AP Exam and AP Classroom

What to expect on exam day, how to pace yourself, and how to use AP Classroom.

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When is the exam? AP exams are usually given during the first week of May. Check the College Board for this year’s exact date and start time, and for what to bring.

AP Biology exam information (College Board) AP Biology for students

1. Exam format

The AP Biology exam is hybrid. Multiple-choice questions are answered on screen. Free-response questions are shown on screen, and you write your answers in a paper booklet.
The multiple-choice section has 60 questions in 90 minutes. The free-response section is the other half: 6 questions in 90 minutes (2 long questions worth 9 points each and 4 short questions worth 4 points each). Each section is 50% of your exam score.
The formula sheet is available on screen in AP Classroom, and you get a printed copy during the exam. Practice with it before exam day.
Graph titles are not scored. You do not need to write a title on a graph grid.
Printable sample free-response booklets show the exact graph grids and writing spaces used on exam day. In AP Classroom, look under the Overview section.

2. Exam day: what to bring and the rules

These rules come from the College Board and can change from year to year. Check the College Board pages linked below before exam day, and ask your AP coordinator.

Bring

Pencils or pens for the free-response booklet: two sharpened No. 2 pencils with erasers, or pens with black or dark blue ink.
A calculator (see below). You may bring up to 2 approved handheld calculators.
Your testing device for the multiple-choice section, fully charged, with the Bluebook app installed (unless your school provides one), plus a charger.
Your College Board login. A password saved on your device will not work, so know your username and password.
A photo ID if you are testing at a school other than your own (government-issued or school-issued).
A simple watch that does not beep or have an alarm.

Leave at home or out of the room

Phones, smartwatches, smart glasses, cameras, earbuds and headphones
Notes, books, highlighters, correction fluid, rulers, protractors, and your own scratch paper
Mechanical pencils, No. 3 pencils, and colored pencils
Stylus pens and Apple Pencils
Food and drink in the exam room
Hats or brimmed caps

Prohibited items can get you dismissed and your score canceled.

Calculator

Calculators are allowed on both sections of the AP Biology exam.
Allowed: a 4-function calculator with a square-root key, a non-graphing scientific calculator, or the built-in Desmos scientific calculator in Bluebook.
Not allowed: handheld graphing calculators and any calculator with storage, internet, Bluetooth, or a camera. A phone is not a calculator.
Practice with the calculator you plan to use so you know where the square-root and exponent keys are.

Break

There is a 10-minute break between Section I (multiple choice) and Section II (free response).
With your proctor’s permission you may leave the room for a drink of water or a snack. Do not bring or use notes, phones, or other prohibited items during the break.
Proctors provide scratch paper and the printed reference information (the formula sheet).

What to bring on exam day (College Board) · Calculator policy (College Board)

3. Pacing

Part of the exam	Pace
Multiple choice	About 1.5 minutes per question (60 questions in 90 minutes)
Free response	About 2.5 minutes per bolded task verb
Graphing task	Worth about three task verbs, so roughly 7.5 minutes

The 2.5 minutes covers reading the question, studying the data or diagram, and writing. It is not 2.5 minutes of writing.
A short free-response question has four lettered parts (a–d), so plan about 10 minutes. A long question has a longer stem and more to read and interpret.
A graph is always three points, so plan about 7.5 minutes.
These are exam-day targets. Nobody is there in October. Your teacher will build your speed through the year, so use the timer to see where you are heading.

The ATP rule: Answer The Prompt. Find the bolded task verb and answer exactly what it asks. See FRQ Tips and Tricks for command words, graphing and calculation checklists.

4. Using AP Classroom

Joining your class. Your teacher gives you a join code. Enter it in AP Classroom to be added to the class. Your school’s AP coordinator handles exam registration separately.
To-do list. When you log in, your assigned videos and tasks appear on your dashboard. AP Classroom does not send email or text alerts, so check it yourself, and tell your teacher when you finish something if they ask you to.
AP Daily videos. All AP Daily videos are in the course guide and open to you at any time, even if your teacher has not assigned them. They follow the course topic numbers, so they work well for review. If a video does not show up on your dashboard, find it in the course guide. If a video or question looks wrong, tell your teacher or use Contact us in AP Classroom.
Lab materials. Labs your teacher shares are under Course Guide / Overview.
Your strengths and weaknesses. Open Reports, then the Content and Skills tab, to see how you are doing on each course topic and science skill. Use it to choose what to review.
- The report starts by unit. Change the course component to topic for a closer look.
- Check the number of questions you have answered. A score of 100% on one question is not strong evidence.
- The small video icon next to a topic opens that topic’s video.
- The more progress checks you finish, the more useful the report gets.

5. Progress checks and assignments

A progress check is a self-assessment. Use it to find what you need to review before the unit test. Many of these questions are posted online, so do not look them up. Treat each one as an honest check of what you know and what you do not.
Every topic in a unit is tied to a science skill, and progress check questions are built around that skill. The real exam does not pair topics and skills the same way, so practice all the skills with all the content.
The timer is a benchmark for exam-level pacing. Going over time does not lock you out, but practice finishing inside it.
If a due date passes and late submissions are turned off, you cannot review your answers until your teacher removes or extends the deadline. Ask early.
Pausing, logging off, or exiting an online test counts as a separate testing session, and your teacher can see it. Finish a test in one sitting when you can.

6. Real exam materials to practice with

Past free-response questions. The College Board keeps an archive of past exam free-response questions with their scoring guidelines, going back many years. Ask your teacher where to find it in AP Classroom or AP Central.
Scoring guidelines. Read what the graders accept. Many questions can be answered correctly in several ways.
Sample student responses. These are ordered from the highest score to the lowest, so you can see what earns points and what does not.
Chief Reader Report. This report explains how students did on each question and the common mistakes. Few students read it, and it helps.
Practice exams. AP Classroom has full practice exams, including a supplemental exam. Your teacher may use them as a practice day.
Practice like exam day. Do not write a graph title. Use the formula sheet. Use the sample booklet pages with the real grids.

7. Read the wording carefully

Words like hypertonic, hypotonic and water potential are relative. Before you answer, decide what is being compared: the cell or the solution. The same situation can be described either way, so read the question closely. Your unit’s Need to Know list shows the wording the course uses.

Practice on this site. Use a unit’s Question Bank, build a practice paper, or work through the Need to Know list for your unit. Then check your results in AP Classroom.

Summarized from a College Board AP Biology office-hours session (October 2026). Dates, rules and platform features can change, so confirm details with your teacher and the College Board.