I’m not really sure how to ask the question… Sorry in advance!
Anyway, I’ve heard different things about the relation between these classes. I’ve heard PreCalc is just an extension/advanced Algebra 2, while others have said Pre-Calc has nothing to do with AP Calc classes? Could anyone clarify? I’m asking about the content; are the concepts all interlinked?
Thanks!
Precalc is basically Algebra II/Trig on steroids. Most of the stuff is review, but at a deeper level; you learn some new concepts, but not that many. I haven’t taken Calc yet, but I’ve heard there’s not much to do with it, either. However, I know that trigonometry and partial fraction decomposition (and matrices) are used in calculus, all of which you use in precalculus.
Precalc is an incredibly general term, and the material covered tends to vary widely.
At some schools, the bulk of trig is learned in Precalculus because it definitely comes back-- it’s really important to have a solid understanding of how trig functions work as function/graphs, all of the formulae (Pythagorean, double/half/addition, sometimes sum to product), and to be able to quickly evalutate trig functiond. Parametric and polar coordinates come back in Calc BC as well. If you compare Pre-Algebra to Algebra, you see that they’re really quite similar, since Pre-Al introduces the concept of solving for x and Algebra extends that to graphing, simultaneous equations, quadratic equation, etc–that direct link doesn’t necessarily exist between Pre-Calc and Calc. The bulk of Calculus is learning to differentiate and integrate and how the theory behind it works (which in some places means a lot of limits, too), and Precalculus is not really a taste of that so much as it is the final layer of building the foundations necessary to be able to be sucessful in a fast-paced calculus class. Also, partial fraction decomposition comes up in Algebra II precisely because it’s easier to not have to introduce it in calculus and it can be really helpful (I love that so much). At some schools, ideas like limits are discussed in precalc as well, and these make up the basis of calculus. The high school math sequence definitely builds on itself. That said, it wasn’t hard for me to go into Pre-Calculus with little background in Algebra II (I had tested out A2 two years before Pre-Calculus–my math sequence got a little messed up) because there was enough review to plug all of the holes in my knowledge. bjkmom is exactly right, though. Precalc is very different in different places, especially if trig is covered extensively in Algebra ĪI.