Customer Reviews

Barron's AP Calculus

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it has an incredible amount of practice problems (organized by chapter) and is well organized in that topics and practice problems specified for "just BC students" are well marked(However, arc length is on the AB syllabus, not just BC as this book says it is). The book also provides four practice tests for both AB and BC, more than you will find in any other Calculus prep book.

However, many of the practice problems found in the "end of the chapter practice problems," as well as in the practice tests, are not representative of questions that have come up on previous AP exams. In my AP Calc class, we did every college board released multiple choice section since 1978 as well as every free-response question given in the past 10 or so years. Though the practice tests given in this book are okay, and will provide good practice, it is evident Barrons did not do enough research into the AP Calculus exams themselves. Many of the problems (though not all), are either too difficult, or simply too different from questions that you will actually encounter on the AP test to be very helpful.

I gave this book three stars because it CAN be helpful if used as extra practice-- as a supplement to any in-class preparation. However, I strongly discourage purchase of this book if you 1. don't have a good foundation for most of the calculus topics or 2. aim to self-study for the exam. As already noted in previous reviews of Barron's AP Calc prep books, their subject review is hard to understand, muddled with confusing language-- Barron's simply makes no attempt to simplify their explainations. Furthermore, their "answers explained" sections at the end of practice problem sections and practice tests are short, often only one sentence long, rendering them useless most of the time.

The last complaint I have for this book is that Barron's provides no "AP scoring chart" for you to self grade and find your corresponding AP grade (1-5) at the end of a test. Granted, the other calc prep books I've looked at don't either, but it's an annoyance to not know where you stand after taking a practice test for 3 hours.

For those looking for better topic review, I would try Peterson's "Master the AP Calculus AB and BC" book. I hear the authors review is simplified and easier to understand for someone not so familiar with the material. For those who are familiar with the material and who want extra practice, this book isn't half bad, it is well organized and has unlimited practice problems--just don't get scared off by some of the tougher problems. The best practice, however, is past AP exams. Ask your teacher/school if they have any of them; if not, they're available on collegeboard.

I used this book solely for the multiple-choice practice problems, not the review or tests, so I can only vouch for the MC problems. The coverage of topics is both broad and deep, with well over 500 problems of varying difficulty. Taking the AP Exam, I felt confident, prepared, and familiar with every problem type. The only complaint I have is the lack of fully developed solutions to the MC problems. The short one- or two-line explanations were always enough to answer any of my questions, but for those struggling with the concepts, they may prove inadequate.

I didn't take AP Calculus BC, so I can only speak for the AP Calculus AB students.

I actually didn't like this book because the questions are super difficult in comparison to the AP exam, and the answer explanations are only decent at best. Some students actually like practicing with harder questions because it'll make the actual exam look easy. However, there are errors in this book, which could make it even more frustrating.

However, I do agree that this book does provide the great multiple-choice practice questions in comparison to the other prep books out there. I didn't find the free-response questions as helpful. I also found the Princeton Review to be a great source for practice Calculus questions. If you can excel while doing these problems, you know you'll do excellent on the exam. I would still practice with actual released multiple-choice and free-response questions from the Collegeboard though. This book would be a good supplement to another prep book or a class, but it's hard to use it to self-study, if you're looking to do that. This book is better for students who are already good at Calculus. For those that are struggling and want to clarify concepts, look for another book.

I would also not use this book for the conceptual explanations though because it's a bit convoluted and unclear. The concepts are too textbook-like, and it could've been explained better, especially since students are looking for additional help when purchasing prep books. I found The Calculus Lifesaver: All the Tools You Need to Excel at Calculus (Princeton Lifesaver Study Guide) and the Peterson's guide to be more helpful for concepts.

Even though Barrons is expected to be harder than the actual AP test, it was the best book to study from. The material on the AP test was similar to the questions from the book- including the long response. My teacher had our class finish the entire book since it was very efficient for practice. However, do not buy this book to only learn the material... it is great for quick reviews and practice. Good luck

This book has a thorough coverage of AP Calculus AB/BC. I used this book for the multiple-choice section and CollegeBoard's own materials for the free-response section. Most of my students scored 5. I also used some of its chapters for my IB Mathematics SL and HL students.

Most US high-school students feel calculus is too challenging for them since they did not have enough practice in algebra, geometry, and pre-calculus. The following is my suggestion: if you got at least an A in pre-calculus/trigonometry, you may want to learn calculus in high school; otherwise, wait until you get into the college.

Barron's AP Calculus over-prepares the students for the test a little bit. But that is not a bad thing. If you have used mathematical analysis problem sets written by Russian mathematicians, you will think that Calculus I/II taught in the US is way too easy.

I recommend this to someone who gets 3-5's on practice Princeton tests. When I practiced on the exams in this book, they were more challenging (granted, I'm still in 8th grade, I don't know a lot about prep books)than many others. In fact, I used to get 5's on the princeton, but now I can barely get a 4 on this Barron's. However, after I used this book for a while, I decided to see my skill on Princeton tests (which people say are more similar to the REAL AP test). The Princeton tests became a joke. Before I took Barron's: 34/45 on MC and 38/54 on Free response; after I took barron's tests: 40/45 on MC; 45/54 on Free response. There was a sudden increase in scores, even though Barron had many questions that weren't gonna be on the real Ap test.

The book is in perfect condition and has been a tremendous help. I bought it as a second copy so the tutor could have her own copy.

Okay so, I was using this book for pretty long time and got really sad when I scored so low.
But when my teacher gave me 2008 and 2003 real AP exam it was so easier than this!
This book will discourage some students if they see this book before they see the real exam.
However, the notes and reviews are wonderful and neat.

Warning the test is actually easier according to 2008's test that I took.
Wish me luck on Wednesday's test!

Best review for AP exam out there. I teach the AP course and have tried many others. The questions in this book are challenging - prepping an AP student well for exam day.