and digestion, the trophic cascade and ecological change, energy transfer in deep sea communities, rise of the lichens, directional selection and body mass of white-tailed deer.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, every ap biology practice test available: free and official.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Practice tests can help you get familiar with the structure of the AP Biology exam and feel more comfortable with the types of questions you'll be expected to answer on test day. Studying with practice tests can also give you insight into the specific struggles you might have with the material as presented on the AP test. You can then focus your studying appropriately to tackle these problems.

In this article, I'll list all the practice tests for AP Biology that you can find online and give you a few tips on how to use them effectively as study aids for both the AP test and any in-class tests you have throughout the school year.

Official AP Biology Practice Exams

Official practice tests provide the best preparation for the AP test. You can be sure that the questions are accurate representations of what you'll see on the final exam.

Unfortunately, I could only find one official practice test for the new version of the AP Biology test since the format and content changed so recently (2012). However, this practice test also has other information that makes it more helpful. It tells you how to calculate your score and includes detailed answer explanations for each question at the end.

Official Practice Test #1

Don't start your practice with this test. It's the most accurate preparation you'll have for the real AP test, so you should save it for towards the end of your second semester when you feel confident that you've mastered the material. It's better to begin studying with the unofficial tests in the next section as a warm-up!

You can also access official free-response questions from 2013, 2014, and 2015 on the College Board website.

Free Response Questions

The free-response section of the AP Biology test is usually considered to be the most difficult part, so it's good to have a little extra practice with these even if you're not answering them in the context of a full practice test.

In addition to these resources, all AP teachers have access to a bunch of free official practice AP tests online. You can ask your teacher if he or she will print a couple out for you to use in your studying.

Unofficial AP Biology Practice Exams

There are many unofficial AP Biology practice tests out there that you can use to help review the material. There's nothing wrong with using these tests to get more practice, but try not to rely on them exclusively because they are not always totally accurate representations of the real AP Biology exam. Some are aligned with the format of the pre-2012 exam, and some are just multiple-choice tests of varying lengths with no free response questions.

Because the AP Biology exam has been revised, you'll get a more accurate estimate of how well you're doing if you use recent practice tests that are aligned with the new test's format. Before 2012, the AP Biology test had 100 multiple-choice questions and four free-response questions rather than the current 63 multiple-choice questions, six grid-in questions, six short free-response questions, and two long free-response questions. The old test was also more memorization-based.

On the current AP Biology exam, you'll have to answer a lot of questions that involve analyzing experimental data using your background knowledge of biology. You won't see questions that just ask you to do something like identify parts of a process in a diagram.

A couple of these unofficial tests do have the same format as the current exam, including the Barron's practice test and all the tests in the "subscription needed" section. You should save these for later on in your second semester when you want to get a more accurate assessment of your readiness for the final exam (and then follow them up with the official practice test in the previous section if you feel confident that you've fixed your problem areas!).

Free AP Biology Practice Tests

Barron's Practice Test

• Barron's offers a free practice test online that has the same format as the current AP test.
• You can take it in timed or untimed ("practice") mode.
• If you use practice mode, you can see answer explanations as you go along.
• The multiple-choice section has automated scoring, but you'll have to self-score your free-response answers (guidelines are provided).

My Max Score Practice Test

• This is an old-format test that includes 100 multiple choice questions and four free-response questions.
• It also has detailed answer explanations for all questions.

Varsity Tutors Diagnostic Tests

• This is a list of ten multiple-choice diagnostic tests rated by difficulty level.
• Tests 4-10 have the same number of questions as the real multiple-choice section.
• Sorry, there are no free-response questions on this site.

Kaplan Practice Tests

• There are a few unit-specific quizzes here along with two longer practice tests that have almost as many questions as the multiple-choice section on the real exam (58 and 62 as opposed to 63 + 6 grid-ins).
• There are no free-response questions.

Learning Express 120-Question and 100-Question Practice Tests

• These are a couple more old-format multiple-choice tests with answers included at the end.
• If you just want to test yourself on the basic information in the course, these could be useful.

Subscription Needed

Shmoop Practice Tests (free trial available, $24.68 a month for subscription)

• A subscription to Shmoop will get you access to a diagnostic test plus five full AP Biology practice tests (including both multiple-choice and free-response questions, although these are of course unofficial).
• Shmoop tries a little too hard to relate to kids with their writing style, but if you're not put off by that, it might be a good resource for you.

BenchPrep Practice Tests (with subscription that costs $30 a month)

• Here, you'll get access to two full practice tests plus a ton of lessons.

Practice Tests in Review Books

• You might also decide to order a review book to get access to more practice tests.
• You'll find some good resources in the books listed in my article on the best AP Biology books for 2016.

How to Use AP Biology Practice Tests

This section is full of all the advice you need to follow to use AP Biology practice tests effectively during both your first and second semesters in the class.

First Semester: Using Practice Tests for Your Class

Although it might not make sense to take full practice tests yet, you can still use the materials in this article as resources for your studying. Look for free-response questions that relate to what you've learned so far so that you can start to get familiar with their format and expectations.

