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Good
Very good for the multiple choice similar to the AP test for Calc AB. The concepts are explained very well and easily. One of the best books out there for this subject.
ehh, it was all right
this book isnt the best to use if you're completely lost in calc and hoping to cram it at the last minute. i had a really good teacher for calc so did not have to rely on a prep book too much, but still i found this book helpful in just doing practice problems. for 2007, the practice frq they provide you in this book are nothing like the ones on the actual test. but i'd have to agree that this book is on the easy side, so beware.
A TREACHEROUS BOOK. Shame on you Princeton Review
Let me preface this by saying that I took the AP calculus test in the mid 1980's and now have helped my daughter with a self-study course on calculus in preparation for the 2007 test. After going through a total of 4 study guides, 2 textbooks, and the last 7 years of available free response questions from the actual AP test, I found this guide to be not only inadequate but also treacherous. It will instill a false confidence which will become glaringly obvious to you when taking the real test.
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br /The AP calculus (AB or BC) has become considerably harder in the last 4 years. Like most other books, this book seems to have been developed for the test as administered in the 1990's. In order to pass, not only do you need to know your calculus - it is also mandatory that you know how to use your calculator in order to solve calculus problems. This book completely ignores this basic fact. Unlike other books (see my other reviews), there is no section on this important topic. The only reference is in the first pages when the book states that a calculator is allowed on certain parts of the test and that the Education Testing Service recommends a calculator. The fact is that a calculator and its proper usage are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL in being able to solve some of the problems on the test (I also fault the testing service for not making it crystal clear that certain problems cannot be solved without the calculator). Princeton Review ought to know this simple fact which becomes obvious to anyone who has looked at the openly provided past free-response questions from the actual tests. For example, a question regarding volumes of revolution of an area between two curves has appeared on virtually every free-response section over the last 7 years. Each problem could not be solved without the use of a caculator in determing the points of intersection to use as your limits of integration. Rather than focusing on techniques of integration (which was a big deal for the earlier test in which calculators either weren't allowed or weren't capable), the emphasis has switched to integration via the calculator.
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br /One last point of advice is that this book does not stress the concepts that are in turn stressed on the current tests - fundamental theorem of calculus, average value of a function by integration, and problems that depend on interpreting graphs and data points.
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br /The book goes through each topic in calculus in a perfunctory manner that appears to have been adequate for the test I took in the 1980's, but not for the current exam.
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br /When chosing a book, keep in mind that the test is no longer a simple can you integrate and take a derivative by hand type of exam. If you can solve the problems in this book, you may be prepared for the multiple choice non-calculator based parts, but you will NOT be prepared for the AP test as a whole.
absolutely fantastic
This book was amazing. I was really struggling in getting anything higher than a 3 on practice exams so I bought this book. It's true that the AB and BC materials are not separated, but it does include information noting which subjects are BC only. All you have to do is take note of that info and mark those sections BC yourself.
br /With the exception of two or three lessons, the lessons in the book were thorough and really helped me to understand the material better. The formatting was easy to follow as well and it didn't make me feel like I was doing a lot of work. I don't have my score back yet, but I can definitely say that this book helped. I'll definitely be using the rest of it for my BC exam next year.
Cracking the exams
I found this book to be helpful in some capacity. Although it covered all the necessary topics, I did not find it to be that in depth (it would probably help AB test takers more than BC). Some of the explanations made it more confusing than it was without the book. The practice tests were good, but did not provide explanations for the answers, which was a big downside. The essay questions provided in the practice section were so much easier than the actual test, so they didn't help either. Overall, a good basis for studying, but do NOT rely solely on this if you want to do well.
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