<p>Which prep books did you use or thought were the most helpful in preparing for the AP Calc AB test? What do you guys think of 5 Steps to a 5? </p>
<p>I’m taking AP Calculus AB next year too. I’m going to be using my sister’s hand me down “500 AP Calculus AB/BC Questions.” It’s one of the 5 Steps to a 5 books. They probably have books that cover content as well as give prep questions, but I feel like especially with math, it’d be just as fine to reference your textbook for any prep questions that you don’t understand.</p>
<p>Bump…</p>
<p>You don’t need prep book. You can find 3-4 years released on the internet for MC. They use the same questions for free response every year, with different numbers plugged in.
Source: I took AB exam this year.</p>
<p>@wcao9311 I actually do kind of need a prep book. I’m taking IB Math SL Yr. 2 this year, which is Calc 1, but I’m planning on taking the AP Calc AB test, too, since SL doesn’t count. So, I’ll need to get familiar with the AP format and stuff. And some people say that the IB Math SL class is somewhat of a joke compared to AP sometimes…</p>
<p>I personally like Princeton Review 
It looks clean and well organized and they do a pretty good job explaining stuff. Just my 2 cents though.</p>
<p>what about Calc BC prep books?</p>
<p>Almost all of the prep books have both AB and BC, so usually the best book for one test is also the best book for the other since the author is the same. From the kids at my school, IB maths studies is just if you absolutely despise math in any shape and form, SL is the lax version of math and takes it slow through pre-calc and some of the AB topics but not as in-depth as AB (so SL should be fine for the mechanics of calculus bot not so much for some of the applications), and HL is basically a lot of Calc BC and some AP stats. If you want to get a 5 on the exam, I would go with PR because it models their questions close to how they’re going to be on the test. If you want to walk into the test room knowing you’re going to get a five, then get barron’s, but give yourself 2-3 months to fully work through it.</p>
<p>Get Calculus for Dummies. It helped my D so much</p>
<p>@AwakeningVenus I would not use an IB textbook to study for the exam itself because it may have different notation or just not have the topic in general. For instance, if the textbook is written by an Indian author they may have a different way of writing out an equation than is common in western countries. Notation is already big on the exam and it is actually tested whether or not you know a specific notation. For example you must know the reimann sum notation and how that equates to a definite integral in order to do a multiple choice question (fairly common type of question. Notation is probably critical on about ten percent of the questions. I don’t know how close IB textbooks are to AP calculus/American calculus. Practicing with questions, explanations, and a short outline style review is the best way to go about reviewing for the test.</p>
<p>P.S. With calculus you get a lot of different notation because it was invented by two different guys, Newton and Leibniz. And then you have all the people coming after then who meddled with it.</p>
<p>\Yes the notation may be different, for example some books use ln(x) which is the natural log. While other books just use log(x). This throws you off as you are not used to it. So I would advise you to try to adjust to the Ap format at east 1 month before.</p>
<p>How is 5 Steps to a 5? </p>
<p>@jimmyboy23 I wasn’t exactly saying to use the textbook itself for studying, and I was also under the assumption that it would be an AP textbook, not one meant for IB. Generally, if you’re taking an AP class, the teacher and the textbook cover the national standards set for the class at hand. What I was saying was that getting one of the Prep books with 500 questions, answers, and explanations would be a great way to practice the material. And if you weren’t satisfied with the explanation in the practice book, you could reference your textbook for more information on the math concept.</p>
<p>@AwakeningVenus I still wouldn’t do a 500 questions book. It would be better to get the released multiple choice tests and take those and any answer you get wrong and don’t understand why you can ask for help on CC or yahoo answers. Free and more accurate to difficulty. Only downside is that they aren’t organized by topic so they are only good for review.</p>
<p>I did realize what you were saying about the textbook and how to use it. The thing I may have assumed though is that you knew he was an IB student because he posts a lot about IB and self-studying AP. That’s my bad but my other post still stands as my reason for not using the IB textbook as a reference source.</p>
<p>One more thing the OP needs to know is that there are calculator sections of the exam and it might be wise to set up a post asking for calculator techniques that may not have been used in your IB course. The free response basically gives you numbers that don’t work out cleanly so you have to use a calculator.</p>
<p>Also if you want video review of topics: GetaFive.com is pretty good</p>
<p>If you’re going to get a review book. PR or Barron’s are the best in my opinion.</p>
<p>@jimmyboy23
Kind of irrelevant to the topic, but I just thought I’d let you know I’m actually a “she”, not a “he”. </p>
<p>My bad, noted.</p>
<p>Seriously I can imagine as a cute Asian girl. Her username Animefan helps build the image. </p>
<p>@wcao9311 I’m not Asian though. I’m African-American… 
</p>
<p>Buuuuuuuump. People literally ignored 80% of my questions on specific books. What do people think about 5 Steps to a 5 or Be Prepared for Calculus?</p>