AP Calculus AB (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the Advanced Placement Exam (Advanced Placement (AP) Test Preparation) [Paperback]

D. E. Brook (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Research & Education Association (December 18, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878912827
• ISBN-13: 978-0878912827
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,724,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the paper it's printed on, July 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: AP Calculus AB (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the Advanced Placement Exam (Advanced Placement (AP) Test Preparation) (Paperback)

This is an awful book. An entire year's worth of calculus is compressed into 50 pages. As a result of this, the material presented is utterly incomprehensible. No simple example problems are given: all of the test questions are extremely difficult. Don't expect to learn anything from this book. Avoid it like the plague.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Six unhelpful practice exams, May 7, 2002

By 

postcrosser "shizuku_san" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AP Calculus AB (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the Advanced Placement Exam (Advanced Placement (AP) Test Preparation) (Paperback)

Knowing AP Calculus AB would be a tough class and that the exam would be even harder, I bought this book before the first day of class. I anticipated using it as a quick reference throughout the year and for extensive review and practice as exam day neared.

I looked through the review section a few times during the year but it wasn't helpful when I missed a lecture or when I didn't understand a homework problem. Quite simply, my class notes were a much better source.

I left plenty of time to take all six practice exams included in this book-however, because the exams in this book were unhelpful, I ended up taking only one of them. The multiple-choice questions are much more difficult than they are on the actual exam. The answer choices for the non-calculator portions of the multiple-choice are in decimal form. I just took out my calculator for the last step of changing the exact answer to a decimal approximation. However, this seems like an obvious error that should never have been allowed to go to publication. It's typical of the quality of REA's "best test prep" series.

The free-response questions are closer to free-response questions on the actual exam, but the free-response sections of the practice tests are not divided into calculator and non-calculator portions as they are on the actual exam. Besides, you can download real past AP Calculus AB free-response exam questions from the College Board's website for free, so I wouldn't recommend paying for the ones in this book.

I found the practice exams in the Apex Learning and the Arco books much more helpful, so I recommend either of those instead of this one. Do not waste your money on this book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not bad. Decent Test Prep, April 10, 2002

By 

Vivek Reddy (Columbia, SC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: AP Calculus AB (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the Advanced Placement Exam (Advanced Placement (AP) Test Preparation) (Paperback)

First of all I can see where all the bad reviews are coming from. What you must first understand however is that this book is not the book you would want if you don't thoroughly understand Calculus. If you understand most of Calculus and you just want this for a review, this is a great book. It brushes up on pretty much everything you are going to need to know for the AP. There aren't very many explanations for the review, but like i said it is great if you just need to brush up on something you forgot. YOU NEED TO TAKE THE CALCULUS COURSE IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET THIS BOOK. I reccommend this to anyone with a good foundation in Calculus.