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AP Precalculus Course Overview

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AP Precalculus Course Overview

Uploaded by

19Tamal Chatterjee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
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AP Precalculus

About the Advanced Placement Program (AP)


The Advanced Placement Program (AP) has enabled millions of students to take college-level courses and earn college credit, advanced placement,
or both, while still in high school. AP Exams are given each year in May. Students who earn a qualifying score on an AP Exam are typically eligible, in
college, to receive credit, placement into advanced courses, or both. Every aspect of AP course and exam development is the result of collaboration
between AP teachers and college faculty. They work together to develop AP courses and exams, set scoring standards, and score the exams. College
faculty review every AP teacher’s course syllabus.

▀ Proficiency in solving right triangle problems involving


AP Precalculus Program trigonometry
▀ Proficiency in solving systems of equations in two and three
AP Precalculus develops students’ understanding of functions variables
modeling dynamic phenomena. In this course, students study a
broad spectrum of function types that are foundational for careers in ▀ Familiarity with piecewise-defined functions
mathematics, physics, biology, health science, business, social science, ▀ Familiarity with exponential functions and rules for exponents
and data science. Furthermore, as AP Precalculus may be the last
▀ Familiarity with radicals (e.g., square roots, cube roots)
mathematics course of a student’s secondary education, the course
is structured to provide a coherent capstone experience rather than ▀ Familiarity with complex numbers
exclusively focusing on preparation for future courses. Throughout ▀ Familiarity with communicating and reasoning among graphical
the course, the mathematical practices of procedural and symbolic numerical, analytical, and verbal representations of functions
fluency, multiple representations, and communication and reasoning
are developed. Students experience the concepts and skills related
to each function type through the lenses of modeling and covariation, AP Precalculus Course Content
and engage each function type through their graphical, numerical,
analytical, and verbal representations.
The course content is organized into units of study, which have been
arranged in the following suggested, logical sequence:
AP Precalculus Course Overview ▀ Unit 1: Polynomial and Rational Functions
▀ Unit 2: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
AP Precalculus is designed to be the equivalent of a first semester
▀ Unit 3: Trigonometric and Polar Functions
college precalculus course. AP Precalculus provides students with
an understanding of the concepts of college algebra, trigonometry, ▀ Unit 4: Functions Involving Parameters, Vectors, and Matrices
and additional topics that prepare students for further college-level Units 1, 2, and 3 topics comprise the content and conceptual
mathematics courses. This course explores a variety of function types understandings that colleges and universities typically expect students
and their applications—polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, to be proficient in in order to qualify for college credit and/or placement.
trigonometric, polar, parametric, vector-valued, implicitly defined, and Therefore, these topics are included on the AP Exam. Unit 4 consists of
linear transformation functions using matrices. topics that teachers may include based on state or local requirements.
PREREQUISITES
Before studying precalculus, all students should develop proficiency AP Precalculus Mathematical Practices
in topics typically found in the Algebra 1-Geometry-Algebra 2 (AGA)
content sequence. Students should have developed the following:
Students should develop the following mathematical practices while
▀▀ Proficiency with the skills and concepts related to linear and exploring course concepts:
quadratic functions, including algebraic manipulation, solving
▀ Procedural and Symbolic Fluency: Algebraically manipulate
equations, and solving inequalities
functions, equations, and expressions.
▀ Proficiency in manipulating algebraic expressions related
▀ Multiple Representations: Translate mathematical information
to polynomial functions, including polynomial addition and
between representations.
multiplication, factoring quadratic trinomials, and using the
quadratic formula ▀ Communication and Reasoning: Communicate with precise
language, and provide rationales for conclusions.
AP Precalculus Exam Structure

AP PRECALCULUS EXAM: 3 HOURS Format of Assessment:

Section I: Multiple-choice | 40 Questions | 2 hours | 62.5% of Exam Score


Assessment Overview
The AP Precalculus Exam assesses student understanding of the ▀ Part A: 28 questions; 80 minutes (no calculator is permitted;
mathematical practices and learning objectives outlined in the course 43.75% of Exam Score)
framework inclusive of Units 1, 2, and 3. The exam is 3 hours long and
includes 40 multiple-choice questions and 4 six-point free-response ▀ Part B: 12 questions; 40 minutes (graphing calculator required;
questions, each weighted equally and scored on an analytic scale. 18.75% of Exam Score)

Section II: Free-response | 4 Questions | 1 hour | 37.5% of Exam Score

▀ Part A: 2 questions; 30 minutes (graphing calculator required;


18.75% of Exam Score)

▀ Part B: 2 questions; 30 minutes (no calculator is permitted;


18.75% of Exam Score)

Exam Components

Sample Multiple-Choice Questions


Which of the following functions has a zero at x = 3 and has a
graph in the xy -plane with a vertical asymptote at x = 2 and
a hole at x = 1 ?

x 2 − 4x + 3
(A) h( x ) =
x 2 − 3x + 2

x 2 − 5x + 6
(B) j( x ) =
x 2 − 3x + 2

x −3
(C) k( x ) =
x 2 − 3x + 2

x −3
(D) m( x ) =
x 2 − 4x + 3

x g( x )

−2 4
The figure shows the graph of a sinusoidal function g. What are the
values of the period and amplitude of g ? 1
0
2
(A) The period is 4, and the amplitude is 3.
(B) The period is 8, and the amplitude is 3. 3 −2
(C) The period is 4, and the amplitude is 6.
(D) The period is 8, and the amplitude is 6. 4 3

36 9

The table gives values of the function g for selected values


of x. The function f is given by f ( x ) = 3x + x 2. What is the value
of f ( g (3)) ?

(A) −72
37
(B)
9
(C) 9
(D) 97

Educators: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-precalculus/course
Students: https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-precalculus

©2023 College Board.

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