Ready for the 2025 AP Environmental Science Exam?

Are you an AP environmental science student wondering how you should prepare for the exam or set yourself up for success in your coursework? At Marks Education, we meet with students daily, aiming  to improve their test scores, grow their skills in challenging classes, and stand out when it comes time to apply to colleges.  

While the AP environmental science test may have gained the reputation of being the “easy AP science credit,” make no mistake—this exam is no piece of cake! That’s why we’ve written this blog based on an interview with our AP Environmental Science Tutor, Dan Bloss, that aims to help you approach test day armed with confidence and helpful tips and tricks for studying. 

Test Day: Tuesday, May 13th, 2025 

12 pm Local Time

Exam Format and Content

Section I: Multiple Choice

  • 80 Questions | 1 hour 30 minutes | 60% of Exam Score

Section II: Free Response

  • 3 Questions | 1 hour 10 minutes | 40% of Exam Score

This exam is organized into nine units, about which we’ll provide more information below. Print out our PDF and highlight the subjects as you learn them! Be sure to pay attention to how each section is weighted to know you’re allocating  your study time properly.

Unit 1: The Living World: Ecosystems 

Weighed 6-8%

  • Introduction to ecosystems
  • Terrestrial and aquatic biomes
  • Primary productivity
  • Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water cycles
  • Trophic levels
  • The flow of energy in an ecosystem and the 10% rule
  • Food chains and food webs

Unit 2: The Living World: Biodiversity

Weighted 6-8%

  • Introduction to biodiversity 
  • Ecosystem services
  • Island biogeography
  • Ecological tolerance
  • Natural disruptions to ecosystems
  • Ecological succession

Unit 3: Populations

Weighted 10-15%

  • Generalist and specialist species
  • Survivorship curves
  • Population growth and resource availability
  • Age structure diagrams
  • Human population dynamics

Unit 4: Earth Systems and Resources

Weighted 10-15%

  • Tectonic plates
  • Soil formation and erosion
  • Earth’s atmosphere
  • Global wind patterns
  • Earth’s geography and climate
  • El Niño and La Niña

Unit 5: Land and Water Use

Weighted 10-15%

  • The tragedy of the commons
  • The Green Revolution
  • Types and effects of irrigation
  • Pest-control methods
  • Meat production methods and overfishing
  • The impacts of mining
  • Urbanization and ecological footprints
  • Introduction to sustainable practices, including crop rotation and aquaculture

Unit 6: Energy Resources and Consumption

Weighted 10-15%

  • Energy sources and fuel types, including fossil fuels, ethanol, and nuclear power
  • Global energy consumption and distribution of natural resources
  • Natural sources of energy, including solar power, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power
  • Energy conservation methods

Unit 7: Atmospheric Pollution

Weighted 7-10%

  • Introduction to air pollution
  • Photochemical smog
  • Indoor air pollution
  • Methods to reduce air pollutants
  • Acid rain
  • Noise pollution

Unit 8: Aquatic and Terrestrial Pollution

Weighted 7-10%

  • Sources of pollution
  • Human impact on ecosystems
  • Thermal pollution
  • Solid waste disposal and waste reduction methods
  • Pollution and human health
  • Pathogens and infectious diseases

Unit 9: Global Change

Weighted 15-20%

  • Ozone depletion 
  • Global climate change 
  • Ocean warming and acidification
  • Invasive species
  • Human impacts on diversity
Tips on Preparing for the AP Environmental Science Exam
Create a Study Plan

Because the. APES is a content-heavy course, we encourage students to aim to start studying at least six weeks in advance.  

One of the most important things about studying is that you don’t start the night before the exam. Think realistically about how much time you’ll need to study each night and what kind of studying you’ll do. Maybe Mondays are devoted to flashcards, and Tuesdays are your days for textbook reviews. Either way, as long as you’re making forward progress toward mastering the content and the routine feels right for you, you’re in the right spot!

The sooner you can build AP exam practice into your day, the better. Try to spend 15 minutes a day reviewing your flashcards or 20 minutes paging through the section of one of your textbook chapters. Environmental science podcasts, whether related to the AP exam or not, and trying to read an article per day from Science News are also helpful and subtle ways to study and gain familiarity with common terms and concepts.

Utilize APES-Specific Resources

Thanks to the Internet, there are thousands of online resources designed to help you succeed on any AP exam, especially the AP environmental science exam.

  • College Board AP Classroom: Provides free multiple-choice and free-response question sets for all nine units. Ask your teacher to unlock them if necessary, but these are great tools to review content and practice questions from all of the chapters of the course. 
  • Free-Response Questions (FRQs): The College Board’s website includes past FRQs. Practice these to familiarize yourself with the exam’s structure and scoring guidelines. You might find that you’re naturally better at some sections over others. Meaning, you should devote less of your time to those sections and more to areas where you struggle. Having practice questions to attempt can help you identify those areas and improve where it matters.
  • Third-Party Prep Books: Remember there are plenty of third-party studying materials made to help you learn and apply the material. Some that we recommend include:
Focus on High-Yield Topics

While the entire curriculum is fair game, it’s important to remember that some topics are tested more heavily and therefore demand more of your attention during the study process. Understanding the testing rubric can make all the difference in not wasting study time. Don’t be caught off guard as to what kinds of questions are on the exam. 

We recommend devoting extra study time to the following subjects:

  • Energy Flow in Ecosystems
  • Human Impacts on the Environment
  • Sustainability and Resource Management
  • Environmental Policies and Economics
Practice the Math

APES isn’t just about knowing facts—it’s about applying concepts. It’s not enough to know definitions or just the formulas. You need to be able to apply them and even discuss them.

Because many students who take AP environmental science do so to avoid the heavy math content of physics and chemistry, this is often where most AP environmental science students struggle. Every exam has one calculation based free-response question,  so make sure that you review and memorize formulas provided by the College Board and spend some time practicing these math based question. Using past years’ FRQs from the College Board website is the best way to practice these questions.

Final Advice

AP Environmental Science may have a reputation as a less intensive AP course but don’t underestimate it! The exam combines theoretical knowledge with data interpretation and problem-solving but with the right preparation and resources, you can succeed.

Marks Education offers tutoring tailored to the AP Environmental Science exam. Check out our team of experienced tutors and reach out if you’d like personalized guidance. Good luck!

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