<p>Is it possible to learn AP Calc BC on your own with a AP test-prep book? Like from Barrons? </p>
<p>If so, which one is the best for that?</p>
<p>I'm a junior and my school doesn't let you take calc till senior year, so I'm taking AP Stat this year, but I'd really like to continue with regular math. Thanks! </p>
<p>Also, could I just learn for the AP Psychology test using nothing but the test-prep book? Which book would be good for that? Thanks!</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest learning it in class. Simple concepts can be very easy gotten from book but thorough understanding comes with explaining and re-explaining.</p>
<p>It is possible, but you might want a tutor or someone who can help you if you are ever confused.</p>
<p>depends on how talented you are mathematically and how driven you are. i don't think anyone can answer that question without knowing a lot more about how talented/driven you are.</p>
<p>I learned Algebra 2 & Trig by myself in 2 weeks and I got a 95 on the Honors final. I'm pretty good at math.</p>
<p>My question wasn't "can I do it or not," the question asked if I could learn it without a textbook- like only using AP Calc BC test-prep books. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>i don't think so ,since AP cal BC is pretty common use for the other science subjects ,so better get a 5 on it . and the other thing is ,maybe u could try use Princton or Barrons first and when u look up it and have question ,find a text book to solve it.even tho i think that's totally waste more time.lol so better start from txbook. go quickly from it</p>
<p>Good luck with the Calc BC. The AP Psychology test, however, I've heard was pretty easy.</p>
<p>get a real textbook, then it could possibly be done with some effort. it's pretty easy up to about the chain rule (which would be a few months into the class).</p>
<p>but to be honest, I wouldn't recommend it. there are certain concepts (related rates, convergent/divergent integrals, and those god-awful Taylor series) that I could barely understand in class, much less teach myself. =</p>
<p>(and I'm a probable math major)</p>
<p>I hate Taylor series.</p>
<p>If you haven't taken AB, I wouldn't recommend jumping right into BC for self-study. You can teach yourself AB if you have good resources (ie friends who've taken Calc who wouldn't mind helping you out with stuff). I've done math courses over the summer in a couple weeks' time, too, but Calc is wholly different from any math you've done before, and the concepts you learn will be essential to any physics or math and some chemistry later on, so you want to make sure you have the fundamentals down for sure. I'd recommend an online self-paced course like CTY or EPGY. Review books will go over the material but won't allow you to really understand the math because they're meant to be able to explain math to just about anyone. If you don't want to do an online course, get one or two good textbooks and learn from there.</p>
<p>Is there any particular reason why you want to do BC and not AB?</p>
<p>My precalc class included introductory concepts to Calculus. It prepares you to go straight to BC. I think we might have done A in the beginning of the year...? I'm not sure. We did limits and derivatives (if that's tangents and stuff) at the end of the year.</p>
<p>no matter how good you are, you're going to need someone to teach that stuff to you. </p>
<p>it's a hard, i'm not even gonna lie. self-study for BC is almost laughable, in my opinion.</p>
<p>but, that's just me.</p>
<p>just try it! No need to ask us here, just take a textbook (which I would recommend at first) and try and go through a chapter or two, and observe yourself as you learn. If its tough, then stick with the textbook, and find some supplemental material. Ofcourse, going to a teacher should be a last resort, and if it is, ask the teacher if he/she can help you from time to time. </p>
<p>Be sure to tell us how it goes! Too many people ask for advice and never seem to tell us how it all worked out. :)</p>
<p>PurpoisePal </p>
<p>Try it, but you need more than a Test Prep book. You need a nice Schwaums (I think I spelled that wrong) Outline or something like that. Get a good outline that shows how to work every problem on top of the Barrons book.</p>
<p>Then it is like, you read the outline book. Then you read the Barrons book. Then, you start working things hard and do everything in the outline book and cross reference everything with the Barrons book. Then take your test and see what happens. </p>
<p>Anyone can try to do self study. It is a free country.</p>
<p>But, if you can do math really well. I would share my plan with a good math teacher. It is their fault that you cannot take Calc yet, so make them feel guilty and try to get some guidance. </p>
<p>I am soo mean!:)</p>
<p>It's definitely doable if you put the effort in. When I was a senior in high school, I self-studied BC while taking AB (as my school did not offer a BC class) and got a 5. There really isn't a lot of additional topics on BC. For materials, I used two test prep books and that was about it. Make sure, however, that you dedicate a lot of time to it and make sure that you are comfortable with most of the AB material.</p>
<p>You can do it.</p>
<p>But I strongly suggest gettings a textbook -- the concepts are much better explained and you have many more examples to practice. Your goal shouldn't be getting a 5 on that exam, it should be to actually learn these concepts and be able to use them. Getting a 5 on the exam is really not that hard (I think I heard a statistic that almost 50% get 5's on the exam).</p>
<p>If you don't learn the concepts now (or at least get a decent understanding of them) you will be screwed when you start learning calc-based physics or multivariable calculus (which it seems, as you are mathematically-oriented, that you will eventually go into).</p>
<p>You probably won't even have to buy a calculus textbook -- just ask one of the calc teachers at your school if they could lend you one. The teachers at my school have tons of extra books (and I've borrowed a good many of them).</p>
<p>Either way, if you put the time in you will most likely get a good score. Just try to keep the big picture in mind.</p>
<p>"no matter how good you are, you're going to need someone to teach that stuff to you.</p>
<p>it's a hard, i'm not even gonna lie. self-study for BC is almost laughable, in my opinion.</p>
<p>but, that's just me."</p>
<p>This is not true. I self-studied BC and got a 5.</p>
<p>I wonder if its possible to self study Calculus AB while you are in Precalculus. And I wonder how much of a comittment it would be.</p>
<p>In case you don't want to use a textbook because of the $, it may be helpful to know you can get used textbooks cheap - as low as the cost as a new xtest prep book.</p>
<p>What is a good textbook that you would recommend?</p>
<p>To study calculus AB and BC while taking precalculus w/ no text book (use arcos). Did it and got a 5 on both BC and AB Subscore.</p>
<p>really differential? How did you do it? Like when did you start studying? And how much time did you spend on it?</p>