hello! it’s seo from tbhstudying, and i’m here to give you some tips
on ap calculus. i specifically took
ap calculus bc, but hopefully, these tips help you out
whether you’re in ab, bc, or in regular calculus.
first off, invest in a good graphing calculator.
i hate to break to you, but
you’re not going to survive with a basic or scientific calculator in calculus.
that’s why this video was kindly sponsored by texas instruments
who are the folks who make the rly nice ti calculators!
i’ve used texas instrument calculators for basically
my entire academic life, and so, i’m delighted to work with them for this video.
this is a ti-84 plus ce calculator in the color rose-gold,
and i used a ti-84 for all
of my science and math classes in high school as well as
my standardized exams like the act and ap exam.
it’s a reliable calculator that’s saved me a whole bunch of times.
this calculator in particular is real fancy because it’s
rechargeable, has a color display, and greater RAM for a faster experience.
for a class like calculus, it’s especially critical
to know how to use your calculator.
after all, your calculator will only be as smart as the person using it.
you should know how to use the graphing functions
table functions, how to calculate integrals,
derivatives, and logarithms on your graphing calculator.
this will help you save so much time during the ap exam and during any exam
where you’re allowed to use calculators.
this might be a little redundant to say, but show every single part
of your work. even if you’re using a calculator.
write down the next step.
that way, you’ll be able to find your own mistakes easier
if you get it wrong. also, the graders may be able to give you
partial credit on the free response section if they see your work.
next, make sure you know all of your formulas.
my ap calc bc teacher made us memorize a list of formulas.
there were about 110 (in retrospect, i think it was 100)
and i ended up using every single one when i had to take
tests and the actual exam on both the multiple choice and free response section.
here is my formula list. you can pause the video here
and take a screenshot if you need it (buckle down, kids, bc there's gonna be a lot)
also, focus only on the content that will be on the exam.
don’t waste your time on other things.
the exam will test you on graph analysis and behavior,
limits, asymptotic behavior, boundaries,
continuity, derivatives, integrals,
differentiation, and the fundamental theorem of calculus (lmao im missing so many)
i might have missed some, but again,
make sure you know what's on the exam and make sure you know how to do it.
you might have been able to get away with not doing homework and just
winging your math tests and whatever, but calculus
is a different beast. read your textbook,
listen to lectures, do your homework, everything.
practice is critical because you will be able to practice the
techniques and strategies that you learn and ingrain that into your long-term memory
through repeated and spread-out rehearsal of that information.
i would suggest referring to past ap questions and released
practice exams for the most optimal practice.
review books like barrons and princeton also have practice problems for you to use.
i used barrons, but i felt like the tutorials and the explanations weren't
that great, so you might want to take a look at princeton
if you are falling behind in class, some resources that might help you are
khan academy and lamar's math notes.
i'll link both sites in the description, but essentially,
they're tutorials you can use to supplement your lessons.
i used lamar much more than i used khan academy, so try that one first.
also, remember to keep an eye on the clock.
wear a watch and time yourself. time flies
when you’re solving problems and some problems will take you longer than others.
make sure you are giving yourself enough time
to finish the multiple choice and frq section.
finally, ap calculus will be rough.
you will feel like you are suffering, and at the end of it,
you will feel like you just walked through hell.
however, i promise you that you will have done better than you assume
you will because the curve on the ap exam is very forgiving.
instead of focusing on how bad the exam felt,
feel happy and reward yourself for
making it through a year of calculus!
again, thank you to texas instruments for sponsoring this video!
i cannot emphasize enough how much
their calculators saved my miserable life in math and science,
and since i plan to continue on with stem courses (stem = science, technology, engineering, math)
even to university, i think i'm going to continually
use my ti-84. it's a wonderful
investment that will last you years.
hope this helped, and thanks for watching!
if you have any questions about ap calculus or have any tips
of your own to add, please feel free to leave a comment.
make sure to check the description too for all the links.
i’ll do my best to answer your question as best as i can.
don’t forget to subscribe and turn on notifications
if you're interested in more of my content.
hope you have a lovely day, and good luck with calculus! bye!