The exam at a glance
| Section | Weight | Timing | What you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| I · Multiple choice | about 66% | 1 hr 10 min · 60 questions | Define principles, explain outcomes and determine the results of scenarios, often using graphs and tables. |
| II · Free response | about 33% | 1 hr, including a 10-min reading period · 3 questions | 1 long question (half of the section score) and 2 short questions (a quarter each). Make assertions, explain, calculate and draw graphs. |
Click in Bluebook, write on paper
You answer multiple-choice questions and read the free-response questions in the Bluebook app, then handwrite free-response answers (and draw graphs) in a paper booklet.
Four-function calculator allowed
A four-function calculator is permitted on both sections. Most calculations are simple; the hard part is knowing which formula applies.
The multiple-choice section
60 questions in 70 minutes gives you 1 minute 10 seconds per question. Sketch a quick graph in the scratch area for any shift question. Wrong answers lose no points.
Strategies that work
- Draw the graph for every shift question, even a rough one, and label which curve moves.
- Separate shifts from movements: a price change moves along a curve; other factors shift it.
- Watch "ceteris paribus": change only what the question says changed.
- Use formulas quickly and estimate where you can.
- Check signs and directions: an increase vs a decrease is where most errors happen.
- Move on at 90 seconds and come back to flagged questions.
The 6 units, in plain English
Basic Economic Concepts
Scarcity, trade-offs and choices.
Be ready to: Explain scarcity and opportunity cost; production possibilities curves; comparative advantage and terms of trade; marginal analysis and consumer choice.
Supply & Demand
How markets set prices.
Be ready to: Shift supply and demand; calculate elasticities; consumer and producer surplus; effects of taxes, subsidies, price ceilings and floors; international trade.
Production, Cost & the Perfect Competition Model
How firms decide what to produce.
Be ready to: Calculate marginal product and cost curves; short-run and long-run costs; profit maximization (MR = MC); short-run and long-run equilibrium in perfect competition.
Imperfect Competition
Monopoly, oligopoly and market power.
Be ready to: Analyze monopoly pricing and deadweight loss; price discrimination; monopolistic competition; oligopoly and game theory (payoff matrices, Nash equilibrium).
Factor Markets
Labor and other inputs.
Be ready to: Calculate marginal revenue product; hire where MRP = MRC; compare perfectly competitive labor markets with monopsony; the least-cost rule.
Market Failure & the Role of Government
When markets get it wrong.
Be ready to: Analyze positive and negative externalities; public goods; corrective taxes and subsidies; income inequality and the Lorenz curve.
Units 2–4 make up most of the exam, so master the cost curves and the monopoly graph. Graphs to draw from memory: supply and demand, cost curves, side-by-side perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, the labor market and externalities.
The 3 free-response questions
One hour, including a 10-minute reading period, for 1 long and 2 short questions. The long question is half of the free-response score and each short question a quarter. Graphs earn many of the points.
Long question
A multi-part scenario, usually about a firm in perfect competition or a monopoly. Draw the firm's graph, find profit-maximizing output, shade profit or loss, and analyze a change.
Draw one large, clearly labeled graph and reuse it for later parts.
Two short questions
Focused questions on one area, such as a payoff matrix, an externality, elasticity or a labor market.
Each part asks for one thing. Answer it directly, then explain.
Graph rules
Label both axes, every curve, and equilibrium values (P₁, Q₁). Show shifts with arrows and new labels (P₂, Q₂).
An unlabeled graph usually earns no points, even if it is shaped correctly.
Show the cause
When asked to explain, give the economic reason, not just the result: "because the cost of borrowing falls…".
Results alone earn the "identify" point but not the "explain" point.
Time plan: 10 minutes of reading, about 25 minutes for the long question and 12–13 minutes for each short one. Use the reading period to plan graphs.
Habits that earn points
- Label every axis, curve and equilibrium.
- Show shifts with arrows and new labels (P₂, Q₂).
- Answer each part separately and in order.
- Explain the cause, not just the result.
- Stuck? A correctly labeled graph still earns points.
10 traps that cost points
Price from MR
A monopoly sets quantity where MR = MC, then charges the price on the demand curve above that quantity.
Change in demand vs quantity demanded
A price change moves along the curve; income, tastes and related goods shift it.
Shut-down rule
In the short run, a firm shuts down only if price is below minimum AVC, not ATC.
Long-run perfect competition
Economic profit is zero in the long run: P = MC = minimum ATC.
Elasticity and revenue
If demand is elastic, lowering price raises total revenue; if inelastic, raising price raises revenue.
Tax incidence
The more inelastic side of the market bears more of a tax, regardless of who pays it legally.
Externality curves
Negative externality: MSC is above MPC, so the market overproduces. Positive: MSB is above MPB, so it underproduces.
Nash equilibrium
Check each player's best response to the other's choice. A dominant strategy is best no matter what the other does.
Monopsony wage
A monopsony hires where MRP = MRC but pays the lower wage from the labor supply curve.
Unlabeled graphs
An unlabeled or mislabeled graph usually earns no points.
A study roadmap to May
A steady plan beats a last-minute rush. Shift the months to match your teacher's pacing.
- Sep – Oct
Units 1–2: foundations
Opportunity cost, PPCs, supply and demand, elasticity and government intervention.
- Nov – Dec
Unit 3: costs
Production, cost curves and perfect competition. Draw side-by-side firm and market graphs daily.
- Jan – Feb
Unit 4: market power
Monopoly, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and game theory. Start one free-response question per week.
- Mar – Apr
Units 5–6: factors and market failure
Labor markets, externalities and public goods. Begin full timed sections.
- Early May
Graph drills
Draw all seven graphs from memory and label them fully. Review the traps list.
- May 2027
Exam day
Tuesday, May 4, 2027 (afternoon session). Sleep well and confirm your start time with your AP coordinator.
3 practice questions
Original questions written by ACT SAT GO in the style of the exam. The free PDF has 10, with full explanations.
- Unit 4 · Monopoly
A monopoly faces demand P = 100 − 2Q and constant MC = $20. What is its profit-maximizing price?
- A $20
- B $40
- C $60
- D $80
Show answer
Answer: C · $60. MR = 100 − 4Q. Setting MR = MC gives Q = 20. Price comes from demand: 100 − 2(20) = $60. Choice A is MC (= MR), not price.
- Unit 2 · Elasticity
When the price of a good rises from $8 to $12, quantity demanded falls from 120 to 80. Using the midpoint method, demand is:
- A perfectly inelastic
- B relatively inelastic
- C relatively elastic
- D unit elastic
Show answer
Answer: D · unit elastic. Midpoint: %ΔQ = −40/100 = −40%; %ΔP = 4/10 = 40%. |E| = 1, so demand is unit elastic.
- Unit 3 · Short run
A perfectly competitive firm's price is below its average total cost but above its average variable cost. In the short run it should:
- A shut down immediately
- B raise its price
- C produce where ATC is at its minimum
- D continue producing where P = MC, while making an economic loss
Show answer
Answer: D. If P is above AVC, producing covers all variable costs and part of fixed costs, so the firm loses less than by shutting down.
How students score
Ranges reflect recent College Board score distributions and shift a little each year. Credit and placement policies vary by college.
Aiming for a 5 in AP Microeconomics?
Book a free diagnostic session. We'll find your weakest units, review your practice responses and give you a week-by-week plan to exam day.