I’m a sophomore this year in AP Calc AB, and I was wondering about the difference between Calculus 2 and AP Calc BC.
I’m interested in pursuing something STEM-related as of now, although I’m not sure what yet, but I want learn concepts properly and in-depth and learn a lot in general in high school. I also enjoy math. I’ve been recently thinking about whether it might be a good idea to take AP Statistics in school next year, instead of Calc BC like I was originally thinking because;
a) Calculus is really important and a very powerful tool but its usage is more limited than Statistics
b) I’ve heard that Calculus 2 goes more in-depth than BC and is better for engineering and other majors that require the use of Calculus
c) The BC teachers aren’t very good at my school
If I took AP Stats next year in school, I figured I could take Calculus 2 at my local community college and take the BC exam. I also thought taking Statistics earlier on could let me delve into harder Statistics and help me get a better idea of how and where it’s applied. I would really appreciate if someone could provide insight into how the Calc 2 and BC curriculums compare and on whether the material covered in Calc 2 is enough to do well on the BC exam. Thank you!
As data becomes a bigger part of every area of study you will see it take a bigger role in college curriculums. Taking courses like statistics, computer science, learning Python or Matlab will give you a great foundation for college.
Calc BC covers the AB topics again then goes into some more advanced topics. Calc 2 would typically be similar to what you would get in BC although it probably spends more time in newer topics. You might want to ask yourself why you want to take the BC exam. Are you looking to test out? Even students that get 5’ on both AB/BC often choose to start with Calc 2 in college instead of jumping right to the next sequence. You get the benefit of reinforcing concepts with someone who is going to be much stronger than your HS level Calc teacher.
I wouldn’t worry about the AP test if you opt to take Calc 2 at a community college. You will need to report that grade on your common app and then submit the official transcript.
It’s hard for anyone here to know the difference between your school’s BC calc and the CC’s Calc 2 because curriculums can vary greatly. Talk to your guidance counselor for advice or your math teacher.
Does your high school have BC as a course that begins where AB ended, or does it repeat AB material before going to (the rest of) BC material? If the former, then college calculus 2 would be fairly analogous, although the break point between college calculus 1 and 2 may be at a different point (usually slightly earlier) than between AB and the rest of BC.
Be sure that college calculus 2 is for math or engineering majors, not the one for business majors.
Taking the AP test may still be useful if the OP matriculates to a college that is unwilling to give credit for college courses taken while in high school. While taking the AP test in addition to the college course will not give double credit, it will increase the chance of getting credit among colleges with varying credit policies for AP and college credit while in high school.
In theory, the material covered should be similar (since calculus for math and engineering majors is one of the more standardized college-frosh-level courses), although the quality of instruction and rigor level can vary from one school (high school or college) to another.