I am about to make everyone studying for the AP World History exam’s life better. I’ve compiled pictures of the timelines in my textbook that include everything you need to know. Happy studying!
Please note, the exam covers material from 1200-2001. The timelines I am providing start at 200 BCE and end at our present. The information before 1200 was provided for context, but I don’t know why the information after 2001 was included.
I’m sorry if the quality isn’t that great, but it’s what I got.
Timelines help me piece together history and help me order the stuff I know (which at this moment is honestly to much to keep track of). I hope these help you just as much as they help me!
Please reblog to spread this so people who need them can see them!
After (somehow) surviving apush I would just like to voice my thoughts, and hopefully, this might help some other people out.
First off: this is a tough class, there’s a reason why passing the exam gives you so many college credit hours. From my knowledge, this is one of the most content-filled AP classes there is: you have a lot you need to memorize for the test and it comes up on you quick.
If your teacher doesn’t have you write practice long essays/free responses, short answers, and DBQ’s, make sure you are testing yourself at home and really making sure you know the content. My teacher actually hosted two Saturday study sessions the weeks before the test and a majority of the students went in to review both of those days.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE CONSTANTLY REVIEWING OLD MATERIAL: I cannot stress this enough. The 1800′s are going to take up most the year since a LOT of stuff happened in that era, try to memorize as much as you can and don’t lose focus because it takes a lot to catch back up.
If you take a test on each chapter search, “Chapter __ APUSH test” on Quizlet, and all of the flashcards will be pretty much if not exactly the same as on the actual test, but make sure that you are studying your chapter and not one from the other commonly used textbook.
My friend and I made a HUGE study guide for everything we learned in AP on Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/a/croslex.org/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQZ5U9GY8_dcbWqzmbcepwwenAWWmn9yw7Dro4s3lt9Ao7fUB2kDeeUdNOv7yQ2oj5a-UzTL-BBa_lR/pub
Lastly, if you need any help studying, just message me! I would be glad to help and give you some pointers. I have loads and loads of presentations that we made over the course of the year that I would be happy to send you :)
So I’m taking a couple of AP classes in high school, and I’ve collected a ton of aid docs to help me through the year.
I’ve compiled them all into this one post so you can click on a specific class’ aid doc to help you. I’m still updating some of the tips and tricks, and I will add more as I take more AP classes. [update, May 2017: I’m officially done with high school, so I won’t be adding any more high school AP aid documents, but if people want me to add stuff for other classes, I’ll try!]
IF YOU DON’T HAVE MICROSOFT WORD, tell me so I can put some of the docs on google doc instead.
The more updated version is on my own blog: eekal.tumblr.com/help
More info under the cut
General Tips:
It’s extremely recommended that you take the AP exams from previous years. They never repeat questions, but they will 100% repeat concepts and test question styles that they did before.
For instance, the WHAP exam will have the same-styled multiple choice questions that question the relationships of civilizations and effects of major events.
Always answer every multiple choice question. They take the same amount of points off if you leave it blank and get it wrong. I think they don’t take off for guesses anymore, but it’s always better to guess than leave it blank.
—
AP World History [took in 2015-6]
My own notes that I hope to finish one day (lmao, I only have like 3 chapters done) :
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zG5qouoO0UQE9_eN0e96c9a73lvYcwPolvTr7UaCISA/edit?usp=sharing // It’s kind of too specific, and covers too much of one chapter. Would not recommend seriously.
I love these docs; this is like the only thing my teacher has ever done for my class:
Useful Websites
Maps 2 Know
Gigantic Study Material
Chapter outlines for every chapter [using Traditions & Encounters: 5th Edition]:
Outlines
Tips:
The most helpful thing I’ve learned over the year is that the AP exam at the end is mostly about relationships between cultures/civilizations and the effects of various events. For example, the test won’t ask you the specifics about Columbus’s expedition, but it will ask you what happened because of it [ie smallpox + columbian exchange].
Memorize the big events of each section/unit/period like wars and significant trade routes, so when the test essay asks you what the effects were, you can just pull them out.
Be sure to memorize certain photos like what the Hagia Sophia looked like, Mansa Musa, Alexander the Great, architect types, trade routes, what empires looked like in their prime, etc.
They always ask about the biggest changes in each time period:
Mongols
Byzantine Empire
Rome/Han
Salt/Gold Trade Route
Silk Roads
Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
The Great Schism / the start of Protestantism
French / American / Haitian Revolutions
et cetera
Remember, this tip might not work for you as I took the exam in 2016, and I heard that the CollegeBoard is going to change it in the coming years. Moreover, your teacher might present information in a different way for their finals and tests.
