Cliffsnotes AP Biology, 5th Edition

I used this book and Dr. Sanghera's AP Biology Flashcard Quicklet to prepare for the AP Biology exam. I love both of these books and here are my reviews: This book is cool. It's to the point and covers all the topics very concisely. So, that saves you lot of time that you can use elsewhere. However, it gives you all the info that you need to pass the AP Biology exam. It's short and sweet: material is covered in a reader-friendly way; easy to follow, understand, and retain. I used this book in combination with the following book: the Flashcard Quicklet. AP Biology Flashcard Quicklet: Flashcards in a Book for Biology StudentsFlash cards are cool tools to review your preparation for the exam. I like this style of flash cards though: flash cards in a book. Loose flash cards could be annoying; they are hard to keep together...flash cards in a book are cool..no lost cards...easy to keep them together..Besides, in this book, the flash cards are very much self contained; good and easy to follow answers and explanations....You can use this flash card book with any AP Biology book or without any book...it's not tied to a specific book...The coverage of topics is quite comprehensive and there is lots of space to make your own notes...I love it... I would say these are the only two books you need to pass the exam.

This is by far the best AP Biology study guide I have ever seen. Barron's goes into WAY too much detail to be much use as a reviewing tool, the Princeton Review gives just a glance over the basics and leaves out important detail. Cliff's goes over EXACTLY what is on the College Board's topic outline. It does and excellent job of modeling questions and lab topics that are like those on the AP test. Year after year, students tell me that this book was their salvation. Because of that I am making this book a requirement for my class. This book gives plenty of emphasis on the lab requirement and reviews every lab that is in the "Acorn" book from the College Board. If you are a first year AP teacher, use this book to determine what to teach and how to structure your curriculum and you will leave nothing out and you won't waste any time teaching something that won't be tested on the exam. In fact, teach in the order of the book, structure you lectures around it. The students' scores will amaze you!

With the help of this amazing book, I got a 5 on the AP Biology test- no problem at all. This book was a lifesaver. The textbook we used for the class was horrible (Keeton and Gould's Biological Science), I read like one chapter the whole year. I stuck to my awesome teacher's lectures/notes (I love you Mr. Van Loo!) and this book. It provides such a great review of everything you need to know for the test and for your class. The mini-quizzes are a great help, and they come with explanations for every question. EVERYONE in my class had the Cliff's, and for good reason. Near AP cram time, all you would see is big, bright yellow books! The only other book people had was Princeton Review, and there were many complaints that it expects you to know everything already and that there were some MAJOR errors. I think almost EVERYONE in my class passed the AP test, most of them with 5's! I highly suggest getting the Cliff's over any others- you'll be on your way to that 4 or 5!

This book is both a wonderful resource for the AP Biology exam AND as a class supplement to both High School and Introductory College Biology classes! As a senior in high school I found this book while hunting for AP Bio Test Prep Supplies and bought it right away! It had everything I wanted:-Easy to understand overviews of test subjects-Practice tests-AP Bio Experiment outlines and results-Essay questions-Tips for taking examsand more!Using it as a study supplement I was able to get a 5 on my AP Biology exam, and, surprisingly, an A on my Biology final exam as well! I liked it so much that I brought it with me to college and used it to study for all of my Introductory Biology classes as well! As a Biology Major I have found this book to be an invaluable tool. I've gotten so much use out of this one book and feel that I have definitely more than gotten my money's worth. I would recommend it highly as not only an AP Test Prep book, but to anyone who wants to get a clearer understanding of General Biology at either the High School or College level.

For students taking AP biology, I highly recommend Cliff's AP Biology prep book. The book covers the most important aspects of biology that students are responsible for knowing on the AP exam. It also serves as a useful supplement to their textbook as it explains difficult material clearly. The diagrams included in the book are easy to understand and help students with important concepts such as metabolism. Because it it often difficult to cover the entire AP curriculum, I was pleased to that Cliff's had included an additional chapter on labs. Each chapter includes multiple choice and free response questions which are important for practice. A full length practice test can be found at the end of the book. It is a good idea to take this test but be sure you take it timed. The questions in this book more closely match the types of questions that students are likely to see on the AP test as compared to other biology prep books. This is important because it gives students a reasonable idea of how they might score on the actual test. In addition to Cliff's, I also have REA and Princeton's Review. As an AP biology teacher, I find those useful as a source of questions, however, I would suggest that students first purchase Cliff's and if they can purchase only one prep book, Cliff's is the one to buy. The book will not magically get you a 5 on the exam; you will have to study. I do not recommend substituting this book for your textbook; instead use it as a supplement. For students who are motivated to do well in AP biology, there is no doubt that Cliff's is an excellent resource.