2024 AP Microeconomics Exam Guide

Your Guide to the 2024 AP Microeconomics Exam

We know that studying for your AP exams can be stressful, but Fiveable has your back! We created a study plan to help you crush your AP Microeconomics exam. This guide will continue to update with information about the 2024 exams, as well as helpful resources to help you do your best on test day. Unlock Cram Mode for access to our cram events—students who have successfully passed their AP exams will answer your questions and guide your last-minute studying LIVE! And don't miss out on unlimited access to our database of thousands of practice questions. FYI, something cool is coming your way Fall 2023! 👀

Format of the 2024 AP Microeconomics exam

This year, all AP exams will cover all units and essay types. The Microeconomics exam will be a total of 2 hours and 10 minutes and the format will be:

• Section 1: Multiple Choice (66% of score)
  • 60 questions in 1 hour and 10 minutes
• Section 2: Free Response (33% of score)
  • 3 questions in 1 hour
  • 1 long FRQ (50% of section score)

e)Note: Four-function calculators are allowed on both sections of the exam.

👉 Check out the 2023 AP Microeconomics Free-Response Section posted on the College Board site.

When is the 2024 AP Microeconomics exam and how do I take it?

**The exam is on paper, in school, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 8:00 am your local time. **

How should I prepare for the exam?

• • First, download the AP Microeconomics Cheatsheet PDF - a single sheet that covers everything you need to know at a high level. Take note of your strengths and weaknesses!
• • We've put together the study plan found below to help you study between now and May. This will cover all of the units and essay types to prepare you for your exam. Pay special attention to the units that you need the most improvement in.
• • Study, practice, and review for test day with other students during our live cram sessions via Cram Mode. Cram live streams will teach, review, and practice important topics from AP courses, college admission tests, and college admission topics. These streams are hosted by experienced students who know what you need to succeed.

Pre-Work: Set Up Your Study Environment

Before you begin studying, take some time to get organized.

🖥 Create a study space.

Make sure you have a designated place at home to study. Somewhere you can keep all of your materials, where you can focus on learning, and where you are comfortable. Spend some time prepping the space with everything you need and you can even let others in the family know that this is your study space. 

📚 Organize your study materials.

Get your notebook, textbook, prep books, or whatever other physical materials you have. Also, create a space for you to keep track of review. Start a new section in your notebook to take notes or start a Google Doc to keep track of your notes. Get yourself set up!

📅 Plan designated times for studying.

The hardest part about studying from home is sticking to a routine. Decide on one hour every day that you can dedicate to studying. This can be any time of the day, whatever works best for you. Set a timer on your phone for that time and really try to stick to it. The routine will help you stay on track.

🏆 Decide on an accountability plan.

How will you hold yourself accountable to this study plan? You may or may not have a teacher or rules set up to help you stay on track, so you need to set some for yourself. First, set your goal. This could be studying for x number of hours or getting through a unit. Then, create a reward for yourself. If you reach your goal, then x. This will help stay focused!

AP Microeconomics 2024 Study Plan

💸 Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts

Scarcity is the basic problem in economics in which society does not have enough resources to produce whatever everyone needs and wants. Basically, it is unlimited wants and needs vs. limited resources. Scarcity is faced by all societies and economic systems. Since we are faced with scarcity, we must make choices about how to allocate and use scarce resources. 

Economics is the study of how individuals, firms, and governments deal with scarcity. As a result of facing scarcity, all members of a society have to make choices in an effort to manage our resources in the most efficient way possible. The choices we make are known as trade-offs.

Microeconomics is the study of how individuals, households, and firms make decisions and allocate resources. For example, whether a high school graduate chooses to go to college or directly into the workforce is a microeconomic decision👨‍💼

📰 Check out these articles:

• 1.0 Overview of Unit 1

• 1.1 Scarcity

• 1.2 Resource Allocation and Economic Systems

• 1.3 Production Possibilities Curve (PPC)

• 1.4 Comparative Advantage and Trade

• 1.5 Cost-Benefit Analysis

• 1.6 Marginal Analysis and Consumer Choice  🎥 Watch these videos from the Fiveable archives:

• Unit 1 Review

📈 Unit 2: Supply and Demand

Demand is defined as the different quantities of goods and services that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various price levels. Supply is the different quantities of goods and services that firms are willing and able to produce at various price levels.

