Which is harder AP Calculus AB or Honors Precalculus?

I got a C+ in Honors Precalc last semester. Then I dropped down to regular and I have an A in Regular. Should I take AP Calculus AB next year? I was also wondering if I should retake Honors Precalc over the summer. I am going to get tutoring. I was also wondering if I do good in the summer class and tutoring could I possibly take AP Calculus BC. My teacher told me that I if I couldn’t handle Honors Precalc then I shouldn’t take AP Calculus. I got a 630 on the math section of the PSAT. I am currently a sophomore and I will be a junior next year. I was also wondering if there are any juniors in regular calculus. I am literally the only sophomore in my regular Precalc.

I’d follow the advice of your teacher and guidance counselor. Perhaps non-AP calc would be a good option.

Does your school offer honors or regular Calculus?

If you take AP Calculus AB , pay attention in class and practice a lot. I failed the AP test my junior year so I retook it my senior year. If you need help we can find a way to get in touch. I pass all of my assessments with a perfect in AP Calculus nowadays

Take regular Calc in 11th and Calc AB in 12th. Two years of Calc in HS will look good on transcript.
I think going to AP Calc AB next year may be too tough for you. Yes, it is harder than Precalc Honors for most students.

if your struggling in honors precalculus and had to drop down this year I do not advise going into AP Calculus BC in the fall if that is what your asking. If you do well in summer math ask about AB but not BC.

I would say to take Calc AB. The A part is Precalculus sonitbwould be a good refresher/ brush up and help you solidify your understanding. The B part is Calc 1.

If you do well, either you could take Calc BC the next year (if your school allows) or perhaps they offer something covering Calc 2 (the C part of BC).

I second the suggestion of taking regular calculus next year then calculus AB senior year of your school will allow it. .what sort of major are you thinking of?

I’m thinking of majoring in Computer Science Engineering.

I don’t understand the recommendations to take regular calculus next year and then AB the following year. Wouldn’t that mean this student would be taking both PreCalc and Calc 1 twice? Once as PreCalc and “regular calculus” in 10th/11th grades and then again in senior year in Calc AB? Or have I misunderstood what Calc AB covers?

PreCalc 10th => Regular Calculus 11th => AP Calc AB 12th

  • Part of the problem is the student was accelerated too quickly and not ready for Precalculus Honors.
  • Regular Calc is CALCULUS, not PRE-Calculus (which is more Trig etc).
  • Math learning is repetitive, so the more you do, the more you learn, the better you get. Even students that take the AP Calc class often start back at Calc 1 in college.
  • For Comp Science/Engineering they will look for strong math grades. Mastering Calculus is important.

Precalculus regular doesn’t include Calc 1. Regular calculus cover analysis, derivatives, an intro to differential calc. Calculus AB goes MUCH MORE in depth than regular calculus and cover differential calculus with an introduction to integral calculus.

@dshs823271
Computer Science Engineering requires hardcore math and physics skills.
What’s your science sequence?

High school calculus AB will be a gentler slower introduction to calculus than calculus in college will be.

You may want to check if you are ready for high school calculus AB or college calculus 1 with these quizzes. They can tell you what precalculus concepts you need to review and practice.

http://www.math.buffalo.edu/rur/rurci3.cgi
http://math.tntech.edu/e-math/placement/

I know that Precalculus isn’t calculus. But Precalculus in 10th grade plus calculus in 11th plus AB as a senior (which is mostly the same as Precalculus and Calculus) is doing PreCalc and Calc twice. For a student that struggled at first with honors PreCalc but now has an A in regular PreCalc.

Why wouldn’t it be better for such a student (at a school where kids in honors PreCalc have the option of skipping AB and going to BC) to go to Calc AB with the option of switching to regular Calc if it’s too much?

This isn’t a student in regular PreCalc who is still struggling.

Anecdata for why: kid-friend was in honors Algebra 1 and honors Geometry, on the 1-year accelerated math track, A-/B+ kid. They took on-level Algebra II instead of honors Algebra II last year. Did great, high A both semesters. This year signed up for honors pre-calc, rather than on-level. Poor kid is on the verge of failing because there was so much material covered in honors Algebra II that the on-level class did not cover, and the honors pre-calc class assumes familiarity.

I would not assume that Calc AB would be review for someone who took on-level pre-calc followed by on-level calculus.

Yes, typically an A in regular precalc can lead to Calc AB, but the honors calc + calc AB combination would reinforce calc for OP. Either would be possible.

Non-accelerated students in math go from precalculus in 12th grade to calculus 1 in college (although some take the less rigorous calculus 1 for business majors in college).

Since high school calculus AB is a slower paced version of calculus 1, it should be doable by a student who completed precalculus with an A grade. High school calculus that is less rigorous than calculus AB may be modeled on calculus for business majors, so it may be easier than that. But a student who wants to major in computer science and engineering needs to be able to handle math courses more rigorous than calculus for business majors.

Set yourself up for success.

Someone with a C+ in Precalc should definitely not take AP Calc BC next.

I am not sure ifyou should take Calc AB yet…if you do you need to get a tutor and do lots of extra problems.
If you can do the Calc → Calc AB plan, that would be good and you will be ready for college.

It likely depends on the school system. At our high school, honors pre-calc. is harder than AP calc AB but
somewhat easier than AP calc BC. Asking students who have gone through any of the tracks you are considering could be helpful as well as comparing the grades they earned through the track.

My school doesn’t offer an Honors Calculus class.