Ap Biology: Advanced Placement Test in Biology (5th ed)

Rating:
Summary: All right, but not on its own
Review: I found that while this book did help in some aspects, it could have been a lot better. The reviews are, frankly, awful. They are dry and difficult to understand. Although the number of practice tests is great, the questions themselves were much harder than the ones on the actual test. (I usually got a three or a low four on the practice test, but I got a five on the actual test.) If you do use it, I would reccommend using it with a book that explains the concepts well, like the Cliff Notes version. I used Cliff's and this one, and they balanced each other out well, since the questions in Cliff's tended to be too easy.

Rating:
Summary: The Best AP Biology Test Prep
Review: I got this book because it looked/seemed to be an excellent resource. BOY WAS I WRONG! This book is unapproachable, unorganized, and unacessable. I am a very good biology student, and the questions posed in this book are far too difficult to answer reasonably and do not represent the test. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!

Rating:
Summary: Not the way to go
Review: I looked at a lot of AP review books, and found that the CliffsAP Biology one was much better. Barron's had review questions that were way too picky, and a substantial amount of the information given in this review manual is not going to be on the test. The questions were way too picky. Most of the book consisted of practice tests, and that was not what I was looking for. CliffsAP Biology had more review and less tests. I actually bought this book and then returned it. I just took this test in May, and I am pretty sure that I got a 5 on it, thanks to Cliffs. Only buy this book if you want practice questions.

Rating:
Summary: Good but some very important material missing
Review: This book was basically all I used to prepare for the AP Biology exam--my school didn't offer the course, so I did an independant study, along with classes for six other APs. The book did a great job condensing all of the information and making it quite understandable. If that was all I was considering, I would have given the book five stars. However, when I took the AP Biology Exam in May 2003, one of the four free response questions dealt entirely with the chi-square statistical test--something not even MENTIONED in this book. Although I had done quite a few practice tests and used websites that had preparation for this exam, the chi-square test was never even remotedly mentioned in this book or elsewhere. While this book claims to list all of the possible topics covered on the test, be careful, as you could be in the same place as me, relying solely on this book to prepare for the exam. Just know that this book DOES NOT cover all testable material. On a better note, this book did help me pass this test, I just wasn't able to achieve that "5" I'd been hoping for--moral of this story, it's a great book, buy it, study it, prepare with it--just don't use it as your sole source of knowledge for the exam preparation.

Rating:
Summary: Good but some very important material missing
Review: This book was basically all I used to prepare for the AP Biology exam--my school didn't offer the course, so I did an independant study, along with classes for six other APs. The book did a great job condensing all of the information and making it quite understandable. If that was all I was considering, I would have given the book five stars. However, when I took the AP Biology Exam in May 2003, one of the four free response questions dealt entirely with the chi-square statistical test--something not even MENTIONED in this book. Although I had done quite a few practice tests and used websites that had preparation for this exam, the chi-square test was never even remotedly mentioned in this book or elsewhere. While this book claims to list all of the possible topics covered on the test, be careful, as you could be in the same place as me, relying solely on this book to prepare for the exam. Just know that this book DOES NOT cover all testable material. On a better note, this book did help me pass this test, I just wasn't able to achieve that "5" I'd been hoping for--moral of this story, it's a great book, buy it, study it, prepare with it--just don't use it as your sole source of knowledge for the exam preparation.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but there are better ones out there
Review: This book's not too bad..I used it to study for the AP Bio Test along with a careful read of the textbook (we used Campbell's textbook) and a few other textbooks like Purves and Orians.. and I pulled off a 5. However, I didn't think the material was written in a clear manner. I looked at the Cliffs version, too, and I think that one's much better, materialwise. The Barron's seem to be much more better at the hard test question-making.

Rating:
Summary: Don't buy this one if you want to review for AP Biology!
Review: This is NOT a good review book. I teach AP Biology and I can tell you that this book creates confusion. The way in which it was written is disjointed and cumbersome. It goes into WAY too much detail. In a way, the Barron's book reteaches... but doesn't review. I bought this book when I took AP Biology 11 years ago, I hated it it then and when I started teaching AP Biology I bought the new version. IT WAS THE SAME DANG BOOK!!!!!
Although biology has changed much in 11 years this book was the same long-winded read! I use it ONLY as a source of practice tests. If you want to read it, go to the library.... don't waste your money.