Exam Overview
Two videos on the AP Business with Personal Finance exam, each followed by its written notes.
Video 1 of 2
The Exam Overview
The two sections of the exam, how each section is timed and weighted, what the four free-response questions ask, and the task verbs.
Part 1 of 6 The Exam at a Glance
The AP Business with Personal Finance exam is 2 hours and 40 minutes long, and it is fully digital.
You take the whole exam, multiple choice and free response, in the Bluebook testing app. The first exam is Tuesday, May 4, 2027.
| Section | Questions | Time | Share of your score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section I: Multiple choice | 60 questions | 70 minutes | 60% |
| Section II: Free response | 4 questions | 90 minutes | 40% |
The rest of this page takes the two sections in order: how each section is timed, what it tests, and how it is scored.
Part 2 of 6 Section I: Multiple Choice
Section I gives you 70 minutes for 60 questions, so you have about 70 seconds per question.
Some questions come in sets. A set gives you one business scenario, then several questions that all use that scenario.
| Unit | Share of the multiple-choice section |
|---|---|
| Unit 1: Businesses, Competition, and New Ideas | 20 to 30% |
| Unit 2: Marketing | 20 to 30% |
| Unit 3: Personal Saving and Borrowing (Part 1) and Business Finance and Accounting (Part 2) | 25 to 35% |
| Unit 4: Management and Strategy | 15 to 20% |
| Unit 5: Personal Goals, Budgeting, and Investing | Not on the exam |
The multiple-choice section tests Units 1 through 4. Unit 3 has two parts, and together the two parts are 25 to 35 percent of the multiple-choice section. Unit 5 is not on the exam.
Personal finance questions appear throughout Units 1 through 4. Between 12 and 15 of the 60 questions test personal finance. That is 20 to 25 percent of the multiple-choice section.
| Skill | Share of the multiple-choice section |
|---|---|
| Skill 1: Concept Application | 45 to 55% |
| Skill 2: Entrepreneurship | 5 to 15% |
| Skill 3: Decision Making | 25 to 35% |
| Skill 4: Communication | 5 to 15% |
| Skill 5: Collaboration | Not tested on the exam |
Concept application and decision making together make up 70 to 90 percent of the multiple-choice section.
Part 3 of 6 Section II: Free Response
Section II is four free-response questions in 90 minutes, worth 40 percent of your score. Section II has two parts. Part A is question 1 by itself, in 25 minutes, worth 15 percent. Part B is questions 2, 3 and 4 together, in 65 minutes, worth 25 percent.
| Question | Type | Time | Share of your score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (Part A) | Business Canvas Project exam-day validation | 25 minutes | 15% |
| 2 (Part B) | Personal finance | Suggested 12 to 13 minutes | 5% |
| 3 (Part B) | Business concept application | Suggested 12 to 13 minutes | 5% |
| 4 (Part B) | Business decision | About 40 minutes, including a 15-minute reading period | 15% |
Questions 1 and 4 are worth 15 percent each. Questions 2 and 3 are worth 5 percent each. That means 30 of the section's 40 percent comes from questions 1 and 4.
Part 4 of 6 Question 1: The Business Canvas Project
Question 1 is the Business Canvas Project exam-day validation. You answer questions in writing about the Business Canvas Project you built in your course. Question 1 asks you to do three things.
- Pitch your product idea.
- Explain how you used hypothesis testing to make a decision.
- Explain why a challenge that entrepreneurs often face could threaten your product idea's viability, meaning whether the idea can succeed.
To pitch, you describe your product, your target customer, and the problem, need, or want the product addresses. Then you explain how the product creates value for customers.
Your teacher scores the project itself for your course grade. You do not send the project to the AP Program.
Part 5 of 6 Questions 2, 3 and 4: The Scenarios
Part B is questions 2, 3 and 4, in 65 minutes. Each of the three questions gives you a fictional scenario.
Question 2 is personal finance, worth 5 percent. The scenario describes a fictional person's or household's finances, with numbers and goals. You interpret the data and explain how the person or household could reach their goals. The suggested time is 12 to 13 minutes.
Question 3 is business concept application, also worth 5 percent. The scenario describes a fictional business gathering evidence for its strategic planning. You interpret the business's data and explain how the business could reach its goals. The suggested time is also 12 to 13 minutes.
