AP Calculus AB Advice/Study Help (And More AP Help on my blog!)
Blog: http://www.bashfullynerdy.tumblr.com/study-help
***contains information on AP, SATâs, and College!
This is some of the information that I have collected from taking the AP Calculus AB Class, as well as the exam:
Your Textbook: I know it sounds terrible, but your textbook is honestly the best bet for you to learn the material initially. The textbook I was given was the âCalculus of A Single Variable: AP Editionâ book by Ron Larson. This book was great to learn the material and to practice the math initially. However, if you are getting close to the AP Exam and want to prepare, this book might not be the best to practice since the questions are easier than the actual exam.Â
Barronâs AP Calculus Prep Book: This book is probably one of the best prep books around for both AP Calculus AB and BC. It contains information on both AB and BC, but if you are confused on which sections are for who, donât worry! Barronâs already separates it for you. This book has questions that are pretty similar to what you see on the AP Calculus Exam, so it is best to practice from this book. Although I didnât use this book for reviewing material, the Barronâs book still contains a pretty decent review for each calc topic.Â
Barronâs AP Calculus Flashcards: I never bought the flashcards, but I used a friends whenever I had the chance. The flashcards help for quick review of material, as well as some other things that you just need to memorize for quick math (ex: the derivative of sin). Personally, I find the flashcards to be pretty expensive, so I suggest borrowing it from a friend or a teacher. I usually donât use flashcards, but if you are someone who frequently uses them, I think it would be helpful. Also, I know a few people who just made their own flashcards on a few of the tough topics, which I think is a great idea as well :)
Preparing for the Calculus (AB or BC) Exam By George Best and Richard Lux: This book is a prep book that my class and I primarily used, partially because our teacher really wanted us to, but I highly recommend it! It is a great resource with problems that are a little harder than the actual exam, but it is one that really gets you used to the AP feel. Personally, if you use this book, the questions are harder than the exam, but I find it to be great to use in order to know the toughest of questions!
Practice! When I say practice, I mean you should try to do some of the math problems given in different resources, such as the Barronâs book or your textbook. This will really help because, as with any of the math tests you will take (ex: AP and SATâs/ACTâs), the hardest part of the question is knowing how to start. Therefore, by trying to solve different problems, you will be exposed to different questions and, when it comes up on the Exam, you will know how to solve it
Review the material! This may seem strange at first, but reviewing the material on this exam will really help in the long run! By reviewing the material, you will know the topics really well and will be able to identify what to do on the exam. Plus, it will help overall in understanding the topic.Â
READ THE TEXTBOOK (shocker, I know). It is super helpful and teaches you everything you need to know. I mean, at least give it a glance and try some of the example problems! Trust me, a lot of my problems were cleared up by just looking through the textbook.
Know your algebra! Although this is AP Calculus, sometimes you need to know basic algebra rules in order to solve a problem. Even if I said âbasic algebra rulesâ you will be surprised to know how many people do poorly on exams because they forget how to simplify a certain thing. Therefore, know how to do some of the math you learned in prior classes. Also, if you donât remember anything, donât panic! A lot of the algebra will come back to you when you do some of the Calc problems, and if it doesnât, look in your Barronâs, your textbook, or even ask a friend or a teacher! Something/someone is bound to know!
Understand the Concepts! A lot of what Calculus is all about is just building up on what you learned in the beginning of the year. Therefore, if you donât understand a topic, try to put the effort into learning it! You may seem like you can just âbrush it off and wait till the end of the year to understand it for the AP Examâ, but, as states before, the topics build up on each other. So, if you donât understand something at the time, ask questions or watch a couple videos! (put the effort into understanding the topic)
Multiple Choice (Non-Calculator): Since you donât have a calculator to help you through the problems, this is where you really need to know your stuff! This best thing to do in order to get better at this section is to practice problems without a calculator and review the material in order to know the topics (this will help in doing the problems quickly, since you know exactly what to do for each question).Â
Multiple Choice (Calculator): For the calculator section, I used a TI-89, which from my understanding is what most people use. I didnât buy a TI-89 (since itâs super expensive), so instead I used my teachers. Usually it depends on the school/teacher, but I would try to get some type of calculator like this for the exam. In my opinion, the TI-89 is great since it can do some cool stuff for you, like find an integral of a really complex problem (If you donât know what that is yet, donât panic! Youâll know eventually!). From experience, the best thing to do for the calculator section is to get used to the calculator (common sense right!?). The calculator sometimes takes time to get used to, so I suggest using it prior to your exam so you have a feel on how it works, as well as what buttons to push in order to solve certain problems. Overall, I would say just try the calculator out and try some calculator section problems in order to know how to solve it with a calculator as a helpful tool! :)
FRQâs: There are two types of FRQâs for this exam: Calculator and Non-Calculator. To prepare for these two types of FRQâs, I would follow similar advice for what I gave for the multiple choice sections. However, one word of advice I would like to say about the FRQâs is to practice them! Seriously, the FRQâs are weird in the sense that some of the math you use is different than what you normally would do in Multiple Choice. Therefore, exposure to the questions is the best way to know how to solve different FRQâs. Also, something that you should know about the AP Exam is that the FRQâs are usually the same topics each year. College board likes to change it up here and there, but I guarantee that there are may questions that remain the same, such as Area Under the Curve and Curve Sketching FRQâs.Â
1. About the AP Calculus AB Exam: https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-calculus-ab/about-the-exam
2. If you have one of the following textbooks, this site gives a step by step procedure on how to solve some of the problems (the odd numbers, how awful!): http://www.calcchat.com/
3. Petersonâs Prep Book for AP Calculus: https://shamokinmath.wikispaces.com/file/view/Petersonâs+Master+AP+Calculus.pdf
4. Link with All of the AP Books (including AP Calculus AB): https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Byxoof4V9z7lM28xUmlXSWsyanc&usp=sharing
5. Practice FRQâs: https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-calculus-ab/exam-practice
6. A Study Guide made by another tumblr: http://komlin.tumblr.com/post/84785455447/calc-ap-study-guide-more-like-i-need-a-5-please?utm_campaign=SharedPost&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=TumblriOS
7. A Great Study Sheet that gives insight on how to answer the questions (ex: when you se this, do this!): http://www.ccsdk12.org/mclemens/courses/APcalcAssign/WhenYouSeeWAnswers.pdf
8. An AP Calculus Section to another tumblr (apbymichelle): http://apbymichelle.tumblr.com/calculus
9. Khan Academy (a great resource!): https://www.khanacademy.org/math
