<p>I'm currently in the midst of deciding whether to take AP Calc AB and AP Physics B, or AP Calc BC and AP Physics C.</p>
<p>I am taking PreCalc honors this year as a junior in high school, and I will probably end the year with an A-. I think that if I want to make the jump from PreCalc to BC Calc, I would end up doing some a little work over the summer, maybe a few hours a week or something.</p>
<p>As I was researching for classes, one that caught my eye was a college Calculus II course that was 10 hours per week for 4 weeks. They say that this is equivalent to AP Calc AB, but I have read elsewhere that Calc II is more in line with BC.</p>
<p>If instead of doing the prep work myself, and just taking Calc II over the summer, would I fit into a high school multivariable calc class? Does this look that good to colleges (taking into account that in high school I do best by a large margin in the maths and physics)?</p>
<p>An additional question, how does AB Calc and B Physics vs. BC Calc and C Physics (all AP) look to colleges?</p>
<p>Calculus II is definitely more in line with BC.
Go to collegeboard and see the description of BC.
Usually a 4 (most likely a 5) in Physics C (not B, for sure) will give you credit for introductory Physics (calculus-based). It may not, depending on the institution.</p>
<p>You need to get at least a 4 to get credits for Calc 1 and 2 (again, depends on the school, some even let go with a score of 3).</p>
<p>You obviously need to master your calculus I (basic stuff) to do well in calculus 2 and multivariable. I personally against taking everything in high school. It is up to you.</p>
<p>I am assuming that your are currently a sophomore or Junior.
If you are a sophmore, just take AP calc BC ( IMO AB is just like precalc, but with the integration parts)</p>
<p>If you are a junior, I would suggest you take whichever you feel more comfortable. I dont think taking multivariable will make you look much better than tanking calc bc. Just try to get an A and you will be fine and take the Calc BC exam.
If you decided to take multivariable, make sure you know the material for calc BC
I think taking physics C is more convenient because of the ap exam ( you take either mech or e&m or both)
Physics B, you ll cram both mech and e&m and other material, but less in deph.</p>
<p>Commonly (though there may be some variation):</p>
<p>AP Calculus AB ~= Calculus I
AP Calculus BC ~= Calculus I + Calculus II</p>
<p>You don’t want to take Calculus II without having completed either Calculus I or AP Calculus AB.</p>
<p>It would be better to take multivariable calculus at a college after completing AP Calculus BC or Calculus II, at least for the purpose of transferring credit.</p>
<p>AP Physics C is much more likely to be accepted for subject credit than AP Physics B.</p>
<p>^^Yes, but will I have completed PreCalc – isn’t that about equivalent to Calc I?</p>
<p>And thanks guys. This is a tough decision, I’m torn right down the middle. Do you think 40 hours of class time in Calc II, then taking multivariable will almost guarantee me a 5 on the Calc BC exam next year? Another factor that comes into play is that the teacher I would have for multivariable would be easier and probably more fun to have than the Calc BC teacher. Multivariable may also be less class periods per week – I’ll have to look into that.</p>
<p>Calculus I is designed for people who have not taken any calculus before. So is precalc.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what they suggest, but I doubt it. I have been reading up on this stuff, and I feel like a lot of it is the same material repeated. One thing I haven’t learned much of is integrals, but I can learn that on my own if need be.</p>
<p>Precalculus may have introduced some concepts that will be covered in greater depth in Calculus I. The stuff about integrals is crucial to know before going on to Calculus II.</p>
<p>Ok, great. As a possible reference, I should be able to get an 800 on the Math II subject test, but I doubt that says much about my readiness for these classes.</p>
<p>So, before I begin the class, I should be familiar with:
-Finding limits
-Vertical/horizontal/slant asymptotes
-Derivates (normal type)
-Summation
-Polar coordinates
-Graphing/analyzing ellipses, parabolas, hyperbolas
-Logarithmic and exponential functions
-Series
-Matrices
-Some probability and trig</p>
<p>Am I missing anything, or is there anything on there that I don’t need to know before starting Calc II?</p>
<p>^ What do you mean not enough experience?
A regular Calculus AP BC course will cover both AB and BC material. Unless his school teaches AB for one semester, and BC for the second semester (meaning students can continue their AB education with BC, or stops at AB)…</p>
<p>AP Physics C is useful if and only if you have to take calculus-based physics course later. Most of the time you need a 5 to get credits for the course (maybe 4, but really depends on the school). Check the colleges you want to apply to and see the condition with AP credits. </p>
<p>Math II is nothing like calculus - it covers up to pre-calculus (very little IMO). </p>
<p>
Normally this is what calculus 1 will cover. </p>
<p>This is calculus II
Series may or may not be covered in calculus 2 (can be part of calculus 3)</p>
<p>-Matrices is not covered in calculus. It is part of linear algebra.
