AP Calculus Textbooks

Test Preparation AP Mathematics & Computer Science
1

<p>I'm thinking about doing an AP Calculus (probably AP Calculus BC) as an independent study; however, there's not, nor have there ever been, AP Calculus classes at my school. Therefore, I have no idea which textbook to use.</p>

<p>So, if you're currently taking AP Calculus, or have taken it, I would really appreciate it if you told me what textbook you're using / you used. Also, while I said probably AP Calculus BC, I may do AP Calculus AB, so the textbooks from those are appreciated as well.</p>

<p>Building on that, I would appreciate any help on deciding, for sure, which one to do (as in, which AP Calculus).</p>

2

<p>Our school uses Thomas’ Calculus Early Transcendentals, 11th ed. It’s actually accessible and rather easy to read.</p>

3

<p>The books by Larson or Stewart are popular (I used Larson for AP Calc in high school, in my college calculus class right now I’m using Stewart). To be honest, college level math textbooks really only useful as a repository of practice problems (unless you have a strong aptitude for math). The authors usually try to show off how smart they are rather than provide clear explanations of concepts (and there are even more esoteric textbooks than these, such as Spivak’s). Therefore, I highly recommend a supplement book like “The Calculus Lifesaver” or “Calculus for Dummies.”</p>

4

<p>we use calculus: early transcendentals (5th ed.) by stewart. its good when u have a teacher, and i’ve gotten along just fine with it. however, now that i’m struggling a little in calc BC, i find the examples unhelpful.
i recommend patrickJMT videos on youtube. they helped me all throughout calc ab last year.</p>

5

<p>Our class uses this online book : </p>

<p>[Whitman</a> College Mathematics](<a href=“http://www.whitman.edu/mathematics/calculus/]Whitman”>Community Calculus)</p>

<p>Its free for all to access. You can order a print copy for a low price too :]</p>

6

<p>Well I liked AP Calculus BC better because it’s just the one that came more naturally to me. As far as the question of which textbook to use goes, I’m not sure but you can look online for syllabus used in college and I’m sure you’ll find something great. That’s what I did and I also used Shmoop for [AP</a> Calculus](<a href=“http://www.shmoop.com/ap-calculus/]AP”>AP Calculus AB Exam Prep; Review Guide) because it really gave me those practice tests. I needed to feel confident about how much I had prepared and found that some resources online are better than textbooks (although I love using textbooks because I prefer reading a book than reading on a computer).</p>

7

<p>I’ve come across an intense discussion once about which publisher is best.</p>

<p>My school uses Stewart’s 7e. with Early Transcendentals, and I personally don’t think it is as bad as others think it is. The information seems a little bulky but they highlight the important stuff with the formatting.</p>

8

<p>Not a textbook, but if you want to review for the AP, I highly recommend the Barron’s version. It was amazing and I got a 5 :)</p>

9

<p>I recommend Michael Spivak Calculus & Calculus on Manifolds. I used these books to self-study last year and get a 5 on Calc BC.</p>