There are also plenty of sites that have quizzes that touch on specific units in the AP Biology curriculum. These include Learnerator , Varsity Tutors (which I mention above for diagnostic tests, but they also have subject-by-subject quizzes), and Quizlet . These won't be official questions, but they will help prepare you for in-class assessments and serve as a solid introduction to the types of questions you might be asked on the AP test. You should also check out my complete AP Biology review guide for more advice on how you can use online resources to study specific units of the course.

Second Semester: Preparing for the AP Test

By this time, you should be familiar with most of the material that you'll see on the test. This means you can start using full practice tests to judge how you'll score on the AP test and where your weaknesses lie. Remember to time yourself accurately when you take practice tests! Each time you take and score a practice test, you should also do an evaluation of your mistakes that will inform your studying going forward. Mistakes come in a few different forms, and things can be even more complex on the AP Biology test because there are technically four types of questions.

Focus on the multiple-choice section first, including the grid-ins. Notice whether your mistakes tend to happen on straightforward questions where you just didn't have the content knowledge or on questions that require deeper analysis. Were there specific content areas where you missed a significant number of questions? Keep track of this so that you can go back into your notes and review the appropriate unit(s). These are easy mistakes to fix.

Did you have trouble interpreting and analyzing scenarios on the test even though you knew the background information? The remedy for this is more practice. There are many sites with AP Bio practice questions available. This book of practice questions is also useful because the questions faithfully replicate the new design of the test.

It's possible that your problem lies outside the specifics of the questions and more in the format of the test. Did you run out of time? Make a ton of careless mistakes? The solution to this is greater awareness of your pacing and more practice questions.

Grid-ins are weird, so you may have had trouble on them if you're not big on the math aspect of biology. Try to find similar problems in your textbook, review book, or online so that you can practice your skills. The more math-oriented biology questions you do over time, the more likely it is that the questions on the test will be aligned with what you've already seen.

After taking your multiple-choice mistakes into account, you can move onto the free response section. Notice which questions gave you the most trouble and why. Did you forget the information you needed, or were you confused about what the question was asking or how to analyze a diagram? Take these findings and apply them to your future practice!

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Essential AP Biology Practice Testing Tips

Follow these four tips to be sure to get the most out of your AP Biology practice tests.

#1: Replicate Realistic Test Conditions

It's always important to be faithful to the rules of the real test when you take practice tests so that your scores accurately reflect your potential. That means an hour and thirty minutes for each section. This is the only way to judge whether time is going to be an issue for you. You should also print out the test so that you take it in the right format. Have a calculator on hand as well. If you're really dedicated, you can even have someone serve as your mock proctor.

#2: Don't Panic if You're Not Familiar With Scenarios You See on the Test

Even if you've gone over every in-class lab that you had to do for AP Biology, you will still run into examples you haven't seen before. It's important not to psych yourself out when this happens. Focus on the diagrams and what you can learn from them, and see if you can think of a related experiment that will clue you into what they mean. Use your common sense; many questions will depend more heavily on your ability to analyze the situation at hand than on your memorization talent.

#3: Give Yourself Plenty of Time for the Grid-Ins

The so-called multiple-choice section also includes six grid-in questions. These questions are at the end of the section, and they will probably take you longer to solve than most multiple-choice questions. Try not to spend more than a minute on each multiple-choice question. If you find that you're taking too much time, you should move on and come back to it later!

#4: Spend 5-10 Minutes Reading the Free-Response Questions Before You Start Writing

It's a smart idea to start with the free-response questions that you know you can answer quickly and accurately. Leading with these questions will boost your confidence and help you avoid problems with time. Use the short reading period to look over all eight free-response questions and see which ones will be easiest for you to tackle.

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You should take plenty of practice tests as part of your studying for AP Biology. You can't expect pure memorization to save you on questions that ask you to analyze scenarios you've never seen before. Practice questions are the key to improvement!

You can use a mixture of official and unofficial tests to practice. Just be wary of major differences in your scores from test to test so that you can accurately assess your readiness for the final. You can even use these tests throughout the year to practice for specific units of the course. If you do enough serious practice, the real AP test will be a piece of cake (well, maybe not, but it will be much less traumatizing).

What's Next?

Check out my detailed guide to the AP Biology Exam for more information about what's on this test and how you can prepare for it.

Are you taking both AP tests and SAT Subject Tests? Find out which kind of test is more important and what the major differences are between the two.

Many students take AP classes in the hopes of earning credit for college coursework in high school. Learn more about how AP credit works in college.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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Unit 2 FRQ (Intercellular Transport) Answers

2 min read • november 17, 2021

AP Bio Free Response Question Answers for Intercellular Transport

👋 Welcome to the AP Bio Unit 2 FRQ (Intercellular Transport) Answers . Have your responses handy as you go through the rubrics to see how you did!

