All About AP Precalculus

AP Precalculus offers a path to college math credit and prepares you for rigorous calculus courses. We’ll talk prep strategies and resources so you know how to approach this challenging yet rewarding course effectively.

AP Precalculus is a grab-bag course of topics intended to bridge the gap between Geometry and Algebra 2 – generally taken in underclassmen years in high school – and a Calculus course, taken either as an upperclassmen or in college. While we’ll get into the specifics of the course units below, the course largely touches on understanding of one thing: functions. Functions can be thought of as input-output machines, where we feed in one value (the X), and get out another (the Y). 

By the time students get to Precalc, they have been working with functions and their graphs for years (think linear relationships of the form y=mx+b, or quadratics, the U-shaped graphs); much time in pre-calc will be spent formalizing the definition of functions, and working with harder and more useful functions. 

These are mostly functions that tend to be outside of students’ comfort zones, namely rational expressions with asymptotes, trigonometry functions, and exponential functions. A solid understanding of how these functions work is essential to success in a rigorous calculus course like AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, or IB Math Analysis & Interpretations.

When is the First AP Precalculus Test Date?

The first AP Precalculus exam will be held on May 12, 2024 at 12PM in your local time zone.

Rationale for Creating AP Precalculus

Precalc, historically, has been an odd course, with no commonly accepted set of topics covered in every iteration at every high school. Some teachers just cover trigonometry and advanced algebra, while others include statistics and counting/combinatorics, and still others preview properly calculus-related topics like limits and series.

The College Board intends the AP Precalculus course to be a standardization of the Precalc curriculum, so students who want to take Calculus the following year can do so with confidence. 

Alternative Routes to Earn Math Credit in College

A secondary reason analysts believe that the College Board created the AP Precalculus course is to give students who don’t want to take Calculus a route to get college credit and/or satisfy their undergrad degree’s math requirement.

AP Precalculus Course Structure

Main Course Units

• Polynomial and Rational Functions (30-40% of Exam)

• Exponential and Logarithmic Functions (27-40% of Exam

• Trigonometry and Polar Functions (30-40% of Exam)

• Parametric Functions, Vectors, and Matrices (Not tested. Optional material)

AP Exam Structure

The AP Precalculus test consists of a two-section multiple choice component and a two-section written free response component. While the multiple choice sections are broad in content and generally will follow the breakdown above, the free-response questions (FRQs) are always about specific concepts. 

Use this test structure to your advantage! Since the FRQs always cover certain topics, students can and should make sure to focus specifically on the signpost concepts that will be covered in the specific questions. We’ve also detailed some high-level things to review to make sure you get the best score you can. The detailed breakdown is as follows: 

Section 1: Multiple Choice 

• 40 Questions

• 2 Hours

• 62.5% of Total Score

• Part A, No Calculator: 28 questions; 80 minutes; 43.75% of total score

• Part B, Graphing Calculator Required: 12 questions; 40 minutes; 18.75% of total score

Section 2: Free Response Questions (FRQs)

• 4 Questions

• 1 Hour

• Part A: Graphing Calculator (30 minutes), Part B: No Calculator Allowed (30 minutes)

• 37.5% of Total Score (split evenly between Part A and B)
  

Part A, Question 1: Function Concepts

• What to Study: Transformations, inverses, domain/range, asymptotes

Part A, Question 2: Modeling a Non-Periodic Context

• What to Study: Modeling exponential or logarithmic scenarios (e.g., birth rates, biological contexts such as predator-prey models, infection rates, and investment yields)

Part B, Question 1: Modeling a Periodic Context

• What to Study: Modeling scenarios best described using the sine and cosine functions (e.g., average daily or monthly temperatures, coffeeshop attendance by the hour) in cartesian or polar form

Part B, Question 2: Symbolic Manipulations

• What to Study: Manipulating and solving equations, and finding inverses or new functions based on compositions of other functions

Based on our years of tutoring students in math courses across the board, we’ve found that students will likely have the most trouble with the modeling questions, especially periodic modeling. So be sure to do lots of studying and practice with these to gain facility and confidence before test day! 

How to Prepare for the AP Precalculus Exam

Unlike the AP Calculus exams and many other AP courses, this AP course is in its first year – so there’s not a wellspring of past exams and official materials to prepare. 

Furthermore, Precalc is when students start getting consistent exposure to more advanced math concepts – so we’ve found they often struggle with the course unless they’ve had a pretty rigorous education. Precalc requires students to be fluent in a high-level, definitional understanding of functions, what one can do to them, and how to interact with them. This sort of deep conceptual fluency with functions is generally not taught in Algebra 1 or Algebra 2, so students are often in for a rude awakening when they get to Precalc. 

However, there is hope! There are some very solid resources to supplement a student’s journey through AP Precalculus and help close the gaps in knowledge, and it comes down to teacher or tutor help or student-led inspection on where the gaps in their knowledge are. It is not too late to close those gaps, even a semester into the course. 

• The College Board offers a sample multiple-choice section from an AP Precalculus exam.

• Trusted partners like Albert.io and Khan Academy offer comprehensive online modules on each AP Precalculus topic. 

• In addition to offering 1-1 support from an expert AP Precalculus tutor, North Avenue Education offers low-cost AP Practice Tests that can be completed asynchronously and online. 

• All of our AP tutoring packages include at least one full-length AP Practice Test. 
  

Reach Out for Help Preparing for the AP Precalculus Exam

Every AP course and eventual AP exam is a daunting task regardless of the subject, and AP Precalculus is no different. There always seems to be a million and one concepts to master, and we recognize it can be overwhelming to many students.

But remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. The best students know how to break tasks down into more manageable pieces, planning things out, and slowly approaching the concepts bit by bit. Students should strive to determine what they are comfortable with, and where they struggle, and allow that to influence their  study plan. With enough patience, practice, and persistence, any student can do very well on the AP Precalculus test! 

And if you want a bit more guided help from an expert AP Precalculus tutor, don’t hesitate to reach out! Contact us today to get started with weekly support until your AP exam.

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