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Everything You Need to Know about AP Precalculus

Updated: Jul 19


AP Precalculus is the newest AP Course and was offered for the first time in the 2023-2024 school year. We’re excited to announce that Calc Medic has a FULL curriculum of EFFL lessons for every topic of the course!

If your school is thinking about offering AP Precalc, here’s all the must-know information:


Who’s eligible to take the course?

  • Students who have completed Geometry and Algebra 2, or Integrated Math 3

  • Suitable for students who take Algebra 1 in 8th or 9th grade


What credit do students receive for taking AP Precalculus?

  • Counts as a math credit (college algebra equivalent) at many colleges and universities, including the majority of public institutions

  • At highly selective schools, Precalculus is not considered a college class and thus students can not earn college credit for AP Precalculus. Nevertheless, students taking this course will be well prepared for AP Calculus or a Calculus course at their college or university, as well as other math and science courses.


What's the big idea of the course? Functions!

  • Modeling with functions

  • Multiple representations of functions

  • Functions revealing a dynamic relationship between two variables

  • Symbolic manipulation of functions and algebraic equivalence


How is the course organized?

  • There are 4 units of study but only units 1-3 are tested on the AP Precalculus Exam and required by colleges for entrance into Calculus I.

  • The 4 units represent large areas of study, and the topics included in each unit represent a suggested sequence and list the essential knowledge students are expected to master. The topics do not represent individual lessons.

  • The course is designed to be taught in 140 45-minute class periods.


What is the structure of the exam?

  • 40 Multiple Choice Questions

    • 28 non-calculator (80 minutes)

    • 12 calculator (40 minutes)

  • 4 Free-Response Questions

    • 2 calculator (30 minutes)

    • 2 non-calculator (30 minutes)

  • The exam is 3 hours long.


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