⏱ Remember, the AP Biology exam has 6 free-response questions, and you will be given 90 minutes to complete the FRQ section. (This means you should give yourself ~15 minutes to go through each practice FRQ.)

Quality proteins are required for optimal health. In the healthcare and fitness industries, different protein powders are often used to meet nutritional standards or to maximize muscle growth and development. Protein powders may be manufactured from dairy or vegetable sources, including whey, casein, soy, and peas. The following table (Table 1) demonstrates five different types of protein powders, including a blend of all four.

Questions with Answers & Rubric

(a) sodium and potassium ions are both necessary for life and constantly move across cellular membranes. identify the transport method that both sodium and potassium use together to move across membranes. .

🏆 1pt: Identify - Sodium potassium pump

📄 Additional Resources: Facilitated Diffusion

(b) A bulk amount of protein is created in a cell’s endomembrane system and needs to evacuate the cell. Explain the method the bulk substance should use to exit the cell.

🏆 3pts: Explain - Exocytosis, or “to exit the cell,” is when a vacuole of substances or a group of substances presses against the cell membrane until it “bubbles out” like an extremity. Eventually, it pinches off into a vacuole that exits and travels extracellularly.

📄 Additional Resources: Membrane Transport

(c) Human cells require multiple substances to pass in and out of their membranes regularly. Design an experiment to test which molecules, listed below, can pass through the membrane via simple diffusion.

Carbon dioxide.

🏆 6pts: Design an experiment - For full credit, list the following for the experiment:

independent variable

dependent variable

data collection method

statement of large sample size

statement that experiment should be run multiple times

🧠 Want to continue reinforcing your knowledge of Unit 2? Check out Unit 2 Trivia, either as a document or as a game .

⏭ Ready to move on to the next topic? Take a look at the collection of Unit 3 resources .

📚 Want to review multiple units? Check out all of the AP Bio FRQs .

🤝 Got more questions? Want to help others studying the same topic? Jump into a room in Hours !

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Do you understand the differences between DNA and RNA? Can you rattle off the phases of meiosis? The AP ® Biology exam tests topics and skills discussed in your high school Advanced Placement Biology course. If you score high enough, your AP Biology score could earn you college credit!

Check out our AP Biology Guide for what you need to know about the exam:

• AP Biology Exam Overview

Topics for AP Biology Review

• AP Biology Scoring
• How to Study

What’s on the AP Biology Exam?

The AP Biology exam is three hours long and consists of two sections: a multiple-choice/grid-in quantitative section and a free-response section.

AP Biology Multiple Choice

The 60 multiple-choice questions test your grasp of the fundamentals of biology and your ability to apply biological concepts to help solve problems.

AP Biology Free Response Questions

The free response section consists of two long-form free-response questions, both of which require data analysis, and four short-form free-response questions that require a paragraph-length response that covers your ability to describe, explain, predict, justify, or represent a given scenario. You will have 90 minutes to answer all 6 questions. Unlike the multiple-choice section, which is scored by a computer, the free-response section is graded by high school and college teachers. They have guidelines for awarding partial credit, so you may still receive partial points should you not correctly respond to every part of question in your essay.

The College Board is very detailed in what they require your AP teacher to cover in his or her AP Biology course. These are the official Big Four Ideas:

• Big Idea 1: The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.
• Big Idea 2: Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.
• Big Idea 3: Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes.
• Big Idea 4: Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties.

Read More: Review for the exam with our AP Biology Crash Courses

To fully understand the four big ideas, a solid grasp of the following topics is required. These topics include the following:

• Chemistry of Life: Important properties of water; pH; Carbohydrates; Proteins; Lipids; Nucleic acids; Origins of life
• Cell Structure and Function: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells; Organelles; Membranes and transport; Cell junctions; Cell communication
• Cellular Energetics: Change in free energy; Enzymes; Coupled reactions and ATP; Photosynthesis; Cellular respiration (glycolysis, Krebs, oxidative phosphorylation); Fermentation
• Cell Communication and Cell Cycle: Mitosis; Meiosis
• Heredity: Mendelian genetics; Inheritance patterns
• Gene Expression and Regulation:   DNA and genome structure; Transcription; Translation; Mutation; Biotechnology
• Natural Selection: Evidence of evolution; Phylogenetic trees; Impact of genetic variation; Speciation; Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
• Ecology: Behavior and communication; Food webs and energy pyramids; Succession; Communities and ecosystems; Global issues

Check out our Cracking the AP Biology Exam  and ASAP Biology books for a comprehensive content review.

 Interpreting AP Biology Scores

AP scores are reported from 1 to 5. Colleges are generally looking for a 4 or 5 on the AP Biology exam, but some may grant credit for a 3. Learn more about AP credit policies. Each test is curved so scores vary from year to year. Here’s how AP biology students scored on the May 2022 test:

Source: College Board

How can I prepare for the AP Bio Exam?

AP classes are great, but for many students they’re not enough! For a thorough review of AP Biology content and strategy, pick the AP prep option that works best for your goals and learning style.

• AP Exams  

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