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AP Exams (Advanced Placement) Syllabus

College Board exams that allow high school students to earn college credit and strengthen admissions.. The complete AP Exams (Advanced Placement) outline — 7 subjects, 35 chapters and 161 topics — laid out so you can see exactly what has to be covered and tick each item off as you go.

7Subjects

35Chapters

161Topics

171Sub-topics

372Flashcards

~155hEst. first pass

AP Exams (Advanced Placement) subjects

Each subject below has its own page with the full chapter → topic → sub-topic tree and a set of real exam-style flashcards.

AP Calculus (AB & BC)

6 chapters · 27 topics · 42 sub-topics

~30h first pass · 51 flashcards AP Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental)

5 chapters · 29 topics · 36 sub-topics

~30h first pass · 51 flashcards AP History and Social Sciences

6 chapters · 32 topics · 17 sub-topics

~25h first pass · 51 flashcards AP English and Literature

4 chapters · 16 topics · 15 sub-topics

~15h first pass · 51 flashcards AP Mathematics and Computer Science (Statistics & CS)

5 chapters · 18 topics · 29 sub-topics

~20h first pass · 65 flashcards AP World Languages and Cultures

4 chapters · 12 topics · 15 sub-topics

~10h first pass · 50 flashcards AP Arts and Electives (Art History, Music Theory, Psychology, Economics)

5 chapters · 27 topics · 17 sub-topics

~25h first pass · 53 flashcards

AP Exams (Advanced Placement) flashcard decks

372 question-and-answer cards across 7 decks, written against this syllabus. Preview any deck free.

How to work through the AP Exams (Advanced Placement) syllabus

The outline on this page is arranged the way the syllabus itself is: subject, then chapter, then topic, then sub-topic. That last level is what most study plans skip, and it is where coverage actually goes wrong — a chapter marked "done" often has three sub-topics inside it that were never touched.

Weight your plan accordingly: AP History and Social Sciences carries 32 topics while AP World Languages and Cultures carries 12. Giving both the same number of weeks is the most common planning mistake for AP Exams (Advanced Placement).

The ~155 hour estimate above is a first pass only: roughly 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic. Revision cycles, past papers and mocks sit on top of that number.

AP Exams (Advanced Placement) syllabus FAQ

What subjects are in the AP Exams (Advanced Placement) syllabus?

AP Exams (Advanced Placement) covers 7 subjects: AP Calculus (AB & BC), AP Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Environmental), AP History and Social Sciences, AP English and Literature, AP Mathematics and Computer Science (Statistics & CS), AP World Languages and Cultures and AP Arts and Electives (Art History, Music Theory, Psychology, Economics). Together they contain 35 chapters and 161 named topics.

How many topics does the AP Exams (Advanced Placement) syllabus contain?

The full AP Exams (Advanced Placement) outline breaks down into 35 chapters, 161 topics and 171 sub-topics. AP History and Social Sciences is the largest single subject with 32 topics across 6 chapters.

How long does it take to cover the whole AP Exams (Advanced Placement) syllabus?

Roughly 155 hours for one full pass. That estimate allows about 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic, so it is first-pass coverage — revision, past papers and mock tests sit on top of it. At 3 hours a day that is about 7 weeks.

Are there AP Exams (Advanced Placement) flashcards?

Yes — 372 question-and-answer flashcards across 7 decks, one per subject, written against this syllabus. A sample of every deck is readable on this site for free, and the complete decks are in the Examius app.

Is this AP Exams (Advanced Placement) syllabus free to use?

Yes. Every page here is free to read, and importing the AP Exams (Advanced Placement) syllabus into the Examius app to tick off topics as you finish them is free too, in United States and everywhere else. No account is needed to start.

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