UniGeniusAP Microeconomics

AP Microeconomics

AP Microeconomics study planner for May 2027

Units are not worth the same. Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model is 22–25% of Section I and Supply and Demand 20–25%, while Market Failure and the Role of Government is 8–13%. Tell the planner how sure you are of each unit and it spends your hours where the points are.

Hours a week for AP Microeconomics
Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts 12–15%
Unit 2: Supply and Demand 20–25%
Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model 22–25%
Unit 4: Imperfect Competition 15–22%
Unit 5: Factor Markets 10–13%
Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government 8–13%

28 weeks to the exam on May 4, 2027

Start with Unit 3

Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model: 24.4 of your 112 hours. It carries 22–25% of Section I, about 14 of the 60 questions.

Hours per unit
UnitHoursAbout this many questions
Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model24.414 of 60
Unit 2: Supply and Demand23.414 of 60
Unit 4: Imperfect Competition19.211 of 60
Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts148 of 60
Unit 5: Factor Markets127 of 60
Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government10.96 of 60

Week by week

  1. Week 1 · Oct 14Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
  2. Week 2 · Oct 21Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
  3. Week 3 · Oct 28Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
  4. Week 4 · Nov 4Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
  5. Week 5 · Nov 11Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
  6. Week 6 · Nov 18Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model
  7. Week 7 · Nov 25Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model, Unit 2: Supply and Demand
  8. Week 8 · Dec 2Unit 2: Supply and Demand
  9. Week 9 · Dec 9Unit 2: Supply and Demand
  10. Week 10 · Dec 16Unit 2: Supply and Demand
  11. Week 11 · Dec 23Unit 2: Supply and Demand
  12. Week 12 · Dec 30Unit 2: Supply and Demand, Unit 4: Imperfect Competition
  13. Week 13 · Jan 6Unit 4: Imperfect Competition
  14. Week 14 · Jan 13Unit 4: Imperfect Competition
  15. Week 15 · Jan 20Unit 4: Imperfect Competition
  16. Week 16 · Jan 27Unit 4: Imperfect Competition
  17. Week 17 · Feb 3Unit 4: Imperfect Competition, Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts
  18. Week 18 · Feb 10Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts
  19. Week 19 · Feb 17Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts
  20. Week 20 · Feb 24Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts
  21. Week 21 · Mar 3Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts, Unit 5: Factor Markets
  22. Week 22 · Mar 10Unit 5: Factor Markets
  23. Week 23 · Mar 17Unit 5: Factor Markets
  24. Week 24 · Mar 24Unit 5: Factor Markets, Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government
  25. Week 25 · Mar 31Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government
  26. Week 26 · Apr 7Unit 6: Market Failure and the Role of Government
  27. Week 27 · Apr 14Timed practice exam, then review every miss
  28. Week 28 · Apr 21Timed practice exam, then review every miss

Check your units with the free test

ExamTuesday, May 4, 2027
Heaviest unitUnit 3, Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model: 22–25%
Next heaviestUnit 2, Supply and Demand: 20–25%
Last weeksKept for timed practice exams

How the plan is made

  • Each unit starts from the middle of its published Section I weight range.
  • A unit you have not started gets about one and a half times its share; a solid unit gets under half.
  • Units are ordered heaviest need first, and the final one or two weeks are timed practice exams with review of every miss.

Making the hours count

  • Start each unit with a few questions to find what you do not know, then the lesson, then more questions.
  • Draw a graph every day: supply and demand, cost curves, the firm beside its market, monopoly, factor markets and externalities.
  • Write one free-response answer a week; they are a third of the score.
  • Redo the plan when a unit moves from shaky to solid.

Try 2 questions

Question 1
In the market for electric cars, demand increases and supply also increases. What can be said for certain about the new equilibrium?
Question 2
Firms in a monopolistically competitive industry are making losses in the short run. What happens in the long run?

Next step

Take the free diagnosticTake the course tour

College Board's AP Microeconomics course page, with the unit weights

Questions people ask

Which AP Microeconomics unit is weighted most?

Unit 3, Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model, at 22–25% of the multiple-choice section, then Unit 2, Supply and Demand, at 20–25% and Unit 4, Imperfect Competition, at 15–22%.

How long should I study for AP Microeconomics?

It depends on how much of the course you know. The planner turns your weekly hours into hours per unit; most students do best with steady weekly practice rather than a final cram.

When should I start studying for the 2027 AP Microeconomics exam?

Now is best: steady weekly study through the school year leaves the final weeks for full practice exams before May 4, 2027.