(Part 2) Top products from r/APStudents

It's my time to shine :')

Khan AcademyGood for lighter reviewing or if you learn better with audio/video content

The New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning which is geared towards teachers, but is a great source of info if you like ppt presentations and traditional classroom learning

Learn Conceptual Physics's site for those tough concept q's

The Physics Classroom which has a TON of simulations and lil physics games, which are great as mini-demos if you can't do labs at home, as well as plenty of text and accompanying diagrams. They also have lots of review questions!

The APlus Physics site which is a great supplement to the book, and is very specific to the test. The book gets great reviews and I am using it currently, just know that it teaches the essentials of the course and isn't bogged down with detail. So it's good to use as a base if you don't know a lot about a topic, and then use another source for more challenging content.

The Learnerator site has a lot of questions for AP Physics as well! I'm not quite sure how many of them are free?? But the ones I've tried so far seem very well organized!

And of course, the College Board's page for AP Physics students! It goes without saying, but anything here is the closest thing there is to official content.

Also, here's an old AP Physics B/C review book! Keep in mind this is for the old test, so it contains less conceptual content, and you'll need to pick out which topics you actually need to know.

Speaking of topics, here's a breakdown of the course content! This will tell you what you need to cover by the end of the year, so you can pace yourself.

There are also a few review books out there now! I'll link you to the Amazon pages of the two I see recommended the most: the aforementioned APlus Physics Essentials book and the 5 Steps to a 5 book, both of which are pretty short, so if you're looking to teach rather than review you'll want to supplement these.

You shouldn't need a textbook if you use all of these resources, but check your local library if you really want one. It's free and you won't be paying to rent 9 months of a textbook you'll use for 5 and never need again.

Hope this helped!

(Repost from user wcclirl444 on college confidential)

NOTE: Be sure to order the books listed later in this guide ahead of time so that you have them for the weekend before the exam to study. Almost no store carry's the Smartypants Guide, so you will have to order it online.

Hey everyone. I self-studied for the APES exam this year and started literally 36 hours before the exam. In order to make the best use of my time, I spent hours trying to figure out the most efficient way to study and thought that I would share what I have learned. Although I would recommend to start study for this earlier than I did, if you have the dedication and use my methods listed below, I believe that you should be able to learn the entire AP class in just 2 days like I did.

I would recommend the following to study:

-Smartypants Guide (make sure you know everything in it... the book is small and you should be able to do this in about a full day of serious studying) Link: http://www.amazon.com/Smartypants-Guide-Environmental-Science-Exam/dp/1411644778/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336448288&sr=8-1

-Princeton Review (read through this entire book after you read smartypants and use it to connect ideas together and to expand on the concepts that were in the Smartypants guide. Also, this will help with understanding the weather patterns and a few other important topics which Smartypants just skims over. I was able to just read through this the night before the exam and I retained most of the additional information) Link: http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Environmental-Science-Edition-Preparation/dp/0375427295/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336448311&sr=1-1

-5 Steps to a 5 500 APES questions book (note that this is NOT a review book... it just contains 500 MC questions. Personally, I think that these were quite realistic in terms of what was on the exam but perhaps a little more difficult. Use this to figure out what topics you need to reemphasize after reading through the Princeton Review book) Link: http://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Questions-Advanced-Placement-Examinations/dp/0071780742/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336448340&sr=1-1

-1998 Released Exam (this was an incredible resource that I neglected to take advantage of until just hours before the exam. This provided incredibly useful insight as to what they are looking for in the FRQs that might not be explicitly stated in the questions. Also, many of the FRQ questions and multiple choice were incredibly similar to the ones on the actual exam) Link: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/env-sci-released-exam-1998.pdf

If you are self studying this or have a bad teacher and have waited until the last minute to start studying (the weekend before the exam), I would recommend the following STUDY PLAN:
Use Saturday to memorize and know everything in the Smartpants Guide by heart. Although it is a fairly short book (about 65 pages of content), this will take all day to get a thorough understanding.

Use Sunday morning to read all of PR and expand on any topics that were not covered enough in Smartypants (try to retain as much additional info as possible. Also, wake up around 8ish for this and it should take about 4-5 hours to do).

Then, go and do the 1st 10 MC questions in each section of the 5 steps to a 5 500 questions book and review any sections where you missed more than 2 questions in by using the PR book (also go over the answers in the 5 steps to a 5 book... several of the questions in here were actually covered on the exam).

At about 3-4ish, you should try the 1st 40 questions of the 1998 exam to give yourself an idea of where you are. I got about 37 of these right and you should be close to that. Also, go over any question that less than 85% of people who got 5s got correct (you can view this at the end of the exam in the answer key).

By around 5, you should begin to go over the FRQs on the released exam and pay close attention to how they grade and give points which is shown in the answer key (focus on how they are grading the questions instead of the questions themselves... by now, you should already know the answers to them).

