AP Biology For Dummies

Peter Mikulecky · Michelle Rose Gilman · Brian Peterson

May 2008 · For Dummies

About this ebook

Relax. The fact that you’re even considering taking the AP Biology exam means you’re smart, hard-working and ambitious. All you need is to get up to speed on the exam’s topics and themes and take a couple of practice tests to get comfortable with its question formats and time limits. That’s where AP Biology For Dummies comes in.

This user-friendly and completely reliable guide helps you get the most out of any AP biology class and reviews all of the topics emphasized on the test. It also provides two full-length practice exams, complete with detailed answer explanations and scoring guides. This powerful prep guide helps you practice and perfect all of the skills you need to get your best possible score. And, as a special bonus, you’ll also get a handy primer to help you prepare for the test-taking experience. Discover how to:

• Figure out what the questions are actually asking
• Get a firm grip on all exam topics, from molecules and cells to ecology and genetics
• Boost your knowledge of organisms and populations
• Become equally comfortable with large concepts and nitty-gritty details
• Maximize your score on multiple choice questions
• Craft clever responses to free-essay questions
• Identify your strengths and weaknesses
• Use practice tests to adjust you exam-taking strategy

Supplemented with handy lists of test-taking tips, must-know terminology, and more, AP Biology For Dummies helps you make exam day a very good day, indeed.

About the author

Peter Mikulecky: Peter Mikulecky grew up in Milwaukee, an area of Wisconsin unique for its high human-to-cow ratio. After a breezy four-year tour in the Army, Peter earned a BS in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and a PhD in biological chemistry from Indiana University. With science seething in his DNA, he sought to infect others with a sense of molecular wonderment. Having taught, tutored, and mentored in classroom and laboratory environments, Peter was happy to find a home at Fusion Learning Center and Fusion Academy. There, he enjoys persuading students that biology and chemistry are in fact fascinating journeys, not entirely designed to inflict pain on hapless teenagers. His military training occasionally aids him in this effort.

Michelle Rose Gilman: Michelle Rose Gilman is most proud to be known as Noah’s mom (Hi Munch!). A graduate of the University of South Florida, Michelle found her niche early and at 19 was already working with emotionally disturbed and learning disabled students in hospital settings. At 21 she made the trek to California, and there she found her passion for helping teenage students become more successful in school and life. What started as a small tutoring business in the garage of her California home quickly expanded and grew to the point where traffic control was necessary on her residential street.
Today, Michelle is the Founder and CEO of Fusion Learning Center and Fusion Academy, a private school and tutoring/test-prep facility in Solana Beach, California, serving over 2,000 students per year. She is the author of ACT For Dummies, Precalculus For Dummies, and other books on self-esteem, writing, and motivational topics. Michelle has overseen dozens of programs over the last 20 years, focusing on helping kids become healthy adults. She currently specializes in motivating unmotivatable adolescents, comforting their shell-shocked parents, and assisting her staff of 35 teachers.
Michelle lives by the following motto: “There are people content with longing; I am not one of them.”

Brian Peterson: Brian remembers a love for science going back to his own AP Biology high school class. At the University of San Diego, Brian majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry, with a pre-med emphasis. Before embarking to medical school, Brian took a youngadult-professional detour and found himself at Fusion Learning Center/Fusion Academy, an independent private school, where he quickly discovered a love of teaching. Years later, he finds himself the Science Department Head at Fusion and oversees a staff of 11 science teachers. Brian, also known as “Beeps” by his favorite students, is committed to encouraging the love of science in his students by offering unique and innovative science curricula.