AP Calculus Exams: AB and BC
Chase Gabrielson
Governed by the College Board, the AP Calculus exams, Calculus AB and Calculus BC, have been in existence since the 1950s.
Either test is typically taken by high school students who excel in math. Many equate both AB and BC Calc as first or second-semester level college math classes.
Taking the AP Calculus exams helps prepare students for career fields such as Engineering, Computer Science, Finance, and Medicine.
To get a better feel for the test, watch as Star Tutor and resident math expert, Caitlyn Booms, takes the AP Calculus BC Multiple Choice test in real-time!
If you’re considering taking the Official AP Calc test, take a quick look at the following Advanced Placement Calculus Facts:
Advanced Placement Calculus (also known as AP Calculus, AP Calc, or simply AB / BC) is a set of two distinct Advanced Placement calculus courses and exams offered by the College Board.
AP Calculus AB covers limits, derivatives, and integrals.
AP Calculus BC covers all AP Calculus AB topics plus additional topics including integration by parts, Taylor series, parametric equations, polar coordinate functions, and curve interpolations.
The College Board intentionally schedules the AP Calculus AB exam at the same time as the AP Calculus BC exam to make it impossible for a student to take both tests in the same academic year, though the College Board does not make Calculus AB a prerequisite class for Calculus BC.
The structures of the AB and BC exams are identical. Both exams are three hours and fifteen minutes long, comprising a total of 45 multiple choice questions, and six free-response questions.
The multiple-choice section is scored by computer with a correct answer receiving 1 point and omitted and incorrect answers not affecting the raw score. This total is multiplied by 1.2 to calculate the adjusted multiple-choice score.
The free-response section is hand-graded by hundreds of educators each June. The raw score is then added to the adjusted multiple-choice score to receive a composite score. This total is compared to a composite score scale for that year's exam and converted into an AP score of 1 to 5.
For the Calculus BC exam, an AB subscore is included in the score report to reflect proficiency in the fundamental topics of introductory calculus. The AB subscore is based on the correct number of answers for questions pertaining to AB material only.
With so much information to sift through, if you’d like some assistance determining which test is right for you, please contact us. We hope to see you in class soon!
