<p>I'm not the best at math so I chose AP Stats instead of AP Calc for next year. If you've taken the course, can you describe it for me? Like, is there a lot of memorization, formulas, writing? Is it hard? And what kind if math do you primarily use? Algebra?</p>
<p>AP Stats is not a very difficult course. There are a number of formulas and some algebraic computation may be necessary; however, you are provided with a formula sheet so memorization of the formulas is not important. You do need to remember (I don’t agree with ‘memorize’ in this context) what conditions must be met in order to use a formula or command.</p>
<p>Also, TI graphing calculators are used very heavily in this course. Calculator skills are more important than mathematical ability.</p>
<p>[This</a> manual](<a href=“Supporting Students from Day One to Exam Day – AP Central | College Board”>http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap-statistics-course-description.pdf) from CollegeBoard should answer your questions. At the end are some sample problems.</p>
<p>AP Statistics is hardly a math course and it is like the easiest AP course. It is a lot of writing and analyzing data. You do not need to memorize any formulas, but there are some concepts you may need to memorize. You can use a calculator for anything on the exam (and also the class). There are some concepts that are more easily understood if you know some calculus, such as the area under a curve, but it’s really not hard to understand and you don’t have to manually calculate it.</p>
<p>For my statistics class, on a typical day, we did literally nothing for half the class period; people went to the vending machines and played on their phones. Then when class actually started, the teacher would explain a concept or two and we would do practice problems and the teacher would help us. No homework ever, all the quizzes are group quizzes, so the only thing that mattered were tests. Almost all of this teacher’s students pass the AP exam and many get 5’s and 4’s. So yeah, it really doesn’t take much effort at all to do well in AP stat.</p>
<p>Is it advantageous to have a higher-tech calculator like the TI-NSpire instead of a TI-84? Just wondering b/c I’m taking the class next year.</p>
<p>No. TI-84 is sufficient and that’s probably what your teacher is most familiar with.</p>
<p>I had the TI-NSpire calculator, and it seemed to be able to do more than the TI-84s. However, my teacher wasn’t able to teach me how to use it, so that was a big drawback. Find out what your teacher recommends.</p>
<p>Personally, AP stats was very easy. My teacher was awesome. As far as the math, you really need to know some basic algebra. Also, we used TI-83. Over all, there a lot of writing and also memorizing. When I took that course, the hardest part was figuring out which test to use and recalling the assumptions. Trust me, even though the class could be a little challenging, but you will be prepared to take the exam. :)</p>
<p>The class felt more like an English class than a Math class to me… there is a lot of writing, as many others have already pointed out. </p>
<p>If traditional math isn’t your thing, give Stat a shot and see how it goes!</p>
<p>Very easy class, a LOT of homework. It’s long and tedious, but not hard. I never payed attention in class, so I probably did really bad on the AP exam, haha.</p>
<p>As everyone else has stated, it’s not a typical math class. There’s a lot of calculator based work and written explanations, such as whether or not conditions have been met. For me, the class was pretty straight forward and I thought I was prepared for the AP test.</p>
<p>AP stats is the most freakin awesome class ever. So not a math class, more applications. And a calculator class. But it will change your perspective on a lot of things and make you more cynical towards “studies” and “reports” that claim one thing or another. Overall it was one of my favorite classes.</p>