Barron's AP Biology Book 6th Edition Review
Reviewer: Vraj Patel
Spoiler Warning, I guess (I don't really know what counts as a "spoiler" in this case)
Since quarantine started, I realized I do not have any books available on my bookshelf to review that I have not already reviewed. I can't really go to the library to check out a book because 1, it's closed, and 2, I don't want to get coronavirus. While thinking about what to do for my next blog post, I noticed my AP Bio Exam prep book on the floor, and suddenly this review came to mind. So, here we go:
Summary:
The exam prep book begins, as all books do, with a table of contents. The chapters are: 1) About the Exam, 2) Biochemistry, 3) The Cell, 4) Cell Cycle, 5) Energy, Metabolism, and Enzymes, 6) Cell Respiration, 7) Photosynthesis, 8) Heredity, 9) The Molecular Basis of Inheritance, 10) Biological Diversity, 11) Evolution, 12) Plants, 13) Human Physiology, 14) Endocrine and Nervous System, 15) The Human Immune System, 16) Animal Reproduction and Development, 17) Ecology, 18) Animal Behavior, 19) Investigations, 20) Learn how the College Board Grades Your Essay, and finally some Model Exams. These chapters vary in length, some being 6 pages long, while others being 30.
Each chapter goes through the basic information about their topics (it's not an actual textbook so yeah). It also provides diagrams in black-and-white. At the end of each chapter, there are some multiple-choice questions and a few short free-response questions that cover the topics presented. They also have one long free-response.
Review:
This book is not bad but could be better. It does its job fine as a review book, but if one wanted to actually learn the whole AP Biology course, they would need some other resources.
The book is good because it is pretty informative. If someone who had never studied biology read and reviewed this book, they would most likely have a good basic idea of each of the topics.
Why do I think it could be better? Well, at times, this book brings up some abstract topics without really explaining them. This makes sense, as you would've learned the material in-class, but if you were self-studying, it's not that great. One would have to find additional resources to completely understand the material. I found this happening to me with the Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis chapters. This is the only real reason why I think it isn't the best, but it's a pretty major reason, so yeah.
Well, that was my review. I know most of you probably won't relate to me at all, but to the few that do, what do you think?
Spoiler Warning, I guess (I don't really know what counts as a "spoiler" in this case)
Summary:
The exam prep book begins, as all books do, with a table of contents. The chapters are: 1) About the Exam, 2) Biochemistry, 3) The Cell, 4) Cell Cycle, 5) Energy, Metabolism, and Enzymes, 6) Cell Respiration, 7) Photosynthesis, 8) Heredity, 9) The Molecular Basis of Inheritance, 10) Biological Diversity, 11) Evolution, 12) Plants, 13) Human Physiology, 14) Endocrine and Nervous System, 15) The Human Immune System, 16) Animal Reproduction and Development, 17) Ecology, 18) Animal Behavior, 19) Investigations, 20) Learn how the College Board Grades Your Essay, and finally some Model Exams. These chapters vary in length, some being 6 pages long, while others being 30.
Each chapter goes through the basic information about their topics (it's not an actual textbook so yeah). It also provides diagrams in black-and-white. At the end of each chapter, there are some multiple-choice questions and a few short free-response questions that cover the topics presented. They also have one long free-response.
Review:
This book is not bad but could be better. It does its job fine as a review book, but if one wanted to actually learn the whole AP Biology course, they would need some other resources.
The book is good because it is pretty informative. If someone who had never studied biology read and reviewed this book, they would most likely have a good basic idea of each of the topics.
Why do I think it could be better? Well, at times, this book brings up some abstract topics without really explaining them. This makes sense, as you would've learned the material in-class, but if you were self-studying, it's not that great. One would have to find additional resources to completely understand the material. I found this happening to me with the Cell Respiration and Photosynthesis chapters. This is the only real reason why I think it isn't the best, but it's a pretty major reason, so yeah.
Well, that was my review. I know most of you probably won't relate to me at all, but to the few that do, what do you think?
I would certainly be concerned if one textbook had the entire knowledge of the whole AP biology course. I have to say- I will not be reading this book. I don't find myself wanting to read a book about AP biology in my spare time. I have to ask- why do you have this book in your house? and why did you read it???
ReplyDeleteIt's because there's an AP Exam in May and I am taking it.
DeleteNice review. I also don't like when textbooks assume that you already know the basic concept of something and use that as an excuse for vague descriptions. These books are always so thick but don't offer that much in teaching you something new, rather just building upon material you already know. Nice job.
ReplyDelete