AP Calculus AB

[HooKarez]

Anyone taking it or have taken it before? I was put in regular Calculus because my schedule was 'too intense'. I mean, it's only AP Gov, Stat and Physics. So I'm trying to have my counselor switch me in to an AP Calculus AB class (which should only really rearrange my three first mod classes based on the classes my friends have.) I had a 94 average in Pre-Calculus, so I think I'd do fine in the class. Based on your experiences, what was the workload like?

[Matt]

Calculus is easier than precalc, imo.
You should do fine in AB.

[Russt]

Wait, there's non-AP calculus? -scratchhead-

I took BC and not AB, but from what I've heard AB is basically just some of precalc again plus first semester BC. In terms of syllabus, anyway.

Workload wasn't an issue at all. The real question is whether you're able to understand it or not. If you get how to do something, it's a breeze. If you don't, the class gets frustrating.

I think you'll do fine.

[Cyadd]

I had one homework assignment every night. I only did not do 1 assignment out of around 130? 120? ish. I also took AP Stats and AP Physics C both mech and e/m. I had to do some homework, more than in 11th on the weekends. Don't save it for Sunday.

But, after the AP tests, I did nothing in school. I got the most out of my gameboy and watching Arrested Develp.

[Spaz]

I took BC calc. You'll do well in AB if you got a 94 in precalc. Even BC wasn't really a higher workload compared to earlier math classes. And yeah, precalc was harder than calc at my school.

[HooKarez]

I'm gonna attempt to convince my counselor on Monday that I can handle it. I already sent her an e-mail BSing how it'll help me with Physics because it is calculus based. But my Physics teacher is just gonna give us a little cheat sheet on the basic calculus things we need to know to at least guide us through physics until we get to it in calculus. But, one thing that may be a damper on AP Calc is whether or not they had summer work or not (probably a review of pre-calc or something.) If they did, she probably isn't going to let me transfer because I'll be behind or whatever. :\

And @ Russt : The way my crappy teacher explained what the regular calculus course compared to the AP calculus course was that we it didn't go into any proofs. -shrug-

[MasPan]

AB and BC are 90% the same, BC has a bit more packed in. If you excelled in Pre-calc, you'll be fine - all of math is simply building on what you already know.

[Dusk]

AB and BC are 90% the same, BC has a bit more packed in. If you excelled in Pre-calc, you'll be fine - all of math is simply building on what you already know.

Until you get to Linear Algebra >:

[Jormungandr]

I took BC. It was so easy in high school. Don't put it off til college.

[KajitiSouls]

Taylor series... ugh!

Other than that, calculus was fuuunnnn!! /nosarcasm

I have no idea of this pre-calc people speak of, but I can tell you that if you're not prepared to think for yourself, you'll probably miss out on a bunch of tricks late in the course, which will make your life harder (and some problems are impossible without them or a calculator).

[xLeviathan]

I took BC. It was so easy in high school. Don't put it off til college.

Lol, depends on what you plan on doing with your life after you get a BA/BS. If you plan on going for graduate schools to get your Masters/PhD and one of their core requirements is Calculus I, II, etc, or maybe some Biology or Physics that you placed out of with AP, they're not going to look well on that.

Graduate schools want you in a college classroom for core requirements (typically BCPM for practical degree programs) and getting exceptions for two prelim. math classes, or Biology, or whatever it is since you took AP isn't looked well upon.

- Shrug -

[Spaz]

Lol, depends on what you plan on doing with your life after you get a BA/BS. If you plan on going for graduate schools to get your Masters/PhD and one of their core requirements is Calculus I, II, etc, or maybe some Biology or Physics that you placed out of with AP, they're not going to look well on that.

Graduate schools want you in a college classroom for core requirements (typically BCPM for practical degree programs) and getting exceptions for two prelim. math classes, or Biology, or whatever it is since you took AP isn't looked well upon.

- Shrug -
If it's something you're studying after a bachelor's, then it's typically something that you'll have taken more advanced courses than the AP versions for. ie, if it's something that needs calc, you'll have taken calc III and IV. If it needs bio, you'll have taken more than just bio 101. The AP courses will just let you get to the more advanced courses faster.

[HooKarez]

So much for the counselors checking their e-mail every day. Hopefully they'll check later today or tomorrow. It might be too late to change a core class too which sucks. :[

[xLeviathan]

If it's something you're studying after a bachelor's, then it's typically something that you'll have taken more advanced courses than the AP versions for. ie, if it's something that needs calc, you'll have taken calc III and IV. If it needs bio, you'll have taken more than just bio 101. The AP courses will just let you get to the more advanced courses faster.