You should’ve learned that from pre-calculus.
Well, unless you are taking about i, j, k in calculus 3… yeah sure. still part of calulcus. fine. LOL</p>
<p>You are going to become a senior. MIT won’t be impressed by the fact that you have taken so many advance math / science courses. I mention MIT just to say that you have to balance out between school and personal life.</p>
<p>If you took calculus 2 in the summer, what is the point of getting AB / BC credits for math anyway? Try to take BC in high school. Whether you take AP physics or not - it is up to you.
Again, don’t overload yourself with too much knowledge right now. It can go against you. I have seen too many underclassmen trying to impress me and other upperclassmen (and including professors) about their high school outcome</p>
<p>Yeah, I was just mentioning that to see if people thought I would be ready for Calc II. I already know how to do most of the stuff on that list.</p>
<p>It looks like that if I wind up doing Calc II, I will need to learn integrals and then differential equations.</p>
<p>I’m not worried about free time/personal life. In fact, the reason I am taking this course is because I have too much free time. And what do you mean what’s the point of getting AB/BC credits? I would still take an AP test for math next year, whether it be AB or BC.</p>
<p>One other advantage I mentioned to taking it over the summer is I would have an easier schedule next year. I’ll take your advice with not overloading myself. I really don’t have that much work, and science and math is really the only thing I have going for me as a student, so I figure it would be in my favor to get a step or two ahead of everyone else.</p>
<p>You are saying that you want to take calculus II at a college. So you are earing college credit. Whether those credits is transferable or not, depends on the school you want to get into. If you can, then why do you even need to take BC exam? Do you see what I mean???
People take AP exams only because they want to get credits for these introductory courses.</p>
<p>And why do you need differential equations for calculus II???</p>
<p>And I saw that you learn differential equations in Calculus I. I was just reading off of this list of what you learn in Calc I from UC Berkeley. So basically I would need to know everything on this list prior to taking the class, correct? Because I’m thinking Calc II is designed for people who have just finished Calc I. Mind you, I’m not taking the class at Berkeley, but it’s probably the same material at other schools.</p>
<p>You don’t. Many schools put differential equations and linear algebra in freshman year along with calculus. I think most of these schools accept “high-achievers” so the incoming students usually have completed calculus I or even II in high school.</p>
<p>My school doesn’t. We list differential equations and linear algebra (for engineer it’s linear algebra + vector calculus for engineers) in the late sophomore year. I think it makes more sense this way. The latter course is for engineers and certain physical science students (physics, biochem, etc). Because half of course is vector calculus, so it must be taken after calculus III (multi-variable + basic vectors). </p>
<p>DE is not needed in the entire sequences of calculus at all. You will come to one or two applications that has a lot to do with DE techniques, but they can be shown without knowing any DE techniques.</p>
<p>Ok, so basically it just looks like I will have to learn differentiation (different than differential equations) and integrals. How long do you think it would take to familiarize myself with this, and what types of differentiation should I be familiar with? I currently know only first (normal) derivatives In the course description, it says they spend the first part of the course reviewing, so I’m not too worried.</p>
<p>How long? Well graphing function in calculus 1 isn’t going to be on calculus 2. So you can concentrate on differentiation and integration.</p>
<p>It will take you a day just to learn the basic technique. I say keep doing differentiation and integration problems for a week or so… Back in the days when I had calculus 1 in high school most of the time we were given 50-100 problems to do in class. I could finish them within 15 mins. Once you get a hang of it, you can finish them very quickly.</p>
<p>When you get to calculus II, you will learn more. You would be better off saving more time to prepare for calculus II. I think the hardest thing in calculus II is the integration (washer, for example… kills me all the time). </p>
<p>And there will be a lot of “mechanical memorization” in calculus for various of new techniques.</p>
![http://www.math10.com/en/university-math/definite-integrals/imgFig1.gif[/url]](http://www.math10.com/en/university-math/definite-integrals/imgFig1.gif%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
![http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/9/6/4/964676a345bceb71c391e66d18085c54.png[/url]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/9/6/4/964676a345bceb71c391e66d18085c54.png%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
