For example, if you wanted to take AP CALC BC next year, it’s probable to take like Pre-Calculus now versus another course. I don’t have any AP course recommendations but taking a different AP course would probably depend on what AP math course(s) or just any other course you still want to take in the time you have left. So that’s up to you, but taking Pre-Calculus or AP CALC AB first before AP CALC BC will most likely be helpful. Putting in the effort, you could potentially make the jump from Algebra 2 to AP CALC AB or even BC. You could take Pre-Calculus and then take AP CALC AB/BC. I personally think Pre-Calculus was helpful before taking AP CALC BC. Please view the General Questions Megathread before asking a question. When the AP week comes, please DO NOT discuss the multiple choice section! However, in accordance with the agreements made with the College Board in regards to the release of the FRQ's, you may discuss them on this site when they are released. Everyone has their own specialties! Help with what you know and get help with what you don't is the golden rule. If you would like to share resources for this purpose, message the moderators first.ĭon't try to one-up each other with scores. College Board and many textbook publishers have and continue to send copyright notices when they are shared here.Īdvertising is not allowed without moderator approval. Positive discussion is encouraged.ĭo not ask for or share audit exams or other illegal/copyrighted materials. Periodicity is introduced in the unit on trigonometric functions, though the idea of periodic behavior is introduced at the very beginning of that unit BEFORE students explore sinusoidal graphs.Please try to keep discussions on-topic about AP courses. Transformations are introduced in the context of constructing new functions, rate of change is introduced in the context of linear and quadratic functions (which are both being defined by the rate of change of their rates of change: zero, and a constant value, respectively). For example, compositions and inverses are saved until the study of exponential and logarithmic functions, as exponential and logarithmic functions should be studied in the context of their inverse relationship. While most Precalculus courses have an early unit on function concepts (domain, range, transformations, combinations, compositions, and inverses), in AP Precalculus these topics are introduced throughout the course, with a new function concept being introduced when it makes sense with a particular function type. There are a few key differences in the sequence of topics that will affect how the course is structured and taught. Law of Sines and Law of Cosines (these are included in the optional final unit but only as a means of finding angles and magnitudes of vectors involved in vector addition) Synthetic division (good riddance, in our opinion we much prefer using an area model!) Rational Root Theorem/Descartes’ Rule of Signs (these are considered Algebra 2 topics) Right triangle trigonometry (by which we mean solving for sides and angles in a right triangle in isolation, the idea of right triangles IS used to understand the unit circle)įactoring polynomials of degree 3 or greater by hand (unless there is a greatest common factor that can be factored out, leaving a quadratic expression) Systems of equations (except for its applications to linear programming and matrices in the optional final unit) This means there are no conversions between degrees and radians, and the input of a trigonometric function and the solutions of a trigonometric equation are always angles measured in radians.) The whole course is done exclusively in radians.

Ap precalc