I know to go higher for 2 things (other graduate programs, I don't know, but they may follow suit):

A. Masters or more in Mathematics
B. Medical school

Both of which want to see all the classes you've taken, even the lower ones, in a college classroom. For the 2nd one, the only AP they may accept is outside the realm of BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics). So even if you only cleared Calc I. for example, but are required to take up to 3 or 4 (See: Chemistry vs. Biology degree), they still want to see that 1 and 2 inside a college classroom. Kinda a copy-pasta' from here (http://honorscollege.uncc.edu/content/view/17/41/) but whatever:



*Advanced Placement Credit: Most medical schools have policies regarding advanced placement (AP) credits. One of the problems with AP credit is that there is no grade available to evaluate the student’s performance in the class, and no grade available to compute into the GPA. For these reasons, many medical schools will not accept AP credit to fulfill the requirements for science and math, and only occasionally for English. Likewise, CLEP credit is seldom accepted.

Usually, if a medical school requires a certain number of hours of subject X, they want you in a college classroom for that number of hours. Some medical schools have a more lenient policy on AP than others.

I guess it varies from school to school slightly but the general idea remains the same.

I just as soon not have my kids (or myself) take any AP classes at all. There are plenty of more-beneficial alternatives such as Middle College/Cooperative-Education/other programs that give you actual credit hours (rather than just exemptions) and college experience.

OP [Finally]: Depends on the teacher? Calculus isn't hard really. The hardest stuff will be the trig. side of it, which hopefully you picked up in Pre-Calculus (in my old school they split Pre-Calculus into two classes worth half-credit each: Pre-Calculus Algebra and then Pre-Calculus Trigonometry. Both of which had to be taken to get a full credit for Pre-Calculus). The workload, as in number of problems, will be lighter but the problems take longer to complete usually. Sometimes, like with limits and crap, it's easy and takes like 5 seconds.

[Russt]

AP has kind of strayed from its original purpose of Advancing your Placement, since many of the best places don't accept the credit. Nowaday it basically means "Honors++" that's standardized by the College Board.

In that sense, though, they're good.

[WetFish]

Don't give Ap AB calc much thought, if you did fine in precalculus, then you'll be ok in AP calc. As long as you understand the concept of limits, and understand how to do derivatives, you'll be fine. The only new concepts you learn are integrals, which you should have done basic integration with left handed and right handed rectangles.

Therefore to do calc you must know :
dy/dx : F(x)

Limit of x -> c ; where Lim x -> C + = Lim x -> C-

And that wierd integral sign.

[DarkPwnage]

AP AB was fairly easy. I got out of it with a 95 average, and the teacher was supposed to be one of the hardest in my high school (she was a damn good teacher though).

Definitely pester your concelor until you get into it. You'll be very happy that you took Calc in high school when you get off to college.

[HooKarez]

Well, they refused to let me switch into AP Calc because 'they were too far into the curriculum and I was too far behind.' Bull. All they did was review Precalculus, take a quiz on it and start the first section on Limits.

..

Whatever. I guess I'll just get hundreds in this easy regular calculus class. So far: 100 on the 'Chapter 0' test, which was just review while others practically failed it. -sigh- This is gonna be a long year.

[xLeviathan]

In most universities, a week into cirriculum is too late.

[Matt]

It seems more like the guy is in high school, rather than uni.

[WillDaSnail]

I'm gonna say this:

Bug your school conseulor to get you into AP Calc AB. By taking this class, this will definately help you in college/universities through allowing you to save time and $ by taking harder courses.

However, do note: Most universities will not accept Calc AB as a way for you to skip out on math classes, even if you get a 4/5. BUT your efforts will not be in vain - you'll get some univ. credit if you pass Calc AB/AP (preferably with a 4 or 5) as well as be allowed to take harder math courses.

P.S. I'm a current AP Calc AB student in high school right now =P

[sky54264]

Until you get to Linear Algebra >:

That was build-up too. You've been working with systems of equations since algebra 2... algebra 1 too iirc. It's just not until linear algebra that you can finally start doing something with them.

Calc bc was rape for me but my biggest problem was knowing which integration technique to use depending on what the equation was. Especially in a test, if you used to wrong technique, you just wasted 5 minutes so you really gotta familiarize yourself with the methods and when to use which ones.

I don't know why people in this thread are saying calc bc is like just calc ab. Calc ab is a joke. I don't know why the system doesn't teach that as a regular high school course. Calc bc is when math gives you an intro of its abstraction with the series and "integrating infinity".