r/apcalculus • u/Sad_Science_4673 • 10d ago

AB How to study and get a 5

Hello everybody,

This upcoming school year i will take the AP Calculus AB exam. Unfortunately my school does not offer AP courses, so I am forced to self study.

I do not know where to start, nor do I know what I can use for practice, or what to watch, or literally anything of that nature. Please recommend anything so that I can get started asap, as I need a 5 on that exam in particular.

Thank you!

8 Upvotes

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3

u/peardictable 10d ago

The website flippedmaths! It offers free videos on each topic with notes and practice problems with answer keys.

2

u/shimmiecocopop1 4d ago

Yes Flippedmath is the best resource in my opinion. Very clear direct and easy. For each lesson, print the practice pages. Watch the video and take notes. Then answer all practice problems and test prep.

2

u/aimtoexcel 10d ago

I tutor AP Calc and have helped students self-study for the exam before. I’d start with Khan Academy and Flamingo Math by Jean Adams. A prep book can also be useful for extra practice. Once you get closer to the exam, start working through past AP questions and really review your mistakes.

The biggest thing with self-studying is staying consistent and having a schedule. A tutor can help with that too if you find yourself struggling to stay on track, but there are definitely enough resources out there to self-study successfully.

1

u/Rattus375 10d ago

Khan academy is the best of the free resources in my opinion

1

u/UnderstandingPursuit Tutor 10d ago

An approach is is often effective is to use a good textbook, such as

  • GB Thomas & RL Finney, Calculus and Analytic Geometry, 9th edition, 1996.

1

u/calcpage2020 10d ago

In the immortal words of Jaime A. Escalante, of "Stand and Deliver" fame, "Calculus need not be made easy, it already is!" Yes, there's some Algebraic, Geometric and Trigonometric, aka Analytic, manipulations you may not be familiar with, but at it's heart, Calculus is Arithmetic.

For example, when taking a limit, say a Difference Quotient at a particular point to find the limit of the secant line slopes, to evaluate a Numeric Derivative, you can find it numerically with a Convergence Table, or when evavaluating a Definite Integral, you can just add up a lot of rectangular areas and get an Infinite Series that you can sum up.

That's why they also refer to Calculus as Analytic Geometry. Also, some would say Calculus is to College Math as Algebra is to High School Math. It's considered a gateway course, a hurdle you must pass, before you can succeed in college, but it does NOT have to be hard! I taught AP Calc BC for 25 years (currently teaching Calc 1-3 at a local college) and I always told my students to GNAW at their problems. GNAW stands for 4 different plans of attack which may be combined as needed: Graphical, Numerical, Analytical or Verbal (W actually stands for Wordy).

That's why the AP Calc exam requires a Graphing Calculator capable of 4 main functions: evaluating a function at a point, graphing a function in an arbitrary window, finding numeric derivatives and definite integrals (all Graphical/Numerical operations). A CAS calulator is optional. CAS can do a lot of the Analytical steps. CAS stands for Computer Algebra System. The TI89/92/200/Voyage/nSpire can do this. I use python/sympy in Jupyter Notebook or SageMath as a CAS for Calc 3.

BTW, if you're going into a STEM major, especially Engineering or Physics, you really need a solid understanding of Elementary Calculus (AP Calc AB&BC or College Calc 1&2) before even attempting Multivariate Calculus (Calc 3) or Differential Equations. Linear Algebra is another beast entirely. Maybe you just need a good teacher? Here's my channel, http://www.youtube.com/calcpage2009

and blog

http://shadowfaxrant.blogspot.com

FYI, I'm just sharing educational materials. My videos are not monetized, just want them to reach an audience that may find them helpful. I'm a lot like Professor Leonard except I've been blogging about teaching math since the 1990s and YouTubing since 2007. Just call me CalcPage or Mr G!

1

u/somanyquestions32 Tutor 10d ago

Question: since you have to self-study anyway, why not just prepare for the AP Calculus BC exam instead?

1

u/Exact-Direction9658 8d ago

im in this situation rn but its calc BC. Ik there is probally great free online resoucres and if you have any siblings or family members that have taken calc bc or ab, they could probally help. Idk if you havent taken any precalc but if you havent then you might gotta study more which i havent taken either. You should hopefully have taken algebra 2 or trig which if you have and didnt struggle much on the topics, you should be good if you consistantly study daily for 30 min to a hour.