Is it possible to self-teach Calculus BC in 3 months?

[Ethan Hummel]

Hello I am self teaching myself AP Calculus BC and the exam is on May 5. I was wondering if there were any good online resources for me to use online and I have a textbook which is James Stewarts Calculus 5th Edition. Do you think this is possible to self teach myself Calculus BC in 3 months also what would be the best way to do so. Thank you for your responses.

 

[mrnike992]

This depends on multiple things. First, I'm assuming you've learned the "A" portion of Calc? Second, are you a high school student doing this to get college credit for Calc I & II? Third, how much time do you have available to devote to learning BC? And finally, how good of a student are you?

 

[Ethan Hummel]

This depends on multiple things. First, I'm assuming you've learned the "A" portion of Calc? Second, are you a high school student doing this to get college credit for Calc I & II? Third, how much time do you have available to devote to learning BC? And finally, how good of a student are you?

Hey thank you for responding. What exactly do you mean by do I know the A part of calculus. Is that like precalculus. And yes i am a high school student doing this for college credit, and I can devote much time to learning CALC AB because this is my goal and I'm willing to devote a lot of time to it. And I would could consider myself a good student I take all honors and have a's in everything

 

[mrnike992]

No, as far as I know, (correct me if I'm mistaken), AB covers limits, all basic derivation methods and integration methods. BC covers more difficult integration techniques, including integration by parts and trigonometric substitution, as well as sequence and infinite series. BC should also cover parametric equations and polar coordinate calculus. Basically anything up to vector calculus.

Now this could be wrong; I took AB Calc in high school, then Calc II and III in college, so this is just my best guess. I know that on the AP BC Calc test that if you don't do too hot on the BC portion but do well on the AB portion, you can still get AB credit at most schools, which is roughly equivalent to Calc I.

Personally, BC isn't too terrible, but if at the end of the semester you don't feel like you 100% understand the topics, I'd recommend retaking Calc II, as I've heard that a good understanding of infinite series is important for Dif EQ and beyond. This is of course if it pertains to your intended major.

Hope I could help!