APESFRQtips

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APES FRQ Tips

Secrets to earn the points youdeserve on the written portion of

the APES exam



Types of questions

One of the four questions will involve theAnalysis of a Data Set (Calculators notallowed)

One of the questions will be a Document-

Based question. You will have to read adocument and answer questions based on thatinformation as well as your generalknowledge.

Two questions will be Synthesis andEvaluation. One of these questions willrequire you to set up an experiment to showsome particular effect.



Structure of the exam

You have 90 minutes to write 4 essays.

Plan to use 20 minutes per essay. Leaving 8minutes to read over your answers and breath

a little. Each essay is graded on a 10-point scale.

Usually the grading rubric is set up to containslightly more than 10 points (e.g., 11-13).However, you can only earn a maximum of 10points on any one question.



Look for the points

Each question will have parts labeled:a,b,c,d. Each of these parts haveassigned points. You may only earn

points for what is asked. For example: What are 2 colors of the

rainbow?

Red and blue are colors of the rainbow.Rainbows are often seen on a sunnyday.



Key words for points

Describe

Explain, list and explain

Compare

Give evidence for

Graph

Calculate Underline these words as you read the

question.



Writing your answer

Use a ballpoint pen with blue or black ink. Label all parts of the question Spelling, grammar, and sentence structure are

important, but you will not lose points as longas you get your ideas across.

Write neatly. If the grader can’t read what youwrote, you will receive no credit.

Use phonetic spelling or explain the concept if

you don’t remember the term to describe it. Leave nothing blank. There is no penalty for

incorrect answers.



Have confidence

You will be prepared for this exam.

If you feel panicked, take a deep breathand try to associate the question tosomething that you have learned in theclass.

Success comes to the prepared mind.



Experimental Design FRQs

Think “4 points”

(1) hypothesis

(2-3) controls

(1-2) analysis



Hypothesis

Must include the cause and effect specific tothe question asked

Must be a specific, testable statement

Example:

Lake trout will no longer survive above a

pH of 8.0 and will reach 90% survival at apH of 7.2.



Controls

Control group requiredExperimental group required

Detailed requirements such as: time,space, materials, sample size

Example:

The positive control will be trout living in neutral (7.0)

water, the negative control will be trout living inwater at a pH of 8.0. The experimental groups willbe 7.3 and 7.7. I will use 10 fish per group for threeweeks.



Analysis

Measurement of time

Elaboration

Repeated experiments

Correlation to other experiments

Relate or discuss additional research



Example:

Each day I will observe the fish for generalhealth such as feeding behavior. A fish willbe considered dead when it floats to the

surface. By plotting the percentage of fishliving at each pH, I will estimate the pH thatyields 90% survival. This experiment shouldbe repeated for accuracy and could also be

tested with other types of fish.

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