apstudent1

I took Calc AB this year as a junior, but have to take BC online because my school doesn't offer the class. I'm planning to start studying over the summer because the online course isn't very good. I'm using the Larson, Hostetler, Edwards Calc book (blue cover) and was wondering what sections in this book are for BC? I think chapter 7-9 is it, but are there any sections in ch. 5-6 (hyperbolic functions, arc length and surfaces of revolution, work, etc...) that I need to know?

Also, what advice do you have for basically self-studying this course?

rspence

I think I used a similar book when I took a BC course...

Basically, anything in AB you'll have to know. BC-only curriculum includes

*Integration by parts
*Differentiation, integration in parametric, polar coordinates (I don't think you'll need spherical coordinates)
*Taylor and Maclaurin series, convergence tests
*Improper integrals
*L'Hopital's rule
*Using partial fractions to evaluate certain integrals

etc. The AP test occasionally asks questions on hyperbolic trig functions and arc length, but they probably won't test you on work (that's more for AP physics). It's pretty straightforward though, integral of force over distance.

apstudent1

Yeah, it's that blue book kinda with an arch cover. I see in chapter 7 there's integration by parts and series in chapter 8. L-H rule in chapter 7 with improper integrals. What I'm worried about is I'll leave out stuff that's covered in 1-6. We skipped a few sections in 5 and 6 in calc AB.

missperfection1

if you want then there is lot of really nice free material available at Sparksnotes.....

rspence

Wikipedia has an article on AP Calculus, and it clearly states the topic covered on the AB test. If you've learned the (ε,δ)-definition of a limit (some classes teach this), that's great, but you won't need that on the AP test.

apstudent1

does kahnacademy follow the bc curriculum? Any of you guys self-study basically this course? It's basically going to be my first.

Themost

Kahn dose have some of the bc content but hippocampus.com is much better for bc. That is what i am using to study bc this summer.

rspence

The Art of Problem Solving publishes its own calculus textbook, which is more rigorous and proof-oriented than most other books (which will definitely help when you get to college). You could perhaps self-study from that...just an option.

Calculus

yodelo

Princeton Review and Khanacademy ftw

apstudent1

I think I'm most worried about the course, well also the exam because it doesn't cover BC material until like a month till the exam.

jdroidxw

I took AP calc BC online through FLVS and it used the same book as the one youre going to use (older edition but I have both new and old and there are no big differences).
You do NOT need to know hyperbolic trig stuff.. Whatever that is, I never learned it because it's not on the exam.
Basically, you should know everything from AB and go over chapters 7-10 (BC topics).
If you would like I can email you the lessons you need to cover in your textbook that will appear on the BC exam. Just message me

apstudent1

10 too? The student edition for class this year only went up to chapter 9, but the book I borrowed has more chapters, though I think it's for like multi-variable calc and up (ch 10-14).

rspence

@jdroidxw you sure there's no hyperbolic trig? Our class spent about a week learning the hyperbolic trig functions. Idr if it was on the exam...

Then again, they're pretty obscure unless you're studying physics.

semaphore12

There is hyperbolic trig stuff, it's just rare.

tangentline

Once you're done with AB, BC shouldn't be too bad to self-study. Khan Academy works well but I don't think it covers all the topics so then you're off to reading the lessons in the book. Just look over each example, see what they're doing, and attempt the practice problems and check the back of the book. If you get it wrong, redo it.--Sometimes the book tends to "skip" steps in their work that's why you have to go through the practice to see if you can produce the answer yourself. Rinse and repeat and you can actually cram BC over a Spring Break! --Hit the most important topics and you may be able to leave out the rarer ones but still get a 5.

Review books are nice, they get to the point VERY quickly too.