| I don't know that the pattern holds from year-to-year of what's going to be on it or not. My understanding is that it takes two years to actually make a test, so this year's test was already in the making while the 2007 test was being administered.
I would predict a calculator-active question based on areas and volumes of solids of revolution. Sometimes there is a volumes with known-cross-sections problem here, and sometimes there isn't.
I would predict a Fundamental Theorem of Calculus question of some sort.
I would predict some kind of function that test your knowledge of how functions accumulate over time. Since you've seen the 2007 test, this is question #2 on that test, which indicates something to do with water in a tank.
I would predict some kind of position, velocity, acceleration question.
I'd expect some kind of question where some constant (usually k) indicates something to do with some kind of function at some moment in time. Sometimes they stick this one in the area/volumes question, sometimes they stick this in the accumulation question, sometimes they stick this elsewhere.
I would expect a slope fields and separable differential equations question. I know they didn't have one last year. Just a hunch on this one, as I have no inside information.
I'd also expect some question that has discrete data points given in a table rather than in an easily identifiable function form, where you'll have to do average rate of change, approximations using rectangles/trapezoidal rule, and the like. This may be combined with one of the earlier questions.
Also, and again, this is just a hunch, but I found it really interesting that they got really particular about the conditions needed for the Mean Value Theorem and the Intermediate Value Theorem on Question #3 of last year's FRQ's. I strongly suspect this will be back sometime in the near future, although I don't know if I'd be so bold as to predict that it will be in place for this year. (Interestingly enough, this is the first FR question in quite awhile where the nationwide average was under 1.00 in a long time.)
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I don't personally recommend any particular prep book simply because of my inexperience with them. I would personally use the ones whose explanations of topics make the most sense.
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I forgot about the related rates question last year. Luckily, and this is unlike past precedent with these problems, you only lost 3 points maximum if you didn't know how to do it.
As far as the partial fractions, it won't be on the AB test. It will either be a problem that you know how to do using some other method (u-substitution perhaps?) or it will be on the calculator section, and they will expect you to use your calculator to get it done.
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Two last pieces of advice that I forgot about the last time through:
(1) Don't give up on a question just because you can't answer one part of it. Many times, questions have re-entry points. For instance, last year's related rates question (#5) had a re-entry point at part (c) if you couldn't do the related rates question in part (b). Sometimes, you can start from a later point and earn a few valuable points where other students had already given up.
(2) You really only need about 70 points (out of 108) in order to make a 5. You only really need about 55 points in order to make a 4. Now some of the questions are harder on the AP Test than they may be in the class, but I know that a lot of the folks I know freak out about these test because they're used to everything being scored according to a 90-80-70-60 type of system. That kind of thinking will really freak you out and could really mess with you on the actual exam. |