<p>I'm thinking of taking a summer course instead of the class</p>
<p>A summer course is still a class.</p>
<p>Precalc is algebra II review, trigonometry and some vectors. At the end, derivatives are introduced and that’s where AP calc starts off. You need background knowledge of trigonometry though! I do think that calculus is easier than precalc. </p>
<p>Calculus will eventually require knowledge of everything you learn in pre-calculus (trigonometry, logarithms, conic sections, sequences and series, polar coordinates, parametric equations, vectors, etc.) but you can start learning calculus without knowing everything from pre-calculus. Never learning pre-calculus at all would be a problem, but I don’t think it matters whether you take it in school or in the summer. </p>
<p>I thought precalc helped me a ton in prepping for taking AP Calc…I took it through a school and I was ultimately able to take AP Calc instead of Precalc Senior year.</p>
<p>Of course it’s helpful. I mean, it’s like Pre-Algebra being helpful for Algebra. ( I never took Pre-Algebra, which hurt me slightly in Algebra I ) Take it if you can.</p>
<p>It’s definitely helpful. I would never recommend skipping the course entirely, but since you plan on taking the course in the summer, I’d say go for it. You’re still getting the basic background material. </p>
<p>I have no idea what these other people are talking about but there is one useful thing you learn in pre calculus.</p>
<p>I’m doing the same thing over the summer. I’m taking Precalculus and if I get a 95+ and do well on an entrance exam, I get into Calc AB. If I do my homework, I don’t think the 95+ should be all that hard since I’ll be focusing most of my time on Math which seems fun.</p>
<p>As long as you have a good foundation of Algebra II material, Precalc should be a breeze compared to AlgIITrig. </p>
<p>And AB is much easier and has a lot more of a generous curve than BC.</p>
<p>I went from alg 2 to H Pre-Calc. We used the calculus book and learned all the same things as ap calc ab (some extra things too). Its unique at our school though because if you take H Precalc you can skip calc AB. so I essentially didnt take any precalc course. Pre-calcs last chapters (limits and intro to derivatives) were our first. I think you’ll definitely be ready to go with just a summer class. </p>
<p>We can do that too, same exact thing actually.</p>
<p>
That’s not true, @mrnephew. Look at the curves here:
<a href=“2013 AP Exam Score Distributions”>2013 AP Exam Score Distributions;
<p>I’m not talking about the AP test. I’m talking about the class itself. </p>
<p>And no one should deny that BC is much harder. </p>
<p>Also, just because more people got 5’s doesn’t necessarily show that the curve was higher or lower. It most likely means that smarter and more motivated students take it, which can be verified as there’s so many people who drop BC in the first few weeks. </p>
<p>Pre-calc is very necessary the higher up you go; you may be able to survive calc ab and even bc with a shaky pre-calc knowledge, but when you get into college it will stab you in the back.</p>
<p>For at least calc AB and calc BC, we’ve barely used my honors precalc knowledge except for some minor topics. Honestly, I say take it over the summer (but don’t skip it entirely). Even the kids who took it are going to forget most of it before calculus, so there will be review of what you have to know. Plus, taking a summer course allows the material to be more fresh in your mind when you come back in the fall (I took alegbra II over four weeks in the summer and came back in the fall of my sophomore year for honors precalc).</p>
<p>YES!</p>