I’m currently in calculus ab and want to take calculus bc next year, but the teacher for it at my school is terrible. I’m looking at community college options, and is it true that ab = calc 1 and bc = calc 2? If so, if I take calc 2 at community college then will I be ready to take the calc bc ap test? I’m kind of confused becuase the calc 2 class I looked at was only a 2 hour class twice a week for three months, so is that basically calc bc but not including ab review? Someone please clarify, thanks!
Yes, high school calculus AB will cover enough material that you can then go into college calculus 2 (but try the college’s old calculus 1 final exams to check your knowledge).
Completion of college calculus 2 or high school calculus BC will typically place you into college calculus 3, linear algebra, or differential equations if you take more math afterward (again, try the college’s old calculus 2 final exams).
Colleges may have different levels of calculus (1 and) 2. The standard one is for math, physics, and engineering majors. Some offer an honors version with more proofs. Many offer a less rigorous one for business majors. Be sure to choose the one most suitable for your academic goals.
Agree with @ucbalumnus
It’s pretty standard that a college class is 3-4 hours per weeks for one term.
One thing about college vs HS - there is no review in college, for the most part. Classes start out on day 1 with new material.
It is my understanding that AB covers the Calc 1 material in a year (vs. a semester in college). BC covers both Calc 1 and 2. at a similar pace as they do in college. The question becomes will they cover all the material in a Calc BC class and how completely will they cover it? Some HSs do a better job than others. My D’s HS only offered BC. Any other Calc was considered an Honors level class which of course would not get you any college credit. I think their logic was that if you were expecting to take a college level course you were going to take it at a college level pace. They only offered AP Physics C as well.
That is a common misconception.
The AB exam covers Calc I and the BS exam covers Calc I and II. HS’s, however, can structure the classes as they wish. However, some HS’s teach the AB concepts one year and then the BC concepts the following year. Others offer a BC class that covers AB and BC in one year. There is no standard. The College Board dictates the topics to be covered, but does not dictate how the classes need to be structured.
This is the Calc 2 course description from S’s HS…
His teacher told him that they will go beyond the material taught for the BC exam.
@skieurope In your opinion, does this description match AP Calc BC? Its an “advanced honors” course, not an official AP course, at his school. He labored over how to quantify this class in his applications. In the end, he labeled it an honors course, to be conservative.
Sorry to momentarily derail the thread.
It sounds like it covers the BC material as well as dipping into discussion of proofs (which is beyond BC).
I’m of the opinion that it really does not matter. Certainly if it’s not an AP class, I would not check the AP box. But labeling it honors vs. advanced (I can’t remember the exact check boxed on the Common App, and I’m too lazy to look) will not matter. The HS profile will give colleges a clearer picture on how a HS classifies its courses.
I took AB in HS and then took Calc I my first semester. I’m taking Calc II now and I think it definitely would have compared to BC at my school. Compare a syllabus from each class and see. You may have to self-study a few topics but thats probably it! For my Calc II class, the first day was a review of limits, integrals, and derivatives. They weren’t easy though lol. We had a take home assignment with 20 of each and that was the only “review” we did.