AP Microeconomics (College Board): a complete guide to the six units, the graphing and calculation skills, and the exam
A complete guide to College Board AP Microeconomics. Maps all six units (from basic economic concepts through supply and demand, production and cost, the market structures, factor markets, and market failure), explains how the multiple-choice and free-response sections work, the graphing and calculation demand, and how to study each unit for a 5.
College Board AP Microeconomics studies individual markets and decision-makers: how consumers choose, how firms produce and price, how the four market structures behave, how factor markets set wages, and where markets fail. It shares its core tools, scarcity, opportunity cost, and supply and demand, with AP Macroeconomics but applies them at the scale of single markets rather than the whole economy. There is no coursework; everything is examined through multiple-choice and free-response questions, and the free-response section is built around graphs you draw and label. This page is the index, and it covers AP Microeconomics in full, all six units.
AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics
The two AP Economics courses are taught and examined separately, and many students take only one.
- AP Microeconomics examines individual markets and decision-makers: supply and demand in depth, elasticity, consumer and producer choice, costs of production, the four market structures (perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly), factor markets, and market failure and the role of government.
- AP Macroeconomics examines the economy as a whole: the measurement of GDP, unemployment and inflation, the business cycle, the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model, the financial sector, fiscal and monetary policy, and international trade and finance.
Both courses begin with the same foundation, scarcity, opportunity cost, the production possibilities curve, and supply and demand, which is why Unit 1 below will look familiar to students of either course. This page authors the microeconomics path in full.
The six AP Microeconomics units
The College Board organizes AP Microeconomics into six units, each carrying an exam weighting (the share of multiple-choice questions it tends to contribute).
- Unit 1 Basic Economic Concepts (12 to 15%)
- Scarcity and the factors of production; resource allocation and economic systems; the production possibilities curve; comparative advantage and gains from trade; cost-benefit analysis; and marginal analysis and consumer choice.
- Unit 2 Supply and Demand (20 to 25%)
- Demand and supply and their determinants; the price elasticities of demand and supply; income and cross-price elasticities; market equilibrium with consumer and producer surplus; disequilibrium and changes in equilibrium; government intervention (price controls, taxes, subsidies, and quotas); and international trade and public policy.
- Unit 3 Production, Cost, and the Perfect Competition Model (22 to 25%)
- The production function and diminishing marginal returns; short-run and long-run costs; the types of profit; profit maximisation; the firm's short-run and long-run decisions; and the perfect competition model.
- Unit 4 Imperfect Competition (15 to 22%)
- An introduction to imperfectly competitive markets; monopoly; price discrimination; monopolistic competition; and oligopoly and game theory.
- Unit 5 Factor Markets (10 to 13%)
- An introduction to factor markets and derived demand; changes in factor demand and supply; profit-maximizing behavior in competitive factor markets; and monopsonistic markets.
- Unit 6 Market Failure and the Role of Government (8 to 13%)
- Socially efficient and inefficient market outcomes; externalities; public and private goods; government intervention in different market structures; and income and wealth inequality.
Exam structure
The AP Microeconomics exam is 2 hours 10 minutes and has two sections. A calculator is not permitted, so the arithmetic is deliberately simple.
- Section I, multiple choice - 60 questions, 1 hour 10 minutes, two-thirds of the score. Discrete questions, many built on graphs, tables, or short scenarios.
- Section II, free response - 3 questions, 1 hour (plus a 10-minute reading period), one-third of the score. One long free-response question and two short ones, requiring labelled graphs, calculations, and explanations.
The free-response questions are written around drawing and manipulating models and explaining cause and effect, using AP task verbs (Define, Identify, Calculate, Draw, Explain, Show). A correctly labelled graph that responds exactly to the prompt is what earns the points.
How to study AP Microeconomics
AP Microeconomics rewards precise definitions, confident graphing, and clear cause-and-effect reasoning.
- Work from the Course and Exam Description. Each topic (for example 2.3 Price Elasticity of Demand) maps to specific learning objectives and essential knowledge statements that exam questions are written from.
- Master the models. Learn to draw, label, and shift supply and demand, the firm's cost curves, and the perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and factor-market diagrams.
- Drill the standard calculations. Opportunity cost, the midpoint elasticity formula, total revenue, consumer and producer surplus, marginal and average cost, profit, marginal revenue product, and the Gini coefficient all recur.
- Distinguish movements from shifts. As in any market graph, whether an event moves along a curve or shifts it is the most tested idea; get this automatic.
- Rehearse the free-response format. Practice drawing fully labelled graphs and writing tight, step-by-step explanations using AP task verbs, then check against released scoring guidelines.
The units, topic by topic
Each topic has a Course-and-Exam-Description-level answer page with worked exam questions and cross-links, plus an overview guide and quiz. Browse the set at /ap/microeconomics/syllabus. All six AP Microeconomics units are covered in full:
- Unit 1: scarcity, resource allocation and economic systems, the production possibilities curve, comparative advantage and gains from trade, cost-benefit analysis, marginal analysis and consumer choice.
- Unit 2: demand, supply, price elasticity of demand, price elasticity of supply, other elasticities, market equilibrium and consumer and producer surplus, market disequilibrium and changes in equilibrium, the effects of government intervention in markets, international trade and public policy.
- Unit 3: the production function, short-run production costs, long-run production costs, types of profit, profit maximization, firms' short-run and long-run decisions, perfect competition.
- Unit 4: introduction to imperfectly competitive markets, monopoly, price discrimination, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and game theory.
- Unit 5: introduction to factor markets, changes in factor demand and factor supply, profit-maximizing behavior in perfectly competitive factor markets, monopsonistic markets.
- Unit 6: socially efficient and inefficient market outcomes, externalities, public and private goods, the effects of government intervention in different market structures, income and wealth inequality.
For exam technique, see the guide on how to draw and label AP Microeconomics graphs and answer the free-response questions, with its paired quiz.
For the official Course and Exam Description
The College Board publishes the full Course and Exam Description, released free-response questions, and scoring guidelines for both AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics at apcentral.collegeboard.org. Always study from the current Course and Exam Description and the College Board's own released exams, because the graphing conventions and task verbs are board-specific.
Microeconomics guides
In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.
Microeconomics practice quizzes
Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.
The AP system, explained
See all →- generalAI and academic integrity in 2026: what you can and cannot do
An honest 2026 guide to how Year 12 students can use AI tools well and where the line is. NESA, VCAA, and QCAA rules, what AI is actually good at, what it is bad at, and how to think about it without panicking.
- uni pathwaysAP credit and placement (2026): how colleges award credit for 3s, 4s, and 5s
How U.S. colleges turn AP scores into credit and placement. What a 3, 4, or 5 typically earns, the difference between credit and advanced placement, why selective schools set higher thresholds, and how to check each college's policy before you commit.
- examsAP exam day: what to expect with digital Bluebook exams (2025-26)
A practical, ground-level guide to AP exam day in 2025-26. How digital and hybrid Bluebook exams work, what to bring, exam timing, late testing, and how score cancellation and withholding work if something goes wrong.
- generalAP vs honors vs dual enrollment: GPA weighting, admissions signaling, and when each makes sense
How AP, honors, and dual enrollment courses compare on GPA weighting, college admissions signaling, and college credit. A decision framework for which to pick in junior and senior year, and the tradeoffs students consistently get wrong.
- generalChoosing your AP courses (2026): difficulty tiers, prerequisites, and how many to take
A decision framework for picking AP courses well. Difficulty tiers across the 42 AP subjects, which courses have prerequisites, how many APs to take without burning out, and how to sequence them across junior and senior year.