
Students hoping to take AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC are strongly encouraged to enroll in summer training the year before the May AP exams. Students are expected to memorize an overwhelming quantity of formulas. Furthermore, no formula sheet is given in the exam. The applications of differential and integral calculus (Units 4, 5 and 8) are particularly challenging as they require the mastery of the basics that are covered in Units 2, 3 and 6. Therefore, most students and parents may underestimate the time, effort and skills required to master the content. Created by Presidio Education®, 2022.Īlmost all of the content covered in AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC should be entirely new to students. The following table details the AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC content. Therefore, students taking AP Calculus BC must be prepared for the challenges of learning the larger quantity of content, which requires much more time and effort to master. Since AP Calculus BC covers more content in the same amount of time as AP Calculus AB, the teaching pace will be significantly quicker. However, AP Calculus BC covers additional topics within Units 6-8 and introduces two (2) extra units. These eight (8) units are also covered in AP Calculus BC. There are eight (8) units, which are detailed in the table below within AP Calculus AB. More information can be found on the College Board website here.ĪP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC explore similar topics within differential and integral calculus. Furthermore, the AP Calculus BC exam allows for a special score structure, where students are given an AP Calculus AB subscore in addition to their AP Calculus BC score.

Taking both AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC exams in the same year is not permitted by College Board. Self-study students must ensure that the precalculus skills and content are mastered before attempting to learn AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC. Students are also allowed to take AP Calculus AB in 11th grade then AP Calculus BC in 12th grade. Students are usually given the choice to take either AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC in 11th or 12th grade in high school after the completion of precalculus. Students should also be aware that since there is so much material to cover in AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC, there won't be enough time to review precalculus content.ĪP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC are year-long APs. Therefore, only students that achieved strong grades in Honors Precalculus are recommended to take AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC. The step-up from precalculus to AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC is significant.


A strong foundation on functions, geometry, trigonometry and algebra is essential. AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC require students to already have mastered precalculus. Math is a cumulative subject, which means that understanding the basic concepts is crucial in order to build on them and master more advanced concepts.
