<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I've heard somewhere before that Calc. AB and Calc BC are independent of one another, so it's possible to do Calc BC w/out taking Calc AB.</p>
<p>Is this true? The reason I am wondering is because I'm signed up to take Calc BC..and I took Calc AB so long ago that I don't even remember anythinggggg.</p>
<p>I don't wanta put my self through a hell hole or anything, so I was wonderin' that..</p>
<p>Thanks:)</p>
<p>Calc AB covers a subset of the Calc BC topics, so certainly Calc BC is all you need.</p>
<p>Like im_blue said, Calc AB covers the equivalent of a college Calculus I class while BC covers Calc I and II. When you take the BC test, you also get a AB subscore, so it's definitely possible to take BC without AB. (Though there are some high schools that require you to take a year of AB before you take BC.. which makes no sense...)</p>
<p>my sons school here in NC requires him to take both Calc AB and BC</p>
<p>Ahh that stinks, it's an awful rehash of material for your son. Can you talk the school out of it anyway?</p>
<p>Wow. Greaaaaaaaaat! </p>
<p>So, I should be able to master Calc BC alright then..</p>
<p>My son's school put him in BC right after the pre-calc.
Although I am not really sure they even teach AB.</p>
<p>Many high schools either offer only Calculus AB or both. Of those that offer both, traditionally the weaker Precalculus students are placed into Calculus AB, while top students take Calculus BC. Some high schools have a policy of requiring Calc AB before taking Calc BC, which makes no sense at all and is just a waste of time. Anyone taking Precalculus their sophomore year is likely to be very strong in math, anyway, so it seems that these students would especially benefit from taking Calc BC their junior year and more advanced college/online classes during senior year.</p>
<p>most everyone does BC without AB, usually only weaker (relatively) math students take AB before BC</p>
<p>God, I wish I had known that. Would've never taken Calc AB!!</p>
<p>You have to know AB to do BC, it is just that at some schools they teach both AB and BC in one year, and just call it BC. At other schools they teach them as two different classes. This gives a chance to take AB, and not be forced into taking BC. Six and One-half dozen the other. If you take AB first then BC next you will have more time to grasp the BC concepts, especially Series.</p>
<p>Well, am I doomed if I take BC without knowing AB?</p>
<p>I took AB this year, and Im taking BC next, as a Senior. My school makes you do that, even though we have a bunch of pretty good math students.</p>
<p>hksangha </p>
<p>It depends on how they teach BC at your school, and it is different from school to school. You are not doomed if they teach AB as part of the BC class, and most schools do this.</p>
<p>In fact, the actual AP Calc AB and BC tests sometimes have the same questions. I talked with several AB students after their testing and 4 of the 6 written questions sounded pretty much exactly the same. </p>
<p>Most topics in BC are covered in AB although less in depth, and with the exception of a few topics (series being the most obvious). If you have a strong pre-calc background, you can do fine. Those who have already taken AB may be bored for a lot of the year in BC.</p>
<p>Actually, 3 of the 6 FRQs on the BC exam will be exact questions from the AB exam that year.... ALWAYS! Then there's usually two more in depth questions like particle movement or some sort of random question whose part a-d don't follow a specific pattern, and lastly, there's that horrible series/sequences question.</p>
<p>At my school the accelerated/gifted series is precalc sophomore year, then calc bc, then multivariable, while the honors series is alg II sophomore year, then precalc, then calc ab.</p>
<p>If, like me, you're in the honors series, if you skip a class then you'll take calc ab junior year, then they make you take calc bc senior year.</p>