📰 Check out these articles:

• 2.1 Demand

• 2.2 Supply

• 2.3 Price Elasticity of Demand

• 2.4 Price Elasticity of Supply

• 2.5 Other Elasticities

• 2.6 Market Equilibrium and Consumer and Producer Surplus

• 2.7 Market Disequilibrium and Changes in Equilibrium

• 2.8 The Effects of Government Intervention in Markets

• 2.9 International Trade and Public Policy  🎥 Watch these videos from the Fiveable archives:

• Unit 2 Part 1: Supply, Demand, and Elasticity

• Unit 2 Part 2 Review  

⚙️ Unit 3: Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model

Unit 3 includes a lot of vocabulary regarding production, product costs, profit, and the perfect competition model. Be sure to check the articles below for concise definitions to maximize your understanding of this unit.

📰 Check out these articles:

• 3.1 The Production Function

• 3.2 Short-Run Production Costs

• 3.3 Long-Run Production Costs

• 3.4 Types of Profit

• 3.5 Profit Maximization

• 3.6 Firms’ Short-Run Decisions to Produce and Long-Run Decisions to Enter or Exit a Market

• 3.7 Perfect Competition 🎥 Watch these videos from the Fiveable archives:

• Unit 3 Part 1 Review

📊 Unit 4: Imperfect Competition

The imperfectly competitive markets include monopoly, oligopoly, and monopolistic competition. A monopoly refers to the type of market that only has one firm that dominates the industry and sells a very unique product. Examples of monopolies include a small-town gas station, the Windows operating system for computers, DeBeers diamonds (the main diamond producer in the world), and the utility companies in your area. 

An oligopoly refers to a type of market where there are a few large firms that dominate the industry (usually less than 10). Some examples of oligopolies include cable television services, cereal companies, automobile manufacturing companies, and cell phone companies. 

A monopolistically competitive market is one that has a large number of sellers that offer differentiated products. Examples of monopolistic competition include restaurants, clothing companies, hairdressers, and makeup companies.

📰 Check out these articles:

• 4.1 Introduction to Imperfectly Competitive Markets
• 4.2 Monopolies
• 4.3 Price Discrimination
• 4.4 Monopolistic Competition
• 4.5 Oligopoly and Game Theory

💰 Unit 5: Factor Markets

In this unit, we focus on the factor market (i.e. resource market) from the Circular Flow diagram. The factor market is where the factors of production are sold by households to businesses. The factors of production are land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship. The corresponding payments for these factors of production are rent, wage, interest, and profit. In the factor market, the demand for resources is determined (derived) by the products they help to produce. We call this concept derived demand. For example, the demand for carpenters is derived from the demand for homes. If there was a spike in demand for new houses, the demand for carpenters will increase as well.

📰 Check out these articles:

• 5.1 Introduction to Factor Markets
• 5.2 Changes in Factor Supply and Factor Demand
• 5.3 Profit Maximizing Behavior in Perfectly Competitive Factor Markets
• 5.4 Monopsonistic Markets

🏛 Unit 6: Market Failure and Role of Government

Socially efficient market outcomes are the optimal distribution of all resources in society while taking into account all internal and external costs and benefits. In our study of economics, socially efficient takes place where marginal social benefit (MSB) = marginal social cost (MSC).

📰 Check out these articles:

• 6.1 Socially Efficient and Inefficient Market Outcomes
• 6.2 Externalities
• 6.3 Public and Private Goods
• 6.4 The Effects of Government Interventions in Different Market Structures
• 6.5 Inequality

✔ Big Reviews

• AP Microeconomics Exam Guide
• AP Microeconomics Multiple Choice Help (MCQ)
• AP Macroeconomics Free Response Help - FRQ (applies to AP Microeconomics too)