Question 4 is the business decision, worth 15 percent. The scenario describes a fictional business facing an opportunity or a problem, with two possible courses of action and their financial and nonfinancial effects. You set decision-making criteria, use the criteria to compare the two options, and recommend one option. You support the recommendation with reasoning and evidence from the scenario.
Part 6 of 6 The Task Verbs
Every free-response question tells you what to do with a task verb. The course and exam description lists the task verbs used in the free-response questions and defines each one. The verb tells you what your answer has to contain, so knowing the definitions tells you when an answer is complete.
| Task verb | What your answer does |
|---|---|
| Identify | Gives the information without elaborating or explaining. A short, direct answer is enough. |
| Describe | Gives the relevant characteristics of a topic or concept. |
| Compare | Describes similarities, differences, or both. |
| Explain | Says how or why something happens, and supports it with evidence or reasoning. |
| Pitch | Describes the product, the target customer, and the problem, need, or want it addresses, and explains how it creates value. |
| Recommend | States a course of action and supports it with evidence. |
Explain how asks for the process or relationship. Explain why asks for the reasons behind it.
Video 2 of 2
The Free-Response Questions
How each free-response question is scored, four sample questions with what each part asks, and a sample start to each answer.
Part 1 of 6 How the Free Response Is Scored
The AP Business with Personal Finance exam has four free-response questions. Each question is scored point by point.
| Question | Type | Points | Share of your score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business Canvas Project | 10 points | 15% |
| 2 | Personal finance | 3 points | 5% |
| 3 | Business concept application | 3 points | 5% |
| 4 | Business decision | 8 points | 15% |
The point counts come from the sample scoring guidelines in the course and exam description. This page works through four sample questions, one of each type. For each question, you get the sample question, what the question asks, how to plan your answer, and a sample start to the answer.
Part 2 of 6 Question 1: The Business Canvas Project
Question 1 asks about the Business Canvas Project you built in your course. Here is a sample question 1.
| Part | Prompt |
|---|---|
| A | Pitch your Business Canvas Project product. Include your product, your target customer profile, the problem, need, or want it addresses, and how it creates value. |
| B | Describe one reason a business creates a target customer profile. |
| C | Explain how you tested a hypothesis about your target customer. Include your hypothesis, a research method, the evidence, and how the evidence shaped your decision. |
| D | Competition from established businesses can be a problem for new ones. (i) Describe one advantage an established business has over a new one. (ii) Explain why competition does or does not threaten your product idea's viability, with evidence. |
Each part starts with a task verb, and the task verb tells you what your answer has to include. Part A says pitch, so your answer needs all four pieces. Part B says describe, so give one reason. Part C says explain, so give all four things about one hypothesis. Keep that hypothesis about your target customer, because Part C names that topic. Part D has two tasks: describe the advantage, then explain with evidence.
In the sample scoring guidelines, Part A is worth 3 points and Part C is worth 4 points. Together, Parts A and C are worth 7 of the 10 points.
On exam day, answer the parts in order, and label each part with its letter. You do not need to say whether your research method was primary or secondary.
| Piece | Sample answer |
|---|---|
| Product | The product is a refillable snack box, restocked with healthy snacks every week. |
| Target customer | The target customer is a high school student with practice, rehearsal, or a job right after school. |
Next, write one sentence for the problem and one sentence for the value. One sentence for each point makes each point easy to find.
Part 3 of 6 Question 2: Personal Finance
Question 2 is about personal finance. Here is a sample question 2 about Maya.
| Item | Maya's numbers |
|---|---|
| Age | 24 |
| Take-home pay | $3,000 a month |
| Expenses | $2,400 a month, including her student loan payment |
| Savings | $1,200 |
| Goals | An emergency fund equal to three months of expenses, and $4,000 for a car down payment within two years |
| Part | Prompt |
|---|---|
| A | Using data from the scenario, identify how many months of expenses Maya's savings would cover. |
| B | Describe a financial challenge that affects her goals. |
| C | Explain how one specific action could help her reach one goal. |
Each part of question 2 is worth 1 point, and each part has a different task verb: identify, describe, and explain. Identify asks for one fact, and here the fact is a calculation. Describe asks for a challenge, and the challenge must affect her goals. Explain asks for one action and how that action reaches one goal.
| Part | Sample answer |
|---|---|
| A | $1,200 ÷ $2,400 = 0.5. Her savings would cover half a month of expenses. |
| B | Her savings are low. One surprise bill, such as a $900 car repair, would use most of her savings and delay both goals. |
For Part C, name one action, such as an automatic transfer of the $600 she has left each month. Then show how many months the transfer takes to reach the goal.
