Question 1
How many times greater is the DDT concentration in fish-eating birds than in small fish?
Environmental Science Exam Prep
Is AP Environmental Science hard?
Most students who sit it score 3 or higher, 69.2% in May 2025, but only 12.6% earn a 5. The content is broad rather than deep; the hard part is applying it to new data and doing the calculations with units.
| Students in May 2025 | 245,371 |
|---|---|
| Scored 3 or higher | 69.2% |
| Scored 5 | 12.6% |
| Mean score | 3.06 |
What makes it hard
- Breadth: nine units run from biogeochemical cycles and soil to energy, toxicology and climate, and any of them can appear in a question set.
- Data and models: many multiple-choice questions come in sets on a graph, table, model or map you have not seen.
- Calculations: percent change, unit conversions and the rule of 70 appear in both sections, and a free-response calculation needs its setup and units.
- Solutions: Environmental Solutions is the largest share of the free response, and a proposed solution earns its point only if it is realistic and fits the problem; its justification is a separate point.
What makes it easier
- A four-function or scientific calculator is allowed on both sections.
- The free-response answers are short: a sentence or two per part, or a calculation.
- The same skills repeat in every unit: explain a concept, read a figure, read data, calculate and propose a solution.
Try 2 questions
DDT in Estuary E
The table gives the concentration of DDT measured in the water of Estuary E and in living things from its food chain, in parts per million (ppm).
| Sample | DDT (ppm) |
|---|---|
| Water | 0.00005 |
| Zooplankton | 0.04 |
| Small fish | 0.5 |
| Large fish | 2 |
| Fish-eating birds | 25 |
Question 2
The model shows how chlorine from a CFC molecule destroys stratospheric ozone. What does the loop in the model explain?
Next step
Questions people ask
What percentage of students pass AP Environmental Science?
In May 2025, 69.2% of the 245,371 students who took AP Environmental Science scored 3 or higher. Many US colleges grant credit or placement for 3 and above, but each college sets its own policy.
What share of AP Environmental Science students earn a 5?
12.6% in May 2025 (30,851 students).
What should I take before AP Environmental Science?
College Board's course description says students should have completed two years of high school lab science, one of life science and one of physical science, and at least one year of algebra, because of the course's quantitative work.