AP Macro 2008 Practice
AP Macro 2008 Practice
Program
AP® Macroeconomics
Practice Exam
The questions contained in this AP® Macroeconomics Practice Exam are written to the content
specifications of AP Exams for this subject. Taking this practice exam should provide students with an
idea of their general areas of strengths and weaknesses in preparing for the actual AP Exam. Because this
AP Macroeconomics Practice Exam has never been administered as an operational AP Exam, statistical
data are not available for calculating potential raw scores or conversions into AP grades.
This AP Macroeconomics Practice Exam is provided by the College Board for AP Exam preparation.
Teachers are permitted to download the materials and make copies to use with their students in a class-
room setting only. To maintain the security of this exam, teachers should collect all materials after their
administration and keep them in a secure location. Teachers may not redistribute the files electronically
for any reason.
© 2008 The College Board. All rights reserved. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, AP, AP Central,
SAT, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board. PSAT/NMSQT is a registered trade-
mark of the College Board and National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All other products and services may
be trademarks of their respective owners. Visit the College Board on the Web: www.collegeboard.com.
AP® Macroeconomics
Directions for Administration
The AP Macroeconomics Exam is 2 hours and 10 minutes in length and consists of a multiple-choice section
and a free-response section.
• The multiple-choice section is 1 hour and 10 minutes, contains 60 questions, and accounts for two-thirds
of the final grade.
• The free-response section is 60 minutes, contains 3 questions, and accounts for one-third of the final
grade. Ten minutes of the Section II time are reserved for reading the questions and planning answers.
Students should be given a 10-minute warning prior to the end of each section of the exam. A 10-minute break
should be provided after Section I is completed.
The actual AP Exam is administered in one session. Students will have the most realistic experience if a complete
morning or afternoon is available to administer this practice exam. If a schedule does not permit one time period
for the administration of the entire practice exam, it would be acceptable to administer Section I one day and
Section II on a subsequent day.
Many students wonder whether or not to guess the answers to the multiple-choice questions about which they are
not certain. It is improbable that mere guessing will improve a score. However, if a student has some knowledge
of the question and is able to eliminate one or more answer choices as wrong, it may be to the student’s advantage
to answer such a question.
• The use of calculators, or any other electronic devices, is not permitted during the exam.
• It is suggested that the practice exam be completed using a pencil for Section I and a pen with black or
dark blue ink for Section II to simulate an actual administration.
• Teachers will need to provide paper for the students to write their free-response answers. Teachers should
give the students directions indicating how they wish the responses to be labeled so that the teacher will
be able to associate the student’s response with the question the student intended to answer.
• Remember that students are not allowed to remove any materials, including scratch work, from the testing
site.
-ii-
Section I
Multiple-Choice Questions
-1-
MACROECONOMICS
Section I
Time—70 minutes
60 Questions
Directions: Each of the questions or incomplete statements below is followed by five suggested answers or
completions. Select the one that is best in each case and place the letter of your choice in the corresponding box on
the student answer sheet.
2. Which of the following groups would most likely (A) Decrease Decrease
gain from unanticipated inflation? (B) Decrease Increase
(C) No change Increase
(A) Landlords who own apartments in cities (D) Increase Decrease
with rent controls (E) Increase Increase
(B) Individuals who have fixed retirement
incomes 5. If the exchange rate between the United States
(C) Individuals who earn high incomes dollar ($) and the British pound (£) changed from
(D) Individuals who have borrowed money at $2 per £1 to $3 per £1, and domestic prices in
fixed interest rates both countries stayed the same, then the United
(E) Banks that have loaned all excess reserves States dollar would
at a fixed interest rate
(A) depreciate, making United States imports
3. With a constant money supply, if the demand for from Britain more expensive
money decreases, the equilibrium interest rate and (B) depreciate, making United States imports
quantity of money will change in which of the from Britain cheaper
following ways? (C) appreciate, making United States imports
from Britain more expensive
Interest Rate Quantity of Money (D) appreciate, making United States imports
(A) Increase Decrease from Britain cheaper
(B) Increase Not change (E) purchase 3 times more British goods than
(C) Decrease Decrease before the change occurred
(D) Decrease Increase
(E) Decrease Not change
7. An increase in which of the following is most 12. Which of the following is most likely to occur
likely to promote economic growth? if the Federal Reserve engages in open market
operations to reduce inflation?