Lastly, try to get a good nights rest if you can. If you don't know the material, you may have to pull an all nighter, but that should not be the case if you have followed this plan. When you wake up, go over all of the terms in the back of the Smartypants Guide and PR and get ready for the fun!
Hopefully this will help some people in the future. I spent several hours trying to find the most efficient way to study for this, and I believe that my method is by far the easiest and most efficient way to cram for this exam.

Got a 5 on the AP, here’s what I did

1. Hopefully, y’all have a good textbook. My teacher gave us a few but the best one was Spielvogel
   
2. outline everything you can, outlining is really just your interpretation of the info in the textbook
   
3. the day before the ap, I sat down with my textbook and wrote down all the page numbers of stuff I didn’t know and read through those
   
   If you don’t have a good textbook (looking at you Kagan) get one of these two they’re both solid review books. I personally like birdsall more
   
   Ap Achiever Exam Prep Guide European History 2017 (Ap European History) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0078976421/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_k2NOAb1W9VHJ9
   
   Modern European History https://www.amazon.com/dp/0070674531/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_V2NOAbN4J3224

This book series is incredibly underrated. I found the 5 Steps to a 5's 500 Questions to be helpful for pretty much any AP subject.

I strongly recommend this book -- it helps a lot. Here's a link to save you a click.

I used Campbell to self-study. There is some unnecessary stuff but the material it covers is very comprehensive and relatively easy to understand. I also used the study guide (https://www.amazon.com/Study-Guide-Campbell-Biology-Reece/dp/0321629922 , get the newest edition!!). The study guide is helpful because it tells you what's actually on the exam and what's extra material.

This book. It's for the old test, but the content is still the same. Does a great job of explaining people, events, etc. in a way that's easy to understand.

I wouldn't recommend self-studying this. A lot of the test is based on skills that you pretty much need from music as u/ChubbyMonkeyX said. Honestly, it is an extremely hard exam if you don't have a solid background in music. But it probably possible. If you need a textbook for self-study, I recommend this. If you need a review book, I recommend Barron's AP Music Theory Review book.

Though many will tell you that no programming experience is needed for AP CS, it is highly recommended in my opinion.

I suggest purchasing this book from Amazon because its cheap and extremely clear to learn from: http://www.amazon.com/Java-Introduction-Problem-Solving-Programming/dp/0136072259?ie=UTF8&keywords=walter%20savitch%20java&qid=1465343999&ref_=sr_1_8&sr=8-8

If you read up to the first five chapters, you will have an easier time when AP CS begins.

https://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Technology-Update-13th/dp/0321898028
I'm taking both mech and em without being in the class and this book is so helpful. If you YouTube for the allure of physics on YouTube Walter Lewin gives amazing lectures for mechanics. The lectures paired with the textbook and a prep book will almost guarantee you a 5.

The 2016 one should be good. The exam changed back in 2014 I believe, and this one specifically says that it's been modified to fit the new exam.

My teacher told us to get Schaum's Outline of College Physics, 11th Edition (Schaum's Outlines) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071754873/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_8mUPwb9GD1FKB

Since it's a new AP, we don't have much to go on. But, last year 6/7 kids got on a 5 on the AP, so I'm going to trust my teacher's judgement.

Something like this maybe?

Edit: or this

I suggest getting
ASAP Chemistry: A Quick-Review Study Guide for the AP Exam (College Test Preparation) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525567674/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yLT3DbB9QJJYP?tag=wel-076

Cracking the AP Chemistry Exam 2020, Premium Edition: 5 Practice Tests + Complete Content Review (College Test Preparation) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525568174/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cNT3DbV2XF1E7

Barrons is a nice alternative for Princeton if you prefer their style.
Kaplan is a cheaper alternative

I used college Physics 1 & 2.
https://www.amazon.com/College-Physics-Strategic-Approach-MasteringPhysics/dp/0133885259
I took a class in 1, and self-studies 2, got a 5 in both.

I thought most topics were explained really well, and the ones that were not explained well didn't matter much on the AP exam.

Edit: If you understand Physics 1 and 2, then the subject test will be a piece of cake. I used Barron's but any prep book should work.

I looked at Giancoli a little bit and preferred the Knight textbook, but that could just be because I was more used to Knight's textbook.

Get a textbook and read as much as you can over the summer. I used http://www.amazon.com/University-Physics-Modern-12th-Edition/dp/0321501217/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RBCYB472H3734SN700S

Hey you might wanna get this review book as it is a supplement to the Campbell Biology book but is specifically tailored for the AP exam.

No it has a dandelion

10th edition

We use Magleby's Government by the People. It's not super comprehensive though, so if you're self-studying, I wouldn't recommend it.