Question 1
The marginal propensity to consume is 0.9. The government increases transfer payments to households by 30 billion dollars. What is the maximum possible increase in real GDP, in billions of dollars?
AP Macroeconomics free-response questions: how they are scored
Section II has three questions: one long question worth 10 points and two short ones worth 5 points each, in 60 minutes including a 10-minute reading period. Each question has several parts and every point is earned on its own, so a correctly labeled graph and one clear sentence of cause and effect for each part beat a long essay.
| Long question | 1, worth 10 points |
|---|---|
| Short questions | 2, worth 5 points each |
| Time | 60 minutes, including a 10-minute reading period |
| Weight | A third of the exam score |
What the questions ask
- Make a claim: will output rise, fall or stay the same?
- Explain it: give the economic link, such as lower interest rates raising investment.
- Calculate: multipliers, the change in the money supply, real values, percent changes.
- Draw a correctly labeled graph or visual representation, and show a change on it.
Earning the graph points
- Label both axes with what they measure, such as price level and real GDP, not just P and Q.
- Label every curve (AD, SRAS, LRAS, MS, MD and so on) and draw it with the right slope.
- Show the shift with an arrow and a new label, such as AD₁ to AD₂.
- Mark the old and new equilibrium values on the axes, using the labels the question gives.
- Keep the graph and your written answer consistent: a graph that contradicts the sentence loses the point.
Try 2 questions
Question 2
In an economy with limited reserves, the central bank makes an open market purchase of 100 million dollars of bonds. Which statement is correct?
Next step
Questions people ask
How many FRQs are on the AP Macroeconomics exam?
Three: one long question worth 10 points and two short questions worth 5 points each, in 60 minutes including a 10-minute reading period.
How much is the free-response section worth?
A third of the exam score; the 60 multiple-choice questions are the other two thirds.
Do you draw graphs on the AP Macroeconomics free response?
Yes. Questions ask for correctly labeled graphs, drawn by hand in the paper booklet. Our practice desk has a graph builder that describes your graph in words, so each point can be marked.