Science & Technology
What this unit covers
The topics below follow the published Japanese Lang course framework for Unit 4. Japanese Lang publishes no per-unit weighting, so there is no percentage to chase here.
Lessons in this unit
- The Te-Form and Its Uses14 min · 3 objectivesForm the te-form of verbs from each verb group · Use the te-form to connect sequential actions · Use te-kudasai to make polite requests
- The 〜ている Form: Progress and State13 min · 3 objectivesUse 〜ている to express an action in progress · Use 〜ている to express a resulting ongoing state · Interpret 〜ている correctly for different verb types
Every term in Unit 4
All 22 terms we publish for Science & Technology, with definitions. Reading them through is the fastest way to find the ones you cannot define — then drill those in cram mode until you can produce them without the prompt.
- 技術 (ぎじゅつ)
- Technology, technique, skill. 科学技術 is science and technology as a compound; 最新技術 the latest technology.
- 研究 (けんきゅう)
- Research. 研究者 researcher, 研究室 laboratory or academic seminar room.
- 発明 (はつめい) と発見 (はっけん)
- Invention against discovery. 発明する to invent something new; 発見する to find what already existed. Frequently confused.
- 開発 (かいはつ)
- Development, of a product or region. 研究開発 is R&D.
- 情報 (じょうほう)
- Information. 情報化社会 the information society, 個人情報 personal data, 情報を集める to gather information.
- 人工知能 (じんこうちのう)
- Artificial intelligence, commonly AI. 人工 means artificial and appears in many compounds.
- 携帯電話 (けいたいでんわ) / スマホ
- Mobile phone; スマホ is the everyday abbreviation for smartphone. Register differs and both should be known.
- インターネット
- Internet. ネット for short; ネット社会, ネットショッピング, 検索する to search.
- ロボット
- Robot. Japan is a leading producer of industrial and care robots — a concrete, defensible example for essays on aging and labor.
- 新幹線 (しんかんせん)
- The bullet train, in service since 1964, opened for the Tokyo Olympics. A precise and easily citable fact.
- 環境技術 (かんきょうぎじゅつ)
- Environmental technology. 省エネ energy saving, 太陽光発電 solar generation, ハイブリッド車 hybrid vehicle.
- 再生可能エネルギー
- Renewable energy. After the 2011 Fukushima accident Japan's energy policy shifted substantially — the standard example for a policy essay.
- 便利 (べんり) と不便 (ふべん)
- Convenient and inconvenient. Both are な-adjectives; 便利になる to become convenient.
- 〜ために for purpose and cause
- With a volitional verb it means purpose (勉強するために); with a noun or state it means cause (雨のために). Context distinguishes them.
- 〜のに for unexpected contrast
- 勉強したのに、試験に落ちました。Carries a note of complaint or regret that が and けど do not.
- Passive 受身形
- Group 1: 書く→書かれる. Group 2: 食べる→食べられる. The suffering passive is distinctly Japanese: 雨に降られた — I was rained on, to my detriment.
- Causative 使役形
- 書かせる, 食べさせる. Means make or let, and に against を changes which: 弟に行かせる (let) against 弟を行かせる (make).
- Causative-passive 使役受身
- 書かせられる / 書かされる — to be made to do something. Almost always carries reluctance.
- 〜ようにする / 〜ようになる
- ようにする is making an effort to do something habitually; ようになる is a change that has occurred. 毎日運動するようにしています。
- 〜ば〜ほど
- The more, the more: 練習すればするほど上手になります。A high-value pattern for essays.
- Describing a graph
- グラフによると、〜が増えています / 減っています。2010年から2020年にかけて。〜割 for tenths, 〜パーセント for percent.
- Citing sources in the essay
- 資料1によると、記事では〜と述べられています。All three sources must be cited explicitly, and this is the most commonly dropped requirement.
What examiners penalize here
- The te-form unlocks a huge range of grammar (〜てもいい “may,” 〜てはいけない “must not,” 〜ている progressive, 〜てから “after doing”). Master te-form formation early — it is the single highest-leverage conjugation for scoring across the AP tasks.
- When narrating a picture or video prompt, 〜ています lets you describe live action: 人々が電車を待っています (Hitobito ga densha o matte imasu, “people are waiting for the train”). Pair it with 今 (ima, “now”) for progress and with change-of-state verbs for states, and your descriptions gain precision.
Practice Japanese Lang
Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.
Questions about this unit
How much of the AP Japanese Language & Culture exam is Unit 4?
The Japanese Lang course framework does not publish a per-unit weighting, so there is no percentage to quote for Unit 4 and anyone who gives you one is guessing. Spread your time by where your own errors are instead.
What topics are covered in Japanese Lang Unit 4?
Science & Technology covers Innovation, Health, Media and Environment. We publish 22 terms with definitions for this unit, all of them on this page.
How should I study Japanese Lang Unit 4?
Read the 2 lessons below first — about 25 minutes — then drill the 22 terms in cram mode until you can produce each definition from memory rather than just recognize it. Recognition is what makes a unit feel finished when it is not. Finish with practice questions and read the explanation for every one you get right by elimination as well as the ones you miss.
All 6 units of AP Japanese Language & Culture
Unit names, topics and exam weights follow the published College Board course framework for AP Japanese Language & Culture. AP® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which does not endorse this site.