(A) Consumption spending
(B) Investment tax credits (A) A decrease in interest rates
(C) The natural rate of unemployment (B) A decrease in reserves in the banking system
(D) The trade deficit (C) A decrease in the government deficit
(E) Real interest rates (D) An increase in the money supply
(E) An increase in exports
8. An appropriate fiscal policy to combat a recession
would be to increase which of the following? 13. Which Federal Reserve action can shift the
aggregate demand curve to the left?
(A) Interest rates
(B) The money supply (A) Lowering the federal funds rate
(C) Taxes (B) Lowering income taxes
(D) Government spending (C) Lowering reserve requirements
(E) The sales of government bonds (D) Raising the discount rate
(E) Raising government spending on national
9. The concept of opportunity cost would no longer defense
be relevant if
14. Crowding out refers to the decrease in
(A) poverty in an economy no longer existed
(B) the supply of all resources were unlimited (A) national output caused by higher taxes
(C) resources were allocated efficiently (B) domestic production caused by increased
(D) real wages were flexible imports
(E) all current incomes were invested in (C) private investment due to increased bor-
technological research rowing by the government
(D) employment caused by higher inflation
10. An appreciation of the United States dollar on the (E) exports caused by an appreciating currency
foreign exchange market could be caused by a of a country
decrease in which of the following?
15. If the real interest rate in the United States
(A) United States interest rates
increases relative to that of the rest of the world,
(B) The United States consumer price index
capital should flow
(C) Demand for the dollar by United States
residents (A) into the United States and the dollar will
(D) Exports from the United States depreciate
(E) The tariff on goods imported into the United (B) into the United States and the dollar will
States appreciate
(C) out of the United States and the dollar will
depreciate
(D) out of the United States and the dollar will
appreciate
(E) out of the United States and the value of the
dollar will not change
END OF SECTION I
-12-
Section II
Free-Response Questions
-13-
MACROECONOMICS
Section II
Planning Time—10 minutes
Writing Time—50 minutes
Directions: You have 50 minutes to answer all three of the following questions. It is suggested that you spend
approximately half your time on the first question and divide the remaining time equally between the next two
questions. In answering the questions, you should emphasize the line of reasoning that generated your results; it is
not enough to list the results of your analysis. Include correctly labeled diagrams, if useful or required, in explaining
your answers. A correctly labeled diagram must have all axes and curves clearly labeled and must show directional
changes. Use a pen with black or dark blue ink.
1. The country of Freedonia introduces an attractive tax concession for foreign investors. As a result, effective
real returns in Freedonia rise compared with those in other countries.
(a) Attracted by the tax concession, many United States investors decide to invest in Freedonia. Using a
correctly labeled graph of the foreign exchange market for Freedonia’s currency (the nia), show the
impact on the demand for nias and the United States dollar price of the nia.
(b) Given your answer in part (a), what would happen to Freedonia’s exports and imports to and from the
United States? Explain.
(c) Draw a correctly labeled graph of aggregate demand and aggregate supply, and show the impact of your
answer to part (b) on Freedonia’s real output and price level.
(d) Given your answer in part (c), what would happen to employment in Freedonia? Explain.
(e) Draw a correctly labeled graph of the money market and show how your answer to part (c) would affect
nominal interest rates in Freedonia?
STOP
END OF EXAM
-15-
Name: _______________________________________
AP® Macroeconomics
Student Answer Sheet for Multiple-Choice Section
-16-