This one explains past free response AND multiple choice AP tests from like 1997 to 2015: http://www.askmrcalculus.com/index.html
Tips:
Possibly the easiest AP exam. If you know what you’re doing and practiced the past free responses, you should be good to go.
It’s really handy to make a notebook with like steps to show how to do each type of problem. Study and fill this notebook out throughout the year, and you’ll be more than ready to take the exam in May.
AP Biology [took in 2015-6]
Honestly, these Enduring Understanding pdfs really helped me review at the end of the year, especially if I didn’t understand a certain topic. It even has book chapters to go back to if I REALLY didn’t know a single thing.
Big Idea 1.A: Change in the genetic makeup over time is evolution. (pdf)
Big idea 1.B: Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry. (doc)
Big Idea 1.C: Life continues to evolve in a changing environment. (pdf)
Big Idea 1.D: The origin of living systems is explained by natural processes. (pdf)
Big Idea 2.A: Growth, reproduction, and maintenance of the organization of living systems require free energy and matter. (pdf)
Big Idea 2.B: Growth, reproduction, and dynamic homeostasis require that cells create and maintain internal environments that are different from their external environments. (pdf)
Big Idea 2.C: Organisms use feedback mechanisms to regulate growth, reproduction, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. (pdf)
Big Idea 2.D: Growth and dynamic homeostasis of a biological system are influenced by changes in the system’s environment. (pdf)
Big Idea 2.E: Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction, and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation and coordination. (pdf)
Big Idea 3.A: Heritable information provides for continuity of life. (pdf)
Big Idea 3.B: Expression of genetic information involves cellular and molecular mechanisms. (pdf)
Big Idea 3.C: The processing of genetic information is imperfect and is a source of genetic variation. (pdf)
Big Idea 3.D: Cells communicate by generating, transmitting, and receiving chemical signals. (pdf)
Big Idea 3.E: Transmission of information results in changes within and between biological systems. (pdf)
Big Idea 4.A: The subcomponents of biological molecules and their sequence determine the properties of the molecule. (pdf)
Big Idea 4.B: Competition and cooperation are important aspects of biological systems. (pdf)
Detailed Lecture Notes!! I used these instead of reading that giant textbook [no diagrams or pictures though…]:
Assorted by chapter
Tips:
There are no tips to this course. Simply memorize the notes using flashcards and mindmaps.
I printed and highlighted the lecture notes during class and went over them again in my own time + looked in the textbook and copied down the diagrams and pictures. Then I rewrote the most important topics with at least one example in each category on a mindmap/flashcard and memorized them before a quiz/test/AP exam.
This course is extremely content heavy. The AP exam multiple choice was easy in a sense if you understand the concepts, but the essays were harder in that you had to state examples and explain why things were happening.
REMEMBER that there’s a formula sheet on the front of your test booklet [I forgot that and got 2 questions wrong ㅠㅠ]
AP Statistics [took in 2015-6]
Inference Cheat Sheets !
I also have a notebook full of notes that I would scan in, but I would have to rip apart my notebook. However, I will rip it apart in a heartbeat if someone needed it.
Tips:
This was a really easy AP exam and class, partially thanks to my wonderful teacher, but if you are having trouble with the concepts and math, look up youtube videos! My friends in different classes did that, and they were perfectly fine on the AP exam.
AP United States History [took in 2016-7]
Content:
Bill of Rights / 27 Constitutional Amendments // lol. pretty helpful tbh if you forgot all of your amendments at the end of the year
APUSH Review // Teacher recommended me this website; never really used it, though
http://wikibenn.pbworks.com/w/page/78594635/APUSH%20Review
APUSH Topics separated by periods // Useful for the periodization topic and as a really good review like right before your test
2015 MC Practice exam
Hooray for huge books:
Short outlines [not mine] // also works as chapter notes
More short outlines [not mine. download the doc to view the full document] // also works as chapter notes
Long outlines [not mine] // more useful for reviewing for tests/ap exam
More long outlines [not mine] // more useful for reviewing for tests/ap exam
Essays:
2015 Sample Essays // I basically printed out some essays that I had problems with and analyzed them to see what I would need to include in my essay. For instance, for the periodization topic, I printed out the first essay and highlighted the examples/topics/organization in the essay to see what I would need.
