AP Calculus AB or BC?
AP Calculus AB or BC
Answer the five questions
Questions people ask
Can I take both the AB and BC exams?
Not in the same school year: a student takes one or the other.
What is the AB subscore?
A BC score report includes a Calculus AB subscore on the 1 to 5 scale, from the AB part of the BC exam (about 60% of it). It is not a second exam. Some colleges give credit for it; others do not.
Is BC just AB plus Units 9 and 10?
No. BC also adds topics inside Units 6 to 8: integration by parts, linear partial fractions, improper integrals, Euler's method, logistic models and arc length.
Do I need AB before BC?
College Board does not require it. Many schools offer BC straight after precalculus; others run AB first. Your school's sequence is what counts.
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How we work this out
What it does
Five quick questions and one answer: AB or BC.
Students choosing between AP Calculus AB and BC, and parents helping them. The topic map comes from College Board's Course and Exam Description; the questions are ours.
Method
- Each answer adds or takes away points: strong algebra and trigonometry +2, okay +1, shaky -1; finished AB already +2, precalculus with a good grade +1, precalculus with a lower grade -1, no precalculus yet -2; ready for the pace +1, unsure 0, prefer steady -1; more than seven months to the exam +1, four to seven 0, under four -1; hoping for two semesters of credit +1, otherwise 0.
- 3 points or more says take BC; below 3 says take AB, the safer start that BC can follow. The rule is ours and is stated so you can check it.
- The map lists every topic BC adds: six inside Units 6 to 8 and all of Units 9 and 10, with College Board's multiple-choice weight for each unit.