AP Biology Study Guide: 174 Flashcards Mapped to All 8 Units
Review AP Biology unit by unit with 174 flashcards, from macromolecules to ecology, plus the Hardy-Weinberg and chi-square cards you need to add.
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The AP Biology deck (code AN2953, 174 cards) is built as a full-course review, and its order follows the eight units of the College Board course closely. That's its main strength: you can study it unit by unit, alongside your class, rather than as one big pile.
Study this deck: AP Biology
1 / 10What are the four major classes of biological macromolecules?
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
The deck, unit by unit
| AP unit | Cards | What you'll cover |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Chemistry of Life | 1-23 | macromolecules, monomers, protein structure levels, DNA vs RNA, ATP |
| 3. Cellular Energetics | 12-17, 24-39 | enzymes, induced fit, inhibition, photosynthesis, Calvin cycle, glycolysis, Krebs cycle, chemiosmosis, fermentation |
| 2. Cell Structure and Function | 40-62 | fluid mosaic model, tonicity, active transport, organelles, cytoskeleton |
| 4. Cell Communication and Cell Cycle | 63-84 | G1/S/G2, mitosis phases, checkpoints, apoptosis, ligands, second messengers |
| 5. Heredity | 85-98 | Mendel's laws, codominance, incomplete dominance, test cross, linkage |
| 6. Gene Expression | 99-117 | Okazaki fragments, transcription, codons, frameshifts, lac operon, epigenetics |
| 7. Natural Selection | 118-138 | drift, bottleneck, founder effect, speciation, homologous vs analogous, Hardy-Weinberg |
| 8. Ecology | 139-174 | logistic growth, symbiosis, the 10% rule, nutrient cycles, succession, keystone species |
Sample cards
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Net ATP yield from glycolysis | 2 ATP per glucose |
| Approximate total ATP from aerobic respiration | About 30-32 ATP |
| Noncompetitive inhibition | The inhibitor binds outside the active site and changes the enzyme's shape |
| Hypertonic solution | Higher solute concentration than the cell, so water moves out |
| Start and stop codons | AUG (methionine); UAA, UAG, UGA |
| Founder effect | A small group starts a new population with a fraction of the original variation |
| Five Hardy-Weinberg conditions | No mutations, random mating, no gene flow, infinite population, no selection |
| 10% rule | About 10% of energy passes to the next trophic level |
Two tips that matter for the exam
Add the missing math cards. The deck describes Hardy-Weinberg (cards 137-138) but never gives the equations. Write them: p + q = 1 and p² + 2pq + q² = 1, plus one practice card ("q² = 0.16, what fraction is heterozygous?" Answer: q = 0.4, p = 0.6, 2pq = 0.48). Also add cards for chi-square (χ² = Σ(o − e)²/e, compare to the critical value at p = 0.05). Both formulas are on the AP formula sheet and show up in free-response questions.
Fill the three biggest content gaps. Unit 1 opens with water (hydrogen bonding, cohesion, adhesion, specific heat), but the deck has no water cards. Unit 7's phylogeny (cladograms, shared derived characters) is missing too, and so are positive and negative feedback (Unit 4). Write 3-4 cards for each before exam season. Everything else is solid.
Pair it with
AP Biology and AP Chemistry share a lot: bonding, thermodynamics, equilibrium, pH. If you're taking both, the AP Chemistry study guide uses the same unit-by-unit method.
Find AN2953 in the library on Flip It and review one unit per week.
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