AP CALCULUS AB

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Heyy Guys,

I am currently a senior and take AP Calculus AB and am SO SCARED because its only been two weeks since school started but my teacher assigns hw like crazy. The thing is I was in advanced math so I took Calculus last year while most of the class was taking pre-calc. I had a diagnostic on pre calc and totally flunked it. I am good at calc but its just that its been two years since I took pre-calc and my teacher went really slow.

Is AP Calc AB more pre-calc based or would regular calc get me through Calc AB?? I asked my teacher and she said its more pre-calc based which doesn’t really make sense… I get pre-calc its just that I don’t get the harder questions because i don’t remember how to do them…

2

Only thing I used from pre-calc is trig functions. Not even trig identities.

3

I’m in AP Calculus, but I took pre-calculus before not regular calc. AP Calc really ties everything together that you’ve learned from Algebra I to Pre-Calc. What I mean by that is little things like completing the square, knowing how to factor, trig functions, etc. all come into play throughout AP Calculus. So it is important that you have a solid understanding and background in math. I would go to tutoring and talk to your teacher about it. You said in your last paragraph that you cannot do the harder questions because you don’t remember how to do them. Go ask your teacher for help. Its early in the year so do it while you can.

4

All you really learn throughout the year are limits, derivatives, graphing derivatives, Integrals, and U substitution (if your teacher teaches right). Look up all those concepts and see if you love it or not.

5

My HS only has AP Calc AB/BC (no regular calculus, i.e. no one takes “regular calculus” then Calc AB; that would be overkill). A solid understanding of algebra, trigonometry, and some pre-calculus topics (e.g. logarithmic identities) should be sufficient for AB. Other algebra and pre-calc topics (different types of series, polar/spherical coordinates) don’t really come up until BC.

6

Google “Paul’s Online Calculus 1 Notes.” These are very helpful to me as a former Calc AB student and current BC student.

7

THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS! I already know Calculus and feel like AP Calc AB is just the same thing but in a little more in depth… I looked at Paul’s notes and they are really good!