<p>I am taking honors precalculus ab this year at school. Should I self study ap calculus ab this year or should I wait till next year and take ap calculus bc at school?</p>
<p>ap calc AB isn’t terribly hard. Just get the logistics and conceptual stuff down. It would be possible, recommended? I don’t really think so. plus, AB is usually a prereq to BC isn’t it? (it was for me)</p>
<p>AB isn’t a prerequisite of BC, it’s a simplified version of BC (although some school like yours might do it differently). Calculus BC is equivalent to Calculus I and Calculus II at most colleges while Calculus AB is equivalent to just Calculus I at most colleges.</p>
<p>Just wait until next year and take AP Calculus BC. There’s no point really in self-studying AB if you’re taking the BC next year. That’s essentially like taking the same class all over again.</p>
<p>BC is different from AB though, and you draw on skills learned in AB for BC, I would recommend having a good grasp of AB before taking BC anyways/</p>
<p>I agree with Emily, In my school, students are required to take AB before BC.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. I am probably going to review some of the material in Ap calc ab before I take BC next year.</p>
<p>Well, you need to look into your school and see how your school does math first.</p>
<p>The way it’s supposed to be done is after precalculus (or the equivalent level of math) you have the choice of enrolling in either AB or BC depending on how strong of a math student you are. Typically, AB is supposed to be for seniors or kids who are done with high school math who are pretty good but not necessarily outstanding at math. BC is supposed to be for kids who are great at math and can run through the material quicker. BC teaches you both AB material and some extra topics.</p>
<p>However, some high schools felt that AP Calculus BC is too difficult a class for students to take in one year, so they stretch out the one year of college calculus into two years of high school calculus. So some schools require AB as a prerequisite for BC, that way the students have more time to absorb calculus.</p>
<p>For more information you can look at the course description for AP Calculus.</p>
<p><a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board;
<p>AP Calculus AB includes the topics of functions & limits, derivatives, and integrals. AP Calculus BC includes all the topics of AP Calculus AB along with polynomial approximations and series. Also note that the prerequisites for AB and BC are exactly the same. You do not need to have any AB knowledge before going into BC. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong - if you want to study AB, go for it - it definitely will help you. Just know that it’s not necessary to do because BC goes over all the AB topics for you.</p>