APES FRQ Tips

1
APES FRQ Tips

• Secrets to earn the points you deserve on the
  written portion of the APES exam

2
Types of questions

• One of the four questions will involve the
  Analysis of a Data Set (Calculators not allowed)
• One of the questions will be a Document-Based
  question. You will have to read a document and
  answer questions based on that information as
  well as your general knowledge.
• Two questions will be Synthesis and Evaluation.
  One of these questions will require you to set up
  an experiment to show some particular effect.

3
Structure of the exam

• You have 90 minutes to write 4 essays.
• Plan to use 20 minutes per essay. Leaving 8
  minutes 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 contain
  slightly more than 10 points (e.g., 11-13).
  However, you can only earn a maximum of 10 points
  on any one question.

4
Look for the points

• Each question will have parts labeled a,b,c,d.
  Each of these parts have assigned 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 sunny day.

5
Key words for points

• Describe
• Explain, list and explain
• Compare
• Give evidence for
• Graph
• Calculate
• Underline these words as you read the question.

6
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 long
  as you get your ideas across.
• Write neatly. If the grader cant read what you
  wrote, you will receive no credit.
• Use phonetic spelling or explain the concept if
  you dont remember the term to describe it.
• Leave nothing blank. There is no penalty for
  incorrect answers.

7
Have confidence

• You will be prepared for this exam.
• If you feel panicked, take a deep breath and try
  to associate the question to something that you
  have learned in the class.
• Success comes to the prepared mind.

8
Experimental Design FRQs

• Think 4 points
• (1) hypothesis
• (2-3) controls
• (1-2) analysis

9
Hypothesis

• Must include the cause and effect specific to the
  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 a pH of 7.2.

10
Controls

• Control group required
• Experimental 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 in water at a pH of 8.0. The
  experimental groups will be 7.3 and 7.7. I will
  use 10 fish per group for three weeks.

11
Analysis

• Measurement of time
• Elaboration
• Repeated experiments
• Correlation to other experiments
• Relate or discuss additional research

12
Example

• Each day I will observe the fish for general
  health such as feeding behavior. A fish will be
  considered dead when it floats to the surface. By
  plotting the percentage of fish living at each
  pH, I will estimate the pH that yields 90
  survival. This experiment should be repeated for
  accuracy and could also be tested with other
  types of fish.