AP Business with Personal Finance Business Decision FRQ Practice
27 Business Decision questions written in the AP format. Pick one, read the full scenario, and write your recommendation.
Your first scored response is included. A plan unlocks unlimited scoring.
27 questions
sorted by unit
Entrepreneurial opportunity and values decision
Unit 1: Businesses, Competition, and New Ideas
Use the following fictional scenario to answer all parts.
Nia is starting a reusable lunch-bag business. She has experience sewing and values reducing material waste. Interviews with local families indicate interest in durable bags. She has USD 900 available to launch the business and wants to test demand before committing to long-term production.
Local Proposal: sew a small batch using recovered fabric and sell directly at a weekend market. Setup costs are USD 600. For the first month, projected sales revenue is USD 1,200 and total ongoing costs are USD 500, leaving USD 700 before deducting the one-time setup cost. Nia can change designs after speaking with customers. Production depends on her limited sewing time.
Supplier Proposal: order a standard design made with newly manufactured fabric and sell online. Setup costs are USD 850. First-month projected sales revenue is USD 1,700 and total ongoing costs are USD 900, leaving USD 800 before deducting the one-time setup cost. The supplier can make more bags, but Nia must commit to the standard design before seeing customer responses. All projections are uncertain, and both options fit within her available setup funds.
Describe an internal, market or external factor affecting Nia.
Explain how that factor creates an opportunity or problem.
Using projected first-month revenue as a financial criterion, describe a difference or similarity between the proposals, using evidence for both.
Using one other financial criterion, describe a difference or similarity between the proposals, using evidence for both.
Using one nonfinancial criterion, describe a difference or similarity between the proposals, using evidence for both.
Recommend one proposal for Nia. Explain why, using any three distinct financial and/or nonfinancial criteria and scenario evidence for each.
What the Business Decision FRQ asks
The Business Decision question is FRQ 4 on the AP Business with Personal Finance exam. You read about a business facing an opportunity or a problem, compare two courses of action on financial and nonfinancial criteria, and recommend one.
- 40 min
- including a 15-minute reading period
- 8 points
- across parts A to C
- 15%
- of your exam score
Part A: Factors
An internal, market, or external factor, and the opportunity or problem it creates
2 pts
Part B: Criteria
The two options compared on return on investment, another financial criterion, and a nonfinancial one
3 pts
Part C: Recommendation
One option chosen and supported with three criteria and evidence
3 pts
How Business Decision FRQ practice works
Each question follows the exam’s format, from the full prompt to a score on every part.
Read the scenario
The business, both courses of action, and every part, laid out the way the exam shows them.
Write on a 39-minute timer
About the time to plan for on exam day, reading included. Pause it or turn it off, and your response saves as you go.
Submit for a score out of 8
Your response is scored against the scoring guidelines written for that question. Your first score is included.
Feedback on every part
A summary at the top tells you what to work on next. Below it, each part shows whether you earned the point and what the scoring guidelines were looking for.
Detailed Feedback
Part A(i): 1/1 point
The student earns this point by describing an external factor — the growing popularity of cycling driven by rising gas prices and environmental awareness — that plausibly affects Spoke & Hub Cycles. The description is sufficiently specific to earn credit.
Part A(ii): 0/1 point
The student attempts to explain how the factor creates an opportunity but only restates that increased demand allows the company to grow and expand. The response does not adequately explain the mechanism by which the external factor specifically creates an opportunity for Spoke & Hub Cycles beyond a generic restatement. A stronger response would connect the factor more explicitly to the company's strategic situation or goals.
Part B(i): 1/1 point
The student correctly identifies that the proposals differ in ROI, citing Boise at 24% and Gresham at 18%, and includes specific evidence from the figure for both courses of action. This meets the requirement for describing a difference with evidence from each proposal.
Questions about the Business Decision FRQ
How many responses can I get scored?
You can read every question without a plan. Your first scored response is included. A plan unlocks unlimited scoring.
What does the scenario look like?
A fictional business with an opportunity or a problem, and two courses of action described by their financial and nonfinancial implications. Your evidence comes from those details.
Do I have to pick one option?
Yes. Part C asks for a decisive recommendation backed by three criteria and evidence from the scenario. Saying both could work doesn’t answer it.
How is FRQ 4 different from the other Business FRQs?
FRQs 2 and 3 are shorter, with a suggested 12 to 13 minutes each on the exam. FRQ 4 asks you to weigh two full courses of action and recommend one, and it gets about 40 minutes.
Can I write my answer by hand?
Yes. Switch the editor to handwrite, write on paper, and add a photo of your page.
More AP Business with Personal Finance practice
AP Business with Personal Finance FRQs
Every FRQ type for AP Business with Personal Finance, with practice for each.
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Unit-by-unit review for the whole course.
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