Part 4 of 6 Question 3: Business Concept Application
Question 3 is about business concept application. Here is a sample question 3. Trailhead Tacos is a food truck that wants to raise its weekly revenue. For four weeks, the food truck recorded its average sales per day at three locations.
| Location | Days | Average sales per day |
|---|---|---|
| Office park | Monday to Wednesday | $820 |
| College campus | Thursday and Friday | $540 |
| Farmers market | Saturday | $1,100 |
| Part | Prompt |
|---|---|
| A | Describe how Trailhead Tacos gathered its data. |
| B | Describe one thing the data shows. |
| C | Explain how Trailhead Tacos could use what it found to raise its weekly revenue. |
Find the business's goal first, because Part C must connect to the goal. In this sample, the goal is to raise weekly revenue. Part A asks for the research method. Part B asks for one finding, so use a number from the data. Part C asks for an action based on that finding.
| Part | Sample answer |
|---|---|
| A | The food truck recorded its own sales at each location for four weeks. That is primary research. |
| B | The farmers market averages $1,100 in sales per day. That is about double the $540 per day at the college campus. |
For Part C, name one action, such as replacing one campus day with a Sunday market. Then explain how that action would raise weekly revenue.
Part 5 of 6 Question 4: The Business Decision
Question 4 is the business decision. In the sample scoring guidelines, question 4 is worth 8 points. The suggested time is about 40 minutes, including a 15-minute reading period.
Here is a sample question 4. Rise and Crumb is a bakery with $70,000 in savings. A middle school with 600 students opens two blocks away next fall. The bakery has two options.
| Option A | Option B | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A student breakfast counter in the shop | A second shop downtown |
| One-time cost | $60,000 | $300,000, with a loan |
| Added profit | $9,000 a year | $36,000 a year |
| Who runs it | The founder | A new manager |
| Part | Prompt |
|---|---|
| A | (i) Describe an internal, a market, or an external factor that affects the bakery. (ii) Explain why it creates an opportunity or a problem. |
| B | (i) Using projected annual return on investment as a criterion, describe a difference or similarity between the options. (ii) Do the same with one more financial criterion. (iii) Do the same with one nonfinancial criterion. |
| C | Recommend one option, explain why, and support it with three criteria and evidence. |
For Part A, describe one factor that affects the bakery. Then explain whether the factor is an opportunity or a problem.
For Part B, each comparison describes a difference or similarity between the two options, so give the evidence for both options. Return on investment equals the added profit divided by the cost.
| Option | Added profit ÷ cost | Return on investment |
|---|---|---|
| A | $9,000 ÷ $60,000 | 15% |
| B | $36,000 ÷ $300,000 | 12% |
Choose your three criteria before you write. In this sample, the criteria are return on investment, financing, and who runs the business. All three criteria favor Option A.
For Part C, recommend one of the two options and explain why. In the sample scoring guidelines, a recommendation outside the two options loses the recommendation point. Support your recommendation with criteria and evidence. Three criteria with evidence earn 2 points, and two criteria earn 1 point.
| Part | Sample answer |
|---|---|
| A (i) | A middle school with 600 students is opening two blocks away next fall. |
| A (ii) | This is an opportunity, because hundreds of new customers will pass the bakery every school morning. |
| B (i) | Option A returns 15 percent on $60,000. Option B returns 12 percent on $300,000. |
In every Part B sentence, include the numbers for both options. In Part C, recommend Option A and give your three criteria.
Part 6 of 6 Steps for Every Question
These steps apply to all four free-response questions.
- Label each part with its letter.
- Answer the parts in order.
- Match the task verb. Identify means give a short, direct answer. Describe means give the characteristics. Explain means say how or why, with evidence.
- In questions 2, 3 and 4, support each answer with a fact or a number from the scenario.
- Reread the task verb before you move on to the next part.