General long essay help
Periodization formatting X / example // I didn’t really use this, but it seemed helpful
Writing in APUSH review // seems more intensive than the others
Cramming:
Very intensive APUSH review
Kinda long APUSH review
Brief review of APUSH
Important Supreme Court cases // I’d argue that you don’t even need half of these, but
Important Treaties // I’d argue that you don’t even need half of these, but
Important Legislation
The Magic years // Incredibly important years/dates
Political parties over the years of America
Summaries of all of the POTUS’s
AP Spanish [took in 2016-7]
I, unfortunately, did not take the AP exam for this class, and also I suck booty at spanish ㅠㅠ
AP Physics C [took in 2016-7]
Um, I basically died during the exam, but…
It's extremely recommended that you study for this exam at least 1 month prior, but if you’re like me and chose to wait until the very last 24 hours to study, use these tools to mega cram.
Physics C Equation sheet // Check with this to see if the equation you’re studying is given on the exam or it’s written differently
USE YOUTUBE VIDEOS TO REVIEW! Very helpful in getting the content across and knowing what to do for some situations.
Flipping Physics // I love this man? I watched all of his ~16 minute review videos to get the basics of the topics down, but he does forget some important equations/concepts. Don’t worry, I included them at the bottom of this section. I didn’t watch his simple harmonics review video because of the lack of time, so I don’t know what he missed on that video.
Dan Fullerton // What a hero. My friend recommended him, so I don’t know the faults of his review videos.
Really simple review of the equations // A little bit too simple in my opinion. This is for if you’re 2 hours away from the exam.
Physics review with practice questions // I don’t know if the person writing this website ever finished it, and I’ve only ever looked at the kinematics review, so I can’t really recommend this one over the others.
Really simple equations review // Again, really lacking on the concepts.
More reviews // I haven’t checked this one out, but it was in my bookmarks.
More intensive review // This one looks really intensive, and I appreciate Mr. B for these powerpoints. I should’ve used this one, but I didn’t ㅠㅠ
Really helpful review packet (especially the applications of forces) // I mainly used this for the applications of forces pages
One month physics C study plan (which I did not have enough time for) // lol.
2D Motion Review
1D Motion Review
Practice exams:
2012 MC Test
1998 MC / FRQ Test
General practice questions
What Flipping Physics forgot:
Kinematics/
Certain equations that you can derive for max height / time of flight
Velocity and Acceleration relationships- +v, -a / -v, -a / v = 0, a =/= 0
Concept questions for kinematics
Momentum/
Types of collisions and associated equations- Elastic equations / Inelastic equations
2D collisions
Ice skater-related concept
Various moments of inertia for different objects
Centripetal motion/
Banked turns- With friction / Without friction ,
Going from rev/min to rad/s
Gravitons / Roller coasters / FBD for speed bumps and top/bottom of a loop on a roller coaster
Gravitational/
Binary stars with circular orbits- concepts
Orbital velocity formula
Single object in ovular orbit and associated equations
Binary star physics
Basic binary star with circular orbit concept // Unfortunately, I can’t find much on these besides my in-class notes, so message me if you need those. Here’s what I’m talking about for the first one, though.
Perihelion vs. aphelion concepts- 1 /
Momentum in gravitational unit- 1 / 2 // There’s also more on this, but they’re in my notes
Tips:
Lmaoooooo. That curve is your friend tho. As long as you get a 50%, you’ll get a 5.
Everyone, good luck on your AP exams! I’ll probably only update this on my actual blog page to add more review sheets for more subjects later on
[pssstt, i'd appreciate it a lot if you bought something off this list if this helped you!!]
hey hey hey my dudes, i found this free PDF file book on how like how to AP classes called The Ultimate Guide to the APs I was searching for some help to like prepare for AP classes and I figured this could help. I found it at This website where they have a couple other books too. I hope this helps!! Good like I believe in you!!!
I saw your post about AP help, and I was wondering, my AP US Gov class is only a semester long, and I'm not exactly sure that's personally enough time to study for the exam in May. Are there any resources that would be helpful to look over before taking the class, or do you think it's possible to start fresh with minimal knowledge (I've taken APUSH)? (I took APES in one semester and it was a rush for me tbh)
I took AP US Gov as a full-year class and I can understand why you would feel rushed. That said, I also took a very unconventional AP Gov class that barely followed a set curriculum and focused on current events and organic discussions of the Constitution. I’ll probably make some kind of masterpost for all things AP US